Neither Purse nor Scrip: The Way of the Ministering Disciples

 While modern day missionaries and evangelists do not undergo the same circumstances of our Christian forbears, I can't help but admire how missionaries from the 1800s and earlier ministered to their congregants and listeners in a manner similar to the early apostles and Jesus himself. The manner in which the Apostles of Christ's early ministry can be found in the following scriptures: 

Matthew 10, Luke 5 and 6

Matthew 10:1, 5-24 and Luke 5:2-11 and chapter 6 highlight major points of how Christ and His disciples went about ministering: 

1. They were called by Christ.

2. They followed after Christ forsaking worldly pursuits.

3. Jesus called them to minister in His name and on His behalf.

4. They ministered by preaching, healing, cleansing, casting out devils, etc.

5. They were to take no "gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses."

6. They were also to take no "scrip..., neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves"

The principle behind only the clothes they wore and taking no extra funds or payment for their ministry was because "the workman is worthy of his meat," (Matthew 10:10). While modern day missionaries are expected to have more than one coat and shoes, they still go about with no pay for their work and only needing the essentials needed in ministering in the name of Christ. (Observe Latter-day Saint missionaries as an example of these circumstances). It is admirable and humbling how missionaries still minister in a manner outlined by Christ. Looking at Latter-day Saint missionaries from the 1800s though, the following from the Doctrine and Covenants reflect a means similar to Christ's apostles: 

D&C 24:18 "And thou shalt take no ^apurse nor scrip, neither staves, neither two coats, for the church shall give unto thee in the very hour what thou needest for food and for raiment, and for shoes and for money, and for scrip.

19: "For thou art called to ^aprune my vineyard with a mighty pruning, yea, even for the last time; yea, and also all those whom thou hast ^bordained, and they shall do even according to this pattern. Amen."

D&C 84: 78 "For I suffered them not to have ^apurse or scrip, neither two coats."

79: "Behold, I ^asend you out to ^bprove the world, and the laborer is worthy of his ^chire."

Jesus wants His disciples and followers to minister to people who need the Gospel, which is basically all of mankind (Luke 5:10-11). The people Christ ministered to are found all over the four gospels of the New Testament:

1. The sick (Matthew 10, Luke 5, Luke 8, Mark 2)

2. City folk (Matthew 11)

3. The Gentiles (Matthew 15)

4. People who sin (Luke 7, Mark 2)

5. People possessed of devils (Luke 8, Mark 5)

In reading and pondering over the manner Christ had his missionaries and apostles preach His word and minister, it is inspiring to the modern day Christian. It makes one want to minister even if not ordained or set apart as a missionary. There are many ways a Christian can minister in the name of Christ nowadays. For example, disciples of Christ can still preach, forsake worldly pursuits outside of essentials, reach out to the sick and needy, minister to the sinner, and so on. 

Finding the Old through the New, Tearing Down a Decades-old Brick wall (Part 2)

         The first steps I took in learning about the Dean line, came with hands on experience. I had to learn how to use FamilySearch, census research, newspaper research, locality research, etc. It did not come overnight, but rather line upon line. It was through concerted, often unfruitful efforts that I learned what worked and what didn’t work. Piece by piece, the story of the Deans began to unravel.

         In learning to do genealogy research, I found LDS family history centers as helpful resources. The missionaries were experienced in doing research and participating in finding temple ordinances. Also, the LDS Church had subscriptions to the big research websites, like Ancestry. These were in the days before LDS church members could get partner access through their FamilySearch accounts, so I made lots of library trips to use Ancestry. 

         Within a few weeks, and then what became a few months, the Dean genealogy was coming together. All of the sudden, Harry and Ida Dean’s boys took on more than names and vital information; they took on careers, personalities, family members, and stories that came to life through Google searches and newspapers. The two brothers of B. G.’s that assumed the greatest personalities were Doc and Frankie. I learned that having one prominent individual in the family helps to round out the stories and involvements of others when they talk about their own backgrounds and experiences. Soon, Harry Fenton Dean and Ida Jane (Pepperdine) Dean had their own narratives come to light. 

         From there, it was time to move backward in the tree. 

