An Apostolic Promise

Elder Melvin J. Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve taught about the guiding influence of our ancestors;

“There are thousands of them, hundreds of thousands and millions of them in the spirit world who long to receive this gospel and have been waiting hundreds of years for their deliverance. They are waiting on you; they are praying that the Lord will awaken your hearts in their interest. They know where their records are and I testify to you that the spirit and influence of your dead will guide those who are interested in finding those records. If there is anywhere on earth anything concerning them, you will find it. That is my promise to you.

 But you must begin to work. You must begin to inquire after your dead. And the spirit of your heart turning towards them will come upon you, and the way will be opened in a marvelous manner, and if there is a scrap of evidence concerning them upon the earth, you will find it. When we have done all that we can do ourselves, the Lord will come to our rescue…If we have done our best and have searched and have discovered all that is available, then the day will come when God will open and part the veil and the records…will be revealed.” 

(Bryant S Hinckley, Sermons and Missionary Services of Melvin J. Ballard pg, 230)

Temple Sealing Day~June 23, 1979

Sadly this is the only picture of this day.  What were we thinking.  The resolution is terrible but at least it captures the moment and the Afro!  Love you, Honey, just kidding (now that its gone!)  33 years ago.   Those kids have grown up!  Beautiful family memories of a long life together so far and eternity to go.

Lillie Minerva Briggs and Martin Allen Godfrey

John and Josephine Colberg

Grampa Ross' Grandparents from Sweden

Alma Nelson 1873-1918

Alma Nelson

The Reese Twins in the Roaring 20s

William and Wilma Reese age 9 or 10

Joseph and Josephine Reese age 4 or 5

This morning (insomniac early) I had awakened and was looking on my smart phone at some old email files.  There in a file I found a bunch of old photos, this one among them.  The little sweetheart holding the doll is my mother and this is the only photo that I have of her as a child that shows me what she looked like.  There are a few others in various degrees of deterioration but this one is nearly perfect for being almost 100 years old.  Oddly I do not remember ever seeing this photo before.  I think I must have put it in PAF years ago and Lowell, our son-in-law must have taken all  those off PAF and sent them to me in a big photo file.   Anyway I feel as though God send me a lovely and cherished gift this morning.

There are so many things I love about this photo.  The first is that each person in this photo is someone that is now deceased that I have known and loved very much when they were alive.  It is wonderful to see what they looked like as children. 

This picture is was taken at a critical time in their lives, it is either just shortly before or after their mother died in 1924.  Their mother Ella Evans Reese had nine children include these two sets of twins.  The fact that the mother and twins all survived is a miracle in itself when nearly all twin births include at least one breech baby.  All but the last child were born at home.  When little Ruby was born our grandmother went into the hospital, contracted a serious infection and died ten days later at 39.

This left all nice children, motherless and their father was a busy rancher.  Consequently they were passed from pillar to post and separated for several years in different households.  I do know that my mother and Uncle Joseph were kept together and I have no idea what happened to the other kids during those years.  I do know that it was very rough on my mom and her brother and not ideal in any way for them.

Eventually the kids had an old field hand named Ollie that came and stayed at their home and he was the best caregiver they ever had.  Their dad eventually remarried an old spinster that taught at the kids' school.  This also was not a happy time for the children either.  They were to address her as "Miss Moore."  Not a warm fuzzy for the children for sure.  This fact was apparently kept a secret from their father who thought he had found a solution to his problem.

My mom says she only remembers her own dear mother as she watched her casket being lowered into the ground as people threw dirt on it.  That simply breaks my heart and to now be able to have a little girl's face to go with that story makes it all the more poignant for me. 

Another thing I love about this picture is the fact that my mom is holding a pretty little doll in her arms.  Mom told me she did not ever remember having a toy in her entire life.  I am not sure that this is her doll but it is nonetheless wonderful to see her holding it.

The other thing I like about this picture is a chance to see a little part of where they lived.  It looks like the most God-forsaken place on earth.  Flat, ugly, dry and brown.  Even in a black and white photo you can see it is brown. And look at their little feet.  Only Aunt Wilma is wearing shoes.  We are planning a trip to South Dakota hopefully in the late spring of the year 2014.  We want to find their property and go there and visit some of the graves of people in the family who never made it out of Pierre, South Dakota alive.

I am so thankful for discovering this photo!  It is wonderful to be able to share it with our cousins and posterity.

