Hermana Farr at the MTC

Hermana Farr and Hermana Laws with Tongan Missionaries




Provo Temple

Two Companionships










Having a little fun...
Class time...














Hermana Farr's District











Hermana Farr and Hermana Laws
Missionary sisters in front of the MTC










Provo Temple
Companions!

Testimony:

From this point on my blog has been dedicated to genealogy work. I feel it appropriate being that I about to leave on my mission that I should share my testimony on my blog. First I would like to begin my testimony with genealogy work. I've enjoyed going to the temple every Friday consistently for the past three months. I have missed a few days, but overall my experience of going to the temple has drawn me closer to my heavenly father and I feel the importance of helping those who have passed on receive the blessings we receive here on the earth. When I'm in the temple I ponder the people I'm helping and the blessings they are now able to receive.

I feel blessed to be a member of the church. I know the principles taught are true. I have gained my testimony not from one experience but from a conglomeration of experiences. I can share one of these experiences. It is just a very small example but it made a huge difference in my life. I'm not sure who I heard this from but they were mentioning members of the church who were excommunicated and who came back to the church. The one thing those excommunicated said that they missed the most was feeling the gift of the Holy Ghost. That really bore testimony to me the Holy Ghost is real. I mean I've always known it is real, but sometimes I forget because I've been able to have to privilege to have it with me when ever I'm being righteous. Whenever I have doubts about the church I think back to hearing about that experience and it strengthens me and helps me to know I have a testimony. I have a testimony that after this life we have the opportunity to live with our families for the eternities. I have a testimony that when we are struggling and we go and read our scriptures, our obedience to reading the scriptures will give us peace and comfort and strengthen us. I have a testimony that Christ atoned for my sins and that we are not alone through trails because he has done this for us. I know that the church is true. The lord strengthens me when I take the opportunity to share my testimony and I'm so grateful for the blessings I've received through obedience to the gospel.

This semester I had the opportunity to take this genealogy class. I was originally enrolled in another class at the same time but decided to switch to family history because I was afraid of the requirements of the other class. Little did I know that the requirements of this class would be more challenging; I am appreciative though that I took this class because it has been so much more rewarding than my other class probably would have been. The things I have learned in this class I will not forget; they have inspired me to be in the spirit of Elijah. I feel closer to my ancestors and I have a greater appreciation for the work that is done in the temple.

I was aware when I first started this class of all the requirements. At first I was overwhelmed and frustrated with myself that I switched to this class, but when I first walked into the door I went to the teacher to ask him questions about the class because I had missed the first day. I actually ended up talking to the teacher that teaches in this class before the family history class. I told him how I had switched classes and how I felt like I was doing the right thing by switching into the family history class. He said to me “You know, often times when a student comes into a family history class, it is because someone on the other side of the veil has prayed them there.” That really touched me. Since both beginning this course and receiving my mission call, I have been very aware that the adversary is aware of the choices I am making and I know he has been doing everything he can to stop me from both doing the work for those who have passed on and doing those things that would help prepare me for my mission. But the blessings I have received have been far greater then the struggles. I went back home for a weekend in May because one of my closest friends got married. During the entire time I was home, besides helping out and being a part of my friends wedding, I was gathering information with my mom about my Grandma Pearl for my research paper. I was also gathering organized some stuff for my mission and gathered censuses that my mom has collected over the years. My mom was so helpful to me and the time I spent with her gathering information allowed me to feel closer to her. One day I called my mom and asked her if she had ever done indexing. My reason for asking her was because I thought she could help me with the assignment in class to do indexing. I was surprised when she informed me that she did not actually know how to do indexing but that someone was going to teach her the Monday before and the plan fell through. I was pleased and excited to inform her that I was required to teach someone how to do indexing for my genealogy assignment. That was also very exciting to her. I went to the Family History center and received instruction on how to index and was able to teach my mom how to index. It was a very enjoyable experience. I’m especially grateful for the time I’ve been able to spend with my mom before my mission and I feel like our relationship with each other has grown stronger through genealogy work.

