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We are happy to announce that the Thinning of the Veil podcast, has added another section that will aide in helping one understand the How To's of Family History Research. The Gathering Academy is the go to place to express your desires on what instruction videos would be of most benefit to you as the viewer.  Colette Hokanson is the resident professional who does most of the teaching. She is an accredited genealogist who works at Family Search. We are so excited for this new addition, and know that this will culminate in providing all the new ways that you have access to do family history at your finger tips. Now not only does the channel provide the doctrines and testimonies of the Gathering, but The Gathering Academy will provide the missing link that will leave no one with any excuses. 

YouTube The Gathering Academy Video: https://youtu.be/RHAhLgp2s3A

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Why does a loving God allow us to face such difficult trials? In this episode, host Tia Smith shares Elder Neal A. Maxwell's beloved BYU devotional "But for a Small Moment" (1974) — a message that grounded her during her own ongoing struggles and the wrestle between the mortal self and the process of "becoming."

Elder Maxwell teaches a profound truth: because God loves us, He customizes the curriculum of our lives to teach us what we most need to know. He gives us what we need, not what we like — and the tests are real, meant to be felt "deeply and keenly." Drawing on Gethsemane and the cry from the cross, he teaches that we too may sometimes feel forgotten or forsaken, may try to pray away a trial that is really an opportunity, and must learn, as the Savior did, to surrender to the Father's wisdom. Sainthood, he teaches, is patience and endurance in the midst of affliction — and there is divine design in each of our lives, unconnected pieces of tile that will one day be revealed as a mosaic.

He then walks through the "traps" we can fall into as we face our challenges — the Jonah response of running from our callings, ignoring where the adversary probes our vulnerabilities, letting pride sit at the center of our struggles, merely surviving rather than enduring well, self-pity ("hell is being frozen in self-pity"), and peering only through "the prism of the present" instead of eternity. Tia offers this as a talk that refocused her on why she's here: to become more like the Savior, and to go home.

Q: Why does God allow good people to suffer difficult trials?
A: Elder Maxwell teaches that because God loves us, He individualizes our challenges to teach us what we most need to learn and to prepare us for a better world. He gives us what we need, not merely what we like — and there is a divine design in each life.

Q: What does Gethsemane teach us about our own trials?
A: That we too may at times feel forsaken yet must never doubt God is there; that we may try to pray a trial away when it is really an opportunity; and that, like the Savior, we should preface our prayers with a willingness to surrender to the Father's will.

Q: What "traps" should we avoid when facing hardship?
A: Elder Maxwell names several — running from our callings (the "Jonah response"), being surprised when the adversary targets our weaknesses, letting pride sit at the center of our struggles, merely surviving instead of "enduring well," self-pity, and viewing eternal things only through the short lens of the present.

Q: What does it mean that we are "in the process of becoming"?
A: That the trials of this life are not punishment but the very means by which saints are made and souls are shaped to become more like Christ — which is the true purpose of our time here.

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CITATIONS:

Neil A. Maxwell, "But For a Small Moment", BYU Devotional 1974: https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/neal-a-maxwell/small-moment/

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What did a dying man see when the veil was parted before him? In this tender "story day" episode, host Tia Smith shares the remarkable spirit-world vision of Jedediah M. Grant — a counselor to Brigham Young — received shortly before his death in 1856 and related at his funeral by Heber C. Kimball.

In his final days, Jedediah Grant told Heber C. Kimball that he had visited the spirit world two nights in succession, and that the hardest thing of all was having to return to his body. He described a realm of perfect order and government — the righteous organized in families, with no death, darkness, or confusion — and gardens and buildings more beautiful than anything on earth, flowers of countless colors on a single stalk, structures that made even Solomon's temple seem ordinary. He saw his wife Caroline, who came to him first, carrying their little daughter Margaret who had died on the plains, and assured him the child was safe and whole. He also learned a sobering truth: that some families would not be permitted to dwell together because they had not honored their callings in this life.

Tia — candid about her own health struggles, including her lungs — shares this account as a comfort and a glimpse of where our loved ones are and what awaits us. It's a witness that God is in the details, that we are here for a purpose, and that the world to come is more glorious than words can describe.

Q: What was Jedediah M. Grant's vision of the spirit world?
A: Shortly before his death in 1856, Jedediah Grant described visiting the spirit world, where he saw the righteous organized in families in perfect order — no death or darkness — surrounded by gardens and buildings of indescribable beauty, and was reunited with his wife and a daughter who had died.

Q: Who was Jedediah M. Grant?
A: He was a counselor to Brigham Young in the First Presidency and the father of a future prophet, President Heber J. Grant. His vision was shared at his funeral by Heber C. Kimball.

