2014 Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith Family Reunion in Independence, Missouri

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The Valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman
The Valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman

Steve & Frances Orton
Joseph Sr. & Lucy Mack Smith Family Reunion Co-Chairs
Home: 801-226-6054, Fax: 801-452-6567
Steve: ortonio@digis.net, mobile: 801-787-8172
Frances: ortonfrances@gmail.com, mobile: 801-310-8686

Finding Out Your Key Family Values

http://ldsmag.com/article/1/13172#.UhuxcaQCXpw.email

By Dr. Craig R. Frogley

A researcher studied the Lucy Mack/Joseph Smith Sr. family to learn what their effective, family traits where.

This is the fourth article in a series on the trans-veil family. Though each article stands alone to some degree, none is complete without the others: 1) The Enabling Power and Ministering Angels ; 2) Family Reunions – Vital Whys ; 3) Family Reunions – Practical Hows .

We were gathered for some family fun. It was game time but, by design, the game, more than amuse, would change outlooks and perspectives of our family members. Each person was given a slip of paper to defend. On each slip was a word: lights, indoor-running-water, indoor bathroom, electricity, heater, stove, refrigerator, etc. All were then informed that there had been an earthquake and one of the items would be permanently lost. There was lively debate as each person defended his or her item. Once the successive disaster and ensuing discussions were finished and preferences had narrowed, only one item remained – electricity.

This process and discussion was followed with more slips: mother, father, bishop, uncles, aunts, cousins, brothers, sisters, etc. Then again with more: eyesight, hearing, touch, walking, use of arms, use of hands, etc.

Each round included the item, person, and finally the value left from the previous round. Without exception the preferred item or person became among the first to be eliminated with the introduction of new items, which became increasingly personal and value oriented. When we were done defending, agreeing, voting, etc. we had each clarified what was most important by imagining what life would be like without it as compared to others of life’s puzzle pieces. In reality, life’s experiences and adversities give us this same opportunity until we live according to what we value most.

So, what is a value? The Webster’s on-line dictionary includes:

…past participle of Latin valēre to be of worth, be strong.

7: something (as a principle or quality) intrinsically valuable or desirable…

What causes one thing to be valued or valuable and part of our lifestyle, and other, seemingly desirable things, unvalued? Some things are so valued that we are willing to change behavior or forego opportunities to adhere to them. Things that may seem of value to some are passed over by others as worthless, either by decision or ignorance. For example the principle of honesty would motivate one person to forego opportunities to personally profit, while another would gladly cheat, steal, etc. in order to gain. Is it perspective or training, tradition or understanding that gives things or principles their value?

The cheater, for example, might happily get paid more than something is worth, only later to find that he has lost a customer. He may find that he is always suspicious of others and consequently has created an internal culture of non-trust amongst his relations and contacts. Perhaps you want some benefits enjoyed by an acquaintance, but if you don’t see or understand the connection between the benefit and their beliefs and actions, you may be unwilling to discipline your own behavior (sacrifice other valued habits), and thus lose the desired benefit. If only you knew how to change a principle into a personal value, then it would become natural to you and the benefits would be yours for the long term.

One suggestion is to see the idea of “values” as a triangle:

I may understand the benefits of being honest to my self and the community but if I loved immediate profit more, and thought that I could get away with cheating or stealing, I would behave according to the profit value rather than the honesty value. Later when the thrill of acquisition was past and the need for trust became pressing, then being honest could eventually change the feeling component of my triangle sufficiently enough to generate honesty as a consistent personal value.

This has been called “Values Clarification” as in the afore-mentioned game. We often gain understanding, and thus learn to love a principle, in the study or practice of behavior consistent with the value. In the effort to impart values, it has been shown that values are better caught than taught.

This planting “family values” into young hearts becomes ever more challenging as the world gains direct access to budding appetites through media and technology. That so many would directly seek profits using any means that appeal to appetite stimulation, regardless of the moral side effects, creates significant opposition. Research has repeatedly shown that adopting key family values can dramatically assist families in this vital contest for the minds and hearts of the rising generations and protect our children from the critical generational consequences. Modern family science research has identified several key common values in successful, cohesive families that, like good trees, have been judged by their fruits.

Families differ on so many levels that determining the success of one family as compared to another can seem like comparing mangoes to kiwis. But even diverse fruits can be judged by their nutritional value rather than their appearance. Though parental failure and success might be difficult to measure, there are well-studied characteristics and values, common to happy productive (measures of success) parents, children, and ensuing posterity. However, rendering a “failure judgment” also assumes that all efforts to assist family members towards becoming productive in society have ended, and that progress, or any hope of it, has ceased. Parents have not failed until they have given up, so a historical study can give valuable insights since the effects over several succeeding generations may be available.

Since family influence is not over until all has ended, a study of the fruits of a multi-generational family from historical research could be most informative. This, especially since the family studied for this article, is the first family of the last dispensation—the Joseph and Lucy Mack Smith family. Thanks to gracious permission of Dr. Kyle R. Walker, I will extract the family values he has identified in his PhD thesis available here or here. He specifically targets numerous historical accounts of this effective nineteen-century family. His doctoral thesis is entitled in “A Family Process Analysis of a Nineteenth-Century Household”. Quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from this thesis.

From a well-established list of examined processes, characteristics and values, Dr. Walker highlights six inter-related categories that are easily identifiable within historical records and that don’t require an interview with the family to evaluate. These include cohesion (unity), conflict management (problem solving towards harmony), resiliency (ability to bounce back), religiosity (faith and works), family work, and family recreation (play, family together time, singing, discussion, etc.).