I remember in relief society one day a sister saying how by doing genealogy work we will receive so many other blessings. The sister related how she had a rebellious son and how she decided to begin doing genealogy work. As she got more and more into the work, she started noticing changes in her son. Slowly he became less and less rebellious. She felt the spirit testify to her that this blessing had come from her willingness to do genealogy work. I also feel the powerful truth of this statement that if we do genealogy work we will be blessed more then we can imagine!

I love a story that Brother Groberg shared in a talk at a fireside on February 27, 2004.

Let me give three personal examples of influences from the past, the present, and the future. First, the past: as a mission president in Tonga I needed to visit some elders on a distant island. The only boat available was old and dirty. Jean was nursing our three-month old daughter, Gayle, but she wanted to come along, so she made arrangements for someone to watch the older girls and we took passage on what the locals called “the rolling tub.” I arranged for the only so-called room on the boat, which was nothing more than a small enclosure with two narrow planks against one wall called “bunks.” We stayed on deck as much as possible as the air was so bad in the tiny room. The roughness of that voyage was unbelievable. The waves crashed across the deck, making it slippery and cold. Even though the air was much better on deck, for safety’s sake I felt we should stay in our bunks. Jean tried to lie down with Gayle on the lower board I tried to stay put on the upper one. The rolling and jerking of the boat became so violent that we were often thrown out of our bunks and smashed against the floor and the opposite wall which was only a couple of feet away. I was afraid I might come crashing down on Jean and the baby if we were thrown from our bunks at the same time. The best thing I could think of was for Jean and the baby to stay on the lower bunk and for me to sit on the floor with my back against their bunk, with my feet braced against the opposite wall. This way I could be somewhat stationary, and when Jean and the baby were pitched to the open side of the bunk they would roll against my back rather than onto the floor. The floor was hard, wet, and cold, and my legs and back were cramped from the constant strain. It was a long, miserable night. Gayle clung tenaciously to Jean and was able to nurse and sleep on and off. I wondered how long I could hold out. All during that long dark night we were in constant turmoil. The pitching boat, the pounding waves, and the shrieking wind tore not only at my comfort but at my faith. Why is all this happening? I wondered. At one point during the night I turned and looked at Jean and Gayle and felt the trauma and pain they were experiencing. I wanted to get them out of this situation, but there was nothing I could do. I asked: “Why did I bring Jean and the baby? Why is this happening? If the Savior calmed the Sea of Galilee, why not calm this sea?” On and on went the questions. I was hurting, and suddenly a wave of self-pity started to enter my mind. At that precise moment, another influence flooded my mind. It was as though someone were talking to me who was close to me, someone I knew from somewhere. I couldn’t tell who, but I knew it was a faithful woman who knew me and loved me. Her influence filled my mind in a peaceful yet firm way, and I clearly felt the message: “Do not complain. You have no right to complain. You should be grateful for the opportunity to serve the Lord, to help build His kingdom. No sacrifice is too great for His sake. Think of what He did for you. Don’t complain. Don’t even think of complaining.” These impressions filled my heart and mind. What a blessing and comfort they were! I was still terribly uncomfortable and seasick, my back and legs still hurt, the night was still dark and the sea was still rough, but for some wonderfully beautiful reason the thought of complaining left me entirely. Like a cloud of darkness, it had been chased away by a flood of goodness and light. I knew I had been helped by an outside force. I closed my eyes and thanked God for His goodness and help and asked for His protection as we continued our voyage. I expressed my deep appreciation for whoever had influenced my thinking so positively that frightful night. We landed safely the next morning. Years later I was reading a history of my great-grandmother, Elizabeth Susan Burnett Brunt. She was born in London but as a youth went to New Zealand, where she married and had several children. She and her husband heard the Latter-day Saint missionaries in Kaipoi, near Christ church, around 1870 and were converted. As was the custom in those days, the missionaries asked them to gather to “Zion.” Accordingly she and her husband began making arrangements to leave New Zealand for Utah. They had difficulty selling their farm so it was determined that she would take their four small children and go by boat to San Francisco and on to Salt Lake City. Her husband stayed to settle affairs in New Zealand and followed a year later. I pondered on the faith of that young mother with four small children heading out alone from New Zealand to her desert Zion in Utah. Who knows the hardships, the trials, the discouragements she passed through? Then something really caught my attention. It was a brief comment that at one point on their voyage to San Francisco the boat encountered extremely rough seas and she and the children became very ill. The picture of that moment filled my mind. I could literally see them tossing, both physically and emotionally, on that merciless sea. She was alone and discouraged and almost felt to complain, but as she prayed she remembered that she was a member of God’s true church and was on her way to Zion. She was helped to realize that no problem was too big and no sacrifice too great as long as she attained her Zion. She promised herself she would never complain, or even think of complaining, and prayed that none of her posterity would either. I was spellbound. I looked at a world map and traced the probable route of her ship. She would have been in almost exactly the same location on the same ocean as Jean and Gayle and I were, only she was there nearly a hundred years earlier! I was so overwhelmed with gratitude for the faith of this good woman that I didn’t know what to do. I realized there really wasn’t anything to do except express my appreciation and increase my determination never to complain about anything I was asked to do in the Savior’s cause. I expressed those heartfelt feelings of gratitude through prayer. As I did I felt again some of the same love and peace I had felt on that turbulent ocean in Tonga those many years before. Once again I saw Jean’s uncomplaining face through that tumultuous night. Then I saw her smile as she first stepped ashore the next morning. It melted me to tears. As I basked in its warmth I thought I detected a faint wisp of another smile and was confident it belonged to my greatgrandmother Brunt. I wondered: “Are there such things as spiritual genes? Are there spiritual pools of traits that can help shape us, similar to the way physical genes do?” I didn’t have an answer, but I was sure that the best thing we could do for our posterity is to be faithful ourselves. I know every person has his or her own moral agency and can accept or reject help offered them. But what a great blessing it is if the available “pool” of help contains much of faith and devotion and goodness. How important to build as much goodness and faith as possible in our lives! Not only will it help us now but it has the potential of being helpful to others down the stream of time.

