Testimony Tuesday is a special series from LDS Daily that highlights the miraculous ways God has touched the lives of our readers. This week, Ann Joy Fife shares how a lost flash drive became an unexpected miracle in her family history search.
We had been home from our Family History Library mission about a year and a half. One morning, I received a phone call from a man in Utah named Marlo.
He asked me if I had lost a flash drive. I told him that I worked in the Family History Library in 2007, and upon returning home, I could not find one of my flash drives. He said he had found it in Midway, Utah and had gotten my name and telephone number from it.
I asked him where Midway was. He said it was near Heber City, and I told him I had never been there. He said he was walking along a graveled path on his mother-in-law’s property in Midway when he happened to look down and it caught his eye.
He took it home and after opening it he saw my identification. I asked if it was in a red plastic case. He said one side was red but the side that was facing the sky had been bleached by the sun and was now clear plastic.
That led to the question as to how long it had been lying there. I told him that we had been home almost a year and half. The big question between us both was, How in the world did it get to Midway?
An aspen grove near Midway, Utah. | CanvaI told him that I had quit using it a long time before I came home because the Family History Center was selling flash drives with a lot more memory for a cheap price. Besides, there was nothing on it that was important, that I hadn’t already taken care of.
I told him that the last time I had seen it, it was in my purse. When I got home and didn’t see it, I thought perhaps it would show up somewhere eventually among my belongings. So, I forgot about it.
Marlo sent it to me, and when it arrived at my house it was interesting to see that it was clear plastic on one side and red on the other. I wrote to Marlo to thank him for sending it to me. This is what I said:
“The flash drive arrived today. Thank you so much. What a story we both have to tell. I have told the story to a number of family members and friends, and they are all dumbfounded, as I am.
“It stayed in my purse at all times, just in case it was needed. I quit using it in February 2007. I don’t expect the mystery to be solved. Oh, if flash drives could talk!”
Image via CanvaThis is how he answered me:
“I am happy that you have received the flash drive. I cannot explain the means by which it was transported to Midway, but all that has happened tells me there must be something very important on that drive that people on the other side of the veil do not want lost, and/or Temple work done.
“It is just too incredible of a story to be just dumb luck. I have been active in family history research 30 years and this isn’t the first time I have seen something incredible happen to preserve records, or make them available to the right person to get work accomplished.
“I am a volunteer at a family history training center here in Provo that is operated by the Utah South Area of the Church and part of the thrill of helping people learn the methods of family history research is the wonderful stories that many have to tell, or I actually witness about the spiritual help they receive to find the earthly records they seek.
“Again, I am glad that I was able to be part of returning it to you.”
After contemplating what Brother Anderson had written, I decided to investigate that flash drive again.
Image via CanvaWhile in the Family History Library, I had downloaded a large number of files while looking for a John Cockburn. It turned out that that name is the most popular name in Scotland. There were thousands of them.
After doing some research I came to the conclusion that all the work had been done. But, after reading what Marlo had written, I decided to look very closely at everything on it again.
To my surprise, up came many names whose temple work had not been done. I was able to get the ordinances done for my 2nd great-grandfather from Scotland. I used PAF Insight.
Now, the end of the story. I had used a program called PAF Insight to access the files. There are no longer PAF files nor PAF Insight websites, and I am now unable to open the Cockburn files on this flash drive. If my memory serves me correctly, the Scottish records are no longer available, either.
I believe my 2nd great-grandfather was desperate to have his temple work done before the files were unavailable. The spirits on the other side of the veil were determined that I get the information.
To this day I still am astonished when I contemplate the chances of it being on a graveled path in Midway and being found by an expert in family history research.
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A special thank you to Ann Joy Fife for sharing this remarkable story. Your experience highlights the power of faith, family history, and divine intervention, reminding us of the unseen connections that guide our lives.
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Holly Wallace is a writer and storyteller drawn to meaningful questions and overlooked details. Her work explores Latter-day Saint life and culture through faithful inquiry, inviting readers to pause, consider, and engage more deeply with what matters most.
