April 2005 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

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in the library. Also added was
a 30-station computer lab,
giving the library more than
200 computers on which visitors
can use family history
research software and access
the Internet.
“Our guests are always
pleased to find that many of
the popular pay-per-use
genealogy sites on the Web
are accessible for free
through our library computers,”
said Ray Wright, director
of the Family History Library.
“The improvements
make the library more
user-friendly,” said Brother
Wright. “We are better
equipped now to handle
both young and old, beginner
and advanced
Society Still Offering
Relief 163 Years Later
Last month, the Relief
Society marked its
163rd anniversary, celebrating
more than a century
and a half of relief efforts to
members and neighbors
around the world. Ward Relief
Societies have created service
traditions, improved community
relations, and reached
out to young and old, members
of the Church and those
who are not.
Bountiful Sisters’
Relief Efforts Ongoing
For several years, the
Relief Society presidency and
enrichment leaders of the
Bountiful 24th Ward,
Bountiful Utah Heights Stake,
have strived to remember the
importance of relief in Relief
Society.
Thanks to current events,
the ward’s desire to help has
increased even more.
The ward has forged a tradition
of helping others by
quilting blankets and clothing,
making toys and teddy
bears, and knitting scarves
and caps. After learning of the
destruction caused by the
tsunamis in southeast Asia,
Relief Society sisters prepared
and delivered many of these
items for donation.
Carol Jensen, the ward
Relief Society president, said
the role of the Relief Society
is important to many people.
“Through Relief Society, the
sisters joining the Church
have found not only love,
which has motivated sisterhood,
but also the weekly lessons,
which have encouraged
knowledge and spiritual
expansion,” she said.
In addition to making
donations to places far away,
the ward has also donated
stuffed bears and quilts to
hospitals and shelters in
Utah. A shipment of bears
was also sent to North Dakota
to raise spirits after floodwaters
damaged homes there.
Ward members have made
sacrifices in order to perform
the service. Many sisters have
contributed money as well as
hours working on the projects.
The ward hopes that
through its service, other
wards will be motivated to do
the same.
“We are being stricken
with so many tragedies
throughout the world,” ward
member Dora Flack said.
researcher. We want our
guests, regardless of experience,
knowledge, or primary
language spoken, to have a
successful experience when
they visit.”
During the open house,
which was celebrated in conjunction
with the 110th
anniversary of the
Genealogical Society of Utah,
“Our service needs to grow to
match them.”
Interfaith Service Builds
Relationships in California
What started as a plan for
an enrichment night meeting
for the Redlands Second
Ward, Redlands California
Stake, turned into an interfaith
humanitarian effort that
helped build relationships
between members of other
faiths and Latter-day Saints in
the Redlands area and
resulted in thousands of
items being sent to the needy
in Afghanistan.
Jean Arnott, who was in
charge of the project, initially
planned on making the
endeavor a one-day affair. But
she found that as the group
invited those of other faiths
to participate, the ability to
serve increased dramatically.
Although the initial plan
was to prepare 100 hygiene
kits, 100 newborn kits, and
100 wooden toy cars, the
group, which became known
as Women of Faith of
Redlands, was able to far
exceed those plans.
Hundreds of women of
many faiths visited the
Redlands California Stake
Center each Thursday from
May until September 2004 to
the library offered 30 classes
on family history research.
Classes focused on research
for youth, ethnic research,
and using the Internet,
TempleReady, and Personal
Ancestral File®.
Additional information
about the Family History
Library may be found at
www.familysearch.org. ■
assemble, paint, gather, and
sew materials.
By the time the project
ended, the women had made
437 newborn kits; 375
hygiene kits; 64 school kits;
244 quilts; 809 sets of infant
and toddler clothing; 738 sets
of hats, scarves, and gloves;
and more than 3,200 toys.
“The original goal was to
gather women of different
religious faiths together to
provide some kind of humanitarian
service,” Sister Arnott
said. “What resulted from the
efforts of these Women of
Faith was more than any of
us imagined.”
Alaskan Sisters Focus
on Local Needs
During the last three
years, Relief Society sisters in
the Soldotna Alaska Stake
have sewed, knitted, crocheted,
and assembled more
things than most people do
in a lifetime.
Sisters in the Sterling,
Soldotna, Homer, and Kenai
Wards, along with occasional
helpers from Primary children
and young women, have
met several times during the
last three years to provide
service for those in need.
While several of the things
the group has done were sent