RootsTech Pittsburgh Family Discovery Day 2015

The registration desk

We had an excellent time at RootsTech Pittsburgh on Saturday. As expected, the speakers were marvelous, and there was a great turnout. We are so grateful to everyone who contributed to this marvelous event. Here are a few photos that give you a feel for the day.

We were privileged to have Marlene Bransom, president of the Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society (AAHGS) attend and present.

Presenter Ted Dillenburg of Forever.com with Dwight Ferguson, one of the organizers of the event.

At one point, there was only one empty parking spot!

Classes

Ed Snodgrass - Using Family History Centers

Victoria Ridley (AAHGS) - African American Genealogy 101

Jonathan Harbuck (Google) - Google Your Ancestors

Laura MacBeth - Using FamilySearch.com

Kay Mosser and Bonnie Kerry - Using Puzzilla to Find Ancestors

Internet Cafe

In the Internet Cafe, guests could go and get individual help from the family history assistants and volunteers.

Youth came to participate in a youth indexing challenge.

Lunch

Thank you to all who helped organize this event and who attended. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we view family history as a collective effort that strengthens individuals and unites families. The church has many family history resources, which we are happy to share with the public, but we also recognize that we have much to learn as we collaborate with other people and resources in the community. This event is one way we bring family history resources together and make them more accessible to all, so we are grateful that so many members of our community participated in RootsTech Pittsburgh Family Discovery Day.

Truth – The Arbor – April 2015

The April 2015 issue of The Arbor focuses on Step 4 – Truth:

Make a searching and fearless written moral inventory of yourself

Here is a quote shared by Toni M. in this month’s issue:

“The sorrows and suffering from our past will no longer keep us from fully feeling the love of God. As our self-awareness changes, we may find an increase in self-esteem, a diminished sense of guilt and a greater peace in our lives.” President James E. Faust (Healing Though Christ, p. 42.)

ARP Fireside on Saturday, May 30 at 6:30 pm

When Other Sources Cease to Make Me Whole: Recognizing our false fixes

@ Kalamazoo stake center & broadcast on the internet at: https://sites.google.com/site/kalamazoostakeconference/

Announcing RootsTech Pittsburgh 2015!

It's time to start getting excited for the second annual RootsTech Pittsburgh Family Discovery Day! This is a community family history event that will take place in Oakland on Saturday, June 13th from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is free, but please do register in advance.

The Family Discovery Day is a time for members of the community to come together and celebrate family connections across generations. Participants are encouraged to use technology to discover, share, and celebrate their family roots.

You can attend RootsTech Pittsburgh for all or part of the day, making the event suit your individual needs as you seek out and build your family tree. At RootsTech you can learn through:

• Classes taught by genealogy experts. Each hour, about six or seven different classes are offered, with class topics ranging from African American Family History 101 to Google Your Ancestors to Indexing. Pick and choose which is most interesting and useful to you. Classes are aimed at varying levels of experience, and each hour there is a class particularly intended for youth ages 12-18. See the class schedule here. 
• Individualized help from consultants in the Internet Café. Family history consultants will be available to help you on your personal family history. Whether you just need to set up a basic FamilySearch account or you are trying to break through a brick wall in your research, the consultants in the Internet Café can help. 

Last year's RootsTech Pittsburgh was a great success. Over 200 people attended and learned more about how to strengthen their family ties. Check out the blog post and photos from RootsTech Pittsburgh 2014 to get a feel for what this year's RootsTech will be like.

Lunch will be available for purchase at cost, or you can bring or buy your own lunch in Oakland. Parking is free. See RootsTechPittsburgh.org, including our FAQ page, if you have more questions, or contact us through Facebook or by commenting below.

We're looking forward to an awesome event! Your attendance will make it a success.

Pittsburgh 5th Ward Helping to Feed Local Schoolchildren

During the 2013-14 school year, more than 70 percent of children attending school in the Pittsburgh School District were eligible for free or reduced price lunches. Many of these children return home to empty cupboards each night and weekend.

