Director’s Message

Glen Steenblik

At the end of each school year a phrase often expressed among friends is, “Have a great summer!” My invitation to you this month is “Have a sensational summer”; that is, a Sensational Family History summer.

“Sensation” is defined as “the action of the senses; power to see, hear, feel, taste, or smell; a particular mental condition produced by the stimulation of a sense organ, or the arousal of strong excited feelings.”

A sensational family history summer could be realized in many ways, from very simple to the fantastic:

• Drive to the community or neighborhood where you, your parents or grandparents lived – stopping the car, getting out to walk the streets – see the sites, touch the ground, etc.
• Go to a park where you picnicked or played as a child, sharing stories, pictures, experiences with family members.
• Organize a family reunion or simple gathering to share stories, possibly having children or grandchildren act out significant family history experiences. Our family recently did this, and our grandchildren enjoyed portraying ancestors fighting off persecuting mobsters at the cottage where missionaries were teaching the restored gospel and other scenes of dramatic hardship and sacrifice.
• Have a dinner where individuals prepare food dishes from your country of origin using secret family recipes.
• Find family names and take them to the temple to perform saving ordinances for your own family.

The possibilities are endless. Allow the Spirit to guide you.

In recent years we have been fortunate and blessed to visit the small Swiss village of Kappelen, spend time on the Isle of Man, walk the short mile stretch of road in Ammendrup, Denmark, visit the Steenblik farm in Geesteren, Netherlands, (which still bears the Steenblik name above the doorway), pause and ponder while walking the lane of the ancestral family farm in Harwarden, Wales. As we have visited these significant locations, birthplaces of grand or great grandparents, we have seen what is or was there, breathed in the air, felt connected with the same ground, smelled the smells, gazed at thesame horizon as did our ancestors. Deep feelings were stirred and personal connections were strengthened to those who have gone before.

William R Walker of the Seventy stated, “Each of us will be greatly blessed if we know the stories of faith and sacrifice that led our forefathers to join the Lord’s church.” I know that my life has been blessed, as have the lives of my children and grandchildren as we have all come to learn more about our family.

It is certainly not too late to do something truly sensational this summer. May you be blessed in all your family history efforts, great and small.