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Elder Kevin S. Hamilton, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Family History Department for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speaks to students in a devotional at BYU–Hawaii on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Photo courtesy of Brigham Young University–Hawaii.All rights reserved.This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.
By Aimee Cobabe, Church News
Elder Kevin S. Hamilton, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Family History Department for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, told students at BYU–Hawaii why he has hope that the Lord is in charge of His work and His Church.
Elder Hamilton was joined by his wife, Claudia, in the Cannon Activities Center at BYU–Hawaii in Laie, Hawaii, on Tuesday, November 5.
In his Family History Department assignment, Elder Hamilton oversees FamilySearch, RootsTech and worldwide efforts to collect and publish genealogical records “so that our members can perform sacred temple ordinances by proxy for their deceased family members in the house of the Lord.”
Elder Hamilton taught three ways in which the Lord is gathering scattered Israel on both sides of the veil: the Spirit of Elijah, technology and temples.
1. The Spirit of Elijah
The Old Testament prophet Malachi promised in Malachi 4:5-6 that Elijah would return “before the great and dreadful day of the Lord” and would “turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers.”
In 1836, Elijah appeared in the Kirtland Temple and restored the priesthood key of sealing to Joseph Smith.
“This inaugurated temple and family history work in this dispensation, and it is spreading across the world,” Elder Hamilton said.
Millions of people are using FamilySearch each year, with between 500,000 and 1 million unique visits to FamilySearch.org each day, and hundreds of millions of names will also be added to the FamilySearch Family Tree this year alone. The majority of the users and those contributing names are not members of the Church, according to Elder Hamilton.
“The Spirit of Elijah [a manifestation of the Holy Ghost] is moving across the earth with majesty and power as people’s hearts are turned to their families,” he said. “It knows no political boundaries, no language barriers and no race or ethnic divisions. It simply works.”
Beyond the ever-growing numbers, Elder Hamilton shared that many people are finding and showing up at FamilySearch Centers scattered around the globe.
“When I get a chance to ask them why they are there, they typically sort of shrug and say: ‘I really don’t know. I just want to connect to my family. I want to belong,’” Elder Hamilton said.
2. Technology
The technology to record family histories — including those recorded hundreds or even thousands of years ago — has grown from the use of microfilm in 1938 to using artificial intelligence in 2022.
Elder Hamilton explained that AI Is able to read records in most languages — even handwritten records from the 1600s — and not only index the records but also determine the relationships of the people listed and create a family tree. This is done with near 100% accuracy, and volunteers curate the records to make them completely accurate.
“It is almost as if the Lord knew what we would need and then provided the tools and the technology to be able to do what needs to be done,” Elder Hamilton said. “Today we are gathering and organizing data — big data — so that the faithful members of the Church can submit names to the temple and perform sacred temple ordinances for their deceased ancestors.”
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Elder Kevin S. Hamilton, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Family History Department for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife, Claudia, greet students at BYU–Hawaii on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Photo courtesy of Brigham Young University–Hawaii.All rights reserved.3. Temples
“All of this — the Spirit of Elijah moving people to seek out their ancestors and build the FamilySearch Family Tree — and the technology needed to organize it, is being driven by the unprecedented pace of temple building,” Elder Hamilton said.
As new temples have been announced, constructed and dedicated around the world, there have been miracles, highlighting the divine connections being orchestrated by the Lord, Elder Hamilton said.
He shared how a tour of the Mendoza Argentina Temple impacted a local archivist and his wife. After Elder Hamilton gave them a tour during the public open house, he felt that he should simply bear testimony of Jesus Christ, which he did. The wife then turned to one of the team members and said in Spanish: “I want this. I want this for my family. I want this for my husband.”
Laws which previously made it difficult or even impossible to publish the family records the Church collected have changed in multiple countries, opening up opportunities for people to find their ancestor’s information.
Elder Hamilton testified that all of these miracles are happening now because the “Lord is indeed hastening His work,” as President Russell M. Nelson testified in October 2024 general conference.
Elder Hamilton continued: “For me, I can summarize what I have seen and heard and observed with just one word: And that word is hope. Hope. Beautiful, simple, pure hope.”
He said prophets from Adam to President Nelson have looked forward to this day with longing and joy.
“In this ever-darkening and chaotic world, there is hope,” Elder Hamilton said. “The Lord is in charge. This is His work.”
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A choir sings during a devotional at BYU–Hawaii on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Photo courtesy of Brigham Young University–Hawaii.All rights reserved.Copyright 2024 Deseret News Publishing Company.