Q: What does this vision teach about families in the spirit world?
A: That the righteous are organized in family capacities and in perfect harmony — but also that honoring our callings and covenants in this life matters, as some families would not be permitted to dwell together because they had not done so.

Q: Why does Tia share stories like this?
A: To add to the many testimonies of the spirit world, to give a clearer view of where our loved ones are and what they are doing, and to offer comfort and hope in the reality of the glorious world to come.

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CITATIONS:

Jedidiah M. Grants Vision of the Spirit World: https://scriptures.byu.edu/#:t9c5d:p551

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In this deeply personal episode, host Tia Smith opens up about her own health — her diagnoses of cystic fibrosis and alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, two rare genetic conditions — and the years-long revelatory journey that taught her God is always in the details, no matter what we face.

For years, Tia lived with a persistent, unexplained cough that no test could account for — six years of doctors, dismissals, and dead ends, even a frightening scan and scare, before a diagnosis finally came at age 45, far later than almost anyone receives it. Through it all, she kept a record of the revelation she received as she took her mortal concerns to the temple and pleaded with the Lord: impressions to trust Him, to obey with exactness, to include others in her journey, and the assurance, again and again, that she would be healed and delivered in His own time and way.

This isn't a "woe is me" episode — it's a witness of walking with God through fire. Tia shares how the young women she led, her family, and strangers around the world praying for her carried her; how learning to hear the Lord's voice for others on the other side of the veil increased her ability to receive revelation for her own life; and how she has come to understand that the real miracle isn't merely that she's still here — it's the plan of salvation and the Savior who makes both healing and homecoming possible. She closes with a tender letter of testimony she once wrote to friends walking their own hard road.

💛 This episode candidly discusses serious illness and the trials that come with it, shared in a spirit of faith and hope. If you're carrying a heavy burden today, please reach out to those who love you — you are not alone.

Q: What are cystic fibrosis and alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency?
A: Both are inherited genetic conditions that primarily affect the lungs and liver. Tia shares that having both is exceedingly rare, and that her later-in-life diagnosis of cystic fibrosis helped explain years of symptoms doctors couldn't account for.

Q: What did Tia learn about receiving personal revelation through trial?
A: That the temple is a powerful place to take our mortal concerns, not just eternal ones; that receiving revelation is one thing and trusting and acting on it is another; and that seeking to help those on the other side of the veil increased her ability to receive revelation for her own life.

Q: How does she reconcile the promise of healing with an incurable condition?
A: Tia testifies that God has assured her she will be healed in His own time and way — and that even now she is a witness of His power, able to testify of a revelatory journey she was never expected to live to share. The ultimate miracle, she teaches, is the Savior and the plan of salvation.

Q: What is her message to others walking through hard trials?
A: Trust the Lord, go to the temple, and watch for His hand — even minute by minute. Suffering can become sanctifying, the veil can grow thin, and as we seek to bless others, we receive strength and revelation for our own lives.

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How did an English newspaper reach a Logan, Utah bishop just three days after it was printed — in 1884, when such a journey was impossible? In this episode, host Tia Smith shares the beloved and remarkably well-documented "Newbury News Miracle," in the words of Elder M. Russell Ballard himself, who personally verified it.

Elder Ballard tells the story of his great-grandfather, Bishop Henry Ballard of the Logan Second Ward — a convert from England who helped build the Logan Temple. As the temple neared its 1884 dedication, Henry and his wife Margaret had no family names to take through it, and prayed constantly. Then two strangers handed a newspaper to Henry's young daughter Ellen on the street, telling her to give it to no one but her father. It was the Newbury Weekly News from near his English birthplace — dated May 15, 1884, and in his hands in Logan by May 18, only three days later. Inside was a churchyard article recording names, birth dates, and death dates from a Thatcham cemetery — including his own kin and friends — exactly what was needed for their temple work. Elder Ballard shares how, as a young missionary in 1949, he traveled to the newspaper's office, found the 1884 edition in the archives, and photographed the very article — verifying the miracle with his own eyes.

Tia then interviews Kay Groll, the artist who painted the depiction of this miracle that hangs in the Logan Temple, and her husband Ferris — sharing how Kay was prompted to paint it, the seven years and relentless opposition it took to finish, and how it came to be dedicated in the temple. Finally, Tia shares her own thinning-of-the-veil experience: how studying this story led her, through a prompting, to an ancestor named in that very 1884 newspaper article whose temple work still needed doing. It's a witness that God is in every detail — and that this 140-year-old miracle is still bringing families home.

