Family History Update
Here is a family history update for the month of October:
Family History Monthly Workshop – Tomorrow - October 22nd at 2pm
Its been about three months since we had our last workshop, so we are going to try and have another one this Sunday. These workshops are for anyone who is struggling to find enough motivation to research family names to take to the temple. I have personally experienced times where I will go through a slump (like the past 2 months) where I am not researching family names that I can take to the temple. If your anything like me, we need a nudge or boost every now and again to start doing the work. We have some great motivators planned for this workshop where we will hear from Karen Johnson, as well as Darin and Lola Bird that will talk about their experiences with family history that is very inspiring and motivating, something that we could all use more of.
Agenda:
Inspirational Message - Brother Roylance will share the two most common myths that most members deal with that stops them from researching their own family names to take to the temple. Can you guess what those two common myths are?
Interview with Karen Johnson – Karen will share her most recent experiences learning how to research her own family names.
Connecting with our ancestors – Darin and Lola Bird will share some of their experiences where they traveled different parts of Europe to learn more about their ancestors and how they became more connected to them through their travels.
Why doing hints is so very important? – Will hopefully clear up any confusion about what hints are and why they are so important to finding our ancestors that need their temple work done.
Doing hints in a more meaningful way – Even though there are many different ways to do hints, I will share what I think is the most meaningful way to do hints.
Here is the zoom meeting info for October 22nd at 2pm
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89555152343?pwd=ZGJFZ2IwR3I2Tnc0ZGw2TG5WOFZYQT09
Meeting ID: 895 5515 2343
Passcode: 582645
Prepare Family Names Who Need Temple Ordinances
In case you missed it, last May, the Utah Area Presidency sent out an email to every member of our ward asking them to “help prepare family names who need temple ordinances.” In this same letter, there is a quote from President Nelson where he clearly states that “Searching out the names of our kindred dead is a duty of consummate importance”. Here is the letter:
As the physical work on the Taylorsville Utah Temple progresses, we invite you to register for a FamilySearch account on familysearch.org and opt in to receive messages so that FamilySearch can help you prepare family names who need temple ordinances.
President Russell M. Nelson declared:
"Family history research and temple service are one work in this church. We cannot do vicarious work for our progenitors unless we know who they are. Temples are nourished with names. Without genealogies, ordinances could be performed only for the living. Searching out the names of our kindred dead is a duty of consummate importance." (2019 temple leadership seminar)
Registering for a FamilySearch account and learning about your ancestors is an important and joyful way to prepare for the dedication of the Taylorsville Utah Temple.
Sincerely,
Utah Area Presidency
Temple & Family History Newsletter
May 2023
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
This month I have had strong impressions that we need to be doing more to help our youth get more involved in doing family history work, where we are helping them find their own names, and then going with them to the temple to do those names. I have also felt that this starts in the home, and as parents, if we want our youth to be taking their own names to the temple, we need to setting the example of finding our own names, and taking them to the temple as well.
Quote Of The Month:
“President Gordon B. Hinckley … stated that those who wait beyond the veil for the ordinances of the gospel are in desperate circumstances analogous to the handcart pioneers. They need our help. Those who labor in the temples of the Lord are their rescuers, he said. We need to wake up the whole Church to their plight..” by Elder D. Todd Christofferson
“This gives us a glimpse into how desperate our ancestors and their descendants are to have their own work done. If we don’t find them and add them to family search, they are stuck, and are in desperate need of our help. Please trust me when I tell you that every family in our ward has thousands, even tens of thousands of hints that need to be processed (that could have someone that needs to be added), and so there is a ton of work that needs to be done. On average, for every 10 hints we do, there is one person we will add to family search. The hints are increasing more and more with each passing day where millions of records are being indexed every day, so there is plenty of work that needs to be done.” Kent Roylance
Family History Class series starting again this month May 23rd
The FamilySearch Family Tree-Online class series is starting again this coming Tuesday, both at 9am and 7pm. These classes are held both online and in person, and is only an hour and a half long once a week. There is no better class to take if you are wanting to know more about how to use FamilySearch where you can learn everything there is to know about how to do family history research using the FamilySearch tool. Even if you have taken the classes before, they are a good refresher because FamilySearch is changing all of the time.
Family History Monthly Workshop – This Sunday May 21st at 2pm
Once again, we will be hosting a family history workshop this coming Sunday May 21st at 2pm where we will have several presenters share fun and interesting topics about how to do family history. Listed below are some of the topics that will be presented:
Inspirational Message – I will share a short and very inspirational video of Matt and Coreena Dibb about some of their spiritual experiences doing family history.
Cleaning up your Family Tree-Online – Karen Emery will continue from where she left last month where she will share what she learned from the class series on “Cleaning Up Your Family Tree-Online”. She will be showing how to standardize dates and places. Come learn why it is so important to standardize dates and places for your ancestors.
