When history brings you back.


Amym73
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Hello

I'm Amy. I converted 13 years ago.  I had wanted to convert since I was 20 but my 1st Husband absolutely refused to let me.  It was rough, my 2nd husband was not religious but let me do it because it was so important to me. I was active while in lived I  Washington but when I moved to Oregon I had major difficulty making friends in my new ward. I was treated like an outsider and never felt wanted or invited. I still struggled on for over a year before I stopped going. Noone seemed to care and it seemed to validate my feelings of not belonging.  I was maybe a bit overly sensitive back then. I am not sure,  as I suffer from social anxiety. 

We had recently moved and I hopped on to my lds account to work with employment services to see if I could find a little job while working on my graduate degree.   

I have always remained devoted to working on  my genealogy, last week imagine my surprise when I found that my 4th great grandparent's were Mormon pioneers. Finding this information and reading their story and struggles suddenly awakened an overwhelming feeling. I think I cried when I realized that I wasn't alone in joining the church. It felt like I was validated when my family had all acted like I'd done something crazy when I was baptized 13 years ago. 

Well now here I am, perpetually placing myself in awkward scenarios. In another new place where I know nobody.  I have contacted the clerk at my ward to request my membership record and try to see if there is a place for me with all of my faults and 10 year absence. I feel like I've forgotten everything which makes me apprehensive,  so here I am reading around on the forums and the lds site. Baby steps.  ? 

Edited by Amym73
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Welcome, and welcome back. I love genealogy, too. What a great thing to find! My SIL who is the first convert in her family found a Mormon ancestor, too. It does help you feel a certain connectedness. But even without that... there is a place for you, always. There's a place for the gregarious ones, and there's a place for those who sit quietly and take things in. 

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22 minutes ago, Amym73 said:

 

I have always remained devoted to working on  my genealogy, last week imagine my surprise when I found that my 4th great grandparent's were Mormon pioneers. Finding this information and reading their story and struggles suddenly awakened an overwhelming feeling. I think I cried when I realized that I wasn't alone in joining the church. It felt like I was validated when my family had all acted like I'd done something crazy when I was baptized 13 years ago. 

 

I always seem to find out that when an ancestry in the church goes back that far...I'm probably related to them in some way.  So we could be long lost cousins. :)   My ancestors on my mom's side go all the way back to Joseph Smith days.  It's really cool to learn more about them.

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1 hour ago, pam said:

I always seem to find out that when an ancestry in the church goes back that far...I'm probably related to them in some way.  So we could be long lost cousins. :)   My ancestors on my mom's side go all the way back to Joseph Smith days.  It's really cool to learn more about them.

? isn't it amazing how often others are connected! I was shocked to find out I was related to Joseph Smith, 5th cousin 5 times removed. 

Edited by Amym73
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14 hours ago, pam said:

Plus Amy you are living in a good state.  I'll be up there next year for my family reunion. :)

I am. Oregon is beautiful! Most of the people are very nice, I feel much more so,  in the area I am now in Southern Oregon. 

Wonderful that you have reunions, my family stopped having them after the last oldest generation died, very sad. I hope you have a wonderful reunion!  

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15 hours ago, Eowyn said:

Welcome, and welcome back. I love genealogy, too. What a great thing to find! My SIL who is the first convert in her family found a Mormon ancestor, too. It does help you feel a certain connectedness. But even without that... there is a place for you, always. There's a place for the gregarious ones, and there's a place for those who sit quietly and take things in. 

Thank you for your kind words, it feels so good to hear that there is always a place for me. I hope it works out here. I met a few ladies in my ward using the genealogy center at the local stake and they were so very sweet and kind. 

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1 hour ago, Jane_Doe said:

Speaking of genealogy: did you know that as a member of the LDS church, you have a free Ancestry subscription?

OH thank you for sharing that. I've already paid for mine but that would be a wonderful way to save 300.--  a year.  I wonder how I link that to my current account. What does it include? I don't have access to every collection at the moment because I was trying to save a little. I realize you may not have these answers, that's okay I can probably figure it out eventually, thank you though. :) 

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18 hours ago, Amym73 said:

...I was treated like an outsider and never felt wanted or invited. I still struggled on for over a year before I stopped going. No one seemed to care and it seemed to validate my feelings of not belonging...

Well now here I am, perpetually placing myself in awkward scenarios. In another new place where I know nobody.  I have contacted the clerk at my ward to request my membership record and try to see if there is a place for me with all of my faults and 10 year absence. I feel like I've forgotten everything which makes me apprehensive,  so here I am reading around on the forums and the lds site. Baby steps.  ? 

