Our Greatest Responsibility Joseph Smith declared: History of the Church, 6:313 “The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead…. Those saints who neglect it, in behalf of their deceased relatives, do it at the peril of their own salvation.”

This message by President Smith first appeared in the February 1910 Improvement Era (p. 352). The theme is so timely and the words so pertinent as to merit restating.* "It matters not what else we have been called to do or what position we may occupy or how faithfully in other ways we have labored in the Church; none are exempt from this great obligation. It is required of the apostle as well as the humblest elder. Place, distinction, or long service in the Church will not entitle one to disregard the salvation of one’s dead. If we neglect the weightier privilege and commandment, notwithstanding all other good works, we shall find ourselves under severe condemnation." * First Presidency message Ensign February 1971 The greatest responsibility in this world God has laid upon us, is to seek after our dead.

The bishop can do it without neglecting his flock. A stake missionary can do it without abandoning his mission. A Sunday School teacher can accomplish it without forgetting his lesson. A ward Relief Society president can do it without forsaking the sisters in the ward. You can fulfill your obligation to your kindred dead and to the Lord without forsaking your other responsibilities. You can do this work. You can do it without becoming a so-called ‘ expert ’ in it. Once we started, we found the time. Somehow we were able to carry on all of the other responsibilities. There seemed to be an increased inspiration in our lives because of this work. But the decision, the action, must begin with the individual. The Lord will not tamper with our agency. If we want a testimony of genealogical and temple work, we must do something about that work. Boyd K. Packer, The Holy Temple, Bookcraft, 1980, pp , said, “ There somehow seems to be the feeling that genealogical work is an all-or-nothing responsibility. That is not so. Genealogical work is another responsibility for every Latter-day Saint. And we may do it successfully along with all the other responsibilities that rest upon us.

Elder Allan F. Packer - October 2014 General Conference From the Doctrine and Covenants we read: “The great day of the Lord is at hand. … Let us, therefore, as a church and a people, and as Latter- day Saints, offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness; and let us present in his holy temple, … a book containing the records of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation.” D & C 128:24 This “book” will be prepared using the records of names and ordinances in the Church’s Family Tree database. LDS Church Handbook 2: “... the Church focuses on divinely appointed responsibilities. These include helping members live the gospel of Jesus Christ, gathering Israel through missionary work, caring for the poor and needy, and enabling the salvation of the dead by building temples and performing vicarious ordinances. These four focuses and all other laws, commandments, and ordinances are required and not optional.”

Few members of the Church are regularly involved in finding and doing temple ordinances for their family. This calls for a change in our priorities. Don't fight the change, embrace it! “This work needs to be done, for our dead and for ourselves.” It is essential to our salvation. “We must not sacrifice our exaltation or that of our families for less important interests.” President Thomas S. Monson says, “Our job is to search out our dead and then go to the temple and perform the sacred ordinances that will bring to those beyond the veil the same ordinances we have.” “As we work toward exaltation, we must work on all of the requirements and not become distracted by focusing on one or two requirements or other unrelated things.” “We do not set the requirements, but, individually, we must meet all of them. The plan of salvation contains all of the doctrines, laws, commandments, and ordinances needed for all to qualify for exaltation.” “The leaders did not set the requirements for exaltation.” God did!

“To the missionaries, I repeat, it will do no good for you to baptize someone and have that individual fall away from the Church shortly thereafter. What have you accomplished? You may have labored long and hard, you may have fasted and prayed as you taught a particular individual the gospel. But if he does not remain active in the Church, all of your labor has been in vain. The whole process counts for nothing. Any investigator worthy of baptism becomes a convert worthy of saving.” President Gordon B. Hinckley “Find the Lambs, Feed the Sheep”, 21 February 1999

I hope to see us dissolve the artificial boundary line we so often place between missionary work and temple and genealogical work, because it is the same great redemptive work!” President Spencer W. Kimball First Presidency Message, “The Things of Eternity - Stand We in Jeopardy?” Ensign, January 1977, p. 3 “The Things of Eternity - Stand We in Jeopardy?” “The more clearly we see eternity, the more obvious it becomes that the Lord’s work in which we are engaged is one vast and grand work with striking similarities on each side of the veil.

Family History Is a Major Factor in Retention and Activation A more recent Church study reveals that early involvement in finding and preparing family names for the temple and, where possible, participation in vicarious baptisms for them are major factors in the retention of new members. The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve have encouraged a much broader use of family history and the Family History Centers in the retention of new converts and the activation of those who have fallen out of regular church activity. Priesthood leaders, missionaries, and Family History Center directors all play important roles in the expanded use of these centers. Research Information Division, Church Correlation Department

Our Greatest Responsibility Joseph Smith taught: (D&C 128:15) “Let me assure you that these are principles in relation to the dead and the living that cannot be lightly passed over, as pertaining to our salvation. For their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation, as… they without us cannot be made perfect – neither can we without our dead be made perfect.”