Q: What is the Newbury News Miracle?
A: In 1884, just after the Logan Temple was dedicated, Bishop Henry Ballard received a newspaper from Newbury, Berkshire, England — delivered by two strangers to his young daughter, only three days after printing. It contained the names and dates from an English cemetery he needed for his family's temple work.

Q: How was the miracle verified?
A: As a young missionary in 1949, Elder M. Russell Ballard visited the Newbury Weekly News office, located the May 15, 1884 edition in the archives, confirmed the paper is dated the day it's printed, and photographed the actual article — providing firsthand verification.

Q: Who were the two men who delivered the newspaper?
A: They were strangers who knew exactly whom to give it to without asking. As the temple president told Bishop Ballard, "someone on the other side is anxious for their work to be done… you received the paper through messengers of the Lord."

Q: Where is the painting of this miracle?
A: A dedicated painting depicting the miracle, by artist Kay Groll (a Ballard descendant), hangs in the Logan Temple. In this episode she shares the seven-year journey — and the opposition — behind creating it.

👉 Watch or listen to the full episode: [PASTE FULL EPISODE LINK]

📎 Read the full account of the Newbury News Miracle: [PASTE LINK FROM EPISODE]

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CITATIONS:

THE NEWBURY WEEKLY NEWS MIRACLE: https://www.familysearch.org/patron/v2/TH-303-45550-951-29/dist.pdf?ctx=ArtCtxPublic

M. Russell Ballard Rootstech Invitation: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=426047988724652:

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How can we move from checking the temple off a list to letting temple worship truly change us? In this episode, host Tia Smith shares a favorite teacher — Ross Baron, a BYU–Idaho professor of ancient scripture — and his rich, scripture-based approach to enhancing our temple experience.

Brother Baron begins with four lessons from the wise men in Matthew 2: we make a journey to Jesus (often a journey of the heart); we come in humility, teachable and ready to be taught by the Master; we come to worship, which means to emulate — doing for others what they cannot do for themselves; and we bring gifts, especially the gift of repentance and our kindred dead. And just as the wise men followed a star, we follow the "star" of the living prophet back to the Savior.

He then unfolds the powerful pattern in Isaiah 2 (2 Nephi 12): temple, then Zion, then the Second Coming, then the Millennium — teaching that there is no Zion until a people are in the temple receiving the ordinances of the Melchizedek priesthood, which have the power to change our very nature. Drawing on President Nelson's teachings — that the temple is where we receive our "highest spiritual treasures" and that "in some respects it's easier to build a temple than to build a people prepared for a temple" — Baron offers practical ways to enhance temple worship: study the scriptures (which have a reciprocal relationship with the temple), embrace the "pauses" that detox us from the world, and recognize that everything in the temple — its clothing, speech, order, and symbolism — teaches us the Lord's ways so we can walk in His paths and become a Zion people ready to welcome the Savior.

Q: What can the wise men teach us about temple worship?
A: Brother Baron draws four lessons from Matthew 2: make a journey to Jesus (often of the heart), come in humility and be teachable, come to worship by emulating Christ through proxy work, and bring gifts — especially repentance and our kindred dead. And follow the "star" of the living prophet.

Q: What is the Isaiah pattern of temple, Zion, Second Coming, and Millennium?
A: From Isaiah 2 / 2 Nephi 12: the restoration begins with the temple, which prepares a Zion people, which prepares the world for the Second Coming, which inaugurates the Millennium. There is no Zion until a people are receiving the ordinances of the temple.

Q: How can I get more out of the temple?
A: Study the scriptures (which open up the temple, and vice versa), come worthy and humble, let the "pauses" separate you from the world, and pay attention to how the temple's clothing, speech, order, and symbolism teach the Lord's ways so you can walk in His paths.

Q: Why does the temple feel so different from regular church?
A: Because church is administered under the Aaronic priesthood (outward ordinances, visitors welcome), while the temple offers the ordinances of the Melchizedek priesthood — ancient, rich with symbolism, and taught "in the Master's way." That difference is itself evidence of its sacred, ancient origin.

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CITATIONS:

Ross Baron, "Enhancing Our temple Experience", BYUI, July 28, 2021: https://video.byui.edu/media/t/1_bsrs0tjo/32573922

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What happens when one person testifies of the gathering — and a whole ward starts praying for names? In this episode, host Tia Smith shares a collection of recent thinning-of-the-veil experiences that show how quickly this work spreads, along with a tender warning about protecting the revelation we receive.

