Genealogy: The Priesthood of Elijah

"Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord...And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming" (JS-H 1:38-39).

And what are these promises?

"Now, all you children, are you looking to the salvation of your fathers? Are you seeking diligently to redeem those that have died without the Gospel, inasmuch as they sought the Lord Almighty to obtain promises for you? For our fathers did obtain promises that their seed should not be forgotten. O ye children of the fathers, look at these things. You are to enter into the temples of the Lord and officiate for your forefathers" (Discourses of Brigham Young, 408).

The Work of God

"...our Redeemer spent his time during his sojourn in the world of spirits, instructing and preparing the faithful spirits of the prophets who had testified of him in the flesh; That they might carry the message of redemption unto all the dead . . . the faithful elders of this dispensation, when they depart from mortal life, continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel of repentance and redemption, through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God, among those who are in darkness and under the bondage of sin in the great world of the spirits of the dead" (D&C 138:36-37,57)

"For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39).

Ought we not be doing the same work?

"If the veil were lifted off the face of the Latter-day Saints and they could see and know the things of God as they do who are laboring for the salvation of the human family who are in the spirit world..., this whole people, with very few, if any, exceptions, would lose all interest in the riches of the world, and instead thereof their whole desires and labors would be directed to redeem their dead" (Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, 152).

How do I start? I don't want to duplicate work that has already been done.

1) Write down your Mormon ancestors on 1 chart. I recommend this chart for a dollar.
2) Update FindAGrave for all your Mormon ancestors
3) Build a website for the first Mormon in each line. (See the Joseph Smith Family website.) I recommend DoGenealogy.com.
4) Find all descendants of this family head.
5) Organize a committee to manage the united family effort in genealogy. (See the Brigham Young Family website.)
6) When your Mormon ancestors have their Kingdom in order, you use the same method to organize the genealogy of all your American ancestors.
7) Then you can go backward

Forward, and not backward?

"Again: The doctrine or sealing power of Elijah is as follows:--If you have power to seal on earth and in heaven, then we should be wise. The first thing you do, go and seal on earth your sons and daughters unto yourself, and yourself unto your fathers in eternal glory, and go ahead, and not go back, but use a little wisdom, and seal all you can, and when you get to heaven tell your Father that what you seal on earth should be sealed in heaven, according to his promise. I will walk through the gate of heaven and claim what I seal, and those that follow me and my counsel" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 340).

"Others are operating with us, I mean all the men of God who ever lived, and they are as much interested as we are, and a good deal more, for they know more, and 'they without us cannot be made perfect,' neither can we be perfected without them. We are building temples for them and for their posterity, and we are going to operate these temples, as we have done heretofore for the welfare of their posterity" (John Taylor JD 17:213).

"I would advise all the Saints to go with their might and gather together all their living relatives to this place, that they may be sealed and saved, that they may be prepared against the day that the destroying angel goes forth; and if the whole Church should go to with all their might to save their dead, seal their posterity, and gather their living friends, and spend none of their time in behalf of the world, they would hardly get through before night would come, when no man can work" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 330).

"…and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith" (Moroni 6:4).






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Genealogy: The Priesthood of Elijah

"Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord...And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming" (JS-H 1:38-39).

And what are these promises?

"Now, all you children, are you looking to the salvation of your fathers? Are you seeking diligently to redeem those that have died without the Gospel, inasmuch as they sought the Lord Almighty to obtain promises for you? For our fathers did obtain promises that their seed should not be forgotten. O ye children of the fathers, look at these things. You are to enter into the temples of the Lord and officiate for your forefathers" (Discourses of Brigham Young, 408).

The Work of God

"...our Redeemer spent his time during his sojourn in the world of spirits, instructing and preparing the faithful spirits of the prophets who had testified of him in the flesh; That they might carry the message of redemption unto all the dead . . . the faithful elders of this dispensation, when they depart from mortal life, continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel of repentance and redemption, through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God, among those who are in darkness and under the bondage of sin in the great world of the spirits of the dead" (D&C 138:36-37,57)

"For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39).

Ought we not be doing the same work?

"If the veil were lifted off the face of the Latter-day Saints and they could see and know the things of God as they do who are laboring for the salvation of the human family who are in the spirit world..., this whole people, with very few, if any, exceptions, would lose all interest in the riches of the world, and instead thereof their whole desires and labors would be directed to redeem their dead" (Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, 152).

How do I start? I don't want to duplicate work that has already been done.

1) Write down your Mormon ancestors on 1 chart. I recommend this chart for a dollar.
2) Update FindAGrave for all your Mormon ancestors
3) Build a website for the first Mormon in each line. (See the Joseph Smith Family website.) I recommend DoGenealogy.com.
4) Find all descendants of this family head.
5) Organize a committee to manage the united family effort in genealogy. (See the Brigham Young Family website.)
6) When your Mormon ancestors have their Kingdom in order, you use the same method to organize the genealogy of all your American ancestors.
7) Then you can go backward

Forward, and not backward?

"Again: The doctrine or sealing power of Elijah is as follows:--If you have power to seal on earth and in heaven, then we should be wise. The first thing you do, go and seal on earth your sons and daughters unto yourself, and yourself unto your fathers in eternal glory, and go ahead, and not go back, but use a little wisdom, and seal all you can, and when you get to heaven tell your Father that what you seal on earth should be sealed in heaven, according to his promise. I will walk through the gate of heaven and claim what I seal, and those that follow me and my counsel" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 340).

"Others are operating with us, I mean all the men of God who ever lived, and they are as much interested as we are, and a good deal more, for they know more, and 'they without us cannot be made perfect,' neither can we be perfected without them. We are building temples for them and for their posterity, and we are going to operate these temples, as we have done heretofore for the welfare of their posterity" (John Taylor JD 17:213).

"I would advise all the Saints to go with their might and gather together all their living relatives to this place, that they may be sealed and saved, that they may be prepared against the day that the destroying angel goes forth; and if the whole Church should go to with all their might to save their dead, seal their posterity, and gather their living friends, and spend none of their time in behalf of the world, they would hardly get through before night would come, when no man can work" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 330).

"…and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith" (Moroni 6:4).






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