Gospel Questions: Why Do Mormons Do Genealogy?

by Tristi Pinkston | More from this Blogger

31 Jan 2008 03:40 PM

When we think of genealogy, we generally envision little old ladies hunkered down over their family histories, or we think of Mormons. We might even think of little old Mormons. Why do Mormons believe so strongly in doing their genealogy?

There are a couple of reasons.

First, we believe that by knowing where we came from, we can learn more about ourselves. Not only are physical characteristics passed from generation to generation, but we can discover why we have such a great sense of humor (from our paternal grandfather) or are so stubborn (from our maternal grandfather). We can learn important things about the genes we carry. Do we have a tendency toward heart disease in our family? What about cancer? What about mental illness? When we learn about our ancestors and discover what weaknesses they had physically, we can be more aware of the symptoms in ourselves and perhaps detect warning signs earlier than we would otherwise.

We also take very seriously the scripture found in 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."

The Prophet Elijah appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith in the Kirtland temple a hundred and fifty years ago. Since then, all over the world and not just in Mormon communities, people have found themselves drawn toward digging into their roots.

The main reason we do genealogy is so we can submit the names of our kindred dead for temple work. We believe that everyone who has lived on the earth should have the chance to have these ordinances done for them. They are given the chance to decide for themselves whether or not to accept them-if Great-Uncle Bernie decides it's not for him, that's okay, but at least he's been given the chance.

Even in cases where we are not able to take the names to the temple, there is something precious and fulfilling about knowing where we came from. Genealogy is truly a special thing and brings choice blessings into our lives.

Related Blogs:

Temple Ordinances for the Dead

Information Needed for Ordinances

Cankered Roots

Learn more about Tristi Pinkston

I've been a blogger for Families.com since August of 2006.

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