Finding the Old through the New, Tearing Down a Decades-old Brick wall (Part 1)

My great-grandfather, Beryl G. “B. G.” Dean, descended from a family of terrible record keepers. My mother tackled researching his family for 30 years, before turning it over to me back in 2010. From that year on, I became the official researcher for the Dean line. 

         I literally started from scratch, having only a collection of old family letters to work with. Working from B. G., I found his father and brothers, then eventually his grandfather and grandmother on his father’s side. The true brick wall was the objectives of finding the name of Henry’s father and identifying Mariah’s maiden name. Mariah and Henry’s unknown father became a research stop around 2012, when New FamilySearch was the LDS Church’s genealogy site. 

         No matter how long and hard I searched, I could not find Mariah’s maiden name, Henry’s father, or other family members related to Henry C. Dean. That is until 2020. The tools for bursting down this brick wall proved to be a set of skills that required methodical dismantling, rather than a good old dynamite blast. 

Day 1 of the Rest of My Life...And I Have a Doctor's Appointment

Greetings and Salutations from one happy student...That's right, I got back into university for one semester. Things feel so good right now, being able to really take the first step in my path to becoming an accredited researcher in genealogy...it is truly happening!

However I did happen to have a doctor's appointment today during class that I could not reschedule. Oh well, no genealogy researcher goes unprepared when they carry a bag or purse regularly. Therefore, I talked to my professor, whipped out my voice recorder, gave it to a friend to record the lecture for me, then headed on my merry way.

The best part? There is a painting in the classroom of the Ellen Maria, a passenger ship that only made three voyages in the 1850s, carrying Saints from Liverpool to New Orleans, one of those which happened to be my 4th great grandfather and his family.

My First Footstep...Here I Come!

The time has finally come where I feel like I am ready to tackle one of my life goals from the past two or three years--becoming accredited as a genealogist. I have talked to many people about the process and planning involved, but it finally resonated with me when I spoke with Jill Crandell, a professor at BYU, presenting at the BYU Family History Conference.

There is a sense of clarity to take my first steps now, to let that desire work in me. Since my job benefits will cover my tuition costs at the university, I have hope that I can take my first genealogy class in the fall of this year. I also working to focus on a certain locality to specialize in--this one will take more time though. Ah, after how many years of studying history and working on genealogy, I have the necessary means to work toward my dream!

I appreciate all the people who have been an inspiration to me in this time as I have tried to plan the next phase of my life, And thanks to those who put up with my constant ramblings about history and genealogy. I am so full of joy I just want to shout praises to the sky :)

Family Discovery Day-My First Genealogy Conference

At last, my dream came true. After three years of hearing about the experiences of others at RootsTech, I finally had the opportunity to attend. I was late in registering, so all labs were full, but I signed up for the Family Discovery Day to ensure myself a place and at least one day to spend at the Salt Palace. And what a day!

            I pride myself on being an extrovert, but even I was feeling overwhelmed from crowds and noise. The congested Convention Center boasted around 20,000 attendees, and among them the fan-base of Utah’s own David Archuleta.

            Overall, the experience was well worth the trip. It was my first time riding the train, for one. Also, the messages given by LDS leaders were nice to listen to. Church leaders encourage youth and young adults to not only prepare as many names for temple work as they perform ordinances for, but also to help others with this challenge. Also, they shared success stories of youth and young adults in performing the work for their deceased ancestors. 

            The real treat of attending RootsTech was visiting the Expo Hall. I saw many old and current associates among the booths, and learned more about online programs available for training people to become certified genealogists. I felt like my time here was well rewarded. 

We ran into one of our fellow Mocavo employees at the booth for Find My Past

BYU Family History Library employees and volunteers, past and present.

Part of the David Archuleta fan base

FAMILYSEARCH ALERT!!! New feature for Early Mormon Ancestors

Okay, maybe I am a little lake on this one, but when I saw it I got really excited! I haven't been on Familysearch for a little while, but this just caught my eye today right after I signed in today. Get a load of this new feature, one I think that will help spark the interest of those who come through pioneer lines particularly:

When you first sign in, take notice of the left side of the page, you may have to scroll down a little to see the Joseph Smith Papers link:

After you do that, it will show which of your ancestors are mentioned in the collection, for me I had two and did not even know it!