On closer examination some of these could be defined as values while others seem to be strategies/behaviors used to implement the values. Perhaps that is because these values are so intertwined in creating successful families in that the behavioral aspect of one value becomes a strategy for implementing another.

It can be said for example, that a cohesive family is one that manages conflict effectively and is resilient after crises, and thereby successful. Though cohesion is itself a value, one can ask what values fuel cohesion and provide reproducible results in other families?

Likewise, just as managing conflict and bouncing back are to be valued, they are also strategies towards cohesion. It can then be asked which management strategies are more measurably effective in both meeting stress and bouncing back from its culminating crises?

For example, Dr. Walker noted that those families that valued religion (internally and externally) managed conflict and were resilient to life’s crises more effectively than those who were not religious. So though religious belief is a value, it is also perhaps the “understanding-MIND” component (from the triangle) that persuades family members to sacrifice personal benefits towards resolving conflict because they are motivated by a link to higher causes (More on this later.) Likewise family unity (a value) was enhanced as the family worked and played together – both values that served as cohesive strategies that enabled unity.

Though not strategically incorporated by our early Smith family as a result of any schooling, these specific strategies can be seen today as applicable for parents seeking direction in the ongoing battle for family effectiveness. For our purposes, we will call them Smith Family Values – though they were hardly exclusive to them.

Can you give a more detailed description of each value and some practical examples of how to incorporate them into my family? Stay tuned….

Family Reunions – Practical Hows

http://ldsmag.com/article/1/13145

By Dr. Craig R. Frogley

Joseph Smith taught that the purpose of gathering the saints in any age was for the building of temples where certain values could be taught and shared.[i] Family reunions are part of that gathering process and serve as an opportunity to share key family values. (See the second article in this series.) But they can be lots of work. Where do I start?

These ideas are come, in part, from the Internet as suggestions that will trigger other helpful ideas. Other sites and books are also readily and easily available through a simple Google search. Here is a sample:

. Ask for other family members to help with planning activities and choosing the time and place. Get the word out – let others know you’re planning a family reunion event. Give family members plenty of notice. Usually one to two years advance notice will allow attendees to plan vacation time or make adjustments in scheduling. www.FamilyVacationCritic.com 






. Be certain to include teens on your committee and then include a good variety of activities with value-sharing potential.
 Include things that speak to all learning styles and the 5 senses: listening, speaking, seeing, doing, tasting, etc.

. Assign each member of your newly formed reunion committee a specific task, such as T-shirts and memorabilia, genealogy presentations including memorials and historic tours, entertainment, dining events, Reunion Book, entertainment, photography, etc.

. 3
Give each member written instruction regarding how to execute his or her task. Create a time line reminder. Make good use of Family Reunion Planner organizers that feature schedulers and time line reminders. Make use of Event Planning Software with editable worksheets and templates.

. 4
Schedule the next meeting one or two months away and follow up on all action items. Keep the lines of communication wide open.

. Hold each person responsible for their assignment.


Click here for family reunion ideas.

The question was asked in my first article, “So how do we maximize our reunion efforts as we gather our posterity, siblings, cousins, and even ancestors around us@f0” The answer lies in choosing from these options that will customize your reunion to the varied interests of your extended or immediate family while remembering the central opportunity you have and without which, the reunion will only be another attempt to compete with the professionals at entertaining. That central pillar, which is based upon the gathering principle, is the means, power and skill of sharing or establishing values; trans-generational family values.

“The building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God in every age… The heavenly Priesthood will unite with the earthly, to bring about those great purposes; and whilst we are thus united in one common cause, to roll forth the kingdom of God, the heavenly Priesthood are not idle spectators… a work that is destined to bring about the destruction of the powers of darkness, the renovation of the earth, the glory of God, and the salvation of the human family.”[ii]

“I believe they do have the privilege of looking down upon us just as the all-seeing eye of God beholds every part of His handiwork: For I believe that those who have been chosen in this dispensation and in former dispensations, to lay the foundation of God’s work in the midst, of the children of men, for their salvation and exaltation, will not be deprived in the spirit world from looking down upon the results of their own labors, efforts and mission assigned them by the wisdom and purpose of God, to help to redeem and to reclaim the children of the Father from their sins… I believe they are as deeply interested in our welfare today, if not with greater capacity, with far more interest behind the veil, than they were in the flesh. I believe they know more; I believe surely those who have passed beyond, can see more clearly through the veil back here to us than it is possible for us to see to them from our sphere of action. I believe we move and have our being in the presence of heavenly messengers and of heavenly beings. We are not separate from them. …those who have been faithful, who have gone beyond and are still engaged in the work …can see us better than we can see them; that they know us better than we know them. …I claim that we live in their presence; they see us; they are solicitous for our welfare; they love us now more than ever. For now they see the dangers that beset us; they can comprehend, better than ever before, the weaknesses that are liable to mislead us into dark and forbidden paths. They see the temptations and the evils that beset us in life and the proneness of mortal beings to yield to temptation and to wrong doing; hence their solicitude for us and their love for us and their desire for our well being must be greater than that which we feel for ourselves.”[iii]

“We must have revelation from them.”[iv]

OK, so, how do we share values across the trans-generational chasm? It just seems to grow wider and deeper with each new gadget, game, song, and movie? And which values work through the test of time? …Stay tuned!

[i] Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1976), 307–8.

[ii] TPJS 231-2

[iii] Joseph Fielding Smith; CR 4/1917

[iv] TPJS 338 See also the last article on Why

Family Reunions – Vital Whys and Practical Hows

http://ldsmag.com/article/1/13138

By Dr. Craig R. Frogley

“Are you going to the family reunion?”

