The DREAM

In 2006 I had a dream. Not like Lehi from the Book of Mormon (but to me it was just as significant :)), I didn’t have that cool of an inspiration, but for me, I would say it was close :). I first dream't that my Grandmother that I was named after (Mary Louise McCracken) was asking for help. Although the help she was asking for was being mouthed, I couldn’t hear her, I could see the help on her face also. She was very far away. This happened night after night for about a week, but each time she would be closer to me than the night before. I had this bright idea to keep a note pad by my bed one night, so that I could write what she was saying on it. The night that I had finally figured out what it all meant was very eventful, or so it seemed to me. My Grandma had a lot of people behind her. I felt that I was suppose to know who they were. I remember waking up and KNOWING that I had to do their work. I took that very personal. It started a fire within me, a fire that the Prophet Elijah might have started. For the next few years I would gain a relationship with my aunt Claudine (my Father Rick’s half sister). She is not a member of the church, but is addicted to genealogy. I had gone up to Salt Lake to the genealogy library. I had found a lot of information from my aunt. And had confirmed it there. But before I had completely jumped in with both feet, I had to start with myself. I knew who I was, my birthday, where I was born, when I was baptized. I have my journals that my kids can refer back to, (which seems pretty lame to me, but maybe they will laugh later at my ridiculous antics when I was 12), I could document my marriages and my children and their information. I knew my mom, and certain dates. I knew who my father was, and my Dad that I was sealed to. I didn’t know a lot about some dates, I did feel that I had a pretty good start. After my father Rick had died in 2001, Claudine helped my Grandma Dorthy make small scrapbooks for a few of Rick’s kids. In it was Birth and Death Certificates for many of the member’s “behind” my Grandma in my dream. I learned the REAL truth of who my Grandmother was with clips from newspapers and her death certificate. I learned more about my Uncle that wanted to be an Aunt (interesting story). My mom always spoke good things about him, Gerry Agee. It was hard learning these facts, but I soon realized that it was necessary to know who they were. Even though they had lead interesting lives. I found that no matter what lives they had lived here on Earth, in the Spirit World Missionary work was being done. I learned that the repentance process is still going on. I would imagine that it would have to, for the missionary work to be so prominant there. So whatever lives my family members have led they had the right to accept or reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I had felt like I was a member of their family as I was doing the research. Ironically I am. I learned that John Lynch is a 5th Great Grandfather. Some of you may not know who he is, but let me refresh a history lesson. John Lynch served with our 7^th President Andrew Jackson in the War of 1812. When I read that it gave me chills. I have a past. Some of my families past isn’t something to brag about, but if you go back far enough there were decent people to brag about. I know on my mother’s side there are lines that go all the way back to Adam and Eve that are recorded. I know that I’m also related to Pocahontas. But to learn about family that I didn’t know, was giving me chills. I was falling in love with the family that was my past. I had NEVER known them, I didn’t grow up hearing stories about them, I had NO expectations. I was gaining a testimony of the Prophet Elijah. I was craving the need to take these names to the temple, to have them Baptized, confirmed, endowed, sealed and have them together forever. I had the craving to link the chain. Each time I had learned something new I would have tears come to my eyes. A lot of the time it was late at night when I could feel the spirit and it would give me strength to feel the need to have their work done. I personally knew the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be true, I knew that we have a current prophet on this earth today and I knew that through powers of the priesthood we can be sealed with our families forever. I felt that my family was learning these facts for themselves. I knew that because they had passed on and could do the work for themselves without their bodies that it was my job to make sure the opportunity to be together forever was there. However, I had gotten to a certain point in my research where I was hitting a dead end. I got very frustrated. I was in tears at certain points of this process, from frustration. I was very torn, I wanted to go further, but NO matter where I was looking I wasn’t finding ANYTHING. So I decided that I would take a break. I had moved on in my own life. I had Bridger, then Theron. But still kept the genealogy bug deep within. We moved our family to Alaska with inspiration. We didn’t have the complete support of our family, but we were to do what we knew we had to do. After we were here a few weeks I had gotten a hold of a ward list. I was sitting down on the couch on a Sunday afternoon, and decided to look through the list. I knew that without our families around us I had to get to know the ward family that would become our family here in AK. The first name on that list was AGEE. I was dumb founded at first. Then the next Sunday I was bound and determined to find out where his family came from. He had also done genealogy and he was also related to an Issac T Agee. He offered for me to take a look at his research. After running into him, I had sat down in Relief Society and couldn’t’ hold my tears back. I had gone out in the hall to catch my breath and Jake had seen me. He asked what was wrong, and I told him that I felt as if I had a reason why we were inspired to come to Alaska, maybe not the whole reason, but a good chunk of it. I had borrowed his folder, and he had made me CD with his information. He had A LOT of information. I had soon discovered it wasn’t the same guy. I was very frustrated. It was like putting together a big puzzle, it all matched, but I was missing the center piece, or maybe I just had to turn the piece around, maybe I had it, it just didn’t connected right. I knew it all connected somehow, but wasn’t sure how. It was very frustrating. Ultimately I had gotten back into the craving of getting the ‘work’ done.

