Though he had read many times of the vision in the Kirtland temple where Jesus, Moses, Elias and Elijah appeared to give priesthood keys, it changed from being a record of that event to bring a pattern of how the Lord works with his children.
President Eyring was part of the early work to develop FamilySearch (overseeing it as a member of the presiding bishopric) and has seen how it has grown step by step to be what the Lord needs every step of the way.
My experience has been memorable, as I am sure yours has been. Whether it will be unforgettable depends on each one of us. That matters to me because the experience of preparing for this conference has changed me in a way that I want to last. Let me explain.
My preparation took me to the record of an event in the Restoration. I had read about that event many times, but it had always been to me a report of an important meeting that involved Joseph Smith, the prophet of the Restoration. But this time I saw in the account how the Lord leads us, His disciples, in His Church. I saw what it means for us mortals to be led by the Savior of the world, the Creator—who knows all things, past, present, and future. He teaches us step by step and guides us, never forcing.
It is important for us to leave the facts of sacred events but we gain more when we can also recognize the patterns. What are the patterns of this vision in the Kirtland temple?
One pattern is the Christ is introduced and the recipients are declared clean (if possible) before the message is delivered. Another pattern is the Christ precedes any other messenger if He is part of the experience.
Seven years before Moses committed to Joseph the keys of the gathering of Israel in the Kirtland Temple, “Joseph learned from the title page of the Book of Mormon that its purpose was to ‘show unto the remnant of the house of Israel … that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever.’ In 1831, the Lord told Joseph that the gathering of Israel would commence in Kirtland, ‘And from thence [Kirtland], whosoever I will shall go forth among all nations … for Israel shall be saved, and I will lead them.’”
Although missionary work was needed to gather Israel, the Lord inspired His leaders to teach the Twelve, who became some of our early missionaries, “Remember you are not to go to other nations, till you receive your endowment.”
It seems that the Kirtland Temple was important to the Lord’s step-by-step plan for at least two reasons: First, Moses waited until the temple was completed to restore the keys of the gathering of Israel. And second, President Joseph Fielding Smith taught that “the Lord commanded the Saints to build a temple [the Kirtland Temple] in which he could reveal the keys of authority and where the apostles could be endowed and prepared to prune his vineyard for the last time.” Although the temple endowment as we know it today wasn’t administered in the Kirtland Temple, in fulfillment of prophecy, preparatory temple ordinances began to be introduced there, along with an outpouring of spiritual manifestations which armed those called on missions with the promised endowment of “power from on high” that led to a great gathering through missionary service.
After the keys of the gathering of Israel were committed to Joseph, the Lord inspired the Prophet to send out members of the Twelve on missions. As I studied, it became clear to me that the Lord had prepared in detail the way for the Twelve to go on missions abroad where people had been prepared to believe and sustain them. In time, thousands would, through them, be brought into the Lord’s restored Church.
I had never noticed the restriction that they were not to go to other nations until after they received their endowment.
This pattern of not running faster than they had strength goes further. First they spread the message in the local area, them across the region, then within the United States, then including Canada. After that they already into Europe (where they had cultural ties) before slowly spreading across the world.
While I was serving in the Presiding Bishopric many years ago, I was charged with overseeing the design and development group that created what we named FamilySearch. I am careful to say that I “oversaw” its creation rather than saying I “directed” it. Many brilliant people left careers and came to build what the Lord wanted.
The First Presidency had set a goal of reducing the duplication of ordinances. Their major concern was our being unable to know whether a person’s ordinances had already been performed. For years—or what seemed like years—the First Presidency asked me, “When will you have it done?”
With prayer, diligence, and the personal sacrifice of people of great ability, the task was accomplished. It came step by step. The first task was to make FamilySearch user-friendly for those who were not comfortable with computers. More changes came, and I know they will continue to come, for whenever we proceed to resolve one inspired problem, we open the door for further revelation for advancements at least equally important but not yet seen. Even today, FamilySearch is becoming what the Lord needs for part of His Restoration—and not just for avoiding duplication of ordinances.
The Lord let us make improvements to help people gain feelings of familiarity and even love for their ancestors and complete their temple ordinances. Now, as the Lord surely knew would happen, young people are becoming computer mentors to their parents and ward members. All have found great joy in this service.
I wonder if I will ever have the clarity to describe the step by step process of reclaiming this family (and how much of that reclamation will be accomplished in my lifetime).
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