Tender Mercies

I have recently had a really neat spiritual experience that I wrote down to share in my lesson that I taught today. I wanted to post it on here:

I have one thing in common with everyone in this room, I AM BUSY!!!! Despite my busyness, I recognized long ago the tremendous peace that I felt in the Temple. I have been greatly blessed as I have made temple attendance a priority in my life. However, I have not had an opportunity to catch the vision of doing much with my own geneology or family history work. I figured others would be grateful for the work I performed in the temple for their ancestors, and at some point, I would have enough time in my life to learn the basics of finding my own ancestors through personal geneology.

I am thankful for the close proximity that I have to so many temples. I generally liked to go to the temple in the middle of the day, as it seemed like a time when the least amount of distractions would present themselves. However, I knew the arrival of our baby boy would change this long time habit, as now I would have a new little friend home with me to occupy my days. As I eagerly looked forward to having a new little baby, I became concerned about how I was going to be able to fit my mid day temple outings in my new life.

Each one of my children have entered our home and this Earth Life bringing two tremendous gifts with them. The first gift was the power for each of them to be loved as individuals and literal spirit children of their Heavenly Father. The second gift was some very important deeply personal lesson for their Mother to learn. K’Lynn taught me how to do what I needed to in order to be the very best person that I could be. Kandace taught me how to experience pure joy on this Earthly journey, and how to think with my heart. The lesson that Chaz brought with him is closely tied to this lesson, which is why I share this today.

One night, as I was getting Chaz ready for bed, I lovingly inspected his adorable little face, as I also stretched out his long fingers, and chuckled at his mowhawk, half formed by a perfect cowlick on the very top center of his head. As I reflected upon my new little gift from Heaven, my mind wandered, as it had so many times before about what he knew that I wish he could tell me. Almost as instantly as this thought came to me, the spirit spoke to me “Families Are Forever”. It was so powerful. I worried over that a bit, as I then became fearful that possibly the reason this lesson was tied to him was due to the fact that maybe he wouldn’t be here with us for as long as a parent would expect or hope for. This concept frightened me. I have since gained peace in the fact that this wasn’t what was meant to be taken out of such an experience.

Just a few weeks ago, I was again lovingly starring at my new little guy (clearly I do this often), and it was as though the spirit allowed me the tinniest little glimpse of what Chaz’s oversized spirit performed before he came to us. Through this, I immediately gained an increased testimony of Missionary Work. The spirit helped me to realize that those who have gone on before us do need our help. It was my feeling as a mother, that Chaz was acquainted with people who knew and loved him as a family member before he came to us, and that he was instrumental in these ancestors accepting temple work that has been performed in their behalf.

Joseph F Smith declared: 'Through our efforts in their behalf their chains of bondage will fall from them, and the darkness surrounding them will clear away, that light may shine upon them and they shall hear in the spirit world of the work that has been done for them by their [people] here, and will rejoice with you in your performance of these duties”.

After this teaching moment, it is my belief that there are tremendous efforts taking place on both sides of the veil to ensure that these ordinances are performed and accepted by those so anxiously awaiting this opportunity that qualifies them to live eternally with Heavenly Father.

Although I will be forever humbled at the opportunity I had to receive this little glimpse of the power behind this special person gifted to me as my Son, it is the underlying lesson the spirit taught me that is the tremendous gift. Immediately after this experience, I realized something profound. When I visit the temple, I get to feel the power of Heaven. On the same account, little spirits that join our homes allow us to feel the power of Heaven through their oversized sprits housed in tiny little bodies. Heavenly Father is mindful of the time and effort that goes into caring for a newborn. Certainly, the law of compensation would take such an effort into account.

As I reflected upon this entire experience, I felt closer to some of my deceased family members than I had in quite some time. Suddenly the pieces of the puzzle came together for me. The lesson was this: That through the blessing of the internet, and the self discipline of using my time wisely, that I could literally participate in temple work in my living room multitasking as I cared for an infant. Earlier, I mentioned that I had never really caught the vision of where I fit in with geneology, and how this could fit into my life. But, through this experience, I have come to realize that this is a way that I can serve Heavenly Father on the other end of temple work and family History.

