Lessons on the Temple
Lesson No. Thirty-Seven

Temple and Family History is the Work of the Lord

The Albert Petty Family book delivered from an unknown source – In 1992 while serving as the president of the Kentucky Louisville Mission a package containing a copy of The Albert Petty Family book, written by my Grandfather Charles B. Petty, was delivered to the mission home.  There was no name or return address on the book or package,  and we still don’t know who sent it.  As I thumbed through the book I noticed that my great, great, grandfather Albert Petty was born in Hiseville Kentucky.     

I knew I needed to take my family to Hiseville, and when we walked in the only store in Hiseville we asked where to find the Petty Family Cemetery that was mentioned in the book.  We learned that it was on private property and that the owner had been in the store five minutes earlier.  Just then the owner came back because he had forgotten his wallet.  We asked for permission to visit the cemetery.  The cemetery had not been preserved, but he invited us to follow him about 2 miles out of town where he pointed to a single tree in the middle of a corn field where the cemetery had been located.  

I walked out into the field and found a headstone of a Petty child who was born and died in the same year.  After our mission I retained a professional genealogist to help us with the Petty family line in Hiseville.  He could not find any of the Petty family from the Hiseville area whose work had not already been done, and he was not able to identify who this Petty child was.

Reconnecting with Hiseville as the president of the Louisville Kentucky Temple – Twenty years later we were called again to Louisville, this time as temple president and matron.  In this calling one of our first opportunities was to speak in the Glasgow ward and Sulfur Well branch, both near Hiseville, and we met Kris Oleson, a member of the Sulfur Well branch, who began working in the temple office.  Not only was Sister Oleson an experienced family history researcher but she also knew of many of the families from the Hiseville area, including the Petty family.  She insisted on helping with our family history.

The Lord inspired advancement in computer technology – Shortly after we reconnected to Hiseville, the Church Family History Department began allowing members to do work for “possible ancestors”.  The definition of possible ancestors are “individuals who have a probable family relationship that cannot be verified because the records are inadequate, such as those who have the same last name and resided in the same area as your known ancestors”.  This new policy along with advancements in technology allowed Sister Oleson to find many possible ancestors in the Petty family who lived in the Hiseville area.

Sealing many Petty families for time and eternity – With the help of many wonderful Louisville Kentucky Temple patrons, we did the temple work for over 100 Petty family members.  The highlight was on October 16, 2013, when I sealed many Petty couples for time and all eternity, and in addition 75 Petty children were sealed to their parents.  Several of these children died as infants, and I believe that one of them was the Petty child whose headstone I found.

Temple and family history is the work of the Lord – I am grateful to the Lord and for his tender mercies toward His people on both sides of the veil.  I am sure that one of the reasons I was called back to Kentucky as temple president was to do this work for my Petty ancestors who wanted it so badly.  When I first served in Kentucky I was fully engaged in missionary service, the “possible ancestor” program and the enabling technology was not in place, Sister Oleson did not live near Hiseville, and there was no temple in Kentucky.  Twenty years later the time had come, and everything lined up perfectly.  

I am certain my Petty family ancestors, who live in the spirit world, were very anxious to have their temple work done, and the Lord was mindful of them and their righteous desires.  I also know that the Lord is so patient and kind, and that He made it possible for me to return to serve in the Kentucky Louisville Temple under circumstances that allowed for this temple and family history work to be done.