Week of December 11, 2016

Sunday we substituted in the family history Sunday School class. Ted taught about the “Find” function in both Memories and in the Tree. I taught about MyHeritage and the translation function and the new source attaching feature. After I finished I reviewed the find functions. I had totally misunderstood why it would be useful. I have always assumed it was for finding the person you are looking for so I thought I was teaching about finding another record that might lead to more information. One sister raised her hand and said she had been looking for a person in her tree, but she didn’t know where he was. She had asked several people how to find the person and no one could tell her. She was ecstatic to finally be able to find him. So I looked “beyond the mark” to use a feature in some unconventional way when the obvious use was actually of the most benefit to the class.

In the evening we went to my sister’s for a family dinner to celebrate Mom’s 100^th birthday. Mom died just before turning 90, but we celebrated her life and our heritage. My sister had written a poem telling about Mom’s life. I commented on her time as life guard at Liberty Park. A young woman was pulled from the lake and Mom was able to resuscitate her and save her life. Others shared more memories and it was fun to remember.

Monday I taught IrfanView in the morning. We only had two students which was disappointing, but we were able to help them with specific needs.

Tuesday we started Capstone. We have a large group, but it isn’t large enough to require two sessions. After classes we were able to attend the Family History Christmas Program and luncheon. The program was lovely. We had Steve Rockwood (CEO of Family History), Elder Ian Ardern, Elder Erich Kopischke, and Elder Bradley Foster speak to us. They shared family traditions then we sang their favorite carols. It was really a good program.

Wednesday I taught the entire session. This was the month for Find, Take, Teach, so I teach how to do Descendancy Research using the missionaries own family then on Thursday we help them write a lesson plan and practice giving it to someone else. This is a good group and we were able to find someone for everyone there. It turned out that not everyone could find sources easily, but I think they all found something to practice the methods.

In the evening we met with the group of women I grew up with and spouses for dinner and visiting. We got caught in a major mess on the interstate so we were nearly 45 minutes late. It was fun to visit and catch up. One of the women had married a young man whose team I had sponsored at the All Church Basketball Tournament back then. I had introduced them at a party at my home. It was fun to see him again after so many years. Their team was from Las Vegas, Palmhurst Ward, which is in our current stake. Small world. It was really a fun evening with the visiting and a fun game. It was late when we left, but again it was worth it.

Thursday was an amazing day. As I read the conference talk Pres. Uchtdorf gave in the Priesthood Session of conference called Alma and Amuleck, I had the distinct impression that this was something I should share with the missionaries with the application of helping others do family history instead of becoming active in another way. I marked the section and stuck the conference booklet in my bag to take with me. I also wanted to show the video by Elder Renlund which has such a powerful promise. As class started, I gave the intro to the lesson plan, then got them started and turned them loose. It turned out that several, in spite of our best efforts, had found names that either had no sources, needed further research, or had already been reserved by someone else during the night. I assured them that the process was what was important and they should just forge ahead, knowing they would not reserve the name just now. There was such a good feeling in the room. Several times I paused to examine what I was feeling and it was overwhelming to me that the Spirit was so strong. After the assignment was completed we had a missionary come to the front and demonstrate teaching the lesson plan. She was so wonderful as she explained the things what needed to be done. It was a very touching experience to me. We then had them teach each other in pairs. It was a good experience.

When we finished the room was so full of the Spirit that it was almost palpable. I shared with them the section from Pres. Uchtdorf’s talk and the impression I had to apply this to the opportunity they have to do family history. I really feel that was a prompting from the Lord. After this I played the video from Elder Renlund asking them to listen to the promise. Every time I watch this I am nearly overcome with the Spirit and this was no exception. I closed with my testimony and we ended the class. It was an amazing experience to have the Spirit that strong and for such a lengthy period of time. I felt so blessed. I was exhausted.

Friday we had our class on Memories. A new couple has been assigned to our group who will replace Barbers when they go home. Elder Barber brought them downstairs to meet us after they received their assignment. They have been in charge of a family history center for the last few years and have been teaching several classes.

Saturday evening Ted and I went to the Richards Family Christmas gathering. There were over 100 people there. My favorite part was at the end when we gathered into a large circle to play a game. They had a slide show and sang a special Christmas song I hadn’t heard before about “Merry Christmas from Our House to Your House”. Uncle Elliott spoke and expressed his love for everyone. At the end all the lights were turned out. Elliott started by turning on the light on his phone and turning both to the right and the left he told us he loved us and we turned our lights on and told the persons next to us we love them. They call this their circle of love. They used to use candles, but this was held in the Hilltop Chapel and they are not permitted to use candles in the church. The feeling of love in the family was wonderful.

Week of December 4, 2016

Sunday we attended the First Presidency Devotional. The Conference Center was beautifully decorated. We had seats in the balcony but they were right in the center. The talks were very uplifting and it was a good meeting—a nice way to start the Christmas season.

