I received my first journal when I was eight years old. It was a gift from my parents in celebration of my birthday and my decision to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
The first half of the journal was filled with recollections of my life that my mother had written. I remember excitedly reading about the day I was born, outings with family and other events. She had covered the first eight years of my life for me. Her final entry was dated 10/13, my eighth birthday and contained a beautiful letter. One paragraph of this letter reads:
“For eight years, we have tried to keep a history of the events of your first years….
…Now you keep this journal as the Lord has commanded us to through his prophets, both now as in the time of the Nephites. Write about your thoughts and feelings, both happy and sad. Write about those things that the Lord will teach you through your diligence in prayer and in the study of the scriptures. Write about your hopes and dreams and goals. Write as often as you can and it will be a great blessing to you and to your family.”
So I began. I wrote my first entry that same day, recounting my birthday party. My second entry contains the details of my baptism, the way I felt and the people who were there.
From the time I was 8 to the time I was 14 I wrote in that journal only eight times, but I still read that sloppy handwriting with pleasure today. Sometime in my fifteenth year, my desire for writing was rekindled and this time it kept going strong. For four years I wrote at least twice weekly. This journal, recounting some of the most trying and important events of my life, is now one of my most valued possessions. It has played an important role in my life now, contributing to the fulfillment of a great promise from Heavenly Father. In John Chapter 14, verse 26 we read:
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
My journal is a tool for His bringing things to my remembrance. Often when I find my life in turmoil today due to depression or other events, I open my journal and find guidance. As I read over tumultuous past events I hear a soft whispering in my mind, “You made it through back then, you can make it through now.”
I am also strengthened when reading past words of testimony regarding Heavenly Father, the priesthood or other things of a spiritual nature, of which I once wrote.
Yes, Henry B. Eyring, and apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, in “O Remember, Remember,” Ensign, Nov 2007, 66–69 said:
“When our children were very small, I started to write down a few things about what happened every day. Let me tell you how that got started. I came home late from a Church assignment. It was after dark. My father-in-law, who lived near us, surprised me as I walked toward the front door of my house. He was carrying a load of pipes over his shoulder, walking very fast and dressed in his work clothes. I knew that he had been building a system to pump water from a stream below us up to our property.
He smiled, spoke softly, and then rushed past me into the darkness to go on with his work. I took a few steps toward the house, thinking of what he was doing for us, and just as I got to the door, I heard in my mind—not in my own voice—these words: “I’m not giving you these experiences for yourself. Write them down.”
I went inside. I didn’t go to bed. Although I was tired, I took out some paper and began to write. And as I did, I understood the message I had heard in my mind. I was supposed to record for my children to read, someday in the future, how I had seen the hand of God blessing our family.”
The testimony you record in your journal, or in a letter or other manner may someday influence a descendant whom you never knew while on earth. In addition to that, future descendants doing genealogy work will desperately hope that there is more to you, their ancestor, than just what exists in their imagination.
Spencer W. Kimball, in “President Kimball Speaks Out on Personal Journals,” New Era, Dec 1980, 26 said:
Any…family that has searched genealogical and historical records has fervently wished its ancestors had kept better and more complete records…
…People often use the excuse that their lives are uneventful and nobody would be interested in what they have done. But I promise you that if you will keep your journals and records, they will indeed be a source of great inspiration to your families, to your children, your grandchildren, and others, on through the generations. Each of us is important to those who are near and dear to us—and as our posterity read of our life’s experiences, they, too, will come to know and love us.”
This is true. My most treasured genealogical items are actual accounts of ancestors lives. Whether they be biographical histories, actual journal entries, poems or written works by that ancestor, pictures or other. My greatest desire as I do Family history, is to know these people from whom I descend. How did they live? Who were their friends? What did they believe? Too often, questions of this kind cannot be answered either because a personal history was not kept, or was not preserved carefully enough and has been destroyed or lost. Hopefully this will not happen in your family. Your descendants will want to know you and writing in your journal and keeping it safe will give them that chance.