It is still ideal for me to attend the temple as often as my circumstances will allow. Yet, in the times where personal limitations will not allow me to do this as often as I would like, indexing and seeking out ancestors on family search allows me to play just as vital of a role in the mission of the church which consists of: proclaiming the gospel, perfecting the saints, and redeeming the dead.

Wee Granny

I had to teach a lesson on family history and temple work today. The following story is of "Wee Granny" who is my 5th Great Grandmother. The geneology line is as follows:
(8) Angela Dawn Keddington (Me)

(7) James Austin Gilbert (My Dad)


(6) Stanley Duane Gilbert & Sara Arlene Mifflin Gilbert – father & mother to James A. Gilbert

(5) Madie Barnes Mair – Mother to Duane Gilbert

(4) George Alexander Mair & Annie Barnes Mair – father & mother to Madie Barnes Mair

(3) Alexander Mair & Eliza Thompson Mair – father & mother to George Alexander Mair

(2) Mary Murdoch Mair & Allan Mair – mother & father to Alexander Mair

(1) Mary Murray Murdoch (a.k.a. Wee Granny) & John Murdoch –
mother & father to Mary Murdoch Mair.

We have a neat story about her that was posted in the church news back in 2001 when a memorial grave site was dedicated. For the sake of preserving family history details, I thought I should post a copy of it here on my blog:

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. — "Tell John I died with my face toward Zion."


These were the last words of a faithful pioneer known as "Wee Granny," 73, a slight Scottish woman whose long walk toward Zion with the ill-fated Martin Handcart Company ended near Chimney Rock, Neb.

Mary Murray Murdoch, known as "Wee Granny" to her posterity, had eight children, six of whom lived to maturity, and 72 grandchildren. A widow whose husband was killed in a mining accident, she joined the Church at age 67 in 1851.

She was called Wee Granny because of her small size — 4-feet-7 inches tall and weighing no more than 90 pounds.

We Granny's son, John Murdoch, and his wife, Anne Steele Murdock, had joined the Church earlier and were the first to cross the plains. They had been introduced to the gospel by Anne's brother, James Steele.

John and Ann Murdoch left Scotland and came to Utah in 1852, enduring a difficult journey in which their two small children died. As soon as they were settled, they saved money and sent it for Wee Granny to come to Utah.

On May 25, 1856, Wee Granny, in company with the James Steele family, sailed on the Horizon from Liverpool, England, to New York. They rode a train to the Midwest, where they joined the Martin Handcart Company at Iowa City on July 28 to begin the arduous cross-country trek. This group of 576 people, with 146 carts, seven wagons and 30 oxen, was poor and most of their passages were paid by the Perpetual Emigration Fund.

The pioneers averaged 13 miles a day between Iowa City and Florence (now Omaha), Neb. Beset with usual hills and gullies, sand patches and stream beds, the pioneers had an added hardship as the handcarts began breaking down. Constructed with uncured wood, the carts did not sustain the load. A shortage of water led to the immigrants drinking water in puddles. Food rationing began early. Wee Granny walked the entire distance.

The company rested at Florence, where, a few days earlier the fated Willie Handcart Company had debated whether they should cross the plains so late in the season. In Florence, the Martin company gathered additional food and repaired handcarts, which were now heavier than before. Because of the lateness in the season, they picked up their pace as they left Florence.

"As Mary Murdoch and her compatriots in the Martin company moved during mid- to late September across central Nebraska and into the increasingly barren, windy, and unforgiving environment of the west, the journey began to take an ever increasing toll on them,"

"The daily tedium of their labor turned into a significant struggle. . . . As she reached the last several days of her life, Wee Granny's exhaustion, weakness, and pain must have been overwhelming,"

Her frail body gave out on Oct. 2, about 10 miles east of Chimney Rock. She was attended at the time of her death by James Steele and his family.

For more information, see Internet site: murdochfamily.net