Tips on how to use the Fan Chart – Karalee Roylance will share some tips and tricks about how to use the Fan Chart; which, is one of the best tools in FamilySearch when doing family history research.
How to check for duplicates when using Ordinance Ready – Last month I talked about one of the most important features in FamilySearch to use when checking if there is a duplicate when using Ordinance Ready, and so I will expand on that more and review other things to check for as well. Every person we reserve in Ordinance Ready needs to be checked for a duplicate because more often then not, I have discovered duplicates. Just because a person shows up in Ordinance Ready, does not guarantee they are not a duplicate, as I will explain why this is possible in this workshop.
When doing hints, why is it much more accurate to do hints on the phone versus doing hints on the computer? - I was quite surprised to discover just how much more accurate doing hints on the phone vs on the computer can be, and I will show several different examples why that is the case.
Here is the zoom meeting info for May 21st at 2pm
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85417977275?pwd=VVhMeTIydE4xTEdFZy9tc1B0N2Y3Zz09
Meeting ID: 854 1797 7275
Passcode: 707982
Temple & Family History Newsletter
February 2023
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Starting this month, we will be sending out a family history newsletter each month to update you on what is happening with temple & family history in our ward. We have several exciting things planned for this year and wanted to inform you on what is planned so far to help all those interested in doing temple & family history work.
Quote Of The Month:
“Think of the Savior when you meet Him. . . . He has trusted you by letting you hear the gospel in your lifetime, giving you the chance to accept the obligation to offer it to those of your ancestors who did not have your priceless opportunity. Think of the gratitude He has for those who pay the price in work and faith to find the names of their ancestors and who love them and Him enough to offer them eternal life in families, the greatest of all the gifts of God. He offered them an infinite sacrifice. He will love and appreciate those who paid whatever price they could to allow their ancestors to choose His offer of eternal life.” President Henry B. Eyring, "Hearts Bound Together"
Walden Hills Ward Family History Web Page
In case you were not aware, there is now a Family History Web page on the Walden Hills Ward web site. On the home page, near the bottom, there is a link to the family history page. We will be updating the family history web page with new updates about family history in the ward for things like upcoming events, quotes, links to helpful resources, links to videos, and anything else that would be helpful when doing family history research.
Less than three weeks away, RootTech will be having their yearly conference, and this year it will be held both online and in person at the Salt Palace downtown Salt Lake City. To attend in person for the 2 days of classes, it will cost $98, but you can also attend online for free. Either way you will need to register. February 4th is Family Discovery Day, "It is a free, fun, in-person event offering activities and experiences that will help you and your family unite as you discover more about your family history." In case your interested, in the next week or so, we will include a list of recommended classes each day for both in person and online found on the Walden Hills Family History Web Page.
In case you were not aware, the church has created an application supported by the church for helping members of the church focus on a Christ-centered life. It is a great tool to find inspiring messages and was created primarily to help improve communication within each organization of the ward. This Gospel Living app is available for Windows (Microsoft App Store), Mac, Android, and Iphone. The family history consultants will be using this app more and more to share updates, inspiring messages, videos, and useful techniques about family history. If you haven't done so already, please install Gospel Living on your phone so that you can stay current with what is happening in our ward and neighborhood. This is unlike any other social media app. The Gospel Living app is strictly controlled by the church where all pictures, videos, and messages are closely monitored and filtered by the church. This is one more thing where we need to embrace the technology that the church is offering to its members.
Family History Monthly Workshops
Many have asked about the monthly workshops that we used to have last year, so we are going to try having them monthly again. Starting this month, we are going to hold them on the 3rd Sunday of each month at 2pm, and it will be an hour long. It will be similar to before where there will be inspiring messages and tips and tricks shared from several family history experts in the ward. We are going to break up blocks of instruction on 4-5 topics including: indexing (Janis Rowser - one of the top indexers in the world), tips and tricks from Karalee Roylance and the Emerys who have many years of experience with Family Search, and then Kent Roylance will share something helpful toward the end. The workshop will focus on indexing, hints, finding and adding family names, family search, and memories. Here is the zoom meeting info for Feb. 19th at 2pm
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86473384527?pwd=bU5xVHdwYTFiREJuS0lvd1psSXJwdz09
Meeting ID: 864 7338 4527
Passcode: 264315
Only once a month will we be sending out a family history newsletter like this, and so most of our communication and updates will be through the Gospel Living app. If you want to stay current on what is happening with family history in our ward, please install the Gospel Living app so that you can receive our regular updates. Our goal is to be sending weekly updates and inspiring messages to the Adults Circle in the Living app. If you want to discontinue receiving monthly family history updates, please send a request to 801-656-9369. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help you with your family history research.