Candy had showed me the new information on LDS.org to get the names ready to go to the temple. So for Sundays after Sundays I would put in all the names I had researched into the system. Then our Bishop had announced the Youth Baptisms that were going to be done. I later asked if I could take some names. He approved. Jake, the boys, and I went to the temple that following Saturday morning nice and early with our Youth. Jake was the one baptizing all the youth (for proxy). Before they started, the Temple President came in to talk to the Youth before the Baptisms started. He knew that we had family names, and had asked me how I knew they were there. I had explained that I could feel each and every one of them. My boys did all the males, including Gerry, my Grandpa Agee, his Dad, and Issac T Agee, The Robsion boys(which is my Great Grandpa’s in-laws), and Staddon boys, along with many others. In all there were 22 boys. It was all getting done. Each time a different name came up I could feel that specific person in the room. I had met my Grandpa Agee, so when his name was being done, I could feel his spirit. I couldn’t help but let the tears flow. Our Bishop was the guy in charge of the Names, he had fixed it so his girls were the ones that did the girls names. When my Grandma’s name came up Mary Louise McCracken….I could feel her so strong. I had never met her, but I felt as if we had known each other and were so close before I came to earth. Again my tears rolled. For some of you that might be wondering why I didn’t do their names, I’m going to explain why. Here in Alaska our youth have 2 times a year that they have chances to do Baptisms for the Dead. We have one temple here Alaska, that 1 temple supplies the rest of the State, remember that Alaska is the largest State in the US. When we go it’s a small temple, and we have to reserve it. It was reserved for the Youth, not for me. If I was there doing them, I would have taken that away from them. I could have put all the females on hold for a later date, and that didn’t seem fair to them, my awaiting family. They have waited so long, why make them wait longer? I figured that I would be doing all the other work anyways. I wasn’t too worried about it. As long as I got to sit in the room with my paper and red pencil marking them off I felt it was OK. It was very spiritual for me. It was so neat to have my husband worthy, baptizing all those youth was incredible, and to have my 2 sons worthy and willing to do some genealogy work for their own family was even more special. 2 weeks later we invited a couple in the ward to help us do initiatories. Between me and Tanya Jensen, the temple work was being done for each of these sisters, between Jake and Chris Jensen my Grandpa, and his Dad, and my Uncle were getting closer to having their temple work finished. It has been such a neat experience to finally go to the temple with the names that I have researched, and learned so much about. It has been a long few years, at times very frustrating. But it has all been worth it. I am so excited to meet these people. I am so excited for them to have the chance to choose to accept or reject this gospel that I know to be true. These names aren’t done, and there are more names that need to be baptized since the about a month ago. But it has given me something to get excited over. Every Sunday I devote some of my time to my genealogy. Every few weeks I am that much closer to having the temple work finished for these special family members. What a great privilege it is for me to do it.