The Spirit of Elijah Reached a Prisoner | Family History Behind Bars (LDS Story)

Send us Fan MailCan the spirit of Elijah reach anyone, anywhere — even a prison cell? In this LDS (Latter-day Saint) episode, Tia Smith shares a tender story from a BYU-Idaho (Ricks College) devotional given by J. Richard Clark in February 1993, about family history and temple work inside the Utah State Prison — and one inmate's unforgettable thinning of the veil experience.Tia frames the story around a truth she loves: the spirit of Elijah isn't only for members with temple recommends — the Lord is turning hearts from every background, and everyone has a role in the gathering of Israel on both sides of the veil. The prison's family history program grew from a handful of inmates to hundreds, with many who had no prior connection to the Church. One man, once filled with hostility and estranged from his family, was reunited with his sister through research and submitted thousands of names for temple ordinances; his counselor said the bitterness had been taken from his heart. Late one night, as he cross-referenced his genealogy, he sensed his cell fill with people in clothing from many eras, each looking at him, and felt an overwhelming love as he heard the plea, "We need you to find us so we can move on." He testified that for a brief moment the veil was lifted, and he was given a charge to find his kindred dead.It's a witness that redeeming the dead heals the living, that family history work brings purpose and belonging in the hardest of places, and that the Lord reaches His children — in prison here and in the spirit prison beyond the veil — wherever they are.Q: Can the spirit of Elijah reach someone in prison?A: This episode shares a documented account, told by J. Richard Clark in a 1993 BYU-Idaho devotional, of inmates at the Utah State Prison who found purpose, healing, and reunion with estranged family through family history work — including one man who felt his cell fill with ancestors pleading for their temple work. Tia Smith teaches that the spirit of Elijah turns hearts across every background, not only among Latter-day Saints with temple recommends.Q: How does family history and temple work help heal a person's life?A: In the story Tia shares, an inmate once at war with everyone had, in his counselor's words, the bitterness taken from his heart as he researched his family, reconnected with a sister, and submitted thousands of names for temple ordinances. It illustrates a theme of the episode: that turning our hearts to our kindred dead brings purpose, belonging, and healing to the living.Q: What does this story teach about the gathering of Israel?A: Tia Smith uses it to show that the gathering reaches everyone, everywhere — that the Lord uses the spirit of Elijah to turn hearts from all walks of life, and that redeeming the dead frees "prisoners" on both sides of the veil: those waiting in mortality and those waiting in the spirit world for their ordinances to be completed.▶️ WATCH & LISTEN🎬 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thinningoftheveil🌐 Website: https://www.thinningoftheveil.com🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinning-of-the-veil/id1753511394🟢 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jWCfMHkZXwnSwy2b98J4M🎵 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a0a45561-d4c2-46d3-af8d-a1e967a21a25📖 BOOKPatterns of Revelation — Spiritual Foundations for Hearing God's Voice: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW36MG9B📱 CONNECTInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinning.of.the.veilFacebook Group (Gathering of the Gatherers): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1429562078443774Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/thinningoftheveil💛 SUPPORT THE SHOWVenmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/thinningoftheveilPayPal: https://paypal.me/thinningoftheveil✉️ Have you had a thinning of the veil experience? Email [email protected] — your testimony may be exactly what someone needs to hear.#ThinningOfTheVeil #SpiritWorld #TempleWork #FamilyHistory #LDS #LatterDaySaints #GatheringOfIsrael #MinisteringAngels #FamilySearch #PersonalRevelationCITATIONS:J. Richard Clarke, "Family Histories", BYUI Speech, February 23. 1993: https://www.byui.edu/speeches/weekly-devotionals/family-historiesSupport the show