“No, I don’t think so. I don’t know anyone. There are few there my age, they are mostly just old folks.”

So what do you say? How can families turn reunions into “get to” and not “have to” experiences?

How often should reunions be held and by whom?

From Dad’s point of view, what is the cost-benefit ratio, especially when it might involve traveling, motels, restaurants, etc.

From Mom’s place, is it worth fighting kids in small cars, trying to pack everything needed, dealing with strange places and people, etc.

These and other “how-to” questions can be addressed individually if the “why-to” question is answered first…”Where there is no vision, the people perish.”[1]

The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “…it is left for us to see, participate in and help to roll forward the Latter-day glory, “the dispensation of the fulness of times, when God will gather together all things that are in heaven, and all things that are upon the earth,” “even in one,” when 1) the Saints of God will be gathered in one from every nation, and kindred, and people, and tongue, when 2) the Jews will be gathered together into one, 3) the wicked will also be gathered together to be destroyed, as spoken of by the prophets; …a work that is destined to bring about the destruction of the powers of darkness, the renovation of the earth, the glory of God, and the salvation of the human family.”[2]

The implications of this vision, that family reunions are part of the great gathering of Israel, might include some “what ifs”. What if you knew that:

1.Your efforts, however much, were part of a great divine invitation, to you, to help finish the work of the sacred Atonement[3] and prepare your family for eternal bliss?

2.There are at least three different levels of family reunions, each with it’s own key purpose.

3.Active participation in family reunions is a means, in concert with other family history service, to influence your children even when they are out of your sight, at whatever age?

4.These reunions could be a key to learning and imparting shared eternal family values?

Let’s address these vision kinds of issues along with some very practical “whys” that stare us in the face:

1.Those who want money at any cost now have 24/7 access to our youth, their minds, their appetites, their money, etc. Like unsuspecting fish, our youth are subjected to lures more and more violent, degrading and addictive than ever before in history.

2.Though the family structure has been both historically and statistically proven to be the most functional base for a society to survive, it is under attack and in danger. Historically, in the rise and fall of past cultures, once the family disappeared or was weakened, the culture died.

3.Proven family values are caught rather than taught, explaining perhaps why grandparents seem to be so effective at sharing them because, not charged with discipline, they seek only companionship. With together time they tell stories, share memories, go places, etc. and in the process, values are shared and caught.

4.Large, busy vacation-resort-reunions with high entertainment allure aren’t always the most effective at bonding families or binding values. Grandfather/Grandmother reunions held frequently with all, small groups or one-on-one seem to bring these important benefits more effectively as a result of simple together-talk-time.

5.Both large and intimate reunions have vital but different functions. Small intimate grandfather/grandmother reunions allow for sharing true and tested family values, essential if we are to assist families during this destructive social climate. The purpose of the large, significant ancestor reunions should be to identify, and train on values that are true and tested as identified by the research of experts in family science and history.

6.We do not consciously realize the extent to which ministering angels affect our lives. President Joseph F. Smith said, “In like manner our fathers and mothers, brothers, sisters and friends who have passed away from this earth, having been faithful, and worthy to enjoy these rights and privileges, may have a mission given them to visit their relatives and friends upon the earth again, bringing from the divine Presence messages of love, of warning, or reproof and instruction, to those whom they had learned to love in the flesh.“ Many of us feel that we have had this experience. Their ministry has been and is an important part of the gospel. [4]

If these “whys” are sufficiently motivating to you then the “Hows” that follow will serve as a resource of possible details that will help in putting together a fun and powerful family reunion. …stay tuned!

______________________________
[1] Prov. 29:18

[2] Joseph Smith, Teachings of The Prophet Joseph Smith p231-2, (May 2, 1842.)

[3] Doctrine and Covenants 19:18-21; 2 Nephi 29:9; D&C 103:9-11

[4] President James E. Faust, CR Ens 5/06 Quotes JFS, Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. (1939), 436.

Digging in Nauvoo by ‘archaeologists’ of many faiths

http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/63851/Digging-in-Nauvoo-by-archaeologists-of-many-faiths.html

By Lucy Schouten
Church News staff writer
and Darlyn Britt Church News contributor

Published: Saturday, Aug. 17, 2013

NAUVOO, ILL.

People with varied religious backgrounds from all over the country made a “pioneer trek” to Nauvoo, Ill., to participate in the first excavation of “I Dig Nauvoo” throughout the month of June.

Teams of workers in the “I Dig Nauvoo” project scraped the earth with trowels in search of artifacts from the site of the small cabin where Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith once lived.

“It’s a wonderfully exciting time in the life of the site,” said Lachlan Mackay, great-great-great-grandson of Joseph Smith Jr. and director of historical sites for Community of Christ. “It’s been many years since we’ve had an active archaeology program in Nauvoo, so to see people excavating brings the research part of the story back to life again. I’m incredibly excited to see us working together for this common heritage.”

The “I Dig Nauvoo” project was organized by the Joseph Smith Sr. Family Association and sponsored by the Community of Christ. More than 400 volunteer archaeologists including Smith family descendants, Community of Christ members, LDS missionaries and Nauvoo Pageant volunteers worked together to uncover history and build unity. Locals and visitors to Nauvoo stopped by to help, and several Boy Scouts earned their archaeology merit badges.

The “I Dig Nauvoo” volunteers documented everything they found within the assigned 10-foot squares. More than 10,000 artifacts, including household dishes and objects and window glass were washed, cataloged and preserved. The team even uncovered several lines of cut stone, which revealed a man-made structure. They are hoping to uncover more of this in the future, but they have already found two of the stone piers that pioneers often used instead of foundations.

