Family history means different things for different people. For some it invokes remembrances of youth in immediate family circles. For many in the United States, it involves immigration from distant lands. For some in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, it centers around stories of pioneers making their way with great sacrifice to travel through Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, and end up in Utah, where after a short time, many are asked to travel great distances to create new settlements from Canada to Mexico. I suggest that for most members of my church however, family history means a bunch of old people who think they are computer experts.
I recall "visiting" the family history library at our local meetinghouse in Southern California where some elderly people showed us how we could view census records or other types of data on a computer using a revolutionary new technology called CD-ROM. Admittedly, CD-ROMS were a revolutionary technology in the early 1990's... but not even the excitement of cutting edge technology could generate excitement over examining lists of names and dates.
Members of the church frequently refer to enthusiasm for Family History as the "spirit of Elijah", for reasons to be enumerated later in this post. For now, let me say that my father has the spirit of Elijah, and it does not seem to be strongly hereditary. My dad is able to speak at length about our pioneer roots including people of such LDS fame as Isaac Morley and Parley P. Pratt. My recalling those two names is about as far as I go. My dad has traced some lines back to William the Conqueror or even further back. To me, this means that filling out a chart four generations back is little more than busy work... it has already been done. It also means that actually coming across legitimately new work would require intense research only to attach myself to someone in the dark ages when record keeping for the most part was more of what we would call "guidelines" than actual "rules." Perhaps this contributes to my stand-offish nature with respect to Family History work. Whatever the reason, I ought to be better than I have been.
The background behind the attachment of many in the LDS faith to family history is something I can speak on with far greater confidence. The last two verses in the Old Testament say "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, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." (Malachi 4:5-6) Thus, when the hearts of children are impressed to discover the truth of their heritage, it may be said they have the "spirit of Elijah".
Elijah lived during the reign of King Ahab in the northern kingdom of Israel. Elijah is credited with acts of great power including sealing the heavens and preventing rain from falling for a great time, and then releasing the heavens. (1 Kings 18) He also called down fire from heaven on several occasions, both to burn an offering (1 Kings 18:37-38) and to destroy arrogant captains sent by Ahaziah, Ahab's son (2 Kings 1). He literally called on the power of heaven to affect earth.
Uniting events, people, or ordinances in heaven and on earth is a fundamental aspect to the power of God, that was undoubtedly lost when the apostles were killed, and priesthood lineage was destroyed. This is the purpose of Malachi's prophesy... that this binding power would need to be restored before the second coming of Jesus Christ. On April 3rd, 1836 in the Kirtland Temple, Elijah appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery (D&C 110: 13-16).
The purpose for this power in modern times is not to call down fire on our enemies as Elijah did. Jesus Christ will take care of that when he comes again. The main purpose is to cement or seal the most precious relationships between humans on earth such that they are permanent. One of these relationships is marriage. The other is the bond between parents and children. A fundamental portion of the importance of families in the LDS faith is that they need not be temporary. Husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, children: these titles have the potential to remain even when men cease to be presidents, rulers, or magistrates.
The importance of this power is manifested in the end of Malachi's prophecy: "lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." (Malachi 4:6) The angel Moroni quoted it slightly different but with the same effect "If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming." (D&C 2:3) When I was younger, this idea always confused me. I would wonder whether the Bible was telling me that unless I enjoyed searching through census data and obituaries, God intended to kill me. Why the apparent threat?
I have since realized that the passage does not contain a threat in any version. God sent Elijah to eliminate the threat. God was there in the beginning, and he made great promises to the posterity of Adam. He made promises to the sons of men after the flood, or the seed of Noah. He made great promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their posterity. The sons of Aaron had unique roles in the time of Moses. The problem is that how can anyone now be sure they are entitled to the same promises? Even though it is safe to say that we are descended from Adam and Noah... are those bonds lasting? Have the ties to our parents been sealed with the power of Elijah? If not, then are we orphans? Are we legitimate? Whose children are we?
This is the great purpose of Family History and Temple work in the fullness of times. God intends to come again and keep every covenant he has sworn to any man since the days of Eden. That means having a heavenly recognizable bond that unites the posterity of Adam and Eve today in an unbroken chain so that we may say in every sense of the concept that we are the children of God himself.
As the apostle Paul put it, "...ye are not more strangers or foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God." (Ephesians 2:19) Those in God's house that love him will be granted protection when he comes again to purge the earth of evil. He is warning everyone via his apostles and prophets so that his house is not empty when he returns. Christ is trying to save us.
I believe that family history is more than the elderly woman at the family history library asking if I need help with a computer. It is more than reading through census records till my eyesight blurs. It is more than naming a couple pioneer ancestors, or knowing that I am descended from the man that successfully invaded and conquered England. Family history connects people. It unites people from all over the world. It shows the everlasting value of the bonds we share with fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, husbands, and wives. It binds us to power that was here when the earth was young. It by learning that our family connections stretch back to the very beginning that we can better understand we are the children of God, and that our father has not forgotten us.
