Today's Favorite Verse: Matthew 6:21

Today's Favorite Verse: Matthew 6:21
"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

I asked myself what my treasure is? Treasure is probably not the right word, for that makes me think of riches and material things and I'm not so big into that. I found it better to think about what I give most of my time and effort too. Where is my attention focused? Do I have a good balance pleasing to the Lord? It made me think of my family history, that really is my top "treasure". This year I will mark my 50th year since I officially took my first genealogy class. That really is a good treasure to mark my life's work. This is part of the Lord's work gathering Israel on both sides of the veil. I have had so many spiritual connections around it. My testimony of the Lord and his love for each of His children has been cemented to my heart. I can not only take this life work with me on the other side, but I can continue it there. I had already planned I was going to do some research after reading my scriptures tonight, now I can't wait! There are more family members to find and eventually greet on the other side.

Day 4059

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezra 2:59, 62-63

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezra 2:59, 62-63
"And these were they which went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsa, Cherub, Addan, and Immer: but they could not shew their father’s house, and their seed, whether they were of Israel:
These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.
And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim."

This was interesting. It wasn't a matter of the genealogies being kept or not. The issue was intermarriages with aliens, those without the faith. Those marriages were not recorded. This is how they lost their father's house. They were polluted and put from the priesthood. They needed to stand before a priest who with the Urim and Thummim would be able to determine what house they were from. When I think about how many generations removed from Abraham's family and the tribes of Israel we are, we have the same thing happening today. We go before a patriarch that will declare in our patriarchal blessing which tribe of Israel we belong to.

Day 3879

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Chronicles 9:1

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Chronicles 9:1
"So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and, behold, they were written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, who were carried away to Babylon for their transgression."

These genealogies were so important. When the Jews were carried away into Babylon some of these genealogies were lost. Without their genealogies they were denied the priesthood when they returned from Babylon.

"These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.
And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim."
(Ezra 2:62-63)

"These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.
And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim."
(Nehemiah 7:64-65)

It was only through the Urim and Thummim that priesthood lines that were lost could be restored. Did they still have the ephod with the Urim and Thummin? I pondered on how today it is through a patriarch that we are told what tribe of Israel we are from. The gathering of our genealogies will play an important role in our lives also.

"And now, my dearly beloved brethren and sisters, let me assure you that these are principles in relation to the dead and the living that cannot be lightly passed over, as pertaining to our salvation. For their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation, as Paul says concerning the fathers—that they without us cannot be made perfect—neither can we without our dead be made perfect."
(Doctrine and Covenants 128:15)

"God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect."
(Hebrew 11:40)

"And again, in connection with this quotation I will give you a quotation from one of the prophets, who had his eye fixed on the restoration of the priesthood, the glories to be revealed in the last days, and in an especial manner this most glorious of all subjects belonging to the everlasting gospel, namely, the baptism for the dead; for Malachi says, last chapter, verses 5th and 6th: Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
I might have rendered a plainer translation to this, but it is sufficiently plain to suit my purpose as it stands. It is sufficient to know, in this case, that the earth will be smitten with a curse unless there is a welding link of some kind or other between the fathers and the children, upon some subject or other—and behold what is that subject? It is the baptism for the dead. For we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect. Neither can they nor we be made perfect without those who have died in the gospel also; for it is necessary in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fulness of times, which dispensation is now beginning to usher in, that a whole and complete and perfect union, and welding together of dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories should take place, and be revealed from the days of Adam even to the present time. And not only this, but those things which never have been revealed from the foundation of the world, but have been kept hid from the wise and prudent, shall be revealed unto babes and sucklings in this, the dispensation of the fulness of times."
(Doctrine and Covenants 128:17-18)

Day 3859

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Chronicles 6:10

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Chronicles 6:10
"And Johanan begat Azariah, (he it is that executed the priest’s office in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem:)"

Azariah the priest was of the tribe of Levi. I wondered how many generations there were from Israel to the time of Solomon. Looks like there were 19 generations.
Azariah, Johanan, Azariah, Ahimaaz, Zadok, Ahitub, Amariah, Meraioth, Zerahiah, Uzzi, Bukki, Abishua, Phinehas, Eleazar, Aaron brother of Moses, sons of Amram, Kohath, Levi, son of Jacob (Israel).

There was only 13 generations from Solomon to Jacob (Israel)
Solomon, David, Jesse, Obed, Boaz, Salmon, Nahshon, Amminadab, Ram, Hetzron, Peretz, Judah, Jacob (Israel)

It made me chuckle to see 6 generation gap between these genealogies. Isn't that so like doing genealogy. There can be lots of variables in the ages of when children were born. There can also be recording errors if those generations were written down from an oral tradition. I was interested in the difference and read a few things on the genealogies in the bible. Some suggested genealogies had been lengthened. With the opinion that only the line of David would be accurate.