The dig site is directly across the street from the existing cabin known as “The Homestead” where Joseph Sr. and his wife, Lucy, also lived for a time. The Homestead was a bustling place, serving at times as the unofficial headquarters of the Church, a hospital and a place for travelers to stay. Robert Smith, a Samuel Smith descendant and project host, came to believe that the second cabin was built to give Father Smith peace and quiet so he could give patriarchal blessings.

Records indicate that, as the first patriarch of the Church, Joseph Smith Sr. gave at least 32 patriarchal blessings in Nauvoo. Some of these might have been performed at the dig site residence.

Scholars believe that the same cabin was also the place where Joseph Sr. pronounced blessings upon his posterity before he died. Joseph Sr. promised the Prophet, “You shall live to finish your work.” In response, Joseph cried out, “Oh father, shall I?”

To Hyrum, Father Smith said, “You shall have a season of peace so that you shall have sufficient rest to accomplish the work which God has given you.” He promised Samuel, “By your faithfulness you have brought many into the Church. The Lord has seen your faithfulness and you are blessed … but He has called you home to rest.”

Many diggers heard these stories and relished gaining new insights into both archeology and early Mormon history.

This was the first time Abby Slik, a high school senior and member of the Spring Creek 7th Ward, Springville Utah Spring Creek Stake, participated in a project like this. She and several neighbors made the 24-hour drive to Nauvoo to help dig. “My family lineage does not go back to the pioneers, but I felt close to them as I worked each day, discovering new pieces of history,” she said. “I would do this again in a heartbeat.”

Christian Moody, a young man from the Hobble Creek 11th Ward, Springville Utah Hobble Creek Stake, echoed her sentiments. “I’m so glad that I got the opportunity to become part of an archeological legacy,” he said. “I loved learning about the Church’s history and feeling the same spirit that the pioneers felt.”

Robert Smith, great-great-great-grandson of Samuel Smith and one of the hosts of the “I Dig Nauvoo” project, spent three weeks digging at the site. He noticed a feeling of kinship as the legacy of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith seemed to knit strangers together during their short time in Nauvoo. “I was impressed by the excitement of the volunteers whenever they found an artifact,” he said. “But more heartwarming was the fact that no matter their religious backgrounds, the participants were able to connect with Father and Mother Smith and share in the legacy of the Smith family.”

The Joseph Smith Sr. Family Association plans to organize a second dig May 26-June 27, 2014. Visitors to Nauvoo in the meantime can see the current progress at the dig site.

“I’m excited to take my family there and show them what I was a part of,” said James Johnson, a Springville, Utah, resident who called the dig an unforgettable experience. “It’s such a great feeling to be a part of restoring Nauvoo. I will never forget that experience as long as I live!”

Registration for the second dig begins Sept. 1, 2013 at www.idignauvoo.com.

lucy@deseretnews.com

Digging in Nauvoo by ‘archaeologists’ of many faiths

http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/63851/Digging-in-Nauvoo-by-archaeologists-of-many-faiths.html

By Lucy Schouten
Church News staff writer
and Darlyn Britt Church News contributor

Published: Saturday, Aug. 17, 2013

NAUVOO, ILL.

People with varied religious backgrounds from all over the country made a “pioneer trek” to Nauvoo, Ill., to participate in the first excavation of “I Dig Nauvoo” throughout the month of June.

Teams of workers in the “I Dig Nauvoo” project scraped the earth with trowels in search of artifacts from the site of the small cabin where Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith once lived.

“It’s a wonderfully exciting time in the life of the site,” said Lachlan Mackay, great-great-great-grandson of Joseph Smith Jr. and director of historical sites for Community of Christ. “It’s been many years since we’ve had an active archaeology program in Nauvoo, so to see people excavating brings the research part of the story back to life again. I’m incredibly excited to see us working together for this common heritage.”

The “I Dig Nauvoo” project was organized by the Joseph Smith Sr. Family Association and sponsored by the Community of Christ. More than 400 volunteer archaeologists including Smith family descendants, Community of Christ members, LDS missionaries and Nauvoo Pageant volunteers worked together to uncover history and build unity. Locals and visitors to Nauvoo stopped by to help, and several Boy Scouts earned their archaeology merit badges.

The “I Dig Nauvoo” volunteers documented everything they found within the assigned 10-foot squares. More than 10,000 artifacts, including household dishes and objects and window glass were washed, cataloged and preserved. The team even uncovered several lines of cut stone, which revealed a man-made structure. They are hoping to uncover more of this in the future, but they have already found two of the stone piers that pioneers often used instead of foundations.

The dig site is directly across the street from the existing cabin known as “The Homestead” where Joseph Sr. and his wife, Lucy, also lived for a time. The Homestead was a bustling place, serving at times as the unofficial headquarters of the Church, a hospital and a place for travelers to stay. Robert Smith, a Samuel Smith descendant and project host, came to believe that the second cabin was built to give Father Smith peace and quiet so he could give patriarchal blessings.

Records indicate that, as the first patriarch of the Church, Joseph Smith Sr. gave at least 32 patriarchal blessings in Nauvoo. Some of these might have been performed at the dig site residence.

Scholars believe that the same cabin was also the place where Joseph Sr. pronounced blessings upon his posterity before he died. Joseph Sr. promised the Prophet, “You shall live to finish your work.” In response, Joseph cried out, “Oh father, shall I?”