I was interested to see the relationship, but the only clean view I could screen-capture shows down to my great grandmother, making Nathan Harris my 6th great grandfather (obviously, I want to verify this lineage claim as being accurate, but it will give me some direction to validate this connection or not.)

Assuming he is in fact my ancestor, I wanted to check the link labeled "Biography." It took me to a new tab on the site for the Joseph Smith Papers. 

This is awesome right? However, for me the real treat is having the opportunity to view the page where scans of the original document listing his name is observable:

This page is being downloaded and analyzed later on. I am an excited fact hunter for a little while to come now. When I get a chance, I will return to the other individual listed under my ancestors too.

If any of your ancestors are members of the infant LDS church, be sure to check this feature out. You may have a pleasant surprise like me!

Journey to Ishmael Phillips' Past (Part 1)--Looking for an LDS Baptism in 1800s England

In recent weeks, I have undertaken a major project that guarantees me months and months of research: writing a biography on Ishmael Phillips. The first fact I have sought to uncover was proving that my 4th Great Grandfather was indeed baptized into the LDS Church by then Mormon Apostle Wilford Woodruff on May 29, 1840. I have found several family histories claiming Elder Woodruff was Ishmael's baptizer, but I wanted more solid proof. Taking the information I already have, I sought to dig deeper on this matter.

Since Wilford Woodruff was a major figure in early LDS history, his records would be easily accessible for me being in a location with a major LDS repository. With Elder Woodruff being a prolific journal writer in his day, that is the first place I went. I only met with slight disappointment as I found a short entry for the date Brother Phillips was baptized for. The entry read:

"We met at the Creek & I Baptized 2 & Elder Richards Confirmed them & walked to Shucknell Hill. After meeting I Baptized 3, one a preacher on the plan. We Confirmed them & ordained one priest Benjamin Williams making 5 Baptized and Confirmed."

This gave me slight hope though. Shucknell Hill was in fact a location that Ishmael is associated with in some of his early church records. Deciding not to give up right here, I pressed on. 

A wonderful feature of the FamilySearch website that many people take for granted is the Family History Library Catalog. When you type "Familysearch.org" into the URL, you come up with the home view:

Under the "Search" link, you will find "Catalog." Click here and it takes you directly to the Family History Library Catalog:

You can change the way you want to browse the catalog, but in this instance I will use location--I normally like to start out basic and narrow down to specifics, so when researching England, I will start by looking at the records under the county. Choosing "Herefordshire, England," I will then be directed to a page of categorized links  associated with Herefordshire. Looking under the Category "Church Records," I see a microfilm I have access to, "Wilford Woodruff's Baptism Record, 1840."

Eager to view this microfilm, I confirm that the library indeed has it--which it does! Looking through it, I start looking at the baptisms performed in April, working forward. When I reach May 29, I saw for myself from a photographed version of a primary source, the proof of Ishmael's baptism I was seeking. Look for yourself on May 29, his name is with another, identifying the two individuals that Wilford Woodruff wrote in his own words that he baptized at the location he provided already:

Thanks to modern technology and the ease of finding available resources, I am one step closer to writing Ishmael's biography. I now have a more concrete date, place, and name to attach to an important event in his life, his baptism into the LDS Church. Miracles happen when you persist. If you do not know how to find something though, do not be afraid to ask for help or to try other avenues. 

Now I can say with irrefutable evidence that my 4th great grandfather Ishmael Phillips was baptized by the hand of Apostle Wilford Woodruff, who would later become the 4th president of the LDS Church. 

Going My Way--72 Years Later

USS Lexington exploding, May 8, 1942

May 1942...

A year not to be forgotten in the annals of American History: The U. S. had been fighting in the Second World War for less than a year, FDR was president during these troubled times, and newspaper headlines were reporting the overseas action on a regular basis. Many families were impacted, my own included--young men responded to the draft and their women left to pray for their safe return...

In the state of Utah, residents were also affected by the impending war...Headlines on May 8, 1942 reported U. S. Navy action with the Japanese, finances tied to military funding, Japanese atrocities in the Philippines, British troops in Madagascar, and many other stories about the war. As the newspaper progresses past world and national news, the reader finally jumps into local happenings. Towards the back of the newspaper is the event nearest and dearest to my heart: the obituary for my 3rd great grandmother, Harriet Lovinia Bowen Leavitt. 

