Since October 2013, I have been submerged in doing Family History work. Adding photos and documents is really fun and helps tell the about the individual.  Finding Family Names to take to the Temple is just plain satisfying!     The most difficult part was finding ancestors, because the DIRECT LINE has been covered by so many people.  But the instructions from Salt Lake are now to "Find Your Cousins".  This means checking the children, grandchildren, spouses, and anyone else attached to your pedigree.

Doing this by hand can be a cumbersome task!  It takes long hours and you can easily lose your place.  I was taught a pattern for doing this in February; and it made a lot of difference.  Now I could find cousins in an orderly manner and not loose my place.  However, it still took many hours of time to just find! Then I had to do the research aspect, in order to make sure that each person was listed with the correct parents, siblings, spouse and children.

Last week I was talking with my son, who is Bishop in Idaho.  I was talking about how many family names we had and if he wanted some to do.  He told me that he had called a new Family History Consultant, who was teaching the ward members how to do what I was doing.  Then he told me about Pandora's Hope Chest and how this was one of the tools the new FH Consultant was using.  He blew me away when he said that the new FH Consultant was my 9 year old grandson!

Of course, I went and added the program to my browser (only for Chrome) and started it running!  It took hours to run and I ended up with over 1800 names in the Hope Chest!  I have been working to verify and prove the individuals, so we can reserve ordinances till needed.

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO PROVE THE INDIVIDUALS!!

I can't stress this enough!  So many times, people wee a green arrow and take it straight to the temple.  NO!!  You need to make sure you have the person as accurate as possible; linked to the right parents; married to the right spouse; that the children listed for them are really their children.... and the list goes on.

I can't tell you how many times I have found a female listed as a male, or a son married to his mother or grandmother because the names were the same.  Doing work for someone who is listed wrong, or has already had ordinances done, is wasting time.  Take a few minutes to find those who REALLY need work done.  It takes less time to verify than to do the work for them.  Maybe that means that one day when you would be going to the temple, you work at your computer instead.  It all is part of the process. 

There is no temple work to do without doing the research and verification first!

It's been a while since I posted!!  Since a great part of my life is spent doing family history,  thought I'd share this story with you.  I found it on Facebook and don't know if it is completely true or not.  But it nicely illustrates the fact that you can look at things any way you choose to; just be sure you have ALL the facts before you make any judgements! 

"Judy Walkman, a professional genealogy researcher in southern California , was doing some personal work on her own family tree. She discovered that Senator Harry Reid's great-great uncle, Remus Reid, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. Both Judy and Harry Reid share this common ancestor.

The only known photograph of Remus shows him standing on the gallows in Montana territory.

On the back of the picture Judy obtained during her research is this inscription: 'Remus Reid, horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison 1885, escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged in 1889.'
So Judy recently e-mailed Senator Harry Reid for information about their great-great uncle.

Believe it or not, Harry Reid's staff sent back the following biographical sketch for her genealogy research:

"Remus Reid was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory . His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to government service, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed."

Now THAT’s how it’s done, Folks!
That’s real Political Spin!!"

Armrest Cover Pattern

The armrests on my computer chair have become uncomfortable!

I was sitting there and kept moving my arm and trying to find a way to get comfortable when I realized that I could easily fix it.  I crochet!!! This is the result.

3 oz. soft chunky yarn (weight 5)

L hook

4  3x1/8 inch rubber bands

Chain 25

SC in each CH across, CH 1 (24 stitches)

Turn, repeat until you have 13-14 rows, do not fasten off.  Should measure 12 ½ inches by 6 inches.

Hold two rubber bands together and SC over them using LONG stitches and catch every 3^rd stitch all the way around.  Stretch it out after you are finished (before you cut) to make sure it will stretch far enough to go over the armrest.  This is why you use long stitches.  If it is too tight to fit easily and comfortably, rip it out and do it again. 

Fasten off and weave in ends.  

You are free to use the pattern but not to sell it or market it in any way.  You may sell the products you make from this pattern.

