Temple and Family History Work Bob's Overview Of Member's Guide To Temple and Family History Work

The Primary Purpose of... Family History work is to find ancestor's names and perform temple ordinances for them. A simple process: Gather information to identify your ancestors. Record information about your ancestors to link them into families. Perform temple ordinances for your ancestors who have not yet received them.

Those who will not read have No Advantage over Those who cannot read! This booklet will teach you, in simple steps, how to do the family history you have always wanted to do. As you read and study it, you will become excited about how the Lord has provided a way for you to do research and temple ordinances for your ancestors whether you have a little time or lots of time. This is the blessing of living in the last days. Which slide will motivate you – this one or the next one? 3

It is a “no charge” item – will you not read it? Those who will not read have No Advantage over Those who cannot read! Hopefully we will never have to answer a question like this: “Did I not have my servants prepare a Guide for you that you might accomplish that which I have commanded you to do that you might partake of the greatest happiness?” It is a “no charge” item – will you not read it?

Ch. 1-The Great Plan of Happiness This life's journey would be impossible without the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. The Atonement enables us to repent and be forgiven of our sins and to be resurrected. An ordinance is a sacred act or ceremony performed by authority of the priesthood. Ordinances and covenants become our credentials for admission into God's presence.

Eternal Families are part of the Plan God is the designer of the family. He intended that the greatest of happiness,...should come in our associations together and our concerns one for another.. President Gordon B. Hinckley You have a knowledge of...and have received ...ordinances of the gospel. Many of your ancestors...have died without hearing the gospel or without receiving saving ordinances.

Your Privilege … And responsibility is to give your ancestors this gift by identifying them and ensuring their ordinances are performed … in the temple. Your effort in behalf of your ancestors is patterned after the work of the Savior, although on a much smaller scale. You do a saving work for them that they cannot do for themselves.

The Blessings of This Work “Today is a day of temple building. Temples will bless all who attend them and who sacrifice for their completion.” President Thomas S. Monson “The Lord will bless us as we attend to the sacred ordinance work... Blessings there will not be limited to our temple service. We will be blessed in all of our affairs. We will be eligible to have the Lord take an interest in our affairs both spiritual and temporal.” President Boyd K. Packer

Ch. 2 - Getting Started Where to Get Help Follow the guidance of the Holy Ghost Family History Consultants Family History Centers Begin with the FamilySearch internet site To Register you will need your church membership number and your date of birth Go to new.familysearch.org Add information or change incorrect information Prepare ancestor's names for temple work Note: Clicking on the address will take you to NFS

Ch.3 – Gathering Info. From Home Search both: familysearch.org and new.familysearch.org They may already contain information. Review this information at the beginning...to avoid duplicating work that may already have been done. Record information from your memory. Be sure to verify your info by comparing it ...with other sources. Memories fade and are not always accurate. This should be done in a personal family history record program, such as PAF, RootsMagic, Ancestral Quest etc. It should not be entered into new.familysearch.org until verified.

Gather Information from Home Sources Family group records, pedigree charts, books of remembrance or ancestral tablets. Family Bibles Journals, diaries and letters Personal histories and life sketches Family histories Old photographs Obituaries and newspaper clippings Birth, marriage and death certificates Household registers and tribal registration papers

Boxes! Get a cardboard box. Any kind of box will do. Put it someplace where it will be in the way. ...everything that you can find pertaining to your life; anything that is written or registered or recorded that testifies that you are alive and what you have done. Put everything you can find about yourself into one box ...parents or grandparents into separate boxes. Put info about each individual into three categories: Childhood - Adolescence - Adulthood

Ch. 4 – Recording FH Information Before temple ordinances can be done for your ancestors, their data must be entered into new.familysearch.org The system will then show: What info. has already been gathered about your family Which ordinances have been completed Which ordinances need to be done Provide a way to print a Family Ordinance Request that can be taken to the temple Allow others to use your information to help them Help you coordinate with others who are also searching for your ancestors

Working with a FH Consultant If you do not have access to the internet, do not have a computer or do not know how to use a computer, you can record your information on paper forms. Then you can work with your FH consultant to get the information entered into FamilySearch. It is best to use a computer from the beginning if possible to avoid transcribing errors and to save work and time You only have to type and verify it's correct one time!

Information Needed for Temple Work Must be deceased for at least one year Given name or surname Gender And enough info to uniquely identify the person May include dates, places, names & relationships For a sealing to a spouse – given name or surname For a sealing to parents – given name or surname of at least the father

Ch. 5 – Gathering Info from Family Your relatives may remember important events and dates that have not been recorded They may have family heirlooms, records, mementos, photographs and other items They may have interesting stories to tell Can sometimes direct you to others who knew your ancestors or to other relatives you may not know

Interviewing Family Members Conduct the interview in person if possible. If not, then contact by phone, By letter or By e-mail Chapter 5 contains info on how to: Contact the family member Prepare for the interview Conduct the interview Use the information

Ch. 6 – Gathering Info from Public Records Public Records to Search Vital Records – Birth – Marriage – Death Census Records Immigration Records Newspapers Church Records Cemetery Records There are many more that can help you

Pray for Guidance Choose an Ancestor Use Record Selection Table in Appendix C Find the record Useful records can be stored in: Family History Centers Libraries Archives Churches Courthouses Internet sites

Appendix C – page 45

Keeping Notes on What You Find A research log is a record of where you have looked for family history information and what you have found. A sample research log is included in Appendix A Research logs help you organize your work and keep you and others (if you share) from repeating research that has already been done.

Ch. 7 – Providing Temple Ordinances Policies for Preparing Names for Temple Work One year after date of death without regard to the person's worthiness or cause of death Within the last 95 years, obtain permission from the closest living relative. Relatives may not want the ordinances performed or may want to perform the ordinances themselves. The closest living relatives are, in this order: Spouse (un-divorced) Children (Adult) Parents Siblings

Determining which names to submit Immediate family members Direct-line ancestors (parents, Grandparents and so on and their families) You may also submit: Biological, adoptive and foster family lines connected to your family Collateral family lines (uncles, aunts, cousins and their families Your own descendants Possible ancestors ...who have same last name and resided in same area as your ancestors

Submitting names to the Temple After finding and entering all required information into New FamilySearch, you are ready to prepare a Family Ordinance Request (FOR) form to the temple Select only as many ordinances as can be done in a reasonable amount of time Then print a Family Ordinance Request form Take the FOR to the temple where they will print ordinance cards for you to use to do the ordinance work You can verify that the work has been done by looking up that person's name on New FamilySearch

Blessings of Temple Work “Family history work has the power to do something for the dead. It has an equal power to do something to the living. Family history work of Church members has a refining, spiritualizing, tempering influence on those who are engaged in it.” Pres. Boyd K. Packer

Continuing Your Efforts “Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your heart rejoice and be exceedingly glad...let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free.” D&C 128:22 Prophet Joseph Smith

We need your help Today The New FamilySearch website allows you to do your family history work at home. One Stake President has asked: “Are they doing it at home or are they just not doing it?” Your family history consultants are tracking this work to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to receive help to find names of their ancestors to take to the temple. Without names the temples will cease to operate

Ward FH Progress Chart

Please stop by one of the tables after this program to update your family's progress in this sacred work. Thank you very much for your cooperation. May the Lord bless you!

Where to obtain FREE copies Of this program plus Bob's Ward Family History Progress Chart with a Quarterly Report Bob's Overview of Family History Bob's Duties of Family History Consultants Indexing Flyer And more! res@ida.net Please share freely with others