A Great Blessing to Have Family Records

Nestora Garcia and Margarita Barrientes~ My maternal great-grandmother and second great-grandmother




11 And the Spirit said unto me again: Behold the aLord hath bdelivered him into thy hands. Yea, and I also knew that he had sought to take away mine own life; yea, and he would not hearken unto the commandments of the Lord; and he also had ctaken away our property.
12 And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me again: Slay him, for the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands;
13 Behold the Lord aslayeth the bwicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is cbetter that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in dunbelief.
14 And now, when I, Nephi, had heard these words, I remembered the words of the Lord which he spake unto me in the wilderness, saying that: aInasmuch as thy seed shall keep my bcommandments, they shall cprosper in the dland of promise.
15 Yea, and I also thought that they could not keep the commandments of the Lord according to the alaw of Moses, save they should have the law.
16 And I also knew that the alaw was engraven upon the plates of brass.
17 And again, I knew that the Lord had delivered Laban into my hands for this cause—that I might obtain the records according to his commandments.
18 Therefore I did obey the voice of the Spirit, and took Laban by the hair of the head, and I smote off his head with his own asword.
19 And after I had smitten off his head with his own sword, I took the garments of Laban and put them upon mine own body; yea, even every whit; and I did gird on his armor about my loins.
20 And after I had done this, I went forth unto the treasury of Laban. And as I went forth towards the treasury of Laban, behold, I saw the aservant of Laban who had the keys of the treasury. And I commanded him in the voice of Laban, that he should go with me into the treasury.
21 And he supposed me to be his master, Laban, for he beheld the garments and also the sword girded about my loins.
22 And he spake unto me concerning the aelders of the Jews, he knowing that his master, Laban, had been out by night among them.
23 And I spake unto him as if it had been Laban.
24 And I also spake unto him that I should carry the engravings, which were upon the aplates of brass, to my elder brethren, who were without the walls.
25 And I also bade him that he should follow me.


As I read this scripture this morning it struck me that how much easier and nicer that it has been to gather the family records, preserve and make my pedigree chart. Glad I didn't have to sever anyone's head off to get my "plates of brass" in the process.

I admit, that over the years I have acquired much information and memorabilia, like photo and documents to assist me in this great work. Recently, I was asked to become a ward family history consultant. This will give me the added motivation to proceed forward and keep my records up to date and to help others at the Family History Center. Finding the time slot to do this important work will help me structure my week around the service and training I have always desire to receive.

This kind of work is NEVER finished, it is an ongoing process. A project that I am working on right now is to scan in ALL my photos onto CDs. I can do as many and 500 or more on one CD. It is something that will be shared with my siblings, and nephews and nieces. Some have expressed a desire to have those and that makes me very glad.