I'm
still not finished with this chapter, so I'm going to post this and continue
working on it tomorrow.
Miracles
and divine intersections continued regularly during the following two years. On
April 5, 2018, my sister in North Carolina found an entire family of our
ancestors when she followed up on a notification for Cornelia Driesprong (2nd cousin
of our grandma’s dad) that Family Search sent her daughter in February. The
temple closest to my sister was now closed for long-term renovations, so I
reserved the work for the Driesprong family. The next day, on April 6th, my mom
forwarded a notification to me that Family Search sent her back in March for
Jansje Cornelia Kruidenier (4th cousin of our grandma’s dad).
As I looked at her family members, I noticed that all of her mom’s temple work
had been completed in 1961, except for her being sealed to her parents. So
that's how I found her parents, Pieter van der Wel and Maria den Boer, who also
needed all of their work done. So I reserved the work for the Kruidenier family,
along with their grandparents. That meant I could do the baptism and
confirmation of a grandma at the same time as several of her granddaughters. I
printed out all of those cards and invited one of my walking friends to go with
me to begin the temple work for these families the next day on April 7th.
I
returned to the Provo Temple on April 12, 2018 to do the initiatories for these
female ancestors. After I arrived, I met a kind woman at the initiatory desk
who offered to help me complete half of them. Because of that, I also had time
to do one of the endowments, and I ended up sitting by that same kind woman
during the session. I looked her up later on Facebook and sent her a message.
We decided to meet at the Provo Temple again the following week, so we could
get to know each other better. I went a couple of hours early on April 19th to
wait in the baptistry for the male ordinances to be completed. Then I asked a
kind man to take those completed cards into the male dressing room, so the initiatories
could possibly be completed while I was in the endowment session. When my
friend arrived, we went to the cafeteria to visit while we ate lunch prior to
the endowment session. As I waited for her at a table, I noticed an older man
sitting in the corner of the cafeteria and I felt prompted to go over and talk
with him. I explained that seven of my male temple cards were in the men’s
dressing room and I wasn’t sure if the work was actually being done or not. He
understood my plight. Since he was almost finished with his meal, he would
check to see if they were completed. If they weren’t, he promised he would do
them for me. I was very grateful for his kindness. He came back a few minutes
later with the completed cards. He then surprised me by explaining that he
spent every day in the temple and completed three endowment sessions each day.
This was a Thursday and he said he could have those cards completed for me by
Saturday. I immediately jumped up and gave him a big hug, before I realized
that it may not have been appropriate. He laughed and said he would take a hug
like that anytime, just like he would from a granddaughter. I was overcome with
joy in that moment and felt extremely grateful for this obvious divine
intersection.
True
to his word, the endowments were completed by Saturday afternoon. As soon as
the notification appeared on Family Search, I gathered the other cards I had
been working on during the previous two weeks and drove to the temple to help
complete the sealings. President Freestone was the sealer that day, which made
the experience even more sacred. (Our families know each other and I didn’t
realize that he had become a sealer on the day before my birthday in February –
which is when this journey began for me. He and his wife now have a special
place in my heart). I briefly shared the experiences that brought me to that
session and he commented later on how contagious my enthusiasm was. Over the
following year, I occasionally asked Heavenly Father to bless that kind man who
helped to complete those seven male endowments for me. I wondered if our paths
would ever cross again, since he was there each day and my time at the temple
had increased. That time would come later.
I was asked to give a presentation
to the youth in our ward on the blessings of temple and family history work.
That presentation occurred on May 20, 2018 and I was grateful to have the
experiences of the previous month to share with them. I also used a Conference
talk by Dale G. Renlund as my theme. He explained, “When God directs us to do
one thing, He often has many purposes in mind. Family history and temple work
is not only for the dead but blesses the living as well…. We (can) identify our
own ancestors who died without receiving the ordinances of salvation. We can
perform the ordinances vicariously in temples, and our ancestors may choose to
accept the ordinances. We are also encouraged to help ward and stake
members with their family names. It is… amazing that, through family history and
temple work, we can help to redeem the dead. But as we participate in family
history and temple work today, we also lay claim to ‘healing’ blessings…. This
long list includes these blessings: increased understanding of the Savior and
His atoning sacrifice; increased influence of the Holy Ghost to feel
strength and direction for our own lives; increased faith, so that conversion
to the Savior becomes deep and abiding; …increased joy through an increased
ability to feel the love of the Lord; …increased love and appreciation for
ancestors and living relatives, so we no longer feel alone; …increased
protection from… the intensifying influence of the adversary; and increased
assistance to mend troubled, broken, or anxious hearts and make the wounded
whole. If you have prayed for any of these blessings, participate in family
history and temple work. As you do so, your prayers will be answered” (“Family History and Temple Work: Sealing and Healing,” Ensign,
May 2018).
He
continued, “When ordinances are performed on behalf of the deceased, God’s
children on earth are healed. No wonder President Russell M. Nelson, in
his first message as President of the Church, declared, ‘Your worship in the
temple and your service there for your ancestors will bless you with increased
personal revelation and peace and will fortify your commitment to stay on the
covenant path.’ An earlier prophet also foresaw blessings for both the living
and the dead. A heavenly messenger showed Ezekiel a vision of a temple
with water gushing out of it…. Two characteristics of the water are noteworthy.
First, …meaningful growth occurs going backward and forward through the
generations as sealing ordinances weld families together. Second, the river
renewed everything that it touched. The blessings of the temple likewise have a
stunning capacity to heal. Temple blessings can heal hearts and lives and
families” (“Family History and Temple Work: Sealing and Healing,” Ensign,
May 2018).
I
feel like the blessings of the temple have made every part of my life better.
It hasn’t solved all my problems, but it has given me strength to deal with
them better. Each time I complete the temple ordinances for an ancestor, I
believe they become another angel that can help strengthen me and my family
when life is difficult. Temple work is an amazing kind of service because
the people who have died can’t do this work themselves. So we are literally
helping Christ to save them. He has the power to do it all on His own, but he
allows us to help Him. I shared with the youth how the temple helps us grow up
in a more spiritual way. This scripture passage explains what I mean, “…Do thou
grant, Holy Father, that all those who shall worship in this house….may grow up
in thee, and receive a fulness of the Holy Ghost… and be prepared to obtain
every needful thing” (Doctrine and Covenants 109:14-15). Dale G.
Renlund concluded, “President Russell M. Nelson, however, cautioned: ‘We
can be inspired all day long about temple and family history experiences others
have had. But we must do something to actually experience the joy ourselves.’
He continued, ‘I invite you to prayerfully consider what kind of
sacrifice—preferably a sacrifice of time—you can make [to] do more temple and
family history work’” (“Family History and Temple Work: Sealing and Healing,” Ensign,
May 2018). I thought I wouldn’t ever be able to figure out how to do
family history work, but I’ve been so grateful that Heavenly Father
knew exactly what was needed and provided a way through these miraculous
experiences.
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