Temple and Family History Promised Blessings

 

Temple and Family History Promised Blessings

This video is a wonderful summary of the promised blessings of both work in the Temples and doing family history research. See also The Purpose of Temple and Family History Work.

First Presidency announces Salt Lake Temple changes

 

Quoting from a Church News article entitled, "First Presidency announces Salt Lake Temple changes — increasing capacity, impacting live sessions; Manti temple next for renovation." dated 12 March 2021, 

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Friday morning modifications to the ongoing renovation of the Salt Lake Temple, as well as a planned upgrade of the Manti Utah Temple.

The modifications for the Salt Lake Temple include adding a second baptistry and additional instruction and sealing rooms — increasing capacity for the sacred building which was originally dedicated in 1893. The temple cafeteria will be discontinued.

The Manti temple will join the Salt Lake Temple and the St. George Utah Temple as the third pioneer-era temple dating back to the late 19th century to undergo renovations. Plans and a starting date for the renovation will be announced later this year. 

The modifications to the Salt Lake City, Utah Temple are further explained as follows:

While seismic protection is the primary reason for the renovation, the Church also is taking the opportunity to make other improvements and changes, according to leaders.

Recent modifications include the addition of two instruction rooms, more sealing ordinance rooms and a second baptistry, which allow for greater capacity and more temple ordinances being performed; leaders anticipate with the changes the temple will be able to accommodate more than double the usual number of patrons.

When the renovation is completed, the temple will have a total of five instruction rooms, each with a capacity for 150 people. Four instruction rooms will be located on the temple’s first floor, with the fifth on the second floor.

The addition of 10 new sealing rooms brings the total number to 23, with varying capacities of up to 75 individuals.

We haven't been up to Salt Lake City for a while due to the pandemic but we are really interested in seeing the new changes to the Salt Lake City, Utah Temple once the open house is announced.  

Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ condemn ‘violence and lawless behavior’

 

Quoting from the Deseret News article of January 15, 2021:

The two senior leadership bodies of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, headquartered in Salt Lake City, issued the following statement on Friday afternoon.

Here is the full statement from the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who direct the affairs of the global, 16.5-million member church:

“Principles of government that allow God’s children to maintain human dignity and freedom belong to all mankind (see Doctrine and Covenants 98:5).

“With great concern we observe the political and cultural divisions in the United States and around the world. We condemn violence and lawless behavior, including the recent violence in Washington, D.C., and any suggestion of further violence. While The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is neutral in matters of party politics, we remind our members — whatever their individual political views — to be united in our commitment to the Savior, Jesus Christ, and His teachings. As His followers, we should treat one another and all of God’s children with respect, dignity and love. No political or other affiliation should supersede that covenant and sacred responsibility.

“We urge all people to remember the precious and fragile nature of freedom and peace. As citizens of the United States look ahead to the inauguration of a new president, we urge our members to honor democratic institutions and processes, and to obey, honor and sustain the law (see Articles of Faith 1:12).”

I found it interesting to see the comments on the published account. The comments included those agreeing with the statement and those who claimed that there was no problem or that the statement should have been made at some other time. One theme of the comments was conspiracy theories. One notable comment claimed that "no one in his stake believed any conspiracy theories." I am sure he is wrong. I have found many of my friends and neighbors who are caught up in one conspiracy theory or another. 

The General Handbook of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Section 38.8.45 clearly states the following:

Seeking Information from Reliable Sources

In today’s world, information is easy to access and share. This can be a great blessing for those seeking to be educated and informed. However, many sources of information are unreliable and do not edify. Some sources seek to promote anger, contention, fear, or baseless conspiracy theories (see 3 Nephi 11:30; Mosiah 2:32). Therefore, it is important that Church members be wise as they seek truth.

Members of the Church should seek out and share only credible, reliable, and factual sources of information. They should avoid sources that are speculative or founded on rumor. The guidance of the Holy Ghost, along with careful study, can help members discern between truth and error (see Doctrine and Covenants 11:12; 45:57). In matters of doctrine and Church policy, the authoritative sources are the scriptures, the teachings of the living prophets, and the General Handbook.

 

The number of indexed records on FamilySearch.org grows every week

 

New Free Historical Records on FamilySearch: Week of 4 January 2021

Unless you have enabled notifications in your FamilySearch.org Settings, You may not be getting the emails weekly about the newly indexed records being added to FamilySearch.org. Here is a screenshot of the Notifications page. 

If you begin to realize how many newly indexed names are regularly added, you should also realize that watching the new record hints added to your file would be a good idea. It is also a good idea to go back periodically and search on some of the people who have no sources to see if new records have been added that may not yet show up as record hints. 

The FamilySearch.org website is constantly changing.