Take a Family Name to the Temple! Another Challege

Have you ever found a family name to take to the temple so you can do their ordinance work?  I know Easton has.  I have and it's a very cool thing.  I found a woman, Grace Davis, who is my 6th great-grandmother.  She and her husband, William Sanger, are the first two names I found when I started doing research.  It was VERY EXCITING!

There are 6 ordinances that our ancestors need to have performed for them in the temple: 1) baptism, 2) confirmation, 3) initiatories, 4) endowment, 5) sealed to parents, 6) sealed to spouse.  I stood proxy for Grace in each of the ordinances performed for her and now I feel like I somehow know her a little bit.  I can't WAIT to meet her after I die.

Which ordinance do you think I felt the spirit most powerfully while I was performing it for her?  Her confirmation!  When the temple worker spoke the words, "I confirm you a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints," I felt this amazing, powerful feeling and a HUGE rush of joy that I believe came from Grace.  It was a very special experience for me and I think that Grace is overjoyed to finally be a member of Christ's church.  No doubt she has been taught the gospel in the Spirit World and I believe she has been waiting for the opportunity to belong to this church.  Grace was born in 1723 at a time when Christ's church had been taken from the earth so she had no chance of finding it during her lifetime.

Here's YOUR chance to find a family name of one of our ancestors to take to the temple.  I've already done some of the work for you and so I know this person's temple work needs to be done.  The challenge: all you have to do is go find John Kelbrick on Family Search, click on "request ordinances", print out a request form, then take it to the temple and do the baptism and confirmation for them.  There's also a $5.00 reward for the person who accomplishes this first.

You need to get on Family Search and do the hunting to find him.  I'll give you a hint, look at Mary Grayson's ancestors (she's my grandma.)  After you've found John Kelbrick and completed his baptism and confirmation (girls, you can print the name and ask your dad, brothers, or husband to do the temple work) then post in the comment section to let me know it's done.  I'll go to Family Search and be able to see that his baptism and confirmation are completed and then I'll send you the cash!  Good luck!

The Little Birdies Story Winner!!

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Travis has done it again!  He won the little birdies challenge and $5.00 is on its way to Texas.  OK, cousins, is anyone going to challenge Travis or are y'all going to let him win every time?

In case you didn't get to read the Little Birdies story, here it is.  The person telling the story is Grayson Hyrum Jones.  He is Harold Jones' (your Grandpa Jones) big brother.  Harold wasn't born yet when this story took place.

LITTLE BIRDIES LEARN LIFE'S LESSON

Mom had baked a cake.  Cakes were few and far between.  Most of the eggs were bartered at the store for needs such as baking soda, matches, and coal oil, but this day we were getting a cake.

Boy, did it smell good.  Gertrude and I watched its creation every step of the way.  After it was out of the oven and cooled, mom did a strange thing, she set it down on the low bench by the side of the table.

"Children, I am going to the post office.  I am leaving this cake here.  Do not touch it.  We will eat it later tonight after supper.  Grayson, you are responsible for Gertrude and Alice."  She put on her broad-brimmed black hat and left for the post office.  She always wore her hat to keep the sun from damaging the skin on her face.  It was approximately a half mile from the outskirts of Tabiona to the post office.  

We were good for about ten minutes.  Then I said, "I am a little birdie.  I will eat just this crumb."  I selected a small crumb on the edge of the plate.

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Gertrude copied me.  "I am a little birdie too."  She selected another crumb beside the cake.  I took another peck.  She took another peck.  Soon it was necessary to select a small spot on the bottom of the cake, where it was not too obvious, for me to take my little peck.  Gertrude, being three-and-a-half, was not as coordinated as I was and her peck really showed.

Baby Alice, who was just beginning to walk, toddled over.  She took a handful.  I knew we were doomed.  We all began to eat as much as we could.  Finally, Alice climbed up and straddled the bench beside the cake.  Needless to say, it was a mess.

As soon as I heard mom walking up to the door, I headed for the bed and crawled under it.  Gertrude followed.  Alice sat contentedly with the cake between her legs, eating.

