Bridges and Eternal Keepsakes April 1999 General Conference Bridges and Eternal Keepsakes by Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander Of the Seventy Genealogies, family stories, historical accounts, and traditions . . . Brethren and sisters, every family has keepsakes. Families collect furniture, books, porcelain, and other valuable things, then pass them on to their posterity. Such beautiful keepsakes remind us of loved ones now gone and turn our minds to loved ones unborn. They form a bridge between family past and family future.
Every family has other, more valuable, keepsakes.
These include genealogies, family stories, historical accounts, and traditions. These eternal keepsakes also form a bridge between past and future and bind generations together in ways that no other keepsake can. I would like to share a few thoughts about family history, bridges, and eternal keepsakes. Family history builds bridges between the generations of our families, builds bridges to activity in the Church, and builds bridges to the temple. First, family history builds bridges between the generations of our families.