The Pittsburgh 5th Ward is teaming up with the local arm of Blessings in a Backpack to feed children from two elementary schools in Wilkinsburg, PA for a weekend.  The 5th Ward's goal is to fill at least 100 of the 620 backpacks needed for these schools.

The service event will be held Saturday, April 25, 2015 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Greentree Chapel - 46 School St., Pittsburgh.  

All our welcome to attend, especially children.  Please bring a donation and help fill the backpacks that will go home to feed these children.  If you have any questions about this event, contact Jacqueline Haines at jrhnanny4u@me.com.

Blessings in a Backpack provides elementary school children who are on the federal Free and Reduced Price Meal Program with food to take home for 38 weekends during the school year.  Backpack food includes easy-to-prepare, ready-to-eat foods, like granola bars, juice boxes, macaroni and cheese cups, and oatmeal.

If you'd like to bring a donation, follow the guide below:

Last names starting with --

A-D: Capri Sun 100% juice (this brand only)

E-G: Fruit Snacks of Fruit Roll Ups

H-K: Individual pudding cup, applesauce, or fruit cups

L-N: Microwaveable popcorn

O-Q: Cheese Crackers (six in a pack, no peanut butter crackers)

R-T: Individual boxes of cereal or Pop Tarts

U-W: Rice Krispie treats or granola bars (no nuts)

X-Z: Easy Mac or small Chef Boyardee (not canned)

Hope – The Arbor – March 2015

The March 2015 issue of The Arbor focuses on Step 3 – Trust in God:

Decide to turn your will and your life over to the care of God the Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

See the article for a couple short videos about the Addiction Recovery Program. In this article, Toni M. shares the following:

“I successfully kept my secret from friends and family. Yet, I knew the day of reckoning was coming and frankly, I had become tired of my “victim” mentality. I stood at a crossroads with a decision to make — a decision that, I believe, would affect my eternity.”

Elder John K. Carmack offers hope: “While it’s the harder pathway, the Lord is aware of (all) people who have been caught in addictive behaviors and is watching patiently over them as they learn through their own experience about good and evil.” (Healing Through Christ, p. 35.)

Hope – The Arbor – February 2015

The February 2015 issue of The Arbor focuses on Step 2 – Hope:

Come to believe that the power of God can restore you to complete spiritual health.

This edition shares a couple messages of how our friends and family who love us can give us hope. For example, Sister Annette Lillrose said, “These friends come and stand beside me through the trials and winters in my life. They give me hope that the Savior is there, He is aware of my situation and better days will come. Until those better days do come, my friends will stand there beside me giving me the hope to hang on.”

Watch this video on what to expect at a 12 Step Recovery Meeting. 

Pittsburgh PA Stake Conference - Feb 22, 2015

We were blessed with a beautiful and peaceful snowy morning at the stake center in Plum.

Today was a momentous stake conference because it was the first stake conference since the Pittsburgh PA Stake was divided into the Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh West Stakes. (See our post on the division that happened last September.)

There was a wonderful spirit as the speakers discussed prayer—what it is, how we do it, how we see results from it. In this blog post we'll recap the messages and provide some links for further study. Unfortunately, what's hard to include in this summary is the powerful spirit that was felt as testimonies were shared and truths were taught. It's up to you to let that spirit in as you remember and act on these messages. 

First we heard from Sister Caitlin Snow, the youth speaker. She talked about the power of prayer, especially as shown by the example of Peter. She read some powerful quotes from the Prophet Heber J. Grant, who especially reminds us of the importance of family prayer. She also shared the thought-provoking story of John Burroughs, as shared by President Boyd K. Packer. 