The story from Elder Groberg shows how we are able to receive powerful blessings by doing genealogy work. The experience that he had drew him closer to his ancestor. A scripture from Alma 37:33 relates “And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.” In application to genealogy work this scripture clearly states that we are preparing for eternity while on this earth. Those who have passed on need our help to receive the blessings that we are able to receive; they cannot receive those blessings without us. Likewise according to scripture we are required to perform that labor and the way we prepare ourselves for eternity is by working on genealogy and performing ordinances in the temple.

For the first time in my life I have been able to make a plan to go to the temple every week. Since I’ve been doing this I have felt so blessed. A few of the weeks I haven’t been able to go to the temple because of circumstances but every time I’ve gone my mind has been drawn to the work being performed. Some individuals have been waiting for hundreds of years for their ordinances to be performed so they can receive the blessings of this earth.

I have a testimony that this work is so important and that the blessings from doing genealogy work in unlimited! If we are willing to serve those who have passed on and are in need of our assistance we will feel happier and have the spirit in more abundance!

Marriage Certificate of Patrick Kilkenny.



Death Certificate or Patrick Kilkenny.



Birth Certificate of William Henry Farr.



Record of William Farr.



Indiana Marriage Collection of Elisha Smith to Nancy Skidmore.



Record of John Clayton.



Land Patent Details for Elisha Smith.



California Census of Elisha Smith.



Census for Elisha Smith.



Indiana Census of Jacob Clear.



Census with John Clear and Louisa Clear from OR.



Marriage Certificate of my ancestors Edwin J carlisle and Lillie A ...



This talks about the death of Lillie A Carlisle. Specifically it says "Carlisle - on May 13, Mrs. Lillie A. Carlisle, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J.R. Horner at 1687... Humboldt Street, Denver Funeral to-day at 10 o'clock am." Pueblo papers.



This is a documentation from a newspaper of my Grandpa's funeral.

