As Mark was scrolling through his Facebook, he wondered if there was more to life? It was even a chore to binge watch his favorite shows. His calloused hands shifted his phone to a different position, and he scrolled through a few meaningless posts until he found something.
He saw someone had posted a link to the Family Tree Mobile App. He remembered the cute brown-haired, green-eyed girl who had given a lesson a few Sundays ago with a challenge to get started on Family History (more about her later).
He remembered the challenge, and that in mind, Mark decided to follow the instructions, and downloaded the app. He didn't know how to login, but then remembered that it used his church universal login, the one he had gotten using his membership number when he used the tools app to look up a ward member's phone number.
His dark brow furrowed, and he squeezed his eyes closed in pain as he remembered the tragic events of months ago. He had gotten in an accident that left him in the hospital for a week. They hadn't expected him to live, but he did.
But his friend didn't. He was thrown through the windshield, and by the time the paramedics got there, he was gone.
A thousand ifs kept going through his brain, both day and night, and they only stopped with television. Until the lesson on Family History.
As he was pondering this, he felt something strange but good. It seemed like he felt his friend near. He couldn't explain it, but he knew his friend was happy where he was. Mark was still having a hard time, and he almost found his friend's happiness hard to believe, but he couldn't deny it. And these thoughts had originally started with that lesson about doing Family History.
He logged into the Green Family Tree Mobile app, and on the first page, saw that there weren't any people on his pedigree. But his mom had done a lot of work! Where was it? He had heard that Family Search can find more names than in the past, and could help you, but where were the ones already done?
He called his mom, and as he was talking to her, he imagined her smiling face and dark hair bobbing, as they always did when she spoke about something she loved. She told him he needed to put the names, birthdates, and birthplaces of his parents and grandparents, back to where he found one that had died, and it would pull in his tree from the main Family Search Tree.
About fifteen minutes after getting the information he needed from his mom, he had his family tree. He looked at some of his ancestors, saw that there were some stories there, and one of them had to do with his great-great grandfather, a tough but wounded man who had accidentally run over his sister with a farm tool, and killed her. His ancestor wrote in his journal that the gospel of Jesus Christ was the only thing that got him through it, and the only thing that helped him to feel forgiven.
Mark could not hold back the sobs. His rough hands wiped away some tears, but some fell on his grey levis. He still felt a bit like he couldn't be forgiven, but something changed a bit as he read this account by his ancestor. He wasn't alone, and there was something happening to him that made him feel like there was hope for him.
A half hour later, Mark picked up his phone again, wiped the tears from his dark brown eyes, and then remembered the lesson on Family History, something about the "ordinances ready" section. He tapped the 3 lines, and then went to the part that said "ordinances ready."
He chose endowment, and found that there were a few that pulled up there. There was one his mother had shared. He took the name and went to the temple where they printed it out for him before the session.
As he was there, he put his fingers through his dark hair, and sat his long frame into the seat. He felt a peace come over him, and though he loved being in the temple, he was still wondering if he was worthy to be there. Near the end of the session, he felt a quiet peace, and for a moment, it seemed like his self-imposed guilt was gone. Tears flowed down his freckled cheeks again.
And as the impression started to subside, there was another one. To open the app when he got home.
After looking peacefully at the chandelier and feeling the peace of the Celestial room, Mark finally prepared to leave, and there was purpose in his long-legged stride as he did.
At home, he hurriedly took the phone out of its case, opened up the app, and went to the "ancestors with tasks" to see what he could find. Now Mark was eventually able to use the "Ancestors with tasks" to find his relatives names to take to the temple, but I won't explain that now, since there are a couple of other posts that deal with how to use the app to find names, and most importantly, other posts that deal with the expanded definition of Family in the church and Family History. There are now millions more names than there used to be when "Aunt Edna" was compiling the Family History.
But back to Mark's story. Just know that Family History work becomes a big thing in Mark's life, almost as big as a certain cute brown-haired green-eyed girl who once taught him a lesson about Family History.
And his healing? That took time. A lifetime. But each time he found his ancestor's names, or went to the temple, he was one step closer to fully healing from the trauma of the past.
And their kids? Well, Mark and his wife did the one thing that, more than anything else, ensures kid's future activity in the church. More about that on this blogpost. And if you want more stories, there are a few more on this blog.
Discover your story on the Family Tree Mobile App, or on the Family Search Website. I testify that, as President Nelson has said about Family History, "We are engaged in the work of Almighty God. We are his covenant children. He can count on us."
Picture is the Provo Temple in Winter, Courtesy of the Media Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
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