This is a General Conference Odyssey post for the Sunday afternoon session of the October 2006 General Conference.
Over the years, I’ve helped several people organize and research their family history on FamilySearch. It takes a little bit of effort to input the living people in order to connect them to the deceased people in the World-Wide Family Tree, which is what we all work off of in FamilySearch.
I have seen amazement in the eyes of a few of these people I’m working with as we are able to connect them to generations of people they never knew existed. And finding the temple work has been done for many of them.
How is this possible? Their ancestors joined the church long ago, but their parents or grandparents left the church. This ended the family chain, and testimony, of all of these faithful pioneers. Sadly, the people I work with have no idea.
Elder David A. Bednar is well known for his teaching of “to act, and not be acted upon.” This is the first conference he mentions what he will most be remembered by. His talk, entitled, “And Nothing Shall Offend Them,” explains the sadness of relatives, getting offended, who choose to leave the church. They cause a break in the chain of faithfulness that often takes years to repair. In his bold, but loving words, he repeats back to these less active people the consequences of what they’ve chosen to do:
“Let me make sure I understand what has happened to you. Because someone at church offended you, you have not been blessed by the ordinance of the sacrament. You have withdrawn yourself from the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. Because someone at church offended you, you have cut yourself off from priesthood ordinances and the holy temple. You have discontinued your opportunity to serve others and to learn and grow. And you are leaving barriers that will impede the spiritual progress of your children, your children’s children, and the generations that will follow.”
And then he leaves them with this invitation:
“Dear friend, we are here today to counsel you that the time to stop being offended is now. Not only do we need you, but you need the blessings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Please come back—now.”
His plea over the many years has remained the same:
“You and I cannot control the intentions or behavior of other people. However, we do determine how we will act. Please remember that you and I are agents endowed with moral agency, and we can choose not to be offended.”
Sooner or later, the World-Wide Family Tree will have everyone attached to it. Temple
work must be completed for all those who truly desire it. As Pres. Nelson proclaims his own well-known message,
“…every one of our Heavenly Father’s children, on both sides of the veil, deserves to hear the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. They decide for themselves if they want to know more.”
Yes, one day that Family Tree will be full of the names of all of our loved ones. And if we truly do our part, by gathering Israel through missionary work and Family History, as well as preaching the gospel in the world of the spirits, what a glorious day when the veil is rent and we all can stand together in the presence of the Lord.