So often hearing him comes as such a quiet voice that I almost don’t recognize it and it is
only after contemplation over an event that I realize I did hear the quiet voice of inspiration and that the Lord was putting me in the right place at the right time. Over the last few months, I have spent much of my spare time transcribing Pioneer journals as part of my duties in the Church History Library. Learning the details of our pioneer ancestors and gleaning from their experiences. I never dreamed that the day would come that I would be able to put that knowledge into action and help someone put meat on the bones of their own family history.
Recently a Patron came into the Church History Library, and I just happened to be working the shift she came in. As I set down to help her locate church Records on her own Ancestor the Name of Appleton Harmon popped up and she explained that this was her great grandfather. He had not written any Journals but had been a missionary in England and she was looking for more information on him. As I listened the thought came to me. This is the Same A P Harmon you have been writing about in the Journals you have been transcribing this past month. Sure, enough as we compared dates places and times. They were the same person.
Because I had transcribed a Journal by Jacob Gates who served with A P Harmon and had come back to America on the Same Ship at the end of their missions, I was able to direct the Patron to a Journal full of information about her own ancestor and his Trip back to America in 1860. We read how he spoke with Power and Authority. How he was a leader among the Saints of England and how he had directed Conferences and that he had impacted the lives of many Saints. She left with tears in her eyes that day and a record that brought her great grandfather alive.
Was it a coincidence that I just happened to be there at the right moment and had just transcribed a journal that could help this patron? I think not. It was a quiet voice that new both of us. A loving father that knew I needed a testimony of the value of my service and a sister who needed to know who her ancestor was and how he had served. I am so grateful that on this occasion the Lord spoke, and I heard and, in the process, helped a Sister in the Church realize the divine mission her own family played in the grand scheme of the Lords Plan.
Sister Kathlene Burrow
Our walk to work in the snow uphill both ways in 15 degree weather.
Building your foundation up close.
Christmas with fellow missionaries
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