Posts
No. 74
Note: You can do a Google search for "A Family History Mission James Tanner" to see all the previous posts in this ongoing series. You can also search for "James Tanner genealogy" and find them or click back through all the posts.
Shortly after arriving in the Washington, D.C. North Mission, the Washington, D.C. Temple closed for two years of reconstruction. We had one opportunity to attend the Temple before it closed. The next closest Temple is the new Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Temple. However, we are serving in Annapolis, Maryland and on a good day, the Washington, D.C. Temple was about 45 minutes to an hour away depending on freeway traffic. On a bad day, the trip could take two hours one way. Philadelphia is outside of our mission boundaries but a trip to Philadelphia, again depending on traffic, takes about two and half hours one way.
The reaction of the membership of the Spa Creek Branch (Spanish Speaking) was to set some target dates for trips to the Philadelphia Temple. First, the Relief Society sisters in the Branch organized a Saturday trip and then the Branch Presidency organized a trip for the entire branch. He asked us to help prepare the members by helping them find their own family names to take to the Temple. As I may have written before, we meet in the Annapolis Stake building and the Stake Family History Center is in our building. We help the members of the Branch find names to take to the Temple almost every Sunday during the Sunday School time period. Our Branch has a very small membership but so far this year their Family History Report shows an almost 100% increase in members submitting names for temple work. Currently, the Branch has 17.7% of the members submitting names for ordinances which is actually higher than many of the wards back in Provo for people who live less than an hour away from four operating temples.
The members are from Mexico, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Peru, Bolivia, and even the United States. The key factors in the increase in participation are the commitment of the Branch Presidency and Elders Quorum Presidency to support the family history effort. Both the Branch President and Elders Quorum President lead the way by finding their own names to take to the temple. Imagine the increase that could be experienced in a large, active ward with the same type of involvement.
Percentages are not what is most important. What is important is the fact that members are actively participating in providing the saving ordinances for their ancestral families and deceased relatives. This active participation helps to resolve many of the day-to-day issues with activity in the Branch. As the core of active members continues to grow, there is a greater chance that the new members, as they are baptized, will also stay active. It is a great blessing to see what concerned and dedicated leadership can do even in a small, struggling branch of the Church.
Shortly after arriving in the Washington, D.C. North Mission, the Washington, D.C. Temple closed for two years of reconstruction. We had one opportunity to attend the Temple before it closed. The next closest Temple is the new Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Temple. However, we are serving in Annapolis, Maryland and on a good day, the Washington, D.C. Temple was about 45 minutes to an hour away depending on freeway traffic. On a bad day, the trip could take two hours one way. Philadelphia is outside of our mission boundaries but a trip to Philadelphia, again depending on traffic, takes about two and half hours one way.
The reaction of the membership of the Spa Creek Branch (Spanish Speaking) was to set some target dates for trips to the Philadelphia Temple. First, the Relief Society sisters in the Branch organized a Saturday trip and then the Branch Presidency organized a trip for the entire branch. He asked us to help prepare the members by helping them find their own family names to take to the Temple. As I may have written before, we meet in the Annapolis Stake building and the Stake Family History Center is in our building. We help the members of the Branch find names to take to the Temple almost every Sunday during the Sunday School time period. Our Branch has a very small membership but so far this year their Family History Report shows an almost 100% increase in members submitting names for temple work. Currently, the Branch has 17.7% of the members submitting names for ordinances which is actually higher than many of the wards back in Provo for people who live less than an hour away from four operating temples.
The members are from Mexico, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Peru, Bolivia, and even the United States. The key factors in the increase in participation are the commitment of the Branch Presidency and Elders Quorum Presidency to support the family history effort. Both the Branch President and Elders Quorum President lead the way by finding their own names to take to the temple. Imagine the increase that could be experienced in a large, active ward with the same type of involvement.
Percentages are not what is most important. What is important is the fact that members are actively participating in providing the saving ordinances for their ancestral families and deceased relatives. This active participation helps to resolve many of the day-to-day issues with activity in the Branch. As the core of active members continues to grow, there is a greater chance that the new members, as they are baptized, will also stay active. It is a great blessing to see what concerned and dedicated leadership can do even in a small, struggling branch of the Church.
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