Melanie DeVos Molinaro and her husband, Michael Molinaro, of Atlanta, Georgia, had been researching the Italian ancestry in their family history for some time, but had not made much progress. In 2012, the couple was excited when another FamilySearch user sent them a note saying they were looking for information about the same relative and promised to share any information they found.
And five years of radio silence.
The Molinaros didn’t hear from other FamilySearch users until 2018, when a stranger sent them another note saying they had just returned from Italy and had records to send to the Molinaros. Melanie Molinaro said she was happy to accept the offer because she was hoping for information about three or four of her ancestors.
What happened next was the beginning of what the Molinaros now call a “miracle of family history.”
Another FamilySearch user sent them 21 pages of names, dates and locations, enough information to add 1,600 people to their family tree.
“We laughed, we cried, we were totally excited, we were totally overwhelmed,” Melanie Molinaro said. “It was phenomenal on every level. We were extremely grateful.”
She added that because the people who sent the records are not members of the Church, she also feels a responsibility to help these 1,600 people make covenants in the temple.
For the Molinaros family, the past eight years have been a journey to bring these names to the house of the Lord and perform ordinances on their behalf.
“These ancestors are real,” Melanie Molinaro said. “They’re not just names on a page. They’re not just characters in a book. They’re real people who are fully invested in doing their job and helping us make it happen. And although I don’t remember meeting any of these people, I love them in a way I never understood before I started this work for them.”
200 rituals in one night
According to Melanie Molinaro, bringing these 1,600 names to the temple was a path filled with God’s tender mercy.
“It is Heavenly Father’s job to gather Israel, and Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are intimately involved in making that happen,” she said. “They help us when we make an effort.”
One such tender mercy was meeting an Italian-speaking seal hunter at the Atlanta Georgia Temple, the closest temple to the Molinaros family. In November 2025, he performed a sealing ceremony in Italian for 200 Molinaro family ancestors in one night.
Melanie Molinaro said hearing the ceremony performed in the deceased’s native language was “indescribable.”
Ward members and friends attended a sealing session that night to help complete 200 ordinances, and Molinaro said other families across the country are helping complete many more.
“It has been an amazing and humbling experience to receive such an outpouring of support, love and faith from family, friends, ward members, youth groups and missionaries,” she said.
United with God in His work
Molinaro said this unfolding experience taught her God’s mercy and love for His children, and that she feels “connected” to God through this experience.
“I feel like I’ve come to understand Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ on a deeper level, although of course I have many miles to go,” she said.
She recalled wondering out loud how they could have so many names. Michael Molinaro responded, “Because (God) knew we would do it.”
Melanie Molinaro added, “So I definitely feel like it’s a trust thing. I want him to know that he can trust me to do what God is asking me to do.”
Reap “immeasurable” blessings
Molinaro hopes that sharing her story will inspire others to dig into their family history, but acknowledged that not everyone will be handed 1,600 names.
“The blessings of doing family history will be different for each person,” she said. “That’s a good thing, because we are all unique and Heavenly Father knows what we can do, when we can do it, and how He needs us to do it.”
She said the blessings awaiting those who know their ancestors are “immeasurable.”
“[Genealogy]is about the past, but it’s so vibrant and essential to living in the present. And I think connecting with these people brings depth to our lives and families and helps us see the bigger picture and plan of God for all of His children.”
