There are few worth while shows currently airing on the television but there is one that is bound to touch the hearts of all those who view it. This show is called "Who Do You Think You Are?" I have watched this show twice now and each time have wept together with the celebrities who are assisted to trace their family lines and to discover great truths about their ancestors. The second show I watched featured Kelly Clarkson, a very famous and successful singer. She was tracing her three times great grandfather, Isaiah Rose, who as a youngster survived the horrors of the American Civil War and its' infamous Andersonville Prison in Georgia and who later became a Republican Senator for Ohio and the champion of the 'temperance movement', introducing ultimately successful legislation allowing individual counties to enact local legislation banning the sale of liquor. The most interesting part of Kelly Clarkson's family history journey is that she considered this experience the best thing she has ever done. Considering the enormous successful career she has had in the music industry, this statement spoke volumes about a very well known scripture that came to my mind as she spoke: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers...." (Malachi 4:5,6)
On the evening of 21 September 1823, angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith and informed him of important events soon to transpire on the earth. He also told him that Elijah would come. He spoke of 'promises made to the fathers' (JS-H 1:39) in ancient times which would assist in turning the hearts of the children to their fathers. Elijah did come, he came to the Kirtland Temple on 3 April 1836 and brought with him the priesthood keys which were the sealing powers of the Melchizedek Priesthood, the means whereby that which is bound and sealed on earth is also bound and sealed in heavens (D&C 110:13-16).
It is very interesting to me that the scripture which speaks of Elijah's return and mission in Malachi concludes the Old Testament and that this lesson falls to be taught in Church at Christmas time, the time of year when our hearts are turned to our families. We think of Christmas as 'family time' and go to great lengths to get together with our families, some travelling great distances to do so. It seems we make every effort to reach out to each other at this time of the year, to eat together, to play together, to renew our bonds, to rejoice. I wonder how many of us, however, have sent our thoughts to family members that have come and gone, that are very little known to us, if at all, family members that are languishing in the spirit world awaiting deliverance made possible only by us, who have the keys and the priesthood power to open the doors of their prison, to bring them salvation, to offer them hope of redemption and eternal life. How many of them feel forgotten and uninvited, if only in spirit, to our tables bulging with Christmas fare, not feeling a part of our family togetherness? How many are waiting with bated breath for our next temple visit or our next 15 minutes of glancing at our family history? How many are hoping against all hope that we will retrieve from the deep recesses of our minds the promises we have made to one another before this world began, that we will not forget each other, that we will do all that is in our power to bring each other back home?
At this Christmas time, should we not make a promise to come to know those who have paved the path before us, who have made us what we are and brought us to this mortal journey? Should we not commit to come to know them and to liberate them from their prisons of longing to belong to the throng of God? Should we not work our hardest to bring us together as families and ultimately unite us as the human family and children of God? This is God's work and this is His glory, this is the plan of salvation. The Saviour has made all this possible. He has not left us subject to the sting of death but has redeemed us both body and soul through one amazing selfless act. Will we honour Him and His birth as we remember our loved ones who are yet to enfold us into their embrace for making available to them the greatest gift of all, the gift of eternal life.
No comments:
Post a Comment