To Hyrum, Father Smith said, “You shall have a season of peace so that you shall have sufficient rest to accomplish the work which God has given you.” He promised Samuel, “By your faithfulness you have brought many into the Church. The Lord has seen your faithfulness and you are blessed … but He has called you home to rest.”

Many diggers heard these stories and relished gaining new insights into both archeology and early Mormon history.

This was the first time Abby Slik, a high school senior and member of the Spring Creek 7th Ward, Springville Utah Spring Creek Stake, participated in a project like this. She and several neighbors made the 24-hour drive to Nauvoo to help dig. “My family lineage does not go back to the pioneers, but I felt close to them as I worked each day, discovering new pieces of history,” she said. “I would do this again in a heartbeat.”

Christian Moody, a young man from the Hobble Creek 11th Ward, Springville Utah Hobble Creek Stake, echoed her sentiments. “I’m so glad that I got the opportunity to become part of an archeological legacy,” he said. “I loved learning about the Church’s history and feeling the same spirit that the pioneers felt.”

Robert Smith, great-great-great-grandson of Samuel Smith and one of the hosts of the “I Dig Nauvoo” project, spent three weeks digging at the site. He noticed a feeling of kinship as the legacy of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith seemed to knit strangers together during their short time in Nauvoo. “I was impressed by the excitement of the volunteers whenever they found an artifact,” he said. “But more heartwarming was the fact that no matter their religious backgrounds, the participants were able to connect with Father and Mother Smith and share in the legacy of the Smith family.”

The Joseph Smith Sr. Family Association plans to organize a second dig May 26-June 27, 2014. Visitors to Nauvoo in the meantime can see the current progress at the dig site.

“I’m excited to take my family there and show them what I was a part of,” said James Johnson, a Springville, Utah, resident who called the dig an unforgettable experience. “It’s such a great feeling to be a part of restoring Nauvoo. I will never forget that experience as long as I live!”

Registration for the second dig begins Sept. 1, 2013 at www.idignauvoo.com.

lucy@deseretnews.com

The Enabling Power and Ministering Angels

http://ldsmag.com/article/1/13102#.UgpVnechOIM.email

By Craig R. Frogley

In the wake of the Joseph Smith Sr. family reunion I was asked why do we do it. Why go to all that work to gather relatives from disparate parts of the globe that probably won’t see each other again in mortality? And, before the reunion I was asked why would I want to go to a reunion where I don’t know very many people, and we aren’t doing anything really amazing or fun. (Though this one was so full of both powerful content and varied enjoyment!) Indeed, family reunions can be difficult to both plan and attend. So, why? That “why” is a key to more than we can ever imagine without some prophetic guidance and is the same answer I gave as a teacher to busy university students who wondered why they should fit a family history class into their busy class schedule when their hair hadn’t yet turned white nor their teeth fallen out. Genealogy is a geriatric sport after all, right?

Elder Widstoe wrote,

“Whoever seeks to help those on the other side receives help in return in all the affairs of life… Help comes to us from the other side as we give help to those who have passed beyond the veil”[1]

Wouldn’t it be nice to have help “getting it all done…”, raising our children, understanding scripture, knowing where to live and what to do, enduring and learning from mortality’s trials and adversity, etc. Several years ago I asked my students at the institute to track and record what happened and when it happened during the semester as they started on their family history. At the end of the semester I asked them to both share and give permission for me to share their stories.

Brendon shared this simple comment at the end of the semester:

“I had returned from my mission only a few months before we studied about the power of family history. As with most missionaries, I had forgotten most academic things that I had learned before my mission. So I was playing catch-up. “Catch-up” for me, meant thousands of pages of reading. This was only complicated by a gross lack of time: work, school and family obligations among a host of other things, drained much of my time.

“Then we started the family history unit and I determined to try it for myself. I needed those blessing if I was to have any chance of getting everything done. So I started to do a little here and there. And, something cool began to happen. I found I had more time; lots of it. So I took advantage of it. I could read and learn faster. It was and is amazing. And it all happened by using a few minutes here and there.”

Now, I know the skeptic may say that to conclude a “cause and effect” with this is stretching things. But what if the incident of like experiences was multiplied many times even unto predictability…? Self-fulfilling prophecy or divine promises fulfilled? Perhaps personal experience is the only way to reach personal conviction as Kristen still testifies to this day. Here are excerpts from her submission so many years ago:

We were starting to learn the importance of genealogy and doing work for our kindred dead. It was the Monday before conference I remember…

That night I reached my breaking point with school and all of my responsibilities. I had 17 credit hours, was getting ready to apply for graduate school… was on the executive organizing committee for a huge weekend dance event, and had the most miserable time consuming physics class on the face of the planet. I was spending over 20 hours a week just on this class alone and had 2 jobs working 16 hours a week as well. I was so unhappy and didn’t think I could do it anymore. I poured my soul out to God that night and cried myself to sleep. I had never felt as tired, weary and overloaded at any other point in my life as I did this night.

The next morning I got up and went to school and was on my way to the library to work on my physics. … As I was walking to the Library, I had this nagging feeling to work on my genealogy letter and get it mailed off. I felt like my ancestors were bugging me to do it. After much inner debate I went and typed the letters and went to the bookstore post office and mailed them with just enough time to get to my next class.

