Family History Tip #1

A fellow family history consultant, Floyd Fowles, has put together some excellent Family History Tips for our FHC Consultants to use in their training.

Tip #1
The basic format and container for your own family history records is a simple 8 1/2x11 inch three ring binder. Every church member should have one, even each child. If each emember of your family doesn't have one yet, then you should get one started. Inside will be pedigree charts, family group sheets and other records. This priceless binder is a treasure used all through life. Pedigree charts and family group sheets are available at your local Family History Center.

Tip #2

The Church has directed that each family should have their own "Member's Guide to Temple and Family History Work." This is your basic set of directions from the church. It explains the purposes of the work, and more importantly the how to of: starting your own family history, gathering information, recording data and providing temple ordinances. Forms and tables are included. These guides are available at your local Family History Center.

Tip #3
One of the most useful, necessary and exciting activities you may do is called indexing. The Church has invited everyone to participate. Indexing is the digitizing or converting of printed records into computer available records of birth, marriage, death, census, etc. so they can be seen by everyone on the internet. This is well under way and you can be part of it. In 2010 there were 185,900,667 records digitized and added by 400,000 volunteers. You can do this on your computer at home in your spare time and the payoff is enormous. It is really simple and gratifying. Drop into the Family History Center to learn how to be a part of history in the making.

Tip #4
More on Indexing. The collection of indexes and images available on the Family Search website continues to grow by leaps and bounds with the addition of 34 collections of genealogical records.  These records include 15 million indexed records and 2.5 million images.  The bounty of information covers 13 different countries around the world: Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, Brazil, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Jamaica, Canada and the United States. And more will be coming. The goal of preserving historical records on the internet for all to use is coming to pass. You can still be part of this historic activity as a volunteer indexer converting hand written records into print online from any computer Log on to www.familysearch.org/indexing

Tip #5
Let's recall that family history work is perhaps the most fascinating and enjoyable journey you can ever take. Discovering who your ancestors are is not only interesting and captivating, but it is downright important. You then can fulfill scripture by becoming a "Savior on Mt. Zion" and get the temple work done for them. The process works best by getting organized with a binder with the basic forms of pedigree charts, family group sheets and research logs. Then, follow these three steps: first, find out the names of and basic data about your ancestors; second, record these findings on the forms, and third, perform or have performed the temple work for them. These three steps will mostly be done on the computer and the Internet, but not at first. You need your basic binder to start with, because you start out by writing down what is in your memory and home records; then you go to family and family records, then finally the computer and internet where you will delve into history. This basic binder is your lifetime permanent record even if it's all on the computer, too. That basic binder may grow to a half a dozen precious permanent home records of your family.  All of this should of course be duplicated on a program in your computer as well as in the new.familysearch church permanent records.

Tip #6
Elder Boyd K Packer tells us in his conference address of April 1987: "Ordinances and covenants become our credentials for admission into God's presence. To worthily receive these is the quest of a lifetime, to keep them thereafter is the challenge of mortality.  Once we have received them for ourselves and for our families, we are obligated to provide these ordinances vicariously for our kindred dead, indeed for the whole human family.) This vicarious Letter-day work was begun in 1838 with the Lord sending Elijah the prophet to "turn our hearts to our fathers." The Church provides instruction, facilities and temples. It is our job to do the work for our own families and others.

Tip #7
Families and Temples are essential in Father's plan. You, with temple knowledge and ability to do ordinances, are part of an eternal heavenly and earthly family. All in your family have not had this same knowledge and ordinances. May ancestors have died without hearing the gospel or receiving saving ordinances. Heavenly Father has provided a way for them to have these blessings. Your deceased ancestors live in a place called the spirit world. There they have the opportunity to hear and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, they cannot do the earthly ordinances of the gospel there, and cannot progress until others here provide these ordinances for them. This is where you come in. You may be a savior to them by doing their temple work. Just think of the eternal gratitude they will have to you if you do these things.

Tip #8
Temple and family history work unites families, both earthly and heavenly through sacred temple ordinances. The goal of this process is that "the whole chain of Gods' family shall be welded together into one chain, and they shall become the family of God and His Christ. The keys of this welding process were returned to the earth through the Prophet Elijah in 1838. Elijah said: "Behold the time has fully come...to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers...therefore the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands." (Doctrine & Covenants 110:14-16) Ancient prophets foretold of that restoration as happening before the second coming of Christ. Elijah was a great ancient prophet who held the power to bind and seal or indeed to "weld" husbands and wives, parents and children together on earth and have it carry into eternity. This one of a kind power is found only in the temples of this Church.

Tip # 9

After you have your binder with at least one four or five generation pedigree chart, some family group sheets and research logs established; fill it out with what you know about your family. Go through all your papers and records at home; then talk to family members and get what information and names they have. Put all of this on your pedigree chart and family group sheets. Record these steps of what you do in your research log with dates so you will know later on that you have done this because you may (will) forget these details. After you have done this, get your church membership number from the ward clerk. Get on the internet and get registered on LDS.org and then go to new.familysearch.org and register. When you register. Write down your user name and passwords in two different secure places. You must remember these names to use the internet sites; so chose names you can easily remember. It is best to use the same names for both registrations.

Tip #10

As we go through life searching for value, we sometime miss the obvious; so here it is! The Church now has a massive forever permanent expandable website called “new family search.” It is to be the ultimate place to find ancestors. It is, of course, not yet complete-it needs names. This is where we come in. We should submit our records, but most importantly, at this very moment perhaps mankind’s greatest and most significant task is being done. That task is the capture of historical vital records that go right into new family search. It’s called “Indexing” and will save everyone the world over years of research. The Church is calling each of us aged 13 and above to help as a volunteer indexer to do this historically significant task.

Tip #11

FamilySearch is the Church Family History Web Site for ancestor searching. Part of it with finished family trees is called New FamilySearch. This is where you start in order to see what has already been found and what needs to be done. These two parts have all of the church’s digitized genetoalogy records. It grows with Indexing and member input. You and yours are almost sure be in it.

Tip #12
On the computer, new.familysearch is where you start. It is easy to learn. On the home page click on "Learn How to use Family Search" to access ten Video Overviews and Eight guides. Also the "Help Center" has a large list of training aids, substantial online courses and useful information. These aids follow a logical order to quickly self-learn the program and do your Family History.

More tips will be added in the up coming weeks.