Monday after our dentist appointments we went to see the display of the Roots of Knowledge windows we’d seen at the stained-glass window shop a few weeks ago. It was amazing. With the windows all put together they were so incredible. They depict several scenes throughout the history of man in a sort of time progression. They are three windows in each set, but they run together so there is a flow from panel to panel. There are 80 windows all together.

Tuesday devotional was on the 10^th floor of the JSMB. We have been climbing the stairs the last few times. It is staggering to say the least. It doesn’t seem to get any easier. We had two classes today, but the students didn’t need much help so I was able to do a little research during most of the time. After the second class today it was snowing. It looked quite heavy from inside. I hadn’t worn boots or brought my umbrella so I wasn’t looking forward to it.

Wednesday was a full day. Our class started at 8 am and finished about 9:30 so we were able to go to the temple between classes. At one point I ran into one of my friends from high school, Carol Ann Hall, who was working in the temple. She recognized me right off the bat and we had a hug. One of the ladies made the comment that it really puts things into a different perspective when you see someone in the temple.

Ted taught in the afternoon. After class I stayed and did some research. I’ve been finding some families that extend one of Ted’s family lines a few more generations.

Thursday we had two classes. I did more research during class and found more family members. It is exciting to put the families together. After class I reviewed the Capstone material and made several changes. In the evening we met my sister and her husband for dinner then went to the Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert. We were right at the front of the main floor, second section in from the left. The camera boom was in front of us part of the time, but they were really good seats. We had a good visit with which we haven’t done in a while. The concert was good and I really enjoyed the guest artist, Rolando Villazon. He has a wonderful tenor voice and a pleasant personality. I was glad we didn’t have to drive home afterward because it was late.

Stage for First Presidency Christmas Devotional

Friday I taught a class on attaching external sources. It went well. We only had six people in attendance so we were able to address their specific needs and concerns. I think it went well. I enjoyed it. Our attendance has been down lately, we think due to the holidays and also because the library missionaries are now required to take the computer classes and get certified. After class I made more changes to the Capstone book and to the handout for the class I had just taught. The sources area was changed earlier this week and some of my verbiage and screen prints were outdated. I was able to find two more generations for the family I was working on. It has been a good experience finding them. I went to the international floor to get help with one of the screen prints I’d found then went home. 

Week of November 27, 2016

Monday it was very snowy and cold. Ted and I drove another missionary to the library in her car. She has trouble walking and was afraid of slipping on the ice. Ted taught today and did a good job. After lunch I drove the sister missionary home. It was snowing fairly hard so it was tricky driving. I had planned to return to the library to work, but I decided not to brave the cold and wind and snow and stayed home to work.

Young Elders and Pres. Tate at Hail and Farewell Dinner

Tuesday I was able to find the parents of one of Ted’s direct ancestors and take the line back an additional generation. I needed to have someone help read a document for me. The mother of one of the parents was listed with the family and I wanted to know who she was. She was the mother-in-law, so she was the wife’s mother. I also asked about the cause of death. Three people had died within a short time of the same cause. It turned out to be Typhus or Typhoid Fever. As I looked later at some of the death records, there were pages of people each month that died of the same thing about that time. Very sad.

Wednesday we had staff meeting in the morning and a class in the afternoon. I was given some good teaching assignments for the next month so I’m looking forward to that. We were told they would probably be calling a new couple out of the new full time missionaries in December to take the place of our Assistant Zone Leaders. I’m not looking forward to Barbers leaving—they have done a wonderful job of getting us better organized.

Young Elders Singing "Called to Serve"

In the evening I reviewed again for my lesson Thursday and realized there were some major things that I needed to change. I had to find some good examples for the demonstrations I wanted to do. I was glad I had done the extra review. It is tricky trying to keep up with the FamilySearch engineers—they are always updating the program.

Thursday I taught a class on FamilySearch Partners. We had 12 students and several told us how much they appreciated the class. That is always nice to hear.

Friday our group met at the temple for the 9 am session. It was good to be in the temple together. Afterward we all went to The Lion House Café for lunch together. We enjoyed a good visit and had a good experience doing something together outside of the mission.

Saturday we had the Swap Meet so we were out about 9:15 getting things set up. It was still very cold so we were all bundled up. We had a good group helping us. We had a good-sized group of new missionaries and there was a lot of stuff for them to take. We had a missionary couple write us a thank you note in the form of a poem about our service dong the Swap Meet. It really does help a lot of missionaries. It seemed like we had several that actually told us how much they appreciated us doing it today. That always feels good.

I worked on my lesson for next week on External Sources. I needed to find good examples to use again. We separated the sources class into two classes—Internal Sources and External Sources—so this will be the first time I teach the new course. It will make it much easier to help the missionaries understand.