First, a young single adult named Sariah shares (in her own voice) how, after giving a talk inviting her Provo ward to pray to receive the names of ancestors ready for their temple work, she watched member after member — including her Sunday School teacher, in front of the whole class — receive names and bear their own testimonies. Then Tia shares how, after just a five-minute lesson to a YSA congregation, a Relief Society sister received the name of an infant cousin who died in 1915 and had never been sealed to her parents. Tia reflects on Joel's prophecy — that the old will dream dreams and the young will see visions — noting how the youth so often receive these promptings in real time.

Tia also shares two of her own recent experiences — a name that came in a dream (leading to an ancestor whose brother needed his work done), and a name that stood out to her in a sealing session, drawing her to a relative with much work still waiting. She teaches that revelation comes in many forms: a name in a dream, a name that stands out in the temple, a name that sticks in your mind, even names encountered in cemeteries or on road signs. And she closes with a loving warning from her friend and former stake president Vince Ericson — a longtime temple sealer who received a name in the night, didn't write it down, and couldn't remember it — who asked to be used as an example: always record what you receive.

Q: How can testifying about the gathering help others?
A: As Sariah's experience shows, a simple testimony can spread quickly — when others hear it, try it, and receive names of their own, they begin testifying too, and the work multiplies through a whole congregation.

Q: I received a name but the person's work is already done — why?
A: Tia teaches that the name often comes because of someone else in that family. Look around the person on FamilySearch (a computer shows more than a phone) — usually a sibling or relative in that generation still needs their work done.

Q: What forms can revelation for names take?
A: Many. A name in a dream, a name that stands out during a sealing or initiatory session, a name that keeps returning to your mind, or even names seen in cemeteries or on signs. The key is to be asking — and then to act.

Q: Why is it so important to write names down right away?
A: Because you can forget. Tia shares her friend Vince Ericson's experience — a faithful temple sealer who received a name in the night, didn't record it, and couldn't recall it — who asked to be used as a warning: always write these sacred impressions down immediately.

👉 Watch or listen to the full episode: [PASTE FULL EPISODE LINK]

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What happens when a father's love for the temple becomes his daughter's? In this warm episode, host Tia Smith welcomes her friends Jeremy Martin and his 17-year-old daughter Kenzie — a family whose vacations revolve around temples — to share their testimonies of the gathering, personal revelation, and coming to know the Savior by becoming a savior.

Jeremy, an electrician, shares how his life changed during two months working inside the Salt Lake Temple. Walking up the tunnel one early morning, words pressed into his mind: "It's not a coincidence you're here." Over six weeks, the Lord taught him — scripture by scripture, in the quiet moments — showing him where he stood and inviting him to change, including a call to attend the temple weekly with his family. He describes how that covenant reshaped him over the years, how the temple carried him through his hardest seasons, and the tender moment when, unable to attend during the 2020 closures, he felt the Lord say simply, "You didn't come visit me."

Then Kenzie shares how her father's excitement was contagious — how conversations about the gospel, and his refusal to just give her answers ("he always tells me to take it to the Lord"), taught her to seek revelation for herself. Wrestling with new callings and feeling "not good enough," she finally prayed for a name with real faith — and received one, so faintly she almost missed it: Mary Henriette Louise Willin. Searching FamilySearch, she found a woman who needed her baptism — and, learning that this ancestor had lost her only child at age three, Kenzie writes, "suddenly she was real." Being baptized for her in an empty Logan Temple baptistry became a witness she'll never forget. Together, the Martins testify that these experiences aren't reserved for the extraordinary — they come to ordinary, imperfect people who simply ask.

Q: How can a parent pass a love of the temple to their children?
A: As Kenzie shares, it's caught more than taught — through a parent's genuine excitement, honest sharing of personal experiences (which invite the Spirit), and by teaching children to take their own questions to the Lord rather than always answering for them.

Q: What if I feel "not good enough" to receive revelation?
A: Kenzie describes wrestling with exactly that doubt. She testifies that worthiness for today is sufficient, that we simply need to ask in faith and do our best to hear — and that acting on even a faint impression (like typing a name into FamilySearch) can confirm it was revelation.

Q: How do I know a name I receive is real revelation?
A: Kenzie's impression came so faintly she second-guessed it — even the spelling. She teaches that revelation grows like a muscle with practice, and that the way to know is to act on it: search the name and see what the Lord confirms.

Q: How can a temple and family history leader inspire a busy ward?
A: Jeremy, called to temple and family history work, shares the simple direction he received: invite ward members to pray to know who in their lineage needs their work done, take those names to the temple, and let the Lord do the rest — with the goal of helping members have their own revelatory experiences.