Sister Martin with her kids after the conference

Next Sister LaShaun Martin (Pittsburgh 1st Ward) presented some important reminders about prayer. "Personal prayer is essential," she emphasized. "We need it to return to the Father and to have faith and power." She talked about the importance of preparing to pray, asking inspired questions, and using hallowed prayer language. She closed with this lovely poem by Eliza Hickok, which has been quoted by Ezra Taft Benson:

I know not by what methods rare,
But this I know, God answers prayer.
I know that He has given His Word,
Which tells me prayer is always heard,
And will be answered, soon or late.
And so I pray and calmly wait.
I know not if the blessing sought
Will come in just the way I thought;
But leave my prayers with Him alone,
Whose will is wiser than my own,
Assured that He will grant my quest,
Or send some answer far more blest.

President Ron Paul emphasized that all sincere prayers are heard and answered. He talked about the progression of how the Lord taught Oliver Cowdery when he was beginning to scribe for Joseph Smith as he translated the Book of Mormon. First, the Lord reminds Oliver and Joseph of the feelings they'd had through the Holy Ghost (see D&C 6). In D&C 8, He later tells them that He reveals truth through both the mind and heart. In D&C 9 they are reminded of the effort required of them if they want to receive revelation. Lastly, President Paul talked about the situation in which individuals receive no answer, and he quoted extensively from Elder Dallin H. Oaks's talk on revelation. Sometimes, we pray about a decision which, for one reason or another, we should make without guidance by revelation. We still must make decisions, act, and experience the consequences of our actions in order to develop self-reliance and faith. He also reminded us of the powerful spiritual guides that patriarchal blessings are. 

President Johnson mentioned his gratitude for the support members
give the missionaries, who face challenges and rejection daily.

Next we heard from President Bradley K. Johnson, the mission president of the Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Mission, and his wife, Sister Rosemary M. Johnson. (To learn more about them and their responsibilities, see an earlier blog post.) Sister Johnson related prayer to a cell phone connection. We need a secure connection with Heavenly Father (the ultimate source of power), which can only happen through Jesus Christ (see 3 Nephi 18:19). Just as a cell phone must be plugged in and charged, we must connect or align ourselves to our Savior who can enable us to overcome our limitations. As we align ourselves with God through Jesus Christ, we come to know Him and can gain eternal life (see John 17:3). We are also learning in the process to align our will with our Heavenly Father's will, which ultimately gives us peace and comfort in our trials and afflictions (see John 14:27).

President Johnson talked about some of the counsel he gives to missionaries. When they face decisions, especially after they go home from their missions, they should consider two questions: Does this help me keep my covenants? (If not, run from it!) Am I involving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in this decision? He again referred us to D&C 9.

Patriarch Evan Stoddard (Pittsburgh 7th Ward) shared a powerful impromptu testimony of the many many blessings of the Gospel, referring to the beatitudes. 

Bryce Lunt and Su Liu (Pittsburgh 1st Ward) performed
a beautiful piano/cello duet, "Sweet Hour of Prayer"

Finally, President Erich Peterson spoke. He first talked about the excited changes happening in our stake. He particularly highlighted the need for local stake service missionaries. If you are interested in serving as a stake missionary, please contact a member of the stake presidency.

President Peterson proceeded to talk about the importance of action, in relation to receiving answers to prayers. He related that when Joseph Smith, as a young man, went into the grove to pray, he not only wished to know which church was true, but most importantly, he wanted to know that he might know which one to JOIN.  Because he prayed with the intention to ACT on the answer that our Father in Heaven would give him, he was praying with faith.  

Later, the Prophet would teach that faith is a principle of action.  The Book of Mormon promise in Moroni chapter 10 says "if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost."  The term "real intent" means that if I get an answer from God, I intend to ACT on it.  This is the key to receiving revelation and answers to our prayers.  Our Father in Heaven will reveal to us His will as fast as we are willing to receive it.  And our willingness to receive the will of our Father, is measured by our intent to act on it.  Our Savior, Jesus Christ, was always willing to do the will of our Father, so He continuously had the will of The Father revealed to Him.


Thank you to the speakers and all who participated in this wonderful stake conference.

Bishop Chad Manuele (Pittsburgh 3rd Ward) helps clear the walks before the conference starts