How can we inspire our family members to join us in our family history research and memory keeping? Read on for three tips. Once someone is bitten by the genealogy bug, they become known to their family as the designated “family historian” or “family memory keeper.” There’s usually one in every family, and they’re often pretty busy trying to do all the genealogy for the family. Wouldn’t it be great if each family had several people working together on...
As a young girl I often admired this sampler that hung in my Grandmother Florence’s bedroom. I didn’t know anything about it, only that I loved the intricate, colorful flowers against the black background. When she passed away my mother brought it home and hung it in her bedroom. It became a fixture, but every so often I’d read it and think of Grandma’s patience in working the needle and embroidery floss. The sampler came...
Every spring when the tulips and daffodils start blooming I’m reminded of a story I heard when I first began my family history journey. My dad had just given me the suitcase full of his thirty years of research and I felt overwhelmed with the task ahead of me. I attended a local family history fair hoping for practical help and inspiration. In one of the classes, the young presenter related a story written by...
Do you want to get started in Family History but you’re nervous about the time commitment or your abilities? Do you feel overwhelmed whenever you think about just getting started? Today I’d like to spotlight my friends and neighbors, the Rickenbach family. We belong to the same LDS ward and I’ve worked with their family for the last several months doing family history. Craig and Corinne took my beginning Family History Sunday School class in...
In the recent LDS General Conference, church leaders spoke about a wide range of topics that comforted, taught, and inspired us. Many of the talks focused on personal conversion and our relationship with the Savior. Many other messages were about strengthening families and how we can improve our relationships with each other. As a family history consultant in my ward, the insights shared about why we should do family history research and proxy temple work for...
Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to Allison Gilbert’s new book, Passed and Present, about celebrating the lives of relatives we’ve lost. Enter our giveaway of the book here! Remembering loved ones who have passed away is a unique kind of challenge. We want to celebrate their lives, yet sometimes sharing memories can be difficult. We may wonder if our family members (children, teens, etc.) are even interested. As family historians, we have many stories...
Image courtesy of RootsTech At the end of Bruce Feiler’s inspirational keynote talk at RootsTech in February, he encouraged listeners to do four things: 1 – “Find a way to connect your family story with the oldest stories ever told.” 2 – “Find a way to not just talk about the green and bountiful moments, but about the moments in exile, in desert, in pain.” 3 – “Find a way to take your passion for...
In October 2014 General Conference, Elder Allan F. Packer spoke about family history in his talk, “The Book.” He said, Like partaking of the sacrament, attending meetings, reading the scriptures, and saying personal prayers, doing family history and temple work should be a regular part of our personal worship. He spoke about this on February 14, 2015 at the Family Discovery Day as well: Last year, our theme was “Igniting Interest in Family History,” and...
Our ward is working on a temple challenge to find a family name for temple work by the end of November. I think it’s important to talk about the difference between searching for a name and surfing for a name. Searching: Finding records that reveal relatives not yet in Family Tree. Adding them to the tree, checking for duplicates, and reserving their ordinances. Surfing: Clicking around family tree until you find a relative with a green temple icon,...
Elder Holland’s beautiful talk about mothers today made me think of all the generations of mothers that have gone before me. It is staggering to think about the lifelong carrying that all of them have done throughout time to make my existence possible. It is not only the prenatal carrying but the lifelong carrying that makes mothering such a staggering feat. Speaking directly to mothers, Elder Holland said: Thank you to all mothers everywhere for giving birth,...