Day 3858

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Chronicles 2:11-15

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Chronicles 2:11-15
"And Nahshon begat Salma, and Salma begat Boaz,
And Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse,
And Jesse begat his firstborn Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimma the third,
Nethaneel the fourth, Raddai the fifth,
Ozem the sixth, David the seventh:"

These three chapters were the genealogies from Adam to David's descendants. There were many names I did not recognize. It was fun when I spotted names I could recall reading about. I am getting better at it this time through the Old Testament. This little section is covered in the book of Ruth.

Day 3857

Today's Favorite Verse: Deuteronomy 27:16

Today's Favorite Verse: Deuteronomy 27:16
"Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen."

Setteth light = HEB esteems lightly, disgraces
father = Honoring Father and Mother

As I was reading the footnotes to understand the meanings I thought about how this was more than just our behaviors and actions, it includes temple and family history work too. We esteem lightly our ancestors when we ignore or forget them. It is a disgrace to not search for and perform vicious work for our kindred dead. Malachi speaks of a curse if our hearts are not turned to them. The words of Malachi are so important they are found in all the standard works.

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."
(Malachi 4:5-6)

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord;
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."
(3 Nephi 25:5-6)

"And again, he quoted the fifth verse thus: Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
He also quoted the next verse differently: And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming."
(Joseph Smith-History 1:38-39)

"Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.
If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming."
(Doctrine and Covenants 2:1-3)

"And also Elijah, unto whom I have committed the keys of the power of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, that the whole earth may not be smitten with a curse;"
(Doctrine and Covenants 27:9)

"After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us; for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said:
Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi—testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come—
To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse—
Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors."
(Doctrine and Covenants 110:13-16)

"I might have rendered a plainer translation to this, but it is sufficiently plain to suit my purpose as it stands. It is sufficient to know, in this case, that the earth will be smitten with a curse unless there is a welding link of some kind or other between the fathers and the children, upon some subject or other—and behold what is that subject? It is the baptism for the dead. For we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect. Neither can they nor we be made perfect without those who have died in the gospel also; for it is necessary in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fulness of times, which dispensation is now beginning to usher in, that a whole and complete and perfect union, and welding together of dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories should take place, and be revealed from the days of Adam even to the present time. And not only this, but those things which never have been revealed from the foundation of the world, but have been kept hid from the wise and prudent, shall be revealed unto babes and sucklings in this, the dispensation of the fulness of times."
(Doctrine and Covenants 128:18)

Day 3805

Today's Favorite Verse: Leviticus 17:13-14

Today's Favorite Verse: Leviticus 17:13-14
"And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust.
For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off."

While reading this chapter I couldn't keep from thinking of my mother. Such a very odd thing to place with her. I remember her telling me how her parents would make blood pudding and she really loved it. The sound of it was so gross to me. I knew it was made from pigs blood but I had no other knowledge of what it entailed. I actually finally stopped while reading this chapter to go find some videos on it, so I could learn more about what it was. I wish I had asked my mother more questions, like which side of the family did her parents learn to make this? My father never spoke of having eaten blood pudding. It doesn't appear to be something his family did. As I watched videos from people in Ireland making blood pudding it made me wonder about those brick walls on my mother's side of the family. Now I feel a need to pick up some of those brick wall ancestors and take another look. Who still needs their temple ordinances so they are not cut off.

Day 3781

Today's Favorite Verse: Doctrine & Covenants 128:24

Today's Favorite Verse: Doctrine & Covenants 128:24
"Behold, the great day of the Lord is at hand; and who can abide the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap; and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Let us, therefore, as a church and a people, and as Latter-day Saints, offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness; and let us present in his holy temple, when it is finished, a book containing the records of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation."

This chapter is full of so many wonderful things to quote. So hard to pick a favorite. I picked the one that I am a part of. My work is family history. I am helping my family and other people's families to put together this book of humankind. One branch, one twig at a time. Some day all those that enter the house of the Lord will be pure and we shall see His face there. I feel this work is so great that many will weep and mourn when they realize what they missed out on during the winding up scenes of this earth, and preparation for the Lord's second coming. The Lord is hastening his work, we have to choose our priorities wisely.

