“Healing Hearts Across Generations: Promises of Family History Work,” Liahona, Feb. 2026.
Healing Hearts Across Generations: Promises of Family History Work
The quiet power of learning about ancestors can change your life. Here are three steps that will help.
When my father died, grief surrounded me for many weeks and returned unexpectedly from time to time for months. During that period of sorrow, family history became a surprising source of comfort.
All I did was upload pictures and short memories to FamilySearch.org. Many were for people other than my father. This work brought consolation, an eternal perspective, and a stronger testimony of Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation and Jesus Christ’s Atonement. Family history brought me strength and healing.
I’d like to share three ideas to find relief and resilience through family history work.
1. Discover the Promises of Family History Work
Why do we do family history research? President Dallin H. Oaks taught, “Our Heavenly Father desires all of His children to return to the celestial kingdom, where God and our Savior reside.” We help this happen by gathering family names and performing temple ordinances for our ancestors.
“When God directs us to do one thing, He often has many purposes in mind,” observed Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “Family history and temple work is not only for the dead but blesses the living as well.” There are many promises associated with doing family history work that impact our mortal lives. These include an increased testimony of Jesus Christ, greater power to resist temptations, healing for yourself and your family, and so many more (see the accompanying sidebar “Healing Blessings Promised by Prophets and Apostles”).
If you need miracles or blessings, family history can help you. Sam and Betsy (names have been changed) experienced such a miracle in their family. They had a child who was estranged from them for years. Inspired by the talk “Family History and Temple Work: Sealing and Healing” by Elder Renlund, they decided to dedicate time each Sunday to work on family history. After many months, they were reunited with their child and are rebuilding their relationship. The Spirit confirmed to them that this miracle came because they followed Elder Renlund’s invitation to do family history work.
Their experience is one of many that testify to the quiet miracles linked with temple and family history work. Your experience might not be like theirs. The Lord, in His wisdom, will bless you in the right way at the right time.
Photograph from Getty Images
2. Take Small Steps for Big Rewards
The promises of family history don’t require advanced skills or long hours of work. Start simple and build from there. Talk about your parents’ or grandparents’ lives at dinner. Read ancestors’ memories on FamilySearch.org or the mobile app. Create a memory book about your children, your life, or the lives of others.
Learning about family members can change you. Recently I read stories from the lives of my husband’s ancestors and their struggles to live while mining salt in central Utah. I spent many hours engrossed in their life histories. I realized they were more than entertaining accounts of ancestors’ lives. They were lessons in resilience. Their strength in the face of adversity stirred something deep within me, filling me with gratitude for trials I’ve faced in my own life. Their unwavering faith strengthened my testimony. Their stories reminded me that we are all part of something eternal, something far greater than ourselves.
Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught: “This [mortal journey] is just part of an eternal journey, and those who lived with us before, they still live. And those who lived centuries before, they still live. And those who come after us, they will live.”
3. Learn More at RootsTech
As my children grew and started families of their own, I often wondered how to share my love of family history—especially with those who didn’t seem interested. I wanted them to experience the resilience, strength, and joy that family history has given me over the years. One year, I attended RootsTech and heard the phrase “putting flesh on the bones” of our ancestors. That was the key I needed. That year I participated in classes in which I learned tips and techniques for meeting my family members at their interest level.
Rootstech.org offers hundreds of free training videos. Classes range from beginning basics to advanced research. You can watch classes relating to specific geographic locations, writing a personal history, DNA research, and much more. Add previous sessions to your schedule and watch them anytime.
As you participate in temple and family history work, you will find that it blesses more than your ancestors. It can provide you with comfort during times of sorrow and stress, strengthen your family, and deepen your testimony of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.