I went throughout the day and things seemed to work out perfectly. I found help with my physics and was able to finish at 6 pm that night instead of the usual 10 or 11 pm. The next day I was guided to a study group for physics…. My life had suddenly gotten easier and I was understanding physics a lot better than I had the whole semester. I know it wasn’t coincidence… Since then I have needed to write more letters… when I resolved to do that and help my ancestors some more, my physics got a lot easier again… If we take interest in our relatives they will …help us. …Genealogy enables us to feel the Savior’s enabling power and I am so grateful for that…

Joseph Smith taught,

“We cannot be perfect without the fathers, &c. We must have revelation from them…”[2]

Now we don’t have an ancestor cult where we pray to ancestors. We have been instructed by the Savior to pray to the Father in the name of Christ. When we receive divine inspiration or revelation it comes through the Holy Spirit. But President Kimball taught,

“God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs.”[3]

Could that other person include an ancestor on the other side? If so, when they communicate, it is under divine direction and through the Holy Spirit. Remember,

“Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ.”[4]

Joseph also added,

“The spirits of the just … are not far from us, and know and understand our thoughts, feelings, and motions, and are often pained therewith.”[5]

Ok, I understand that one way in which our loving Heavenly Father helps us through our mortal lives is through the help we give each other. And this is perhaps what is meant in the life of Christ, as noted in scripture, that as we exalt others the very work itself exalts us,

“…he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace[6].

For, if you keep my commandments… you shall receive grace for grace.[7]

This is such a merciful, divine pattern that points to a participatory atonement where Christ includes us in His divine work of saving each other under his power and direction. But,what of enduring family reunions? We look again to the Prophet Joseph

“These men are in heaven, but their children are on the earth. Their bowels yearn over us…. Thus angels come down, combine together to gather their children…We cannot be made perfect without them, nor they without us… “[8]

This gathering is part of the greater gathering of Israel to which He invites us, one family at a time, accelerating as we near the coming of our Master Shepherd. So how do we maximize our reunion efforts as we gather our posterity, siblings, cousins, and even ancestors around us? …stay tuned!

Craig R. Frogley is currently retired from 34 years with the Church’s institute program, teaches for BYU continuing education, and maintains a limited practice as a chiropractic physician.

________________________________
[1] Elder John A. Widstoe 10/34 Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine

[2] Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 338

[3] Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball (2006), 82.

[4] 2 Nephi 32:3

[5] TPJS, p326 10/9/43

[6] Grace is: “divine favor”- Hebrew; “help”-Greek: “an enabling power”-Bible Dictionary

[7] DC 93:12, 20

[8] TPJS, p.159 7/2/39

Why Prophets Have Prayed for Joseph Smith’s Posterity

http://ldsmag.com/article/1/13095

By Scot and Maurine Proctor
Text is by Maurine Proctor. Photos by Scot Facer Proctor

In some ways the Lucy Mack/Joseph Smith Sr. reunion held this year the first weekend in August was like most of our family reunions—only super-sized. More than 1,000 people registered and joined together for three days. They came from 19 states as well as Canada, Australia and Romania. While they ate coleslaw and watermelon just like the rest of us at our reunions, they also took over “This is the Place” Heritage Park for a day and had reserved seating for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Spoken Word broadcast.

They almost reached the record for having the world’s biggest family reunion.

Their ancestors’ names—Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Lucy Mack Smith, Mary Fielding, Samuel Smith—live in us as Church members. We can feel them in our own belief DNA, a sort of resonance in our souls. Their stories reside in us, woven like a golden thread through our spiritual sensibilities.

For those who gathered at this reunion, however, the Smiths are actually in their DNA, and you can’t help looking longer at some faces that seem to resemble Joseph, catch a face shape or nose that seems familiar, see some leadership energy that reminds you of the prophet.

The prophet had pled for his family in these words:

“O God, let the residue of my father’s house…ever come up in remembrance before thee and stand virtuous and pure in thy presence, that thou mayest save them from the hand of the oppressor, and establish their feet upon the rock of ages, that they may have place in thy house and be saved in thy kingdom, even where God, and Christ is, and let all these things be as I have said, for Christ’s sake. Amen – Joseph Smith Jr.

As it turns out he had great reason for concern. When Joseph and Hyrum were martyred at Carthage and Brigham led the Latter-day Saints west, the family was splintered. A shattered Emma stayed behind with her children in a hostile environment, including her son Joseph Smith III. He later formed a new church, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Lucy Mack, now widowed and in precarious health, stayed with Emma. Samuel had died 33 days after the martyrdom from injuries sustained when he went to warn his brothers.

Joseph’s other male siblings had all died, except for William who had been excommunicated. His sisters stayed behind with their families.

Samuel’s widow, Levira Clark Smith came West in 1851. Don Carlos’s widow Agnes Coolbrith Smith came West and then went on to California. Hyrum’s widow, Mary Fielding Smith, came to Utah with his children.

Do you Remember Who You Are?

It was a scattered family, no longer united in religion or united with each other. Over time, many of them would forget their origins. They would forget who they were. If you asked some of them who Joseph Smith was, they had no idea of his significance.

Kenny Duke, a descendent of Catharine, Joseph Smith’s sister, said, “I never knew about Joseph Smith at all until my teenage years. One day my uncle, who was a bulldozer operator, asked, do you know who you are? Teenagers know everything, but I didn’t know how to answer that question. He was well-versed in the family. He was an official in the RLDS church. He was a pastor in the church in Carthage. He said, “I want to take you and introduce you to your relatives.”

For Kim Smith, a direct descendent of Joseph Smith, it was worse. She said, “Growing up in my dad’s family, I saw animosity. I didn’t know my cousins who lived 15 miles down the road. I couldn’t figure out why we were so separated on so many issues. My mom taught me about Christ, but this didn’t seem like Christ like love.”

