What Motivates Us to Do our Family History?

Surely the best motivator for family history is the second and great commandment -- given to us by the Savior himself: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." (See Matthew 22:39; New Testament)

If I lived in an earlier era, before the Gospel of Jesus Christ was restored again on earth, I would hope that some descendant would love me enough to find out my information and submit it for temple ordinances. This is why I do family history. I want my ancestors and other relatives to know that I love them.

When we do family history we also acknowledge the atonement of Jesus Christ and become His helpers to see that the ordinances are completed. It is a great honor to be a helper in the redemption of the dead.

As a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have been blessed to do a lot of family history and temple work. It is an opportunity that has enriched my life and strengthened my testimony of the plan of salvation.

I am sure other converts to the Church have similar feelings.

However, for members with a long heritage in the Church, some members really do have most of their direct lines completed. My husband is one of those people. We finally found direct-line individuals in his family but they are back in the 1600s. The ancestors were "end of the line" and New FamilySearch finally allows their work to be done because of the family relationships being documented.

My friend has tried for years to find information to submit. She comes from a large LDS family and it is difficult to find anything that hasn't been worked on. Everytime we think we found someone, it turned out that the ordinances have been completed.

I tell my friend that she can do family history in other ways -- scanning ancestral photos, compiling family history books, etc. She has taken this advice to heart and used family history projects for her five grown children at Christmas for several years. Her children really appreciate these gifts. Last year she collected all the written testimonies of their ancestors and made a booklet. (A similar thing could be done with patriarchal blessings of deceased ancestors.)

Family history entails far more than gathering names, dates, and places. It is a way to develop love and compassion for other people. This could be done in submitting information to the temples but, if the work is completed, we can turn our hearts to our families through other projects.

We live in an age of amazing technology which allows us to document and share our research with others all over the world. We can email questions to family members and receive their responses within minutes or hours. We can scan photographs and documents to share with cousins. It really is remarkable what technological advancements have come to pass during the past decade or so.

Whenever the Savior gives us a commandment, he opens up the way for us to accomplish it (see 1 Nephi 3:7 in the Book of Mormon). Latter-day prophets have testified of this truth. President Harold B. Lee (1899-1973) counseled: “Remember, whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies.”

We have been called to fulfill this responsibility in behalf of our kindred dead. The Lord will stand steadfast beside us as we pursue our search.

Genealogy without Guilt Club

A few years ago, it seemed a good idea to encourage participation in family history and temple work amongst the ward members. We started having a monthly meeting at the stake family history center.

To relieve the pressure as well as the 'guilt', the group was named the "Genealogy without Guilt Club". I told the ward members what hours I would be at the family history center on the third Tuesday of the month. They could come for a few minutes or a couple of hours to work on their own family history. I purposely chose a time when the family history center was normally open so that my friends would meet the staff members too.

We tried having the meetings once a month. Sometimes I only had one person come but that was okay because I knew that one person really wanted to be there. Sometimes we had several people come and then it was a bit of a balancing act as I helped them all. The family history center's staff also assisted our ward members.

We used Ancestry.com to check records -- this was when all FHCs had access to Ancestry. We also taught the members to use Personal Ancestral File (PAF) to organize their family information and TempleReady to clear their names for temple ordinances. In addition, the ward members read the books or ordered microfilms from Salt Lake. We also found microfilms and microfiche in the permanent collection of the FHC to help them begin their research.

The main goal of the "Genealogy without Guilt Club" was to give members a chance to something on their family history without feeling that it was necessary to do everything.

This principle was taken from an article by Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He advised: "... in the work of redeeming the dead there are many tasks to be performed, and ... all members should participate by prayerfully selecting those ways that fit their personal circumstances at a particular time. This should be done under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord and with the guidance of priesthood leaders who issue calls and direct the Church-administered portions of this work. Our effort is not to compel everyone to do everything, but to encourage everyone to do something." (Dallin H. Oaks, “Family History: ‘In Wisdom and in Order’,” Ensign, Jun 1989, page 6.)

For almost a year we had monthly meetings of the "Genealogy without Guilt Club" and then we stopped due to summer vacations and other needs. The "Genealogy without Guilt Club" was a great way to help the ward members without overwhelming anyone. Perhaps it is time to have another series of meetings and leave the guilt at the door.

Temples in these Latter Days

One of the best websites for learning about the temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is known as 'LDS Church Temples'.

Here is the link: http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/

As of today, June 9th, the Church has 126 operating temples. Other temples are under construction (8 temples) or in the planning stages (6 temples).

The complete list of all the LDS Temples are found on the website, along with the latest news, schedules, photographs, dedicatory prayers, and other information.