Social Group at Uncle Elliott's home

In the evening we went to Uncle Elliott Richards’ home for our social group to hear him speak. He did a wonderful job. He was concerned about his voice holding out, but it lasted until he was finished. He shared his experience teaching the Satos in Japan, his experience being prompted to pray for Dad, his meeting and work with Boyd K. Packer while in Japan. They studied and prayed together while they were in the same area for several weeks. He also shared some experiences as mission president in the Philippines and spoke of the almost continuous flow of direction of the Spirit in the operation of the mission. At home as I lay in bed I reflected on the thoughts Uncle Elliott shared and I realized I have a ways to go to be what I want to be.

Week of November 20, 2016

Sunday was a fairly normal day. We attended the Choir broadcast then home taught a new sister. She lives in Zion Summit so we had to hike up behind the conference center toward the capitol building. She is a sweet lady, probably about 80-something. She got this condo so she could continue to serve when her mission was finished several months ago.

Monday we had inservice meeting part of the morning and I worked at the library all afternoon. It rained most of the day so it was a bit dreary.

Mission Christmas Tree--Ancestors pictures on left, Young Elders pictures on right

Ted's Grandma Ida Elina Henrickson

Tuesday morning we had another inservice day. One of the engineers talked about the FamilySearch platform which was interesting, but I‘m not sure what I’ll do with the information. We then had a pie feast. I ate too much. Our zone did a Christmas tree with pictures of ancestors hanging on it for ornaments—cute.

Wednesday we had T&R day. I spent the day at the library trying to find some additional records and get my sourcing up to date. It started out as a good day, but it started to rain just before we left the library. It rained and was cold the rest of the evening.

Carolyn's Grandpa Burton Kent Farnsworth

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Thursday I cooked a turkey for the branch Thanksgiving dinner. I tried a new recipe and it turned out great. I also made two bowls of mashed potatoes. Our bowls weren’t large enough so we had some left over and it made for a bit of a mess. The dinner was lovely. There was plenty to eat and we enjoyed visiting with some seniors and some young elders. The young elders did a program for us with several singing a variety of songs. I was particularly touched by a duet sung by two elders. One of the elders has a cleft pallet and has some difficulty pronouncing some words when he speaks. He has such a good heart and is a good leader in the branch and mission. I truly admire his courage and determination to be all he can be. One of the elders sang “We’ll bring the world His truth”. He had written a couple of extra verses since the song was too short. Very impressive.

Friday I spent most of the morning cooking making turkey soup. In the evening we went to Temple Square for the lighting of the decorations. It was beautiful but cold. It was truly beautiful.

Saturday was our turn at the Swap Meet sheds. We did some work organizing the donations and hanging clothes up to make more room. We did have a lot of clothes to hang and filled the hanging bar to its capacity and beyond. I appreciate those who donate so we have plenty of things to offer each month.

After we finished there we went to City Creek to meet our daughter and her family. The kids always enjoy playing there so they had a good time. In the evening we had a friend from high school and her husband over for dinner. We reconnected a few weeks ago because of a chance meeting with their son at an antique store. We enjoyed a good visit and it was fun to see them. It has been fun to reconnect with some old friends while we’ve been here.

Week of November 13, 2016

Sunday evening we had the elders for dinner. They were late because they thought we lived above the Conference Center. They had walked up the two steep hills, then they realized they were at the wrong place and walked back down. One of the elders walks with a walking stick, and it isn’t easy for him to get anywhere, much less up those hills. We had a good visit and they ate all the food we had which should have been enough for at least one meal of leftovers. It was good to see them eat so well. We enjoyed it.

Monday we didn’t have any classes so I did research all day at the library. I got several families put together from household records and found sources for most of the vital records. In the evening we had our Hail and Farewell dinner. We had about 25-ish new missionaries and only about 10 going home. That is just the opposite of the last couple of dinners. We also had a man speak to us about Mormons in the military and the price of our freedom.

Tuesday we began our monthly Capstone classes with a group of about 23 people. That’s a good size for teaching.

Wednesday at Mission Conference the man in charge of the Church History Library spoke to us and shared information about what is collected there. It is amazing they have any space left with all the things they have. It was interesting.

The weather turned cold during the day and the wind picked up. It felt like winter was coming at last. We have had such beautiful weather for much longer than expected, but it is still sad to see it leaving.

Thursday I taught the Partners class. We attended the temple then had a special chapel meeting at 6 pm. The Wasatch Stake also was in the meeting and the man that spoke from their stake referred to goals they’d had during the year: read The Holy Temple by Boyd K. Packer; do all the ordinances in the temple available in one day. It really touched me and I would like to do these.

Friday I taught the last 15 minutes to invite the missionaries to attend Capstone 2 next month. I was feeling a bit disconnected and was a little uncertain how it would turn out. When I played the video by Elder Renlund with his promise of strength, peace, and healing, the Spirit really touched me and I was grateful to be able to share my testimony.