IT USED TO BE THAT IF I COULD DREAM IT, I COULD MAKE IT
HAPPEN
I would
dream big and settle for whatever success would come of it. That’s what I did
when I was a museum professional from age 24 to age 32. I dreamed of great
exhibitions and made them happen; dreamed of grand annual outdoor art festivals
and they happened; dreamed of quality publications and they came to pass.
That’s
what I did when the opportunity to restore an old Victorian house in Ontario,
California fell into my lap. The result of that one actually stopped cars in
the middle of the street to gawk at the results and helped raise $2000 for
charity when we held an open house after it was finished. It still stands as a
really beautiful small Victorian jewel of a house. It was one of the most
delightful projects that I’ve ever undertaken. The results were beautiful.
That’s what I did in Arkansas as
chairman for the Church’s area celebration for it’s 150th birthday when
I was in charge of decorations for a Grand Ball. It was a glorious success. I
painted the twelve presidents of the church in oval frames; we had fake Greek
columns to dance around and many, many people came in period costumes; it got
covered by the local news media with rave reviews and wonderful photographs in
the paper. What a blast!
That’s what I did in Tennessee when
I chaired a “Tennessee Conference on Records” in Nashville when our stake
center was hit by a tornado. This was the idea I came up with to help keep
family history in the public eye when we no longer had a Family History Center.
The Stake and Area Presidency’s supported and publicized this event making it a
huge success. It was very well attended by Western, Middle and Eastern
Tennessee experts from repositories of historic records.
That’s
what I did in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico after my family moved there when my
husband retired….well, that will be another story. Suffice it to say that I
organized a bi-cultural, bi-lingual symposium on family history records in
Mexico. Twenty-five experts, from both sides of the border, attended this three
day conference.
2013 Pulled the Rug from Under My Feet
I was
so discouraged at the end of this past year when I was setting goals for the New Year,
that I determined that I would never do another large genealogical conference
again, because of my age and physical limitations.
I was
so discouraged that I determined that I would not attend RootsTech 2014 for the
same reasons. Last year I had determined to write a book and gather stories of
members involved in this technology of family history where they saw God’s hand
in their work. This book was to be called Elijah’s Warriors and aimed at our
youth. But, when I attended RootsTech
2013, I found out that the youth suffered from exactly the same malady that hinders
our adult leaders … they don’t read books… or manuals. The youth want short
five minute videos. I wouldn’t be able to produce the quality videos that would
do the subject matter justice.
I
determined that I did not have the scholarship credentials to write a book,
especially on my favorite topic of Isaiah or that book on Elijah’s Warriors.
SO WHERE DOES THIS LEAVE ME IN 2014?
You might wonder why I’ve lived my life this
way: Dreaming Big. Early in my membership, I received my patriarchal blessing and have
patterned by life using the blessings found there. I really sincerely desired
to accomplish those things Heavenly Father sent me to earth to do. In other
words, my mission in life, and I knew it had to center around family and family
history. Abraham 3:25 is quoted in my blessing saying, “to see if they would do
whatsoever thing the Lord commanded them.”
This
was quoted in last Sunday’s lesson from the new book, “Teachings of the
Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith.” I had always read this verse
to mean something more than just keeping the traditional commandments, which I
do. I wanted to learn from personal revelation what exactly God wanted me to do
at any given moment in my life. I wanted to know what I promised God that I
would do while I was on the earth. Then I wanted to always be found doing just
that. So I kept praying and I’d get inspiring ideas, often Big Ideas.
God has
sent his prophets, messengers and given us scriptures to help us. He has given
us the Holy Ghost to lead, guide, prompt and reveal His will to each of us
individually. I wish to take His yoke upon me, to work out my salvation by
obedience to the laws of His gospel and all of this knowing my nothingness in
the grander scheme of things. Finally that it will be by His grace, after all
that I can do, that I will be saved in the Kingdom of God.
It used to be that if I could dream it, I could make it happen. But not in 2013
During the past six months I've felt as if I see things through a glass darkly. Is this a cloud of depression that's been hovering over me? Or is it because the most important thing I could be doing this year is something Satan doesn't want me to be doing? Hah!
