An object lesson that shows the difference between our earthly pedigree chart and our heavenly pedigree chart.
I love giving this object lesson – it really puts our heavenly lineage into perspective. At the very bottom of this post, you will find a PDF of the 1024 ancestors chart that you can print out. For the heavenly pedigree chart, either find a business card of your own that has a blank side to it or cut out a piece of paper to the size of a business card and write “I am a Child of God” on it. Enjoy!
Have you ever wondered how many ancestors you have?
According to Legacy News:
“If we double the number of ancestors in each generation, 2 parents, 4 grandparents, and so on, we can see that by the time we are back 10 generations, we have the potential for 1024 ancestors.”
If we were to go back to medieval time, we would find we had the potential of over 200 trillion ancestors. That’s a LOT of family history work! Can you imagine having a pedigree chart that big?!?! It’s almost unfathomable! Even though there are many people out there that spend countless hours doing genealogy work, as you can see, there is still plenty for each of us to do!
But there is one pedigree chart that is so simple and so easy that anyone can do it, even you. It is one that can fit on a single line. It is one that can fit on a single business card. That is the pedigree of our spirit.
President Packer has written:
You are a child of God. He is the father of your spirit. Spiritually you are of noble birth, the offspring of the King of Heaven. Fix that truth in your mind and hold to it. However many generations in your mortal ancestry, no matter what race or people you represent, the pedigree of your spirit can be written on a single line. You are a child of God!
In a BYU devotional given by Tad R. Callister entitled Our Identity and Our Destiny, he talks about
how the belief among many in the world is that “we are the spirit creations of God, just as a building is the creation of its architect or a painting the creation of its painter or an invention the creation of its inventor.”
Yet the scriptures teach us a very different doctrine. They teach us that we are not just creations of God but “that we are literal spirit offspring of God our Father. What difference does this doctrinal distinction make? The difference is monumental in its consequence because our identity determines in large measure our destiny. For example, can a mere creation ever become like its creator? Can a building ever become an architect? A painting a painter? Or an invention an inventor? If not, then those who believe we are creations of God, rather than His spirit offspring, reach the inevitable conclusion that we do not have the capacity to become like our creator, God.” In essence, their doctrinal view leaves us with a diminished destiny.
Next time you’re feeling quite small and unimportant, I hope that you will remember who you really are. Keep a card nearby that reminds you of your heavenly pedigree chart and never forget that there is a Heavenly King who knows you and loves you and can’t wait for you to return home to His loving embrace.
Yours Truly,
