We believe that families need to be preserved and nurtured, because it's in families that we learn a lot of the things that help us be good people. And when families are filled with love and sacrifice, they bring us joy, too. It's hard work, sure, but it's worth it. Also, family is important enough to us that we want to share the blessings of the gospel with our ancestors, helping them find this same joy, and that's why we do family history and temple work.

Have you ever wondered why people have had a renewed interest in family history or genealogy? The LDS Church has been doing for the longest time. Why we do this is so we can use the information we find from family history is so we can do their ordinances in the Temple. Members of the Church are baptized by Immersion. What if someone in their family wasn't? Wouldn't a merciful God give a chance to all of us? He sure would, we do baptisms for the dead to give a chance to our deceased ancestors the opportunities of these saving ordinances that they will need but can do them since baptism is an earthly ordinance. That cannot be done in heaven. Temples are really important in the work of the dead.

Yes, they can be if they are married in an LDS temple and if they are faithful to each other and the Lord. This is one of the greatest blessings we can receive from God - to live together with our families forever. I know that families can be together forever. Death is not the end of our existence. We all will be resurrected some day because of Christ's sacrifice for us. This is one of the most comforting doctrines to me. I've had a number of friends and family members die. I know that I will see them again. This is why, as hard as the deaths of loved ones is to deal with, death is rarely tragic. It is part of our life here on earth, it is part of God's plan for us. Without death we could not return to live with Him. This is why we as members of the church spend so much effort with family history and temple work - we want to provide opportunities for everyone who ever lived on the earth to be able to return to live with God and to live together as families forever.

People who have died without essential gospel ordinances may receive these ordinances through the work done in the temple. You can do this work in behalf of your ancestors who have died and others. Acting for them, you can be a proxy for their ordinances. Those who didn't have a chance to receive these ordinances can be blessed with the blessings that come from them even though they didn't "go through the temple" when they were living.

Family history is an important part of temple work. I personally participate in family history and from finding my family who have not had these blessings from these ordinances, I can have their work done in the temple. I can be baptized and confirmed a member of the church for them, and when I personally "go through the temple" I can do their other ordinances for them. When I am troubled or need extra guidance, participating in temple ordinances and being in the temple (a place of peace and revelation) helps me to receive spiritual guidance. Service in the temple strengthens and refines me spiritually.