“Like partaking of the sacrament, attending meetings, reading the scriptures, and saying personal prayers, doing family history and temple work should be a regular part of our personal worship. The response of our youth and others to prophetic invitations has been inspiring and proves this work can and should be done by all members at any age.
“… Doing the work now is much easier and limited only by the number of members who make this a priority. The work still takes time and sacrifice, but all can do it, and with relative ease compared to just a few years ago.
“To assist members, the Church has gathered records and provided tools so that much of the work can be done in our own homes or in the ward buildings and the temple. Most obstacles have been removed. Whatever your past perception, it is different now!
“However, there is one obstacle the Church cannot remove. It is an individual’s hesitation to do the work. All it requires is a decision and a little effort. It does not require a large block of time. Just a little time on a consistent basis will yield the joy of the work. Make the decision to take a step, to learn and ask others to help you. They will! The names you find and take to the temple will become the records for ‘the book’ [D&C 128:24]”
(Elder Allen F. Packer, “The Book", Oct. 2014 General Conference)

"Sister Susa Young Gates once asked her father, Brigham Young, how it would ever be possible to accomplish the great amount of temple work that must be done, if all are given a full opportunity for exaltation. He told her there would be many inventors of labor saving devices, so that our daily duties could be performed in a short time, leaving us more and more time for temple work. The inventions have come, and are still coming, but many simply divert the time gained to other channels, and not for the purpose intended by the Lord."
(Archibald F. Bennett, Improvement Era, Oct. 1952, p. 720)
Brigham Young died in 1877

"A universal system of intelligent cooperation will bring together on one record sheet every fact in existence regarding a particular family. This wealth of data will insure accuracy and banish error. Expensive and time-consuming duplication in research and repetitions in ordinances will be eliminated. No sooner will a new fact be uncovered in any part of the world by a researcher than it will be communicated to the Archives center and be assigned to its proper place, on some family record.
The process of 'facsimile transmission' as an application of the principle of television will make this possible."
(Archibald F. Bennett, Secretary Genealogical Society of Utah. Church News, December 20, 1947, pg 90)

Day 3717

Today's Favorite Verse: Doctrine & Covenants 98:16

Today's Favorite Verse: Doctrine & Covenants 98:16
"Therefore, renounce war and proclaim peace, and seek diligently to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children;"

This verse made me see exactly the direction President Nelson has given us in his general conference talks. We are told to be peacemakers. We are also counseled to work on our family history. I have thought many times as I am researching my ancestors how this allows my heart and focus to be on other things than what is happening in the world. It is a safe place a holy place, for my thoughts and actions. Then as this effort brings me to the house of the Lord, to perform vicarious ordinances for my kindred dead, I know this is all a great plan. The prophet truly is speaking the words of the Lord, for in the scriptures I can #HearHim.

"Now, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, what does the Lord expect of us? As a Church, we must “renounce war and proclaim peace.” As individuals, we should “follow after the things which make for peace.” We should be personal peacemakers. We should live peacefully—as couples, families, and neighbors. We should live by the Golden Rule. We have writings of the descendants of Judah as now merged with writings of the descendants of Ephraim. We should employ them and expand our circle of love to embrace the whole human family. We should bring divine love and revealed doctrines of restored religion to our neighbors and friends. We should serve them according to our abilities and opportunities. We should keep our principles on a high level and stand for the right. We should continue to gather scattered Israel from the four corners of the earth and offer the ordinances and covenants that seal families together forever. These blessings we are to bring to people of all nations."
(Russell M. Nelson, "Blessed are the Peacemakers", Oct 2022 General Conference)

Day 3687

Today's Favorite Verse: Mormon 4:23

Today's Favorite Verse: Mormon 4:23
"And now I, Mormon, seeing that the Lamanites were about to overthrow the land, therefore I did go to the hill Shim, and did take up all the records which Ammaron had hid up unto the Lord."

With all that is going on this was the most important thing Mormon could do, preserve the sacred records. These records would save souls. This reminded me of something President Nelson said in this last general conference.

"Brothers and sisters, now is the time for you and for me to prepare for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Now is the time for us to make our discipleship our highest priority. In a world filled with dizzying distractions, how can we do this?
Regular worship in the temple will help us."
(Russell M. Nelson, "The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again", Oct 2024 General Conference)

What is my highest priority? Is it temple worship? This question made me look at the project I just started. This week a memory of what started my obsession with family history came to me. I was a young child and whenever my siblings became to much, or I would get in trouble with my mother, I would go to the family cemeteries on either side of our home for solace and comfort. I found peace amongst the tombstones of my ancestors. I knew they were there for me and loved me. I started to bring a notebook and would write down their names and dates. I tried to figure out who was related to who and how I was related to them. I wish I still had that notebook. After reflecting on this I decided I would pick up the quest started over half a century ago. I am going through the cemetery transcriptions available online and piecing everyone in these old cemeteries together. I have already found two children that were never sealed to their parents. People that have been forgot over time. As I work on this there is so much peace that surrounds me. This is why in these latter-days the Lord has given us a charge of something so precious, that will strengthen us and save souls, and not overwhelm us by the evil the surrounds us.