Timeline

Born (Aug 3rd, 1988)
First Day of School- Kindergarten (Beginning of Sep 1993)
Held back in 1st grade (Beginning of Sep 1995)
My Baptism at age 8 (Aug, 1996)
Had surgery on my foot (1997)
Grandpa’s Death (February 28th, 1998)
Finished grade school in 5th grade (June 2000)
9/11 (2001)
Auntie Linda’s Death (April 18th, 2002)
Finished middle school in 8th grade (June 2003)
First asked my boy friend out (Nov 9th, 2006)
First date with my boy friend (Dec 9th, 2006)
Officially became a couple with my boy friend (Feb 24th, 2007)
Graduated from High School- and received my first computer (June 2007)
Went on a Joseph Smith History Tour with my family (Summer 2007)
President James E Faust passed away (Aug 10, 2007)
President Hinckley passed away (Jan 27th, 2008)
Ryan leaving on his mission/ in the MTC (Sep 17th, 2008)
Finished B of M for the first time and at the same time as Ryan (Dec 25th, 2008)
Received my mission call and opened it (May 18th, 2009)
Finished P of G Price for the first time (May, 2009)
Received endowments (July 24th, 2009)
Left on my mission arrived in the MTC (Aug 5th, 2009)

July 14, 2009
A little history about myself…….

My full name is Katherine Rosanne Farr. I was born on August 3rd 1988 at the Salem Oregon hospital. I don’t remember very much from my childhood but there are a few things I’ve been told. When I was born my hair was “flaming red”; I also immediately attached myself to my brother Will. I would cry if anyone else besides my brother was holding me. I have random bursts of memories. The information I share in this short history of myself are the things I remember the most, especially my funny experiences.

There is a video back at my home in Oregon of my mom feeding me when I’m a little baby. She is feeding me bananas and I am growling. I love that video. We also have a video of me from about 1993 and I am dancing with my Papa. That is another one of my favorite
videos. I’ve grown up in the same house all my life until I went to college. My home is a log cabin. My family often would travel to the beach and we would build sand castles and play in the water. One particular memory I remember when I was younger is when I wanted to feed our neighbors cows. I went into our kitchen to find something I could feed the cows but the only food I could find was marshmallows. I decided to feed the cows marshmallows and from what I could tell they enjoyed it very much. Every Monday night my family participated in family home evening. I remember not being able to say family home evening so I would say family home “neem neem”. I remember my parents always laughing when I said it; so every Monday night I enjoyed running around the house telling everyone “It’s family home neem neem time”. One time my dad tried to teach me how to say family home evening, and I was finally able to say it but immediately went back into the habit of saying family home “neem neem” because I enjoyed it so much. For a short period of time in grade school I did ballet. The ballet teacher’s home was right next to my grade school so I would walk to my ballet lessons. My family always did fun camping trips sometimes with relatives. I always enjoyed when we would stay at a camp ground and us kids would ride our bikes around or feed chipmunks. My family owned a video camera that we were able to put VHS tapes in to record on. That video camera was SO ghetto awesome!!! I remember as I grew older my parents became less and less inclined to use the camera because it was getting so old, but I also remember I loved to bring the video camera out on any occasion because it was just so awesome and people would always comment on it. The video camera finally stopped working. I was very sad!

One unique thing about me is that I was born with a rare vascular disorder that causes my whole right side to be larger then my left. This is caused by my right side having more tissue then my left. Along with my vascular disorder I have something called port wine stain which is similar to a strawberry birth mark that runs up my entire right side. Compared with other people who have these same disorders mine is very subtle and hardly noticeable. My leg and foot have the most noticeable effects from my disorder. I remember being uncomfortable wearing shorts. One occasion in grade school I was playing on the playground at recess and I was wearing shorts. One of the girls looked at my leg and said “you have a disease”. It really hurt me and for years I was uncomfortable wearing shorts in front of other people. Now it doesn’t bother me to wear my shorts in front of people. I wear a medical stalking on my right leg to support my veins. Sometimes now when people see my medical stalking they are curious and don’t understand and usually ask me for an explanation. I have found that I often wear pants just because I don’t feel like explaining why I am wearing a medical stalking. I have gone to Shriners Hospital once a year for all my life. I remember one day that I visiting Shriners and they said to me that I might be able to spend the night at Shriners sometime. Of course I was excited because I was very young and I was thinking I was going to be able to have a “sleep over” at Shriners; little did I know what me spending the night really encompassed. When I was 9 I had surgery on my foot. At the time of my surgery my right foot was about 2 or 3 inches longer then my left foot. The doctors opened up my foot and scraped 11 bone plates, they also removed a bone from one of my toes. The surgery they performed allowed my left foot to eventually catch up in length to my right foot. Now my feet are the same length. Shriners has always been a special Hospital to me. The cost of the surgery was free because they are a hospital that serves those in need who are not able to afford proper medical
treatment.

