Putting Families Together | A Dream That Led Her to Poland (LDS Family History)

Send us Fan MailCan the Holy Ghost lead you to find your ancestors? In this Latter-day Saint (LDS) episode, Tia Smith's friend and guest Colette — a research specialist at the FamilySearch Library — shares a thinning-of-the-veil experience that began with a prayer and a repeated dream about "putting families together" and led her and her husband 5,000 miles to Kraków, Poland, to a family she had no ancestral connection to. Following small promptings and tools like the FamilySearch Together app, Global Record Hints, and BillionGraves, she uncovered the Pula family, added 164 people to their tree, photographed graves in mountain cemeteries, and found generations of temple work that had been shared but stuck since 2017. Along the way Colette shares the lessons she learned about recognizing revelation: watching for a stupor of thought (D&C 9:9), telling God "here am I, send me," asking in faith (James 1:5), and trusting that He works through our own brainstorming and the experiences He's already given us. A testimony that the gathering of Israel is powered by miracles — and that God knows each of us individually. An LDS thinning-of-the-veil experience about family history, temple work, and being led by the Spirit.Tomorrow's episode — immortality and eternal lives, and Tia's favorite verse, Moses 1:39: [PASTE YOUTUBE LINK]Q: Can a dream or prompting really lead you to find your ancestors?A: In this episode, Colette — a FamilySearch research specialist — prayed to be willing to go wherever God needed her, then received a repeated dream about "putting families together" that ultimately led her to Kraków, Poland, and a family she had no ancestral tie to. Following small impressions and tools like the FamilySearch Together app and BillionGraves, she added 164 people to that family's tree. She testifies that God guides us through small and simple promptings, our own reasoning, and the experiences He has already given us.Q: What is BillionGraves and why does it matter for family history?A: BillionGraves is an app and website that lets you photograph and GPS-tag headstones at a cemetery, then transcribe them so families worldwide can find their ancestors. Colette explains it matters because in much of the world grave markers don't last — plots get reused and inscriptions fade — so photographing them preserves a record in time. She and her husband have documented over 40,000 graves, including on this trip to Poland.Q: What does it mean when temple work is "shared with the temple" but "stuck"?A: When a deceased person's ordinances are reserved and shared with the temple, they display a green temple icon with a clock and can be reserved by anyone — the person who shared the name must be related, but the person doing the ordinance does not have to be (FamilySearch Help Center). Colette found generations of the Pula family whose ordinances had been shared back in 2017 but never completed, and she invites listeners to look them up and help finish the work.Q: How can I recognize the Spirit guiding my family history work, as a Latter-day Saint?A: Colette shares several patterns from her experience: watch for a "stupor of thought" when something isn't right (D&C 9:9), tell God you are willing ("here am I, send me"), ask in faith when you lack wisdom (James 1:5), and act on the thoughts and impressions that come while you study and pray. She testifies that God often gives a vague clue first and asks us to walk forward in faith before the full picture comes.▶️ 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 #PersonalRevelationSupport the show