The Eternal Influence of Good Fathers

I absolutely love this quote.  Think about how you are the result of the love of thousands.  As a lover of genealogy and family history I just adore this thought because it is so indicative of just how special every person is.  Not only are we each a child of our Heavenly Father who loves us completely, but our human family through out the ages has conceived each of us in love.

Today I have been thinking about all the fathers in my life.  There are many.  Of course my own father and Jim's father came immediately to mind, we miss them always and wish we could turn to them for guidance often.  And most especially, my husband who has been the most amazing father our children could have ever had.  From the moment we became acquainted with the fact that we were expecting our first child, he has been a supportive father.  Always there, always ready to reach out and give of himself.  He has been a spiritual leader in our family, always a teacher, a servant and always a good example.  He loves in a total way.  What child or wife could want for more than that?

We love and miss our grandfathers.  Jim's grandfather in many ways became my best-known, best-loved grandfather too.  We stood overlooking the graves of our family today.  Grampa Andrew, our fathers, and Jim's brother, Gary.  Wow! What dynamite men.  Each and every one of them good, really good fathers.  We feel that good part of them inside of us in a real way.

When I look at our pedigree charts and try to imagine each of our grandfathers going way back, I sense they were very good people.  I wish I could know them and feel we will one day.   Of course there is always the exception and none of them were perfect, even as we are not.  But still they were mostly good at heart.

As I have worked hard to learn about them I am blessed to instinctively know that.  Each of God's children has that spark of the divine, even when our human eyes may not readily see it.  We are all a composite of those who came before us.  Today I am feeling that like never before.  A family is a sacred heritage that goes on and on in each direction. We belong to each other.

I think of our brothers, Steve and Gary and Jim's brother...they are all good fathers.  Jim's brother died at 26 with only one child, but I see the effects of his goodness in his grandson, Thomas.  Who we are affects our posterity for generations.  I think of our uncles, all good men and fathers.  Our cousins, tremendous men that have contributed much to this world.  Our friends, each one a good father and raising or has raised remarkable young people.

I have witnessed how the ones who left us early in life are missed so terribly much by their families, like Bill, Larry, John, Sione, and most recently, Alan.  The mark a father leaves behind is tangible, precious and to be remembered.  Our sweet friends that are still here are all active, happy grandfathers and even some great-grandfathers.  They are 100% in for the durations with their families.  They live their children and grandchildren's joys and sorrows right along with them.  We love you.

This is such a joy to witness over generations.  Who says getting older is not so good, does not look around with eyes to see.  As we look at the exemplary families of our children's spouses, Melissa, Lowell and Robert we see their great parents whose goodness has visited itself upon our shared grandchildren.  That influence is huge, meaningful and a great blessing to us.

We are privileged to watch our sons, Chris and the two wonderful sons our daughters married.  They amaze me to the point that a hush falls over the room sometimes as I see them at work.  They have given all for their children and their families.  We truly are the result of the love of thousands.  How can that not bring unspeakable joy to us today?

We watched a wonderful young father say good-bye to his four day old son, as the baby returned back to heaven, just weeks ago. Through the strength of their little family and the baby's very supportive grandparents, many have been lifted up in faith and hope and love~forever changed.  We will love you forever, Chapmans.  We have been taught by your deep love and faith in our Father in Heaven.

Just a little while ago I spoke with my sister-in-law, Emily, to wish her a happy birthday today.  She told me of our nephew, Nicholas, and his wife, Mara and their first new baby, Quinn, just a few months old.  She told me of their complete devotion to their little one, barely having time for anything else in their lives, in the newness of it all.  And I realized another new Dad has been born, completely and totally devoted to his little girl.   And I see, my brother, my dad, our grandfathers, uncles and cousins.  They are all a part of that eternal influence that insures Quinn she belongs to something big and powerful and where she will always be loved and cherished....her family.

May we all have had a wonderful day of reflection upon all the fathers in our lives that have been the best they knew how to be and may we feel a special joy in knowing that they have touched us for the better through their love and inherent goodness.  Thank you to all our wonderful Dads related or otherwise!   And Thanks be to Our Heavenly Father for blessing us with all of you.

James with Jennifer 3 days old!

"If in John 14:2 the word "mansion" is replaced with the Hebrew word "bayit" - meaning "family" - we get a very different interpretation of what the Savior was saying to His disciples when He talked about "mansions" within His Father's house.  "In my Father's house are many families. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you (plural, meaning you and your family) ... that where I am, there ye many be also."  
 By Ryanna Ollivier~ Meridian Magazine 6/17/13