Someone has said that eventually, “Everyone succumbs to finitude; we all reach that state where most ambitions are either achieved or abandoned; either way, they belong to the past. Their future changes, instead of a ladder leaning toward the goals of life, it flattens out into a perpetual present or now. We are no longer climbing, reaching for status, or money. All the vanities, (described by the Preacher while writing in the Book of Ecclesiastes), hold less and less interest: or they become totally abandoned, they become a ‘chasing after the wind’. For those of us who fall into that category, who have abandoned the ‘eight to five’ work world for a more relaxed but still a giving and hopefully, goal oriented life. We should carefully consider what a prophet of God has said, Dallin H. Oaks stated: “There is an eternal principle that we are happier and more fulfilled when we act and serve for what we give, not for what we get.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint-wide hope is, that all who share testimonies of this work, work for our Ancestors, will become involved in one way or another moving the work forward. However, the ‘retired’ will most likely be the ones investing the primary effort. The investment of time and effort and even money, in this great work, reminds me of the following banking story: “An old Native American wanted a loan for $500. The banker pulled out the loan application. “What are you going to do with the money?” he asked the Indian. “Buy Silver, make jewelry, and sell it,” was the response. “What have you got for collateral?” “Don’t know collateral,” replied the Old Indian. “Well that’s something of value that would cover the cost of the loan if you default or can’t repay it…”Have you got any vehicles?” “Yes. 1949 Chevy pickup,” replied the Indian. The banker shook his head, “How about livestock?” “Yes, I have a horse,” replied the Indian “How old is it?” the banker asks. “Don’t know, has no teeth,” replied the Indian. Finally the banker decided to make the $500 loan without collateral. Several weeks later the Old Indian was back in the bank. He pulled out a roll of bills, “Here to pay.” He said. He peeled off a few bills and handed the banker the money to pay his loan off. “What are you going to do with the rest of that money?” the banker asks. “Put in Hogan”, replied the Indian. “Why don’t you deposit it in my bank,” the banker asked. “Don’t know deposit,” replied the Indian. The banker said, “You put the money in our bank and we take care of it for you. Whenever you want to use it, you can withdraw it.” The old Indian leaned across the desk and asks the banker… “What you got for collateral?” We are not making jewelry with silver, but it is true, we are searching for gems and we usually do not need to take out a loan, nor do we have to have collateral in order to dig in and search. As Brother Oaks has stated; “… we are happier and more fulfilled when we act and serve for what we give, not for what we get.” Not only are we happier as we give and serve but we are providing an eternal service for those who came before. They, who are now on the other side, knowingly or unknowingly served us in so many ways, they invested in us and ours. Their investment was in building roads, bridges, churches, school houses, and they even invested in banks, where some borrowed to build their homes, their businesses, sometimes without any collateral. We can’t pay them back in gold but we can pay them back by doing their work in the Temples of our God. The FamilySearch software is becoming more and more sophisticated, almost daily, and with the partner sites we have great tools to work with. A truism I picked up from a recent TV commercial describes it perfectly; “Every Great Why, Deserves a Great How.” For those of us who have been praying for a ‘Great How’, I believe our prayers are being answered.