For instance, there are photographs and information concerning the newest LDS temple in Curitiba, Brazil. It was dedicated on Sunday, June 1st by President Thomas S. Monson and even the dedicatory prayer is included on the website.

Some of the photographs on the website document the construction and area around the various temples.

It is even possible to download photographs for a computer desktop which is something I have done for several years. It is fun to change the photograph on my desktop to reflect the seasons, my current genealogical research, or just my mood.

Smiles for the Journey

"If you would not be forgotten,

As soon as you are dead and rotten,

Either write things worthy of reading,

Or do things worth writing."

~ Benjamin Franklin, May 1738

"My folks didn't come over on the Mayflower,

but they were there to meet the boat."

~ Will Rogers

"Whenever there's a will, you'll see an heir loom."

~ Anonymous

"Why waste your money looking up your family tree?

Just go into politics and
your opponents will do it for you."

~ Mark Twain

Portraits of our Ancestors

Gathering information for our ancestors is a little like a portrait by a great Impressionist. Many paintings by the masters are simply little dots of color but all together a wonderful scene or portrait comes to life. Our facts for our ancestors are like the little dots of color. When a fact is missing for an ancestor, it may be like an empty spot on the canvas. As we add facts, we are adding to the overall portrait.

We can better visualize a "whole person" when we check multiple sources for them. Each type of record gives an additional highlight to the life of an ancestor. It is important to research our relatives in a wide variety of records. It may be that one record in particular will give the depth to the portrait which allows us to thoroughly appreciate our ancestor and the challenges he faced in life.

Outstanding Article about Family History

An outstanding article about family history was published in last year's "Ensign".

Here is the reference: George D. Durrant, “Branching Out on Your Family Tree,” Ensign, Apr 2007, 44–47. https://www.lds.org/ensign/2007/04/branching-out-on-your-family-tree

This article is one of the best on family history from the "Ensign" in recent years.

One reason I appreciate this article so much stems from the practical and wise approach of Br. Durrant. He doesn't just tell us to "do family history" but gives ideas of how we can accomplish this great task.

The main idea that Br. Durrant proposes is that we trace our family tree back and then we follow the descendants of ancestors. This way we can submit other descendants of our ancestors -- as long as we keep our integrity and remember not to submit work that falls within the "rights of precedence" timeframes.

The article quotes President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

"Members of the Church as individuals and families are responsible to identify their own direct-line ancestral families and see that temple ordinances are performed for them. They may also do family history research and temple work for their deceased relatives who are collaterally related (not their direct lines).”

Apparently the Church is reminding members to gather and submit the names of other descendants from common ancestors. This used to be so difficult to accomplish because it is more difficult to trace descendants than ancestors.

Today there are some other ways to find descendants now that weren't available before -- ie. FamilySearch Indexing and the resulting indices.

We have many resources which have not been available even a few years ago. By learning how to use these resources, we can locate other members of our families.

Spiritual Thoughts to Ponder from President Gordon B. Hinckley

The world has never seen a temple builder like President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910-2008) who died late last month.


We were so fortunate to have had this wise leader leading the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for nearly thirteen years. We will truly miss him!!


Here are some of my favorite quotes from President Hinckley:




"Every ordinance that can be performed in the Salt Lake Temple, the largest in the Church, can be performed in these smaller temples.” ~ “This Great Millennial Year,” Ensign, Nov 2000.

“I challenge every father and husband to see that he is worthy to take his wife and children to the temple. There is nothing in all this world that will substitute for it. It is the greatest blessing that can come to any couple. Don’t put it off. If you need to repent, begin today and qualify to receive a temple recommend” (member meeting, Santiago, Chile, Mar. 11, 2006). ~ “Inspirational Thoughts”, Ensign, Feb 2007.

"I think of all the things of which I may be proudest, and I don’t mean that in an evil sense, is the fact that ever since I went on a mission I’ve had a temple recommend in my pocket. I have one in there now. It is my credit card with the Lord, and I am grateful for it” (meeting, Lowell, Massachusetts, 15 Oct. 1998). ~ "Inspirational Thoughts”, Ensign, Aug 2000.

“We have laid upon us as a people a greater charge, a greater responsibility than any other people have ever had in the history of the world. We are responsible for [taking] the blessing of the gospel of Jesus Christ to all who have lived upon the earth, to all who now live upon the earth, and to all who will yet live upon the earth. No other people have had so great a responsibility as that. God bless the faithful Latter-day Saints who carry in their hearts the love and respect of the great doctrine of the eternity of the family and of the tremendous doctrine of proxy work for the dead.” (Conference, Salt Lake Jordan Utah Stake, 31 January 1999 ~ “Words of the Living Prophet”, Liahona, Nov 2001.