Catching the Vision

So, I've been a Family History--Genealogy major for almost three years now. Prior to that time I had never done any family history or genealogical work of any kind. I remember as I took my first few classes I was overwhelmed and felt like I was behind everyone else in my classes. I felt very frustrated--like I couldn't get a handle on things. That feeling persisted for quite a while. About a year ago I started to feel like I knew what I was doing, only then to take an English (as opposed to American) research class and feel like I was behind again--like I was figuring things out for the first time. This year I have realized that I'm not alone in my feelings and frustrations. That was actually a relief to me. Suddenly I'm not alone. As I talk to some of my friends with these similar feelings--individuals whom I look up to and who, in my mind, are very competent at genealogical research, I suddenly realize that I'm probably better at this than I think I am. While I may struggle when working on a project of my own, when a friend asks for help, I suddenly find myself knowing where to go, and what to do to help them.

That having been said, I see my inadequacies even more vividly as I just started teaching the Family History Class in Sunday School. I suddenly realize that I do know a lot, but that I'm not the best at teaching it. I can see how hard it can be to teach family history and genealogy to a group of people with varying backgrounds in the subject, and I think I understand, a little better than before, why I felt so lost at the beginning. This has instilled in me a desire be a better genealogist, and a better family historian. As I looked in the eyes of the individuals in my Sunday School class on Sunday I could see some "lost looks" of people who are likely feeling the same way I often feel. I want to be able to help them feel comfortable and competent. I want them to know that the feelings they may be feeling are normal, but that they can overcome them.

In an effort to revitalize myself in my own genealogical and family historical endeavors, I checked out a DVD from the library entitled: "Training for Family History Leaders" It has a clip of Elder Boyd K. Packer speaking. In it he said:

"It takes . . . the Spirit and the heart. There is no work that I know of that is so immersed in the Spirit as this sacred work of preparing names of the temple, and then the subsequent ordinances that are preformed there."

That made me think of the experiences I've had and the promptings of the Spirit that I've felt. It made me want to do a better job, and helped me catch the vision of this is all about. I love people. People make me happy. As I come to view the individuals I'm researching as people, then I come to catch the vision of what I'm doing, and that makes all the difference.