The Savior gave the multitude some remarkable promises and prophesied about the future of His covenant people—and that includes you. As President Russell M. Nelson said: "We are among the covenant people of the Lord. Ours is the privilege to participate personally in the fulfillment of these promises. What an exciting time to live!" The Gathering of Scattered Israel, Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2006, 79).
"I invite the young people of the Church to learn about and experience the Spirit of Elijah. I encourage you to study, to search out your ancestors, and to prepare yourselves to perform proxy baptisms in the house of the Lord for your kindred dead (see D&C 124:28–36). And I urge you to help other people identify their family histories.
As you respond in faith to this invitation, your hearts shall turn to the fathers. The promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be implanted in your hearts. Your patriarchal blessing, with its declaration of lineage, will link you to these fathers and be more meaningful to you. Your love and gratitude for your ancestors will increase. Your testimony of and conversion to the Savior will become deep and abiding. And I promise you will be protected against the intensifying influence of the adversary. As you participate in and love this holy work, you will be safeguarded in your youth and throughout your lives.
Parents and leaders, please help your children and youth to learn about and experience the Spirit of Elijah." David A. Bednar, The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn
Another idea is to record living relatives as you do "The Year I was Born" activity. The stories that are often told highlight how different life is now from earlier years. Try putting in the year of an ancestor, or the year you were the same age as one of your children to talk about what life was like. You can record these stories as they are told using the Memories app audio feature.
The Savior wants me to search the words of the prophets.
From Come, Follow Me :
Jesus's words and actions throughout these chapters reveal how He feels about the scriptures.
The words of our prophet are scripture (see Scriptures). President Nelson said the following about preparing for the second coming:
"I invite you prayerfully to consider what kind of sacrifice, and preferably a sacrifice of time, you can make to do more family history and temple work ..."
Read or watch the full talk "A Sacrifice of Time" here.
In October 2018 General Conference, President Nelson spoke during the women's session about their role in gathering Israel. In 2016 he addressed millennials: "Spend more time—much more time—in places where the Spirit is present. That means more time with friends who are seeking to have the Spirit with them. Spend more time on your knees in prayer, more time in the scriptures, more time in family history work, more time in the temple. I promise you that as you consistently give the Lord a generous portion of your time, He will multiply the remainder." Becoming True Millennials (see also this article).
President Nelson also invited the youth to gather Israel on both sides of the veil to prepare for the second coming of the Lord (see a short video segment here). "Are you willing to enlist in the youth battalion of the Lord to help gather Israel?"
"Anytime you do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—take a step toward making covenants with God and receiving their essential baptismal and temple ordinances, you are helping to gather Israel. It is as simple as that. As you pray about this sacrifice of time, you will be guided to know both what you can give up that week and what you can do instead to help gather Israel." Hope of Israel, Worldwide Youth Devotional—June 3, 2018
Temple and Family History Challenge
See Sister Nelson's Temple and Family History 21-Day Challenge to help you make a sacrifice of time and get in the habit of enjoying temple and family history work daily. See more in Week #38. Make some goals and have fun! (Click the picture below to enlarge it.)
The work of turning hearts to the fathers—temple and family history work—is well underway. What experiences have you had that helped turn your heart to your ancestors?
Check out the FamilySearch Activities (access more activities when you sign in to your FamilySearch account). Click on the links below to explore ways to get to know your ancestors - to turn your heart and the hearts of your family members (and others) to them.
How will you help your family members turn their hearts to their fathers? Maybe you could assign family members to learn about one of your ancestors and share with the rest of the family what they learn (see FamilySearch.org). Or you could work together to find an ancestor who needs temple ordinances and plan a temple trip to perform those ordinances.
Discover Family Information
In the video below, several cousins work together to discover information about their great-grandparents. This is a fun activity that can be repeated for any ancestors or living relatives!
If the Savior were to examine the records our family has kept, what questions might He ask us? Are there any important events or spiritual experiences that we should record? Now might be a good time to create or add to a family record and counsel together about what to include. Younger family members might enjoy decorating your record with photographs or drawings. Why is it important to record our family's spiritual experiences?
Like Book of Mormon prophets, we also have a responsibility to record and preserve our sacred experiences, both for ourselves and for future generations [who will] surely want to know what it has been like to live in the "eleventh hour" before Christ's second coming (Doctrine and Covenants 33:3). Read more in this Book of Mormon Central article.
Recording Spiritual Experiences in a Family Journal
Recording spiritual experiences in a family journal can be a benefit and blessing to your current family and generations to come. Read more here and find more practical suggestions and links in this blog post.
Recording Personal Spiritual Experiences
In addition to recording your family's spiritual experiences, remember the promises for recording your personal spiritual experiences.
See this form for an outline to think about as you record your spiritual experiences. Consider audio-recording as well. Find instructions, links, and ideas in this blog post from The Family History Guide.
President Henry B. Eyring has encouraged church members "to find ways to recognize and remember God's kindness. It will build our testimonies. . . . You and they [your family members] will be blessed as you remember what the Lord has done." O Remember, Remember, Henry B. Eyring, General Conference October 2007
You might want to consider creating a collection of the spiritual experiences of your family members that they would like to share. This makes a beautiful gift for parents and grandparents.
Your Personal History
One idea is to write (or audio-record) one story about your life as you study each Come, Follow Me lesson.
Describe how a spiritual experience from an ancestor strengthens you.
How have the words of the Book of Mormon prophets shown you how and why to keep records?
