It’s All About Family

My husband and I have accepted a calling to serve as Records Preservation missionaries in the Netherlands. We have been told that we will go to the National Archive building in Den Haag and photograph documents in their files for electronic preservation purposes. Electronic files, posted online, can help researchers and amateur genealogists confirm information and details about ancestor’s lives.

And why do we do this? It’s all about family. Finding family, connecting with family, understanding family history all helps us to understand ourselves.

Eternity is all about family. Heavenly Father’s entire work is about blessing His children. He is a completely devoted Father, listening to us and routinely showing himself in the details of our lives—a beautiful sunset or a tiny miracle or a personal message of love. Jesus Christ is the perfect oldest brother: completely obedient to his Father, willing to serve and sacrifice everything on our behalf. He, too, is only focused on how He can serve His family. In my church, we address each other as brothers and sisters—a reminder of the immortal family of which we are a part. Father commands us to learn charity for everyone and invites us see the divine in everyone around us.

I love this CS Lewis quote: “It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship. … There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit. … Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.”

The best place for us to learn to love, to feel love, to show love, is in our homes, in our immediate families. One of our children has a sweet pattern in their home: they often tell each other that they love each other. Coming or going, playing or correcting, bedtime or schooltime, they tell each other this sacred message. They even have a hand signal for it! And the children, young and old, mimic the symbol, respond in kind, and feel the sweet embrace the words bring. It’s powerful.

Because Heavenly Father knows how love is best taught, He allows us to form families and have children in this life. As a mom to eight, I have often felt awe in this gift of parenthood—in all its messy, hilarious, tender, sacred, joyful parts. A mother of adult children shared with me recently that she felt that having children was one of the best adventures she and her husband ever embarked upon. “Even when the children are having trouble, even when it is hard, it is still so worth it. A great blessing!”

I am so grateful that my mother savored her role as a mother. She grew up in a tiny family, just herself and her mother, but she dreamed of having a big family. Eventually she gave birth to ten children, and she readily admitted the challenges, but she treasured her motherhood. I remember her playing kickball with us at family night, and her powerful kick. I remember her bathing the baby (there was always a baby around) and then walking through the house with the toweled, sweet-smelling infant calling, “Who wants to kiss a clean baby?” Of course we all did. I remember her celebrating birthdays and setting a beautiful Sunday dinner table, and telling us (especially if we complained about each other) to “look for the good.” What did I want to do when I grew up? Be a mom.

My mother once said, “Sometimes we love our children so much that we can’t imagine how we can love one more person, but when the baby comes, you can’t help but love them. The baby brings love with them.”

In our families, we learn lots of other things, too, like how immature we are, or selfish, or impatient. We learn to deal with other people that we love, but who are imperfect. We learn to be nice, not to hit, to bite our tongues, and how to work together. And we get to laugh together, sing together, read bedtime stories together, feel the shiver of the Holy Ghost together, and wonder: how did I ever get to be related to such incredible people?

We came from an eternal family, and we are creating eternal families. As a records preservation missionary, I feel honored to be able to help with this in some small way. The family is ordained of God. Your family, with all its warts, quirks and inside jokes, is ordained of God. We can all make our families a little better, and I invite you to choose to do one thing, today, to bless your family.

Kristin Fry enjoyed a summer family reunion with her eight children, their spouses, and dozens of grandchildren! She is looking forward to serving as a Records Preservation Specialist missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.