My daughter is beautiful.  Enjoy!

I sure miss them!

I have just finished watching inspired leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints speak to the world. There has been 8 wonderful hours of these talks in the last 2 days. Along with the words, there have been songs of joy and gladness to aid in taking the teachings directly into my heart. I love to listen to General Conference and always it ends with so much spirituality overflowing my heart.

These are the times that I miss my Uncle Stan and Aunt Madge Roberts! I miss them after conference like at no other time. Let me tell you why.

Sunday night after conference ended, they invited their children and grandchildren old enough to express their feelings (and any other odd bits of family that happened to be in the area), over to their home. The first time I went, I had no idea what to expect. What I found made my soul sing. People came in all states of dress—from Sunday best to lounging pajamas- it didn’t matter. All were welcomed with a warm smile and a warmer hug. We gathered in their largest room with some extra chairs set up to help fit everyone, but even then, a few always ended up sitting on the floor. It never worked that all of those invited could be there, but it was always full.

Someone was asked to say a prayer to open this simple, but most important, family gathering. Then Uncle Stan would begin by reminding us that we had just been blessed to listen to a Prophet of God and other inspired leaders. He then shared one or two of the things that he heard and felt the strongest feelings about. Then Aunt Madge would share one or two of the things that she felt were most important to her.

After they had set the example, we went around the room, one by one, and each was invited to share feelings if they desired to. Some did and some passed. No judgment was ever made on anyone. Some were touched by a story, some by a song; some found answers they had been looking for. A few times there were tears, occasionally someone was too emotional to speak and would just pass. There were times that got uncomfortable, some that were too emotional, but no one was stopped or directed or questioned. It was just a family sharing feelings. As it should be!

By the end of the time, everyone had had an opportunity to share feelings and insight. All of those there had been given the opportunity to share the spiritual feelings they had been having from listening to the Prophet of God. Each family member was able to hear what was important to every other family member there. All of them, young and old, knew that their feelings about spiritual things were important to express and that others wanted to hear them. No one had to prepare a talk, or make notes or stand up in front of the church. It was only a place to share those overflowing spiritual blessings that strengthen testimonies when shared and heard.

I have never seen another family do this kind of sharing of spiritual feelings. But the focus on listening to the leaders of the church, and then being able to share what your feeling were about the things said, is one of the most powerful teaching times for a family. No one was pressured, no one was assigned, no one was overlooked, and everyone was loved! Combining the Lord’s Living Prophet, the Family, and Testimonies, large and small—what better way to teach what is important.

After a closing prayer we were all eager to get to the dessert that Aunt Madge had ready for us. All family gatherings need to have food, don’t you think?

I sure miss Uncle Stan and Aunt Madge.

Heleman's Army

I learned the scripture story about the 2000 stripling warriors when I was very young and have always been impressed by it.   Sometimes it helps us to have a better understanding of the scriptures when we apply them to our lives now.

I came across this and found it so impressive!  To see how long it takes to view 2000 young men is amazing.  

The video of the Bountiful Handcart Days 2012 Parade of these young men below.

10,340,879

To learn about Indexing and how to participate go to indexing.familysearch.org

We are indexing worldwide records to make them available FREE ONLINE to those who are seraching for their Family History.

History is a wonderful thing, especially when you get to be part of it! 
     FamilySearchIndexing set a goal to index and arbitrate 5 million names in 24 hours.  This was a worldwide goal and anyone was invited to participate.  Here in Arizona, it started at 5 pm on July 1, 2012
     Dear Daughter and I both paricipated and we watched Facebook for updated during the 24 hours.  We hit the 5 million names with about 5or 6 hours left to go.  Then the numbers just started to climb so fast!!  I had to check Facebook every hour for the next update.

This morning they gave us the total:
        Final Record Count:

        ■7,258,151 Indexed
        ■3,082,728 Arbitrated
        ■10,340,879 Total
            (46,091 indexers and arbitrators paticipating)

      It is such a great feeling to know I participated in this and helped set a historical marker!  They even created a trophy for us to print or share.