When I was younger I always loved to dress up. Sometimes I would dress up in ridiculous outfits and run around the house or play outside with my brothers and sisters. I also remember having fun while dressing my brother up as a girl. My sister and I would ask him to play Barbies with us, which he did and it was always very enjoyable. Sometimes when his friends were around my sister and I would joke
around him about playing Barbies with us. We had a box full of blocks we would build little forts out of and play with our action figures or JI Joes in. I have a huge collection of star wars action figures

I began collecting when I was very young. The first star wars action figure I ever received was of Luke Skywalker from Dagaba. I was very young when my parents gave it to me for Christmas. I’ve lived in the same house my entire life until I left for college. Our family has owned 3 acres of land and our home is a log cabin. We owned a field that always seemed huge and it was full of scotch broom. As kids we would build forts in the
scotch broom, it was easy to get lost. At the end of the day after playing around in the field, all the kids but me would come sneezing home. I have never really had allergies.

Our family has always grown a large garden. I remember for family home evening going down to the garden and putting fertilizer on the raise beds. It seemed like we always had about 10 rows of corn. I always hated going down to the garden to
weed. It was SO BORING and it would take me hours to weed one row of corn. A good portion of my chores when I was younger was watering the garden and the plants around the house and I remember hating doing it. Now when I look back it makes me laugh. The tradition of working in the garden allowed me to discover my love for gardening. Sometimes I spend time with my mom helping my mom in the garden and I always love that time I get to spend with her. Likewise growing up I remember my
mom canning food such as gravy, beans, tuna, etc. She also would make home made jelly and freeze and can it. It was a task helping my mom by canning food or making jelly. Now that I am older I enjoy the time I spend with my mom canning and making jelly. It has been enjoyable to bring home canned food to college.

As a family we would spend a lot of time at the beach. I loved going to the beach and wading in the water and picking up little rocks and shells. Sometimes I would collect buckets and buckets of broken shells to bring home. There was one occasion on my mom’s b-day when we went to a beach called fogerty beach to celebrate. My sister had recently given my mom a check she needed to cash and my mom had been given a check for 100 dollars from my dad for her b-day. Both of these checks had been placed carefully in my mom’s purse. When we arrived at the beach we parked unconsciously with bushes on one side of our car. A little ways away from our car there was a man sitting at a

picnic table. I can easily remember what he looked like because he looked completely out of place. His hair was bleached blond and he was wearing thick black glasses. His shirt was button up with a color and it was pinstriped a very light blue color. I remember his face and that he had sort of a nervous look about him. He had no positions that I could see and he was just sitting there. When we got out of the car we put most of our valuables in the trunk of our car. These items included my moms purse, a video camera, serophsky binoculars, and a few other items
I can’t remember. We began to walk to the beach because you walk down a pathway that has a wide stream running next to it to get to the beach and my mom and sister told me later that they had a bad feeling. The man sitting at the table was the only person who observed us putting our valuables in the trunk of our car. We enjoyed the time we spent on the beach and it was very relaxing. When we arrived back at the car a huge rock had been thrown through the window on the side next to the bushes. Nothing inside the car was missing but all the possession we had placed safely in the trunk of our car were gone. We went straight to the bank but at the time the bank was closed. Fortunately there were still a few employees there who allowed us to come in. My parents were able to file reports and close down credit cards. The drive home was very windy and cold and my sister and I huddled under a blanket together. Later we received a call from the police who informed us that they had our binoculars in the bushes. It was funny that they were able to find those binoculars because they are very expensive binoculars! To this day I still use those binoculars when I hunt with my dad. Two years after this incident we received another phone call from the police at 2 in the morning. Someone had found my moms purse in the stream at the beach and the only item left in it was my military ID. The police were calling to make sure that I was ok and safe. I laugh at this story because I like to tell people that I’ve been assumed dead.

