At Christmastime, one gift without a price is learning about our genealogy! Genealogy is a fun way to discover who we are and where we came from. It brings families together! At this time of the year when families and individuals are spending time together, do you ever wonder about the adventures and experiences your grandparents, great grandparents and other past generations of relatives might have had?
Everyone comes from a family, and families are unique from different backgrounds and cultures all over the world. Some of us have family or friends who love working on genealogy. With technology being so advanced we know that there are many resources online that we can go to from the comfort of our home; some are free, and you can begin with a simple inquiry. You might be surprised that there is a lot of genealogy that has been done by a family member or a distant relative you might not even know of.
FamilySearch.org and Ancestory.com are two favorite websites with extensive genealogy opportunities. I know of family members who have created websites and have rooms full of history albums and books with pictures going back to Bible times. We can find genealogy in the Bible of families and individuals back then. Genealogy is important because it can bring us closer to understanding our heritage, as a historical reference, and gives the gift of knowledge so we can find answers to our problems. Many churches have groups that work on genealogy. It is one way to feel Christmas joy as we connect the family dots and hand down to the next generations the gift of family history.
There are movies and books that have illustrated and provided histories of ancestors with stories and accounts of groups of people and civilizations. We can learn from them because they are written for our benefit as their posterity. For example, at this time we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The Bible reveals his genealogy and the experiences of his life. We learn from His teachings that remind us how we in this generation can continue to follow his example. The Bible testifies Jesus was peaceful, strong, kind, loving, honest, forgiving, powerful and healed the sick.
Another example of genealogy in our modern day is of millions of people around the world, who live in 160 countries, reading and studying a similar historical book with a record of a people called Nephi, as they were called back then; and a genealogy written to a people called Lamanites, who are a remnant of the House of Israel, and also to the Jew and the Gentile. The title of the book references the writer who was charged with keeping the genealogy protected. The name of the book, some may have heard of or come across with is “The Book of Mormon.” The first 11 pages of the book speak of one prominent family who made many sacrifices to get the genealogy from a wicked leader.
There are great promises to those who search out their ancestors through genealogy. It's fun, challenging and very interesting. On a personal note, one side of my family has made an extensive search of genealogy back to when the Pilgrims arrived on Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts. I also know of ancestors in the previous two examples I've just made. Genealogy will always be important because it brings families together. We might be surprised who we are related to when genealogy is discovered.
Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas!
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