Some
years ago, President Gordon B. Hinckley told “something of a parable”
about “a one room school house in the mountains of Virginia where the
boys were so rough no teacher had been able to handle them.
“Then
one day an inexperienced young teacher applied. He was told that every
teacher had received an awful beating, but the teacher accepted the
risk. The first day of school the teacher asked the boys to establish
their own rules and the penalty for breaking the rules. The class came
up with 10 rules, which were written on the blackboard. Then the teacher
asked, ‘What shall we do with one who breaks the rules?’
“‘Beat him across the back ten times without his coat on,’ came the response.
“A
day or so later, … the lunch of a big student, named Tom, was stolen.
‘The thief was located—a little hungry fellow, about ten years old.’
“As
Little Jim came up to take his licking, he pleaded to keep his coat on.
‘Take your coat off,’ the teacher said. ‘You helped make the rules!’
“The
boy took off the coat. He had no shirt and revealed a bony little
crippled body. As the teacher hesitated with the rod, Big Tom jumped to
his feet and volunteered to take the boy’s licking.
“‘Very well, there is a certain law that one can become a substitute for another. Are you all agreed?’ the teacher asked.
“After
five strokes across Tom’s back, the rod broke. The class was sobbing.
‘Little Jim had reached up and caught Tom with both arms around his
neck. “Tom, I’m sorry that I stole your lunch, but I was awful hungry.
Tom, I will love you till I die for taking my licking for me! Yes, I
will love you forever!
President Hinckley then quoted Isaiah:
“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. …
“…
He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our
iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his
stripes we are healed.”
No man knows the full weight of what our Savior bore, but by the power of the Holy Ghost we can know something of the supernal gift He gave us.
In the words of our sacrament hymn:
...Dad loves loves doing this work and has reminded me many times how important geneology is and that he is doing this work for those people that were here at one time. He feels a strong bond to them, even the ones that go way way back. For sure he loves this work! He will often give Donna and I names when we take a day to go to the temple together. Guess its easy to forget these people after a given amount of time has passed . I say isn't there a faster way to do this work and he says "no there is no other way for each person deserves to have their work done for them individually." all three of us sisters did sealings for families while there last week.
