I Saw My Eternal Family

In 1969 my husband, Jack, and I went through the Salt Lake Temple to do the work for my deceased brother Jerry. I was seated alone in a room in the temple when, for me, the room seemed to be full of men and women—among them, my brother. I sensed a feeling of great joy within him and within the others as well.

Jerry looked at me and smiled. His countenance revealed deep peace, and I beheld the same peace and happiness attending the others. Suddenly I knew that these spirits—all of them—were relatives! This knowledge was quite a shock. Could they possibly be members of the Church?

My husband, three children, and I were the only members of the Church from our families.

On the way home, I told my husband of my experience and asked him if he could think of an explanation. Jack said he didn’t know how those people could be relatives, but he was sure we could find the answer.

Later, I went to the family history library. After three hours of research based on my meager supply of family records, I decided to look in the books of family group sheets to see how many members of the Comb family, Tharp family, and other related families were Church members. I turned the pages, and there in front of me was my great-grandfather’s name! I double-checked the name, birth date, place, and the name of his wife—and everything matched. How could this be possible when I was the only member of the Church in our family?

Then I found myself eagerly turning pages, looking for my great-great-grandfather. I found him! Soon I found another family sheet, then another. Finally, when I reached the year 1730, the names stopped. The tears didn’t, however.

A sweet, white-haired sister sitting across from me quietly asked if there was anything she could do. Through my tears I asked if all the ordinance work had been done for those relatives. She showed me the dates confirming that it had, then referred me to another worker for more information. The worker told me to write to the family representative. I did, and I found out that his great-great-great-grandfather and mine were brothers. He, too, was a convert, and his son-in-law had compiled the family group sheets.

I was delighted to find another relative who was a member of the Church. But more important, I learned how important and real is the ordinance work performed in the temples each day.