Our Connection To The Past

This weekend, I will have to opportunity to address a large congregation at my church. I will be speaking about testimonies and how they shape our lives. I will look at my own family history and how the choices and conversion of key individuals 180 years ago has decidedly shaped where I am today and the choices that I am making in my life.

I spent time tracing some of these choices made through the years. I sometimes wonder if my ancestors had any clue what would be the eventual outcome of these choices. Did they realize that their immigration to the US would lead to eventual settling in Utah? Or their exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois would find their grandchildren in Southern Alberta? Or their decision to re-marry after an early death of a spouse would provide the child that would become my great great grandparent? This likely didn't occur to them at all.

I think many of us are guilty of this lack of foresight. And I'm not suggesting that we can't predict or are uninterested in what will happen down the line. It's just that we can never fully see what will happen as a result of so many different choices. I do sometimes engage in this type of thought experiment, realizing that I am not prophesying anything and I'm no accurate predictor of the future.

But here goes. Does our family moving east determine where my great grand children will be raised? Is the choice to have the number of children we did a factor in what will happen to my great great grand children? Will total strangers be influenced because I was fortunate enough to marry my wife all those years ago?

I'm confident that my choices will impact others, in the same way my life has been influenced by my ancestors. This understanding allows me to appreciate even more the blessings I have received in my life and the sacrifices that were required to see them to fruition. I am grateful for the understanding, or lack thereof, of my ancestors. I am also grateful for the preservation of records, journals and historical documents that have permitted me to trace these lines and roots back to their genesis and see the wonderful tapestry that is my family and provides the connection to my past.