The Book of Mormon tells stories of families.
As we read these stories, we find
that families haven't changed that much over the centuries.
Even though they lived in another time and place,
they're a lot like us.
You know the story.
The Lord commanded Lehi's sons to go back
to Jerusalem for the records.
Now, the brass plates were a record.
They contained the scriptures.
But they also contained Lehi's genealogy and his family
history.
Lehi then taught his family what he had learned from the plates.
You might say that the tent of Lehi
became a family history center, just
as our homes should be today.
Our Heavenly Father's plan for His children
centers around this kind of a family,
with children who draw strength from ancestors many generations
back, and parents who seek to bless their posterity
for generations to come.
Have you ever wondered why the Lord
didn't command Lehi, rather than his sons,
to go back for the record?
He was the patriarch of the family.
The Lord gave him the vision.
And wouldn't Lehi have had more influence on Laban
than his young sons?
Yet the Lord commanded Lehi's sons to go back.
We might ask ourselves, What does
the Lord want our sons and daughters
to learn by going back to retrieve our family records?
Brothers and sisters, when we know
who we are in relationship to God and to each other,
it changes the way we think, the way we act,
and the way we treat other people.
Looking back prepares us to go forward.
Just as Lehi sent his sons back to Jerusalem
for the sacred records, let us send our children back
for our family records.
Just as the Lord provided a way for Nephi,
He has provided the Internet and other technologies that
will enable your children to find that string,
gather, and heal your families.
And He has provided temples where we can take the names
and find and make our gatherings permanent through sealing
ordinances.
Brothers and sisters, I promise you
that as you invite your children to go back and find
the records, like Lehi and Sariah,
you will "rejoice exceedingly."
You will be "filled with the Spirit,"
for you'll find that they are "desirable;
yea, even of great worth."
And you will know that it was wisdom in God
that you should carry them with you as you
journey in the wilderness towards your land of promise.