I remember growing up and at my home we had an electric can opening. It had been a gift to my mom from my oldest sister’s boyfriend Donavan. One day when I was working where I had a job at a theme park called Enchanted Forest I was preparing in the ice cream shop for the day. I was about 15 years old and all the hot fudge had been used up the day earlier; I needed to open a new one. I didn’t know how to use a regular can opening and I was by myself so I had to find a random guy and ask him how to open a can. The guy got a really funny look on his face when I asked him how to use a can opener, but for the first time in my life I accomplished using a can opener.

Some experiences I remember having when I was younger are deaths in my family. I remember when my Nanan and Papa died. Both of them passed away from lung cancer. I was only 3 when they passed away but I remember them very clearly. I remember enjoying Christmas at their house and watching movies and playing with kittens. I remember also when my Grandpa Griffin passed away. I remember the day; it was February 28th, 1998. I was only 10 but I felt very close to my Grandpa. He was very sick when he passed away. I remember going to visit my Grandma and Grandpa and I would run through the door and my Grandpa would say “Katie” and I would run into his arms and give him a huge hug. I have been told that my Grandpa was sometimes very grouchy, but I don’t remember that side of him. I can only really remember one occasion when he got angry. I know that he loved me very much and I miss him very much. I also remember when my Auntie Linda passed away. I remember sitting one the couch in my sister’s lap and just crying really hard. My Auntie Linda was also very sick when she passed away.

One especially fond memory I have is Christmas with my dad’s side of the family. My dad is from England. When my dad’s family gets together they always make funny jokes. We have a white elephant gift exchange (which is always ugly gifts) and boisterous laughing can be heard throughout the house. After our white elephant gift exchange, everyone always tries to hide their ugly gift on the tree in the persons home in which we celebrated Christmas that year.

I love to hunt! My favorite time of the year is when I get to go up in the hills with my dad and hunt elk. The atmosphere is so beautiful and the most beautiful sunrise I’ve ever seen was when I was up in the hills with my dad. We took pictures. I enjoy the fresh air and the absence of humanity up in the hills. I also enjoy not putting on make up or taking showers and acting like a boy for about a week. I love the feeling of freedom I get when I’m up in the hills and I don’t have to look good for others who may see me! My dad loves to tell me crazy stories about things that have happened up in the hills with my uncles. We use walkie talkies to communicate up in the hills and each of us have nicknames. My nickname is Skipper because I enjoyed skipping school to go hunting with my dad. I often times throughout the year have withdrawals from hunting! I have never actually shot an elk but I have spotted elk for my dad and uncles and there was particular occasion when I spotted an elk and my cousin shot it. That was very exciting to me. Although it seems gory, one of my favorite parts of hunting is cutting and cleaning the hide. I had a neighbor named Paul White who was very special to me who was an old cowboy. He made horse saddles and had friends that made all sorts of unique items. He received a collection of handmade knives from one of his friends which he passed on to each of his nephews. After giving the knives to his nephews he had one knife left which he gave to me. I felt so special that he would give me a knife that I found so valuable. He also made a sheath that holds my knife. Eventually Paul White passed away which was very devastating for me but I will always remember how special he was to me and how optimistic he was. I have used the knife he gave to me to cut up elk carcasses. I love to show off my knife to anyone who will allow me to show it to them.

I recently received my mission call to McAllen Texas. I report on August 5th, 2009. I will receive my endowments on July 24th, 2009. Today July 14th, 2009 I had a meeting with my Stake President and received my temple recommend. The idea of receiving my endowments is so exciting!

The experiences I’ve had so far in life have been so important for my development and growth. I’m mostly appreciative for the close relationship with my family. I feel that heavenly father has blessed me with these experiences.