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Mom came in, methodically took off her hat, picked up Alice, washed her off and set her on the bed.  She put the remains of the cake up on the table.  Then she took the razor strap off the door handle and called for Gertrude.  Gertrude did not budge.  Mom came over, leaned down beside the bed, grabbed Gertrude's foot and dragged her out.  Gertrude got several swats with the razor strap.  I knew I was really going to get it.  I flattened myself tightly against the wall but then I realized that if I resisted it would be worse so I crawled out from under the bed.  I got five swats, one for each year of my life.

Three or four years later I asked mom why she left the cake right where we could get it.  "I knew you would eat it," she replied.  "That's why I left it there."  

This is who WE are!  We were raised by parents and grandparents who were taught to be honest and obey their parents.  My Grandma Jones set her kids up for failure that day.  She knew they would eat the cake while she was gone.  And I really respect her for it.  It was a difficult lesson to learn but one that really stayed with them the rest of their lives.  Grayson was an old man when he told this story to his little sister, Meada, to put in her book, but he still remembered it all of those years later.

Fan Chart

Have you ever seen one of these?  It's called a fan chart and is a cool way to look at your genealogy.  You are in the white circle.  Your parents are in the half circle around you.  Your grandparents are in the next white half circle then it just keeps going out from there.  The color coordination helps keep things in order.  You can see 9 generations of your ancestors when looking at this fan chart.  Of course, you can make it larger so you can actually see the names and dates of the people.  And all those blank spaces?  Those are people we still need to find and get their temple work done for them!  Since I first printed out my fan chart about 2 years ago, some of the blank spaces have been filled in...and some of them by ME!  It's exciting when you find someone!!

Here's how to make your own fan chart.  Go to createfan.com then use your LDS login and follow the easy directions.  You can download a copy.  Go try it!

Don't Be a Weak Link

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There is a talk given by Gordon B. Hinckley that has always made an impression on me.  (Entire talk found here.)  He talks about how each of us is a link to the generations that came before us and the generations that come after us...especially a link of faith.

Gordon B. Hinckley

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As President Hinckley sat in the celestial room before the dedication of the Columbus Ohio Temple, he had these thoughts:
"In that sacred and hallowed house there passed through my mind a sense of the tremendous obligation that was mine to pass on all that I had received as an inheritance from my forebears to the generations who have now come after me.

As I sat in the celestial room of the temple pondering these things, I said to myself, “Never permit yourself to become a weak link in the chain of your generations.” It is so important that we pass on without a blemish our inheritance of body and brain and, if you please, faith and virtue untarnished to the generations who will come after us."

He also said at a different time, "We stand on the shoulders of those who preceded us, men and women of courage and conviction who, in the midst of adversity, put their trust in the Almighty and worked endlessly to make their dreams come true."

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We are so blessed in this Jones family to have a long heritage of faith that has come down through the years and has been passed on to us.  Our ancestors have preserved this faith and taught their children and grandchildren "that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." (2 Nephi 25:26)

Elisha Jones is one of our ancestors who was a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  He passed the legacy of faith on to his son, Hyrum Jones.  Hyrum Jones maintained his testimony and passed his faith on to his son, Harold Guy Jones.  Guy taught his children the gospel through example and passed his faith on to his son, Harold Jones, who is my father.  My father taught me the gospel and I am very grateful for men and women of faith whose shoulders I stand on!

Elisha Jones 1813-1880

Here is Elisha Jones' conversion story in his own words.

"About 1842 there came a man into the neighborhood that told of a people called Mormons. His name was James Dunn. My brother James believed the work and left immediately for Illinois. I read their books and believed them, especially the Voice of Warning. My wife was dissatisfied with my reading so I laid them by for a while. My brother James went to Illinois and joined the Church and was gone four years. 

At this time Joseph Smith and Hyram Smith were murdered on the 27th day of June 1844. The Church was driven from Illinois to Winter Quarters. My brother James came back to Ohio to my father's and stayed all winter. 

As soon as my brother came I was anxious to know about the work of the Lord. My brother James N. Jones baptized me and my wife in the nighttime, because of persecution, about the 3rd of March, 1847.