You've come to the right place!:D

If your ward doesn't make you feel welcome, then you can always come here and talk about insights, spiritual experiences, challenges in life, testimonies, doctrinal questions, etc.  We just love to talk.  We also have our debates.  Don't let that prevent you from at least reading.  I participate in many.  I also just sit on the sidelines of some.  People have interesting insights when they need to put it in writing.

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4 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

You've come to the right place!:D

If your ward doesn't make you feel welcome, then you can always come here and talk about insights, spiritual experiences, challenges in life, testimonies, doctrinal questions, etc.  We just love to talk.  We also have our debates.  Don't let that prevent you from at least reading.  I participate in many.  I also just sit on the sidelines of some.  People have interesting insights when they need to put it in writing.

 

Thanks!  I read around a little and felt it was a pretty good place to ask questions and so far it really has been great! 

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12 minutes ago, Amym73 said:

OH thank you for sharing that. I've already paid for mine but that would be a wonderful way to save 300.--  a year.  I wonder how I link that to my current account. What does it include? I don't have access to every collection at the moment because I was trying to save a little. I realize you may not have these answers, that's okay I can probably figure it out eventually, thank you though. :) 

First, you need an LDS.org account which includes your membership number (your temple recommend has that, or you can get it from your ward clerk).  If you have this and have forgotten, there are reminder options, or your ward clerk should be able to help you.

Then you log into FamilySearch.org with your LDS.org credentials.  If you already have an account, but don't have an LDS.org one, I recommend using the same credentials when creating the LDS.org account.  Alternately, you can contact support about the best way to link your FamilySearch account to the LDS.org one (after the LDS.org one is set up).

See this help page: https://familysearch.org/ask/salesforce/viewArticle?id=kA230000000PF7JCAW&lang=en

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1 hour ago, Amym73 said:

OH thank you for sharing that. I've already paid for mine but that would be a wonderful way to save 300.--  a year.  I wonder how I link that to my current account. What does it include? I don't have access to every collection at the moment because I was trying to save a little. I realize you may not have these answers, that's okay I can probably figure it out eventually, thank you though. :) 

Ok, I see other people answered this already, but I'm going to anyways because I can.

 

1)   If you do not have an LDS.org account, sign up for one.

a.     You will need your membership number (on your temple recommend or ask your ward clerk). 

b.    Go to LDS.org

c.     Click “My account and Ward” (topright corner).

d.    Click “Sign in”

e.     Click “Register for an LDS account”

f.      Click “Register as Member”

g.    Fill out information and follow directions from the website

2)   Sign in at FamilySearch.org

a.     Go to FamilySearch.org

b.    Click “Sign in”

c.     Click “LDS Account”

d.    Sign in with your normal LDS.org information.

3)   Sign in to Ancestry.com

a.     Click this link: https://familysearch.org/partner/ancestry

b.    Click “Create Your Free Ancestry Account”

c.     Follow the prompts

d.    You are now signed in and have your own Ancestry account.

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I live in Central America. My wife and her children joined the Church just a few weeks ago. The day after their baptisms the Bishop issued them temple recommends for Baptisms and that same afternoon the Relief Society President, the Young Women's President and the Family History Consultant came to our home and taught them about genealogy. The following Saturday they went to the Temple and did baptisms and confirmations for the dead with them. Now last week my wife was so interested in Genealogy that she talked me into traveling with her for a few days through the country where we searched cemeteries and spoke to family members to recover some of her family records. 

Just a side note. Our ward here has three sets of missionaries and they are on track to baptize well over 100 people in the ward this year. They work hard on retention, and we feel very much loved in the ward. Life is good!

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On 9/7/2016 at 0:58 PM, tebs1962 said:

I live in Central America. My wife and her children joined the Church just a few weeks ago. The day after their baptisms the Bishop issued them temple recommends for Baptisms and that same afternoon the Relief Society President, the Young Women's President and the Family History Consultant came to our home and taught them about genealogy. The following Saturday they went to the Temple and did baptisms and confirmations for the dead with them. Now last week my wife was so interested in Genealogy that she talked me into traveling with her for a few days through the country where we searched cemeteries and spoke to family members to recover some of her family records. 

Just a side note. Our ward here has three sets of missionaries and they are on track to baptize well over 100 people in the ward this year. They work hard on retention, and we feel very much loved in the ward. Life is good!

That's wonderful! Good luck on your genealogy adventures and congratulations on your baptisms! 

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