Why would one obituary matter over others in my vast collection of obituaries? Because Grandma Harriet died where I now consider home. Although I did not grow up here, it has been home for six years now; it is here I went to school, found a job, dated, and started building my own life. What makes it most special is it's the city where she spent most of her life and where I first discovered my love of genealogy. 

Grandma came from Iowa, the daughter of prominent Mormon pioneers. After crossing the plains, they settled in my present area. Her husband, who was more than 20 years her senior, preceded her in death by almost 40 years. When Grandma Harriet died, she was currently the oldest women in town, passing away at the age of 97. Rest in peace, sweet lady, I am proud to live in your hometown and walk where you walked. 

Relative Finder--A New Feature for FamilySearch Users

Recently, a friend in my ward posted this link and description to our ward facebook page:

"a team of computer scientists at BYU have designed a program that allows you to find out your relation to others. This program uses your FamilySearch family tree to find common relatives with others. Its fast and easy!"

To get on is simple. The link is: http://roots-fb.cs.byu.edu/

A homepage shows up, welcoming you to the website. Simply click on "Connect"

You will then be prompted to sign in through the FamilySearch login page

It will take some time, but the website will load your FamilyTree into the system. The rest is fairly straightforward...

As you can see, there are four links on the top right hand corner of the page. This screenshot is currently the home page. Next to that is "Relatives," which is the main feature of this website. When you click on this link, it takes you to the following page:

Simply select which groups you want to compare relations with, and click "Show Relatives."

I chose "Declaration Signers" and came back with the above results. Don't be afraid to play around with it. You can click on the category to organize them and there is a feature on the left of your relation that says "View."

When you select view, you are taken to a page that displays a chart showing your relationship to the individual from the group you chose. You can download this chart as a pdf or print directly from the webpage. 

If you refer back to the fourth image, you will see that I belong to a group. Through this website, you can create groups for people to join up and find out how you are related--in this case, the young man from my ward created a group for my YSA ward. 

Overall, I found this site to be quite easy and interesting to use. One thing to be mindful of is the accuracy of your tree in FamilySearch--this will affect the actual relationship you share with individuals when the system reveals a common ancestor. Also, the default groups are limited to a smaller population. They seemed to deal primarily with English ancestry, which is convenient for longterm Americans and multi-generational Mormons. Go give the website a try and see what it does for you.

Success Story: Your Family Needs You!

Once upon a time, a young lady came seeking help for doing her genealogy. Having never used FamilySearch before, I took her aside and showed her the basics. Unlike most people I have helped, her story takes an unusual twist—she had success within two days. Since the LDS Church preaches the need to spiritually bind our families together through temple work, her ability to find several names for the temple in one sitting is phenomenal.

The process was simple. She already had her LDS account set up so we went straight to work, logging into FamilySearch FamilyTree to navigate her tree. When we encountered a green arrow, we investigated. The green arrow means a name is ready to submit to the temple, but we needed to takes some steps before clicking on that green arrow: was this person’s information correct? Were they connected to the right family members? And most importantly, was their work already done?

Looking through census records and well-researched Findagrave.com profiles, we verified their vital information and family connections. All were cleared. Next, we checked the system for duplicates to make sure there were no repeated individuals floating around. After we merged a semi-completed tree to my friend’s, that is when the floodgates opened. The children of her something-great grandparents were missing information on their own families!

Within thirty to forty minutes, we dug up the names for several new individuals who were not yet in the system, providing new names for my friend to take to the temple. What were the best things about this experience? A young lady unaccustomed to genealogy work was able to put a whole family together: the parents, the children, and the children-in-law. She was able to experience the thrill of researching information and learning new things about these people related to her. The crème-de-la-crème was that she did it all herself, with me only supervising research and website use. She is officially a genealogist.

One does not have to be incredibly gifted with research or technology to do family history. If you are wanting to get started, do it with a buddy or a relative, visit a family history center, or even try it on your own to see what you can do if you are adept with technology already. A lot can happen in one sitting. If you hit bricks walls, don’t give up—there are people out there who can help you. Your Family Need You!