By Small Means

Dear Sisters and Brothers, Seven weeks ago we embarked on a stake wide indexing challenge. Millions of records have been digitized for preservation and research, but these records can only be accessed through the efforts of those who index them and type the information into searchable fields.  So many of you have responded and increased your indexing efforts!  It has been a thrill to witness and be a part of this experience! At our halfway mark, almost every ward had already reached their eight-week goal!  Prior to the beginning of this challenge our stake averaged 7,981 records indexed per week.  At the half-way point we averaged 32,416 records per week!   The combined goal from each ward for total records to be indexed in the 8 week period was 108,024 records. At our half-way mark we had already indexed 129,665(double what we averaged prior to the challenge)!!!!!  We grew from 146 people actively indexing to 202 with an average of 642 records per indexer!  We have continued to increase over the past two weeks.   President Nelson said that there is nothing more important right now than the gathering of Israel on both sides of the veil. It is marvelous to see how the Lord has magnified our efforts as we have set out to do His work! "And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things." - 1 Nephi 16. If you haven't yet taken the opportunity to participate in this effort it's not too late, we still have one more week! Our stake challenge will be completed next Sunday...but the work remains to be done. It was thrilling to feel the unity with each other working on a common goal, and we can absolutely keep up the work as we move forward.  Hopefully we have established good habits that will continue to help in the gathering.  Some may shift their focus on other aspects of family history to prepare ancestors to receive the blessings of the temple.  President Nelson has also said that "The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives."  Life presents an abundance of circumstances that may rob us of joy if we are out of focus.  I know we all have unique circumstances and challenges in life, and I can testify that this very indexing challenge has eased my burden and yes, even brought joy into my life as my daughter has faced health challenges that I had perceived were going to be overwhelming. I brought my laptop to the hospital and indexed while she was in surgery for 3 hours.  The time went by pretty quickly and I was filled with purpose rather than anxiety.  She is recovering really well...far better than I had dared to hope for and I really feel that we are being blessed for keeping an eternal focus and trusting Heavenly Father to handle "the small stuff".   I know Heavenly Father knows and loves all His children, and that Temple and Family History work are essential to His plan to bless us all...on both sides of the veil!  I also know that He will continue to magnify our efforts as we continue to put them forth. Thank you for your participation in not only the challenge, but for all your goodness in blessing the lives of those around you!  We live in a wonderful stake full of beautiful souls! With love, Carmella DiNardi Stake RS President