“Wherefore, beware lest ye are deceived; and that ye may not be deceived seek ye earnestly the best gifts, always remembering for what they are given; For verily I say unto you, they are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do; that all may be benefited that seek or that ask of me, that ask and not for a sign that they may consume it upon their lusts. And again, verily I say unto you, I would that ye should always remember, and always retain in your minds what those gifts are, that are given unto the church.” (D&C 46:8-10). It is humbling to consider that every single one of our ancestors survived wars and famines and plagues at least long enough to raise a child. Through their grit they struggled through every kind of privation and hardship to carve out for future generations a better life than the one they endured. They left a legacy of faith through good works and a reliance on the tender mercies of a Heavenly Father who was mighty to save. This history of the noble struggle against sufferings of every kind and the humble submission to the Father’s will is a gift given to each of us. Like the servants in the Parable of the Talents, we can either take up these memories and in our own small way try to add and multiply them through our own courageous commitment to carrying on in the tradition of faith and trust in the Lord, or we can come to the conclusion that the burden of remembering the captivity of our fathers is too much for us, and we can hide the memories away and seek out a life unburdened by the weight of responsibility and expectation. It is not a trivial task to turn our hearts to our fathers and really study out in our minds and in our hearts the depths to which they were brought as they tried to work out their salvation, nor to remember what great miracles our Heavenly Father wrought on their behalf. The Lord has given us such a gift so that we have access to the lives and stories of so many of those that have come before. He has given us this gift in the hopes that we will not merely keep it neatly tucked away in the corner of our mind but that we will truly remember and reverence the sacrifices and faith of our ancestors by taking up responsibility for our own place in the long chain of faith-filled triumph over adversity that stretches all the way back to Adam and Eve. We can’t let these memories sit and collect dust. We have to take them out and use them and multiply them so that we can give to future generations a gift of remembrance that is even richer than the one that was given to us.
