Gospel Message Day 204

Family History, Part 2

My first ventures into Family History--aside from being raised hearing the stories my parents shared--was because I was a voracious reader. We went regularly to the library, but too much time passed in between and I was left with nothing to read for days at a time. I started to read whatever I could find in the house. Most of the books were LDS fiction for teens, which my older siblings had or were reading at the time. But it wasn't enough.

Soon I came to my parents' books. Specifically, some ancestors' journals that my mother had. And like many books I found them fascinating, only these held something precious that the others did not--they were real. They were about real people who actually lived, who were telling about their own lives through their own words. I fell in love with those words, and those people. I wanted to know more. The Spirit of Elijah definitely woke in me as I read those journals. And I haven't stopped searching for those people since! (I just wish there were more primary sources from them so I could better know their personalities and experiences.)