Kim’s first acquaintance with Joseph and Emma Smith was seeing their pictures in her grandmother’s house and feeling uncommonly drawn to them—as if she knew them and loved them, but she didn’t know who they were. As she learned, she was also indoctrinated with misunderstandings and some outright lies about who Brigham Young was. She was taught that Brigham Young had plotted the murder of Joseph Smith, that he had conspired to render Emma destitute.

These were hard prejudices to overcome, ground into the heart of an impressionable youngster, even in the face of facts to the contrary. Yet, Kim, eager to heal her family, began to research the issues that separated them, where the splits and contention came from, and it became her desire to help them heal. She gained a testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was baptized.

Michael Kennedy, a third great grandson of Joseph Smith and the first one in the family to hold the Melchizedek priesthood, had never heard of Joseph, until one day in his little high school in Tonopah, Nevada, the teacher gave an assignment. They were supposed to write about someone in their family history.

Michael said, “Taking this assignment home I asked my father for some help. He told me there were three individuals he felt had something to do with American history in our family lines and named them off: ‘Orville and Wilber Wright, Jonathan Swift, and some ambiguous person by the name of Joseph Smith.’ I asked my dad who he was, and was informed, ‘He is the founder of the Mormons!’

His father left the room and came back with a big box and told Michael that everything he needed was in that box. “My father told me that he grew up never really knowing his family.”

For some of Joseph’s posterity, the loss of knowledge corresponded with distance. Some of Joseph Smith’s posterity moved to Australia, and 1/3 of his down line are there now.

Then, of course, there was a direct line of Smiths who led the RLDS church until 1995 when a non-descendent was appointed. The RLDS would change their name to the Community of Christ and begin to distance themselves from Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.

Joseph Fielding Smith’s Prayers

What do you do about a family so divided as Lucy Mack Smith and Joseph Smith Sr.’s family, especially in light of the paramount importance of eternal family in the teachings of their son Joseph@f0 Wouldn’t this in fact just make Joseph weep@f1 Where is the turning of the hearts to the fathers@f2 Where the idea of remembering@f3 Surely a mending and healing and a coming together was critical, especially as a debt of gratitude to this first family of the Restoration who had given so much.

Hyrum’s descendants were strong and numerous, numbering today near 30,000. Among them are prophets and apostles, including, President Joseph F. Smith, President Joseph Fielding Smith and Elder M. Russell Ballard. Because of the gospel, they have a strong sense of their heritage, a vibrant family association. Other siblings of Joseph have few descendents and Joseph and Emma have a posterity that numbers at about 1300.

It mattered to bring all of this posterity together again and teach them who they were and what Joseph Smith did, because it mattered to him. A binding together was part of the covenant, unity a necessity to build Zion.

It also mattered to someone else. Vivian Adams, granddaughter of the prophet Joseph Fielding Smith, remembers that he used to say, “’I pray every day that the descendents of the prophet will come into the Church.’ This was a constant theme on his mind.” She remember having a family home evening with him about it when she was as young as 16.

Line upon line, Joseph Fielding Smith’s prayers were answered, beginning with Gracia Jones. Like so many other of his posterity, Gracia did not know anything of her posterity.

“One time, when I was in grade school,” she said,” I brought home my history book. My mother was always interested in reading what we were studying in school. When she discovered a brief historical account of Joseph Smith having founded communities, and that he started a religious movement, she said to me, “Joseph Smith is your great-great grandfather, but don’t you ever tell anybody.”

Still, friends gave her a Book of Mormon, she read it, received a testimony of it, and didn’t realize she was doing anything unusual when she was baptized, the first of Joseph Smith’s posterity. When she came to Utah, it was arranged for her to meet Joseph Fielding Smith, and he burst into tears when he saw her.

He told her, “I have prayed all of my life for your family and I am so happy to see this day when I can see you and that you are a member of the church.” Gracia said, “He was very affectionate and very emotional. Sister Jessie Evans just enveloped me in her big hug.”

In 1969, Hugh B. Brown told her, “You have a great burden on your shoulders.” She was to begin gathering the names of Joseph Smith’s family.

A first reunion in Nauvoo was set for the descendents of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith for August of 1972. Gracia called relatives saying, “My grandmother is Coral Smith Horner, and I know that she is a cousin to your mother or your father. We’re beginning to gather names for a family reunion and I wonder if you’d be willing to help, and I’d just write as fast and furiously as possible to get their names and addresses down and we sent them invitations.”

It was agreed at that first family reunion that religion would not be discussed, “but we couldn’t help ourselves,” said Gracia. Still the overriding feeling was discovery of new cousins, of heritage that had been lost or disfigured, of slow awakening.

It was the beginning, and reunions were generally held every other year after that, usually in the Mid-west.

A Meeting Called by Elder Ballard

Then a turning point came in 1996. Elder Ballard called Smith family members who were members of the LDS Church to a meeting. Vivian Adams said, “When I walked into the room, I felt the spirit of family there. Elder Ballard explained, ‘I cannot go to my grave and face Joseph and Hyrum having done nothing for Joseph’s family, and I’m bringing you together to do this.’ He introduced the Church’s family history staff and said, ‘These people are going to train you how to find the descendents.’

Looking for descendancy involves additional and somewhat more complicated family history skills. For six months the family history staff trained and worked with this committee of Smiths (largely made up of Hyrum’s descendents) to find their family members. It was a job of dedication that involved several hours a week of commitment, and then ultimately meeting as a group once a month for years.

