January 2021 - Zoom Meeting is coming up! We talk a little about it in our newsletter. Won't you read it and if you want to learn more how to do family history, just email us! naswfamilyhistory@gmail.com
In this issue, we focus on the new updates to the handbook which will be the subject of our Zoom this Saturday, setting goals, and beginning the new year solving research challenges! | ||||||||||||||||||||
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I0 ways to grow closer to the Lord through Family History The following are excerpts from an article on Family Search called 10 Ways to help your Family be closer to God
If you have any other questions, please email us at naswfamilyhistory@gmail.com How can I possibly grow closer to God by doing boring, monotonous research? | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Boring? Monotonous? Ah! Methinks you need a change of attitude. Let me help you set the scene in your mind. I'm an expert at attitude adjustments! Close your eyes for a moment. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Imagine yourself in a beam of light stepping onto your family cloud in a celestial place. It seems far away and yet close and personal at the same time. You see gates made of gold, open and the light emanating from within shines on beings walking towards you. The light shines on their backs in a way that makes them glow as if they have wings. The rays keep you from seeing their faces but you are sure that they know you... One reaches out and as she touches you, you feel instant love. It is so powerful that you start to tremble, not in fear, but in awe. She smiles and says, "Thank you! There was a mistake in the file and you stayed with it. You got what you needed to do my work. I've been waiting almost 300 years and you were the one that made it happen. I can never repay the debt." | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Her words touch your heart so much that tears literally fall from your eyes and without a sound, you are transformed. The feeling of overwhelming love and satisfaction fills your body and you realize that maybe it wasn't so boring and monotonous as you once thought. As a matter of fact, you are a little surprised that you ever had those thoughts go through your mind. We can't know exactly what is going to happen when we cross the veil. We can only hope that our work is acceptable to a loving God and grateful ancestors who have the opportunity to move forward because of our labors. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Researching Family History is so much more than just looking at records. It's thinking with your "whole heart" and opening the valve to celestial communication from beyond the veil. As you search, those spirits will attend to your soul. They will buoy your spirit when you become discouraged and they will cheer when you reap the benefits of your work. Remember that perseverance is a virtue. One meeting a few years ago in Salt Lake, a Family Search Manager said, ~"Anyone can print out thousands of cards and flood the system, but when you slow down a little, in a way that will help you really get to know your ancestor, the whole process will become more personal." ~ | ||||||||||||||||||||
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In your mind, you may visualize a relative as he signed the paper which would allow him to dedicate his life to his country during the war. Now you have his signature. As you read on the World War I document, the color of his eyes, his hair, his body type, and any frailties, which would obviously exclude him from the opportunity, you can't help but feel empathetic. There, on that one document, you can put the whole picture together. Not only do you see his physical attributes, but you see how he made a living (his occupation). You will see who his boss was and what he did for that company. You will also see if he was a son living with his parents, or if he was a husband and father at that special time in his life. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Finding these when you are doing research will give you courage to go on. Use tools that will help you go forward. So often, if you aren't using research tools to keep track of where you have been, you constantly circle around and click on the same file over and over again. Do you need some research files to help you? You can click below - something just might be the key to your moving forward with a new positive attitude of love for your ancestors. Basic Research Document https://1drv.ms/x/s!AjS2RGb0p-4Ppx4B_f6lL-aeHoEE?e=wt3zh9 Test document to determine which children belong to multiple mothers in a family tree. https://1drv.ms/x/s!AjS2RGb0p-4Ppxwi6n_vJWDdhIuQ?e=RsgJ0o This excel sheet will allow you to enter the family names and years of birth - it will then calculate each age of each family member for each census - making it easier to match the family to the census. https://1drv.ms/x/s!AjS2RGb0p-4Ppxoa_EpDRTLOcVBp?e=abrcSA | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Growing closer to God...when adversity strikes. Our message to you this month | ||||||||||||||||||||
No one has to tell you that 2020 has been probably the most challenging year of our lives. It's no secret that the adversary lies in wait for our faith to wane before he sidles up to our side to suggest another way...a way away from our beliefs. If ever you needed to grow closer to your Heavenly Father it is now. It is easy for me to pray for others, but I was raised in a different faith, and engrained in that psyche of mine is a voice that says it is selfish to pray for yourself. This is wrong. You need to pray to Heavenly Father for yourself as well as for others. He will work miracles in your life. You may not see the miracle as it is unfolding, but it will become self-evident. In September of this year, I had hip replacement surgery that went septic, leaving me without the ability to walk. When I finally started praying for answers, and for the Doctors to come up with a solution to cure the pain that kept me from healing, I heard the words from this scripture: In Proverbs 3:5–6, we read this counsel: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.“In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Focusing on this, I came to hear the spirit whisper that these moments would pass but that I would grow closer to my Heavenly Father if I trusted him. This past Sunday, after starting yet another round of antibiotics, was my first time to return to the church building for services. It was an emotional experience and it felt like I was home. The counselor in the Bishopric gave me a blessing. In that blessing, he paused and then said, "...that through this experience, I would grow closer to my Father." So this affliction has improved vastly and I can see a positive path to returning to normal. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but I have faith that if I lean not unto my own understanding and lean on the Lord, He will direct my path in all things. So our message is to listen to the spirit, especially when you are doing family history. Those spirits are actively trying to get your attention. They want to help you with your research. When you pray first before doing your work, you will be buoyed by angels who do not want to be forgotten and they will help direct you to the path to uncovering more opportunities for temple ordinances. . President Bonnie Cordon in 2017 gave a great talk about this subject, Lean not unto thine own understanding...I hope you will read it, think about it and start your New Year right! | ||||||||||||||||||||
JOIN OUR ZOOM MEETING THIS WEEK! | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Click to join on Saturday, January 9, 2020 You can enter up to 30 min before the meeting which will begin on Saturday at 5 PM ARIZONA TIME Ted and Karen Meyer, Multi-Stake Temple and Family History Consultants for the Arizona Scottsdale Coordinating Council are inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. At this meeting, we will be going through all of the changes in Handbook2 from December 2020. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7270583299?pwd=MGdXUEVSTjI1dUpiaXNVbndPUS9iZz09 Meeting ID: 727 058 3299 Passcode: 2ZNTFY ZOOM VIDEO WILL BE HERE ON JANUARY 9, 2021 IN THE EVENING HERE IS THE PRESENTATION - PLEASE COME SO WE CAN DISCUSS IT! Past Newsletters and Mail Chimp literature about what we do! | ||||||||||||||||||||
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