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What is Zion — and how do we actually build it, right where we are? In this episode, host Tia Smith shares Elder D. Todd Christofferson's powerful general conference message "Come to Zion" (October 2008), tying together three themes close to her heart: Enoch, Zion, and the gathering of Israel.

Elder Christofferson teaches that Zion is both a place and a people. It was the name given to the ancient city of Enoch — a people so unified in righteousness that the Lord took the whole city up to Himself. The Lord called them Zion "because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness, and there were no poor among them." Its opposite is Babylon — worldliness, spiritual bondage, and decadence — out of which the Lord has called His people to gather.

Most powerfully, he teaches that we cannot wait for Zion to come before becoming a Zion people — Zion will come only as these things happen. He lays out three requirements: to become unified in one heart and one mind (which requires forgiving one another and placing the Savior at the center), to become individually and collectively a holy people (not merely "less wicked than others," but truly pure in heart), and to care for the poor and needy so effectively that we eliminate poverty among us. Tia frames this as the hope we must hold onto amid a chaotic world — remembering that Enoch built Zion in one of the wickedest eras of all, and that the same glorious prophecies are being fulfilled alongside the sobering ones.

Q: What is Zion?
A: Elder Christofferson teaches that Zion is both a place and a people — "the pure in heart." The Lord called Enoch's city Zion because its people were of one heart and one mind, dwelt in righteousness, and had no poor among them.

Q: How do we build Zion?
A: By becoming a Zion people now — unified in one heart and mind (through forgiveness and centering our lives on the Savior), becoming holy rather than merely less wicked, and caring for the poor and needy so effectively that poverty is eliminated among us. Zion comes only as these things happen.

Q: What is "Babylon" in this context?
A: Babylon is the scriptural symbol of worldliness, materialism, immorality, and spiritual bondage — the antithesis of Zion. The Lord calls His people to "gather out of Babylon." Elder Christofferson quotes Elder Maxwell: give up "the summer cottage in Babylon."

Q: Why couldn't the early Saints build Zion in Missouri?
A: The Lord explained they had not learned obedience, were not united according to the law of the celestial kingdom, and did not care for the poor as they should — with contentions, envyings, and covetous desires among them. Elder Christofferson invites us to examine whether we're doing any better.

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CITATIONS:

D. Todd Christofferson, "Come to Zion", Oct. 2008: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2008/10/come-to-zion?lang=eng

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Can faith and priesthood power really hold back the elements? In this story episode, host Tia Smith shares a remarkable account — sent by her friends Linda and Len Hall about their ancestor Waldemar C. Liebert — of a young man who was prompted to rebuke a killing windstorm, and was left in perfect calm while a hurricane raged all around him.

Late in the fall of 1888, Waldemar was camped alone on the Green River near Vernal, Utah, hauling grain by wagon. Around 9:00 p.m., a terrible roar came down the river — a fierce, freezing wind that cut through his bedding as though he had nothing around him, no matter how tightly he tucked in. Then a voice asked, "Why don't you rebuke the wind?" He rose and rebuked it in the name of the Messiah, using words that were given to him — words he tried to memorize but could not hold onto, as a voice told him, "This is the language that Adam spoke." The wind passed by and faded into the distance, and a voice said, "This is the power of faith." He slept soundly and drove on. The next day, both the merchant at his destination and his own family reported the same thing: a hurricane-force wind at 12 to 14 degrees below zero had blown all night and all day — yet Waldemar had traveled in perfect calm the entire way.

Tia offers this as a witness for Waldemar's descendants and for all of us: as we've studied Enoch and the power the righteous can wield, and as the elements grow more unruly in the last days, we can remember this humble testimony of the power that comes through mighty faith. We need not fear.

Q: What happened in Waldemar Liebert's experience?
A: While camped alone in 1888, he was caught in a fierce, freezing windstorm. Prompted by a voice to "rebuke the wind," he did so in the name of the Messiah — and traveled in perfect calm while a hurricane at 12–14 below zero raged for others all night and day.

Q: What does this story teach about faith and priesthood power?
A: It illustrates the "power of faith" the Savior spoke of — that even the elements can be commanded through faith and priesthood power when the Lord wills it. It's part of a scriptural pattern of the righteous being given power over the natural elements.

Q: Where did this account come from?
A: It was shared with permission by Tia's friends Linda and Len Hall, from the first-person written testimony of their ancestor Waldemar C. Liebert, who recorded it as a testimony for his family.

Q: Why does Tia share ancestor stories like this?
A: To build faith and testimony — that thinning-of-the-veil experiences are real and can happen to anyone, anywhere, and that we need not fear as the last days unfold.

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Patterns of Revelation — Spiritual Foundations for Hearing God's Voice: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW36MG9B

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