Day 3558

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Timothy 1:3-4

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Timothy 1:3-4
"As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine,
Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do."

Paul is cautioning Timothy about the need for sound doctrine to be taught. Paul knew that members of the church would eventually apostatize, and the embracing of untruths and false doctrines would lead them astray. How sad it must have been for Paul, knowing what was coming. However, there were good people that served faithfully and Timothy was one of them. I pondered on how the adversary is still trying the same tactics in our day. There are members that fall away, but the church as a whole will not apostatize.

There are some key things we are to understand. First, is teach the doctrine of Christ and no other doctrine. It's so important that we really know what God's words are because in ignorance we can share what is not true. Especially when we heed fables and endless genealogies. Fables refers to false teachings, heeding endless genealogies refers to the false tradition that salvation came only to those of the chosen seed of Abraham. At the time of Paul the Jews would site long genealogies as a mean to show they were chosen. Yet, these very people rejected the Messiah. As members of the primitive church some thought their genealogies made them above the gentiles that converted. It's like today, just because you come from pioneer heritage you are not automatically saved. All of us need to work at it, everyone can be blessed as the seed of Abraham or adopted in.

"Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:"
(The Acts 10:34)

Day 3279

Today's Favorite Verse: Nehemiah 7:5, 64-65

Today's Favorite Verse: Nehemiah 7:5, 64-65

"And my God put into mine heart to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of them which came up at the first, and found written therein,

These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.

And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim."

I pondered on how important having a register of their genealogies were to them. It meant being able to hold the priesthood or not. Those that could not find their genealogy recorded were deemed polluted and could not hold the priesthood. That it took a priest with the Urim and Thummim to be able to determine what had been lost. No different than a patriarch today declaring what tribe we are from. Genealogy is so connected to temple blessings. It will become that offering in righteousness that we present to the Lord. I am grateful that "God put into mine heart to gather together" the genealogy of my family.

"Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:

And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness."

(Malachi 3:1-3)

"Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness."

(Doctrine and Covenants 13:1)

"Therefore, as I said concerning the sons of Moses—for the sons of Moses and also the sons of Aaron shall offer an acceptable offering and sacrifice in the house of the Lord, which house shall be built unto the Lord in this generation, upon the consecrated spot as I have appointed—"

(Doctrine and Covenants 84:31)

"Behold, the great day of the Lord is at hand; and who can abide the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap; and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Let us, therefore, as a church and a people, and as Latter-day Saints, offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness; and let us present in his holy temple, when it is finished, a book containing the records of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation."

(Doctrine and Covenants 128:24)

"Members of the church will also participate in temple work during the Millennium. The Saints will continue to build temples and receive ordinances in behalf of their kindred dead. Guided by revelation, they will prepare records of their ancestors all the way back to Adam and Eve.

(True to the Faith, "Millennium")

Just like in the days of Nehemiah, a "priest with Urim and Thummim" will help in preparing the record worthy of all acceptation to be offered to the Lord.

Day 2579

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezra 2:59, 62-63

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezra 2:59, 62-63

And these were they which went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsa, Cherub, Addan, and Immer: but they could not shew their father’s house, and their seed, whether they were of Israel:

These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.

And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.

Interesting, that when the Jews returning from Babylon to Jerusalem and Judah had no genealogy to declare they were of Israel, they were considered polluted from the priesthood. It seems like the Urim and Thummim was used to declare which tribe they belonged to.

I see the parallels to patriarchal blessings today that declare our lineage. It also shows an importance in preserving our genealogy, not doing so caused them to be polluted. Today, we are also told over and over again the need to work on our family history. It is a protection to us in these latter-days. This made me look up Elder Gong's general conference talk.

"Connecting with our ancestors can change our lives in surprising ways. From their trials and accomplishments, we gain faith and strength. From their love and sacrifices, we learn to forgive and move forward. Our children become resilient. We gain protection and power. Ties with ancestors increase family closeness, gratitude, miracles. Such ties can bring help from the other side of the veil.

The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “It may seem to some to be a very bold doctrine that we talk of—a power which records or binds on earth and binds in heaven.” The sociality we create here can exist with eternal glory there. Indeed, “we without [our family members] cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect,” that is, in “a whole and complete and perfect union.”

(Gerrit W. Gong, "We Each Have a Story", Apr 2022 General Conference)

Day 2564

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Chronicles 8:33

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Chronicles 8:33

"And Ner begat Kish, and Kish begat Saul, and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchi-shua, and Abinadab, and Esh-baal."

