Israel, in the Hebrew language, literally means “Champion of God” (From the Book, ‘Wisdom of Israel’). Israel was the name given to Jacob when he ‘prevailed with God’ at Penuel in the wilderness. Jacob (Israel) was the son of Isaac who was the son of the great Abraham. Israel had twelve sons who eventually became…
Tag: Family History
On The Greatest Achievement
Different persons will give a different answer as to what is the greatest achievement in a person’s life. If I were a long distance runner winning a marathon might be my answer. Many would say to marry a good person whom you love and raise several children who grow to be good citizens who contribute…
On Serendipity in Family Research
A story by my wife, Joanne When I first started to do my father’s family history, I had very little information. But I did know from family stories that my grandfather, John James, was a two year old when their family emigrated from England and settled in Colorado. Because my father was born in Colorado…
On Imitation
I remember as a young boy learning the word imitation and its various uses, both negative and positive. At that time, at least to me, the word seemed mostly negative. I would hear, “That is just a cheap imitation.” I attached a negative meaning to that expression as well as the appearance of the items…
The Path To Conversion
“Consent lies at the heart of the Christian life, consent to an offer of salvation through grace, and consent to obey God’s commandments. It is impossible to spread Christianity by the sword. To the extent men have tried, they have succeeded only in compelling false conversion and distorting what Christianity is.” (Dinesh D’Souza) What a…
On Angels Around Us
Alma, the great Book of Mormon Prophet, describes how angels have a place in our lives: “And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true. And now, behold, I say unto you,…
On The Abrahamic Covenant
“For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39) These are the words spoken to Moses by Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament. Immortality and Eternal life for man are based on two conditional attributes: our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son…
On Writing Your Personal History
In our Sunday School class this past week, our very excellent teacher confessed that she was going to struggle to present the assigned lesson. The reason it was going to be difficult for her she said, was because the lesson was covering the Book of Psalms, and there are no stories in Psalms. All of…
On Fathers Are Important Too
As Father’s Day approaches, may we take the time to actually contemplate our fathers, their lives and the contribution they made to our lives and the lives of our children. I have often wished that my father would have written his history, and since he did not, I attempted to do it for him. In…
On His Fruits
I grew up in a north central region of this country where we enjoyed the four seasons of the year. It was a long time ago, before fresh produce was shipped all over the country. Fresh fruit in our town was only available during the harvest time. After our fall fruit harvest was over, the…