I immediately began to get ready to start for Winter Quarters with my family that was left: Martha, Richard, John, Mary, Sarah and Elizabeth. The mob spirit raged and enemies would have mobbed me if they had known I was going. We arrived in Winter Quarters on July 27, 1847. Heard Orson Hyde preach. My wife took sick with the fever and lay three months. About this time I was building a log house and broke a blood vessel in my breast. I lost so much blood I could not stand. I lay five months and lost all of my property."

Elisha Jones and his family came across the plains with the Mormon pioneers soon after their stay at Winter Quarters.  You can read more of Elisha's journal here (after signing in to familysearch.)

The Ranch

The Riverside Livestock Ranch near LaBarge, Wyoming has been a gathering place for our extended Jones family for years.  My brothers and sister and I spent most of every summer there when we were kids.  My grandpa, Harold Guy Jones (known as Guy Jones), bought the ranch in 1946 with another family named the Taylors.  I don't know the history of how the Jones family acquired the entire ranch but I know we have owned it for many years...at least as long as I've been alive.  Guy's four sons, Grayson, Harold, Bruce, and Cecil bought the ranch from their dad and 2 families (Bruce's and Cecil's) stayed up there year round to ranch.  The background picture of this blog is another picture of the ranch.

Thanks to my cousin, Chirelle Weaver, for the picture

Last weekend much of the Jones family once again gathered at the ranch for a huge family reunion.  There is a great deal of strength and love in this large family.  My first cousins know each other quite well because we were often taken to the ranch when we were kids...even the California and Texas cousins visited quite often.  It's estimated that there were about 140 people in attendance.

Little Birdies...An Important Life Lesson

If you still live with your mom and dad, you have a book that looks like this somewhere in your house.

My aunt, Meada Jones Ouzounian, wrote this family history of the Joneses.  I haven't read the whole thing yet, but one of my favorite stories so far is about some little birdies.  Are you ready for another challenge??  I'll send $5.00 to the first person who finds the story about the little birdies and summarizes it in a few sentences.  Be sure to include the important lesson that the little birdies learned.  Just click on comments and write the summary.  Hint: look in the Table of Contents of the book to find where the Little Birdies story is.

Jones Missionaries

Since Daniel got his mission call today (Wahoo!!) I thought I'd write about some other missionaries in our family...missionaries that went before Daniel.

My dad, Harold Jones, wrote this in his mission journal on November 4, 1950:
"There was a game to play so I went to play.  It's a good thing I played only 5 minutes because I can sure get tired.  After the game a group went downtown, cashed a cheack (his spelling isn't always the greatest :), brought a scarf, 6/6.  Then we had a missionary study calss.  We went through the presetation at the door.  They tell me that I am the only one that don't smile and I don't act natual at the door or in front one of the Elders.  Good thing I am not seen at the doors.  After this study class their was a Union Meeting.  In these meeting they talk about the differance offercis that they saints hold and how they should teach.  I am writting this in bed laying allmost flat with the book proped up on my chest.  Elder Campbell has not came up yet."
He went to England on his mission.  Did you know that your mom or dad has a copy of your Grandpa Jones' (Harold Jones) mission journal?  Ask them if you can see it.

Here is a picture of Guy Jones (Harold Guy Jones) on his mission.  He is the one holding the horse's reins.

My grandpa, Harold Guy Jones, wrote this in a letter while on his mission in Canada on December 12, 1917:
"I have got my little finger broken or out of place and cannot write very good yet it has been done almost three weeks now it look like it would be getting better.
I seen in the papers last night where Germany had taken enought wheat in Russia to last her 15 more years.  So no telling I might go before it is over (to World War I).  And America may mourn her loss of good men by the hundreds of thousands yet.  But it has got to be downed and people have to have a chance to worship as they please.
My companion is looking for his release anytime now.  He has been away from his wife and babys for almost to years.  He is a good fellow to."
Guy Jones, my grandpa, met his future wife, Mary Grayson, while he was serving a mission in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Ask someone at your house who has served a mission how they felt when they opened their mission call and share it in a comment for the rest of us to read!