I tried to record the tribe of Benjamin and was not very successful at it. The names I had earlier just didn't match. I did recognize Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin. It sure reminded me of the lines I was trying to straighten out in my own genealogy earlier today.

Then it made me think of the offering that the sons of Levi will make again in righteousness, the book of all acceptation, the book containing the records of our dead.

"Behold, the great day of the Lord is at hand; and who can abide the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap; and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Let us, therefore, as a church and a people, and as Latter-day Saints, offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness; and let us present in his holy temple, when it is finished, a book containing the records of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation."

(Doctrine and Covenants 128:24)

There is much work to do on both sides of the veil.

Day 2505

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Chronicles 7:30

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Chronicles 7:30

" The sons of Asher; Imnah, and Isuah, and Ishuai, and Beriah, and Serah their sister."

I am still trying to build my genealogies of these tribes of Israel. I'm sure I have it messed up. At times I would resort to online sources and would often see it noted as coming from "classical rabbinical sources". While I was trying to straighten out Asher's line I learned something new I wasn't aware of with the tribe of Asher.

"Asher's descendants in more than one regard deserved their name ("Asher" meaning "happiness"). The tribe of Asher was the one most blessed with male children; and its women were so beautiful that priests and princes sought them in marriage. The abundance of oil in the land possessed by Asher so enriched the tribe that none of them needed to hire a habitation. The soil was so fertile that in times of scarcity, and especially in the Sabbatical year, Asher provided all Israel with olive-oil. The Asherites were also renowned for wisdom"

(Wikipedia, Asher)

Day 2504

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Chronicles 6:54

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Chronicles 6:54

"Now these are their dwelling places throughout their castles in their coasts, of the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites: for theirs was the lot."

I tried to keep track of these generations. When I saw the sons of Aaron were referred to as the Kohathites I remembered Kohath was the son of Levi, son of Jacob or Israel. Kohath was Aaron and Moses' grandfather. That made Jacob their second great-grandfather. There is four generations between them. Just like it said in the scriptures.

"And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;"

But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full."

(Genesis 15:13, 16)

"Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years."

(Exodus 12:40)

Levi, son of Jacob lived 137 years. His son Kohath lived 133 years. (see Exodus 6:16, 18) That makes up 270 years out of the 400 years they were in Egypt. Moses was 80 years old when he lead the Israelites out of Egypt. The only one I don't have an age on is Moses and Aaron's father Amram. It just never occurred to me how closely related Moses was to Jacob. It makes sense now how everyone knew what tribe they belonged to, and how they come up with the names for the places that they settled.

Day 2503

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Chronicles 3:10

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Chronicles 3:10

"And Solomon’s son was Rehoboam, Abia his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son,"

I got this far into the chapter and couldn't stand not having a pedigree chart. I knew I had collected various databases with bible genealogies over the year, so I stopped to look at them. Then I checked FamilySearch to see if anyone had worked out a nice one. I found some interesting things on genealogies that used other resources like the Talmud, and Quran. Some of them even contained the names of Adam and Eve's daughters. Though when I matched them to Chronicles it wasn't complete. I found the barest of genealogies in my personal collection and that followed most of these first three chapters of Chronicles. I started coloring the lines red from David to Adam. There is something about being able to picture who is related to whom that's important to me. Otherwise, I just skim over the names and with it probably miss a lot of important things.

Adam is David's 31st great grandfather

Noah is David's 22nd great grandfather

Abraham is David's 11th great grandfather

David is Jesus's 39th great grandfather

Jesus' genealogy through Joseph (legal father) descends through David's son Solomon. The genealogy through his mother Mary (blood line) descends through David's son Nathan.

Day 2500

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Chronicles 1:4, 24-28

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Chronicles 1:4, 24-28

"Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah,

Eber, Peleg, Reu,

Serug, Nahor, Terah,

Abram; the same is Abraham."

Even though this chapter doesn't give the ages when each father begat a son, and how long they lived, I finally sat and worked it out by other places in the scriptures. Until today, I had never thought about the fact the Noah was still alive when Abraham was born. I knew Shem was alive, but now realize he didn't die until after Abraham's grandson Jacob was born. What incredible things Noah witnessed and heard. His grandfather Methuselah heard Adam's testimony, witnessed his father Enoch and the city of Zion being translated, and didn't die until right before the flood. He would have heard about all these things directly from grandfather who was an eyewitness. Noah witnessed the flood and then lives to see Abraham and the covenant that God will make with him. I am struck on how important families and witnesses are to God.

Day 2498