The night after Craig Frogley was called to chair the group he had a dream. He couldn’t sleep well that night and saw a forest focused on two trees. At the time he wasn’t familiar with the dreams that Joseph Smith Sr., had had, but he knew this was significant. He said, “The trees were remarkable, unusual trees. The wind was blowing, and as I looked at them I watched the branches of one of the trees in the wind begin to spread, and they reached out and began to grow with the rest of the trees until they became an umbrella with all these tree trunks underneath. “I didn’t understand the dream at the time I had it. It was just so vivid. During the morning hours as I lay there unable to go back to sleep, it distilled into my mind. We would be an umbrella that would support and spawn other Smith ancestor organizations, like the descendents of Joseph, to become strong and successful.”

Vivian Adams said, “The next year, we went to the temple in April and did the temple work for all of these people we had researched. This was one time in the Mt. Timpanogos temple when an entire session was full of Smith descendants from Samuel, Hyrum, and Joseph who were there to do the work for Joseph’s posterity.

“Our kids and our cousins were in various sealing rooms binding family. Even though Joseph wasn’t there physically, you could feel that he was there spiritually and we just had a remarkable time.’

Elder Ballard said, “We have done the temple work for all of Joseph’s posterity that we have found who are deceased. We will continue to do that. We will continue to bind his family to him as we find them, identify them, and can do the work for them.”

He said, “There’s been a great effort on the part of the Joseph Smith Jr. Association family to do that.They have gone out all over the country trying to seek out and find their cousins.”

Gracia Jones and her husband Ivor, for instance, have been actively about this for many years. They take their camper van across the states seeking out cousins. When they meet them, they stay and visit, bringing out pictures and stories these cousins have never heard before. Sometimes the visit of a day turns into a week. The first priority is just to find each other, but often more follows. Two hundred of Joseph’s posterity are now members of the Church.

Family organizations and reunions are important to help people understand who they are, but for the Smiths that is a special privilege and burden. Their mantra is “Calling all Smiths” and they want to find them all.

Frances Orton, president of the group said, “We have a responsibility to honor those who did so much for us before. When we come together, we’re trying to honor their memory by going out and living good lives.”

They want the rising generation who carry this heritage not to be carried off in the current of the world. To this end, the reunion was filled with heritage activities. Children who were learning a Zion’s Camp song and making swords out of water noodles. Two dressed up as Joseph and Hyrum singing together. They tell stories, show films, have lectures. Their coming together is not only to know each other but also to be educated. They have a website filled with activities for family home evenings to acquaint children with Joseph Smith.

This year Elder Ballard told them this story: “Joseph F. Smith had never visited Carthage until 1906. In 1906 he found himself in Nauvoo with Charles and Preston Nibley. Charles Nibley was one of Joseph F. Smith’s dearest friends. He was the presiding bishop of the church.

“In Nauvoo, Joseph F. said to Preston, “This is where my father lifted me up from the ground to the horse that he was on and kissed me when I was five. I stood here and watched him and my uncle Joseph, whom I adored, ride off to Carthage.

“When Joseph F. and the Nibleys went to Carthage Jail, they walked into the room where Joseph, Hyrum, John Taylor and Brother Richards were, The host who was showing them through the jail said this, “This stain on the floor is the blood of Hyrum Smith.”

Preston Nibley recorded that Joseph F. Smith went over and sat on the bed, put his hands over his face and wept, so much so the tears were bouncing off of the floor. The President said to Charlie, “Charlie, take me out of here. The greatest blood in this dispensation, perhaps in all dispensations, was split by our forefathers and given as a witness and a testimony of the restoration of the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Remarkable Reunions

The Smith reunions are remarkable. In 2011 they met in Kirtland and re-enacted the temple dedication. They had the children chip stones from the very quarry used to build the temple.

What’s more they are the caretakers of the pioneer cemetery in Nauvoo. They have planted trees at a Lucy Mack Smith pavilion. They have had each family member in attendance create a time capsule with their testimony and family feelings to be opened in ten years.

Last year, one segment of the family spearheaded an “I Dig Nauvoo” project. It was an archaeological project to uncover Lucy Mack and Joseph Smith Sr.’s log cabin in Nauvoo.

This year they sponsored the Joseph Smith Miracle 5K run to mark the 200th year since 7-year-old Joseph’s leg was saved by Dr. Nathan Smith, the only man in the nation who could have done that. (Read about the Miracle 5K Run here)

They’ve only just begun with their plans. Vivian Adams said they envision writing projects like gathering the Lucy Mack-Joseph Smith Sr. papers. They hope to do some restoration projects.

An Affirmation

It might have been easy for the Hyrum Smith family to have been vibrant and connected because they knew who they were. Yet instead, for the Smiths to go back a generation and seek out each other for a wider bonding from a family that had been shredded is truly remarkable. With that same devotion, they intend to teach their children.

Dan Adams affirmed at the reunion opening, “Remember who Joseph Smith and his family were and how tall they stood. They were a powerful, spiritual people. They knew who they were. They knew where they were going. They saw with an eye of faith. The terrible ordeals they lived through became a blessing of fortitude and courage that they would need later on in life. In the Restoration, they were the first family of faith.

“This family goes from Palmyra, to Kirtland, to Far West, to Nauvoo. They teach like nobody’s business. They bring people in by the tens of thousands. They have visions. They restore things. They change people’s lives. That’s who we are. That’s the Smith blood that flows through our veins, to see what other people can’t see, to stand up and testify, to restore things, and build things and show people what they can do in difficult troubled times.”

That’s quite a charge to a family.

When Mother Smith saw her two sons, Joseph and Hyrum, martyred, she cried out in a mother’s grief, “O God, why hast thou forsaken this family@f4” He hadn’t.