Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worldwide have felt the Spirit of the Lord as they listened to and searched the words of prophets referring to the Atonement of Jesus Christ, wherein he suffered for our sins, died, and overcame death through His resurrection. The knowledge of this Plan of Happiness, or Plan of Salvation influences us in all we do. We recognize the willingness of our Heavenly Father to allow His Firstborn to be offered as a sacrifice for the sins of all mankind, to be a sign of His love for His children.
Further evidence of this love is found in the work for the redemption of the dead. Work by proxy, as we know it doctrinally, is an important key to accomplish the mission of the Savior and His Church. We begin this work with the search for information about our ancestors. The search for information is greatly aided when records are available online and are indexed. Many Latter-day Saints have expressed their satisfaction and shared their experiences with indexing records.
Sister Melinda Torres of Puerto Rico says her experience has been satisfying, as she spends her time doing 'a work of love', seeking information from her parents, then bringing those names to the Holy Temple and doing the work of redemption for her loved ones.
'I feel a very strong, peaceful Spirit knowing that we are helping the other sons and daughters of Heavenly Father. How wonderful it is to work and support so many souls! It is beautiful to index, and I invite you to fall in love with this great work of the Lord. Heavenly Father's mercy will help us receive the blessings He has for His children,' Sister Torres testified.
Similarly, Sister María Carrasco, also from Puerto Rico, said that for years she has worked to advance her family history. 'Encouraged by my ward leaders, I decided to do indexing as a marathon participant. Although I have not come across any data about my family, I have felt the Spirit of the Lord very strongly as I completed the records. On several occasions my progress in the work stopped because of the difficulty in understanding the manuscript. I would offer up a prayer, asking for understanding for the sole purpose of helping someone who is on the other side of the veil'.
Sister Eliana Reyes Noboa from the Dominican Republic says that 'by carrying out this great work in this part of the vineyard, we are giving the opportunity to many families to find the names of their loved ones and to complete the ordinances that will allow them to be united for eternity'.
Esther Armoogam from Trinidad and Tobago recounts her experience: 'Thanks to FamilySearch's extensive network with other media, I have been able to communicate with relatives in the UK, the US, the whole Caribbean and here in my country. To my surprise, because I posted some family discoveries on social networks, the father of a child I teach in primary school let me know that in fact, we share a common ancestor.'
Sister Armoogam continues: 'This new connection between student and teacher has worked wonders on the academic performance of my newly discovered young relative. And he's still one of my best students today!'
The First Presidency said, 'Members are encouraged to participate in indexing, which is of great importance to family history and temple work.' Church members around the world respond to this counsel and receive wonderful blessings.
#IAlsoIndex – I am part of a great work
In the Caribbean Area during the month of June 2021, the #IAlsoIndex campaign will be held. The desire is to inspire new volunteers through stories, experiences, and messages, to bring the names we will index to life. This communication effort aims to increase the number of young people having an experience in the work of redemption for the dead by being involved in indexing work.
The message is: #IAlsoIndex I am part of a great work. We desire for the members to see that succeeding in bringing Israel together on both sides of the veil through temple work begins with the indexing of the names of individuals.