If Only Our Ancestors Could Talk

By Sheiyenne Baloo

Doing family history work for my Navajo ancestors has brought me many blessings.

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woman rejoicing with open arms

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The high red canyon walls stood as sentinels watching over my maternal grandpa as he brought his sheep back home on the mesa. A hundred miles south, juniper and pine trees were the companions of my paternal grandma, who enjoyed their fragrance in the cool breeze. I’ve wondered what stories and memories these rocks and trees would tell of my Native American grandparents. They saw their daily lives and heard the prayers that still swirl across the land with each morning sun.

If only the land could talk.

I was born and raised in Mesa, Arizona, USA. We traveled to my parents’ birthplaces on holidays and while my mom cared for her mother during her declining health. I have distinct memories of my cousins from those times—playing together and figuring out life from a Navajo perspective. Those trips gave me a glimpse of the rural, reservation lifestyle that most of my family members share.

I remember watching the sun peek over the Carrizo Mountains and feeling it warm the house. I would sleep in my grandmother’s house, the one my uncle built before he died. At the end of the day, the stars would greet me one by one. When the Milky Way came to say salutations, that’s when I knew it was time to head back to the house. What would the sun and stars share about my grandparents?

If only the sky could talk.

I didn’t really get to know my grandparents. Not directly, anyway. My grandfathers both died before I could meet them here on earth. My paternal grandmother met me, her last grandchild, when I was one year old. My maternal grandmother slipped away to the spirit world when I was nine.

But recently I got the chance to focus on researching the history of these family members. I interviewed my relatives who remembered them. These interviews were filled with both laughs and tears as members of my family recounted their experiences with parents and grandparents. I learned about the quirky characteristics of my grandparents, along with the personal struggles that molded them. I found out where Grandpa Little John Báhózhóní hid his favorite snacks. A pearl-snap shirt and starched denim jeans were the daily clothing choice for Grandpa John Baloo. Grandma Lena loved to cook chicken and potatoes for her family. And now I know why Easter and Christmas were special for my Grandma Nellie. Knowing these little tidbits helped me better form a holistic image of who my grandparents were within their families and communities. Hearing these stories more fully brought them to life in my mind.

I’m so thankful those relatives can talk, so their memories have a voice.

As the sole member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in my family, I feel a responsibility to go to the temple for my grandparents and other family members in my family tree. However, as I’ve started this work, I’ve learned that it’s not always easy! Names can be misinterpreted and dates can be questionable. As President James E. Faust (1920–2007), Second Counselor in the First Presidency, said, “Finding your ancestors can be one of the most interesting puzzles you … can work on.”¹

As I keep working on this “puzzle” throughout my life, I know my grandparents are proud of the person I have become. I know they are safe, learning about the restored gospel and watching over their posterity. It is their sacrifices and the guiding hand of the Lord that brought me to where I am today. I am eternally grateful for what we know about the plan of salvation and temple work. I am grateful for the heritage my grandparents gave me, and I can’t wait to see them again.

We have so much to talk about.

11 Blessings from Family History

“As we participate in family history and temple work today, we also lay claim to ‘healing’ blessings promised by prophets and apostles. These blessings are also breathtakingly amazing because of their scope, specificity, and consequence in mortality. This long list includes these blessings:

“Increased understanding of the Savior and His atoning sacrifice;
“Increased influence of the Holy Ghost [see Doctrine and Covenants 109:15] to feel strength and direction for our own lives;
“Increased faith, so that conversion to the Savior becomes deep and abiding;
“Increased ability and motivation to learn and repent [see Doctrine and Covenants 109:21] because of an understanding of who we are, where we come from, and a clearer vision of where we are going;
“Increased refining, sanctifying, and moderating influences in our hearts;
“Increased joy through an increased ability to feel the love of the Lord;
“Increased family blessings, no matter our current, past, or future family situation or how imperfect our family tree may be;
“Increased love and appreciation for ancestors and living relatives, so we no longer feel alone;
“Increased power to discern that which needs healing and thus, with the Lord’s help, serve others;
“Increased protection from temptations and the intensifying influence of the adversary; and
“Increased assistance to mend troubled, broken, or anxious hearts and make the wounded whole.

“If you have prayed for any of these blessings, participate in family history and temple work. As you do so, your prayers will be answered.”

Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Family History and Temple Work: Sealing and Healing,” Ensign, May 2018, 47.