President Hinckley's Story of the Bricklayer

To hear President Hinckley tell this story is hysterical!
Be sure and click on the pause button on my playlist at the bottom of my page, otherwise you'll go nuts listening to this and my songs.

My Granddad & the Spirit of Elijah

Two days ago, I had the blessed opportunity of taking my son, Hunter, to the Mesa Temple and baptizing him on behalf of my deceased maternal grandfather, Calvin Griffin Peace. It was a remarkable experience, as we truly felt the unmistakable spirit of Elijah. We performed over 50 proxy baptisms for my deceased family members. In the past few weeks, I've had a relentless desire to do genealogy work. I love it! It feels so good to put together pieces of the family tree that were lost or undiscovered. I have not been alone in this work, and I've felt the Spirit of Elijah on many occasions during these past few weeks. I know I have many non-Mormon friends and family that read my blog, so let me explain what I'm talking about. For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the spirit of Elijah is the spirit of family kinship and unity. It is the spirit that motivates the concern to search out ancestral family members through family history; and, on their behalf, to perform proxy baptisms, temple endowments, and sealing ordinances. This is seen as fulfillment of the prophecy of Malachi that in the last days Elijah "will turn the heart [in Hebrew, the innermost part, as the soul, the affections] of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers" (Malachi. 4:5-6).

The appearance of Elijah to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple in 1836 inaugurated anew this spirit. The spirit of Elijah is active in the impetus anyone feels toward finding and cherishing family members and family ties past and present. In the global sense, the spirit of Elijah is the spirit of love that may eventually overcome all human family estrangements. Mormons are therefore very zealous about collecting and submitting the names of their ancestors for this great, saving work. Baptism for the dead in these holy temples gives those who would have embraced Christ and His church the opportunity to do so after death. It is a wonderful gift granted by a merciful God. I've included a photo of an LDS temple baptismal font, where these sacred ordinances are performed. These baptismal fonts always rest on the backs of 12 oxen, which represent the 12 tribes of Israel. If you want to see one of these fonts in person, let me baptize you first, then I'll take you there. :) Hey, I'm never pushy, but every once in a while I have to try. :)