Resource to help with teaching the Temple and FH Course

We are pleased to meet many of you who are teaching the Temple and Family History Course (aka the 7 “basic lessons”).  We were just discussing how to supplement  the materials at a recent training session!

Then I came across the following link:

http://familyhistory.byu.edu/

There is a lot of interesting and useful material on this BYU site!  For the moment don’t be distracted by all these good things,  just scroll down to Family History Companion.  Click on this link!

“Welcome to the Family History Guide Companion!

The purpose of this course is to supplement the Member’s Guide published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by providing additional resources, insights, and information on how to access information that can be used in compiling your family history and provide the necessary ordinances for their salvation. We hope that the material presented here will also help you to come to know who your ancestors are as people and individuals.

In order to get the most out of this class, there will be assignments outside of class. The best way to effectively learn how to do family history research is to actually do research. Therefore, you will be asked to select a family or individual that you wish to come to know and find information about in order to provide temple ordinances. Once this family or individual is selected, there will be simple things that we will ask you to do to successfully find information about them.

We have been asked of the Lord, “Let us, therefore, as a church and a people, and as Latter-day Saints, offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness; and let us present in his holy temple, when it is finished, a book containing the records of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation.” (D&C 128:24.)

We hope to be able to help you successfully accomplish family history research in a way that is pleasing unto the Lord, to your ancestors, and to you.”

Each lesson has:

• Additional Resources
• Additional Insight
• Suggested Additional Assignments
• Handout

Of course these are only suggestions – but we hope you find something helpful!

.

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Addendum – FHC wiki pages

Try the Riverbend EdmontonFHC wiki page  - go to FamilySearch.org, click on learn, then search for FHC Riverbend – the one and only result will lead you to the Alberta Edmonton Riverbend FHC wiki page.  Congratulations to Lonni, Bill, and everyone at Riverbend

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Has the problem with Western Candadian place names in nFS been fixed?

For some (long) time  standardized place names for Western Canada have been including a census division number so that Calgary, Alberta, Canada has been showing as Calgary, Division no 6, Alberta, Canada.

I know many of you have joined us in using Feedback to ask for this to be corrected.

Today there has been an update to nFS and I tried the place name problem – and it seems to be fixed!  Please try it and let us know if there is still a problem with place names.

I was so excited that I had to send you this notice so you can help me check to see that the problem is resolved!

By the way the What New link on nFS has been moved to the top left of the Welcome page – that is the page that appears after you sign in (used to be on the Sign in page).  I cannot find a What’s New document for this update – so it might be that it was just a few minor items – like standardized place names!

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Bits and Pieces

1.  Online film ordering and PayPal.  Am I the last one to find out?  Do you ever struggle with trying to keep up to date? – and feel that you are the last one to find out?  Well, I sometimes get that feeling too!  Somewhere sometime in the past week I seem to remember – no small feat – talking to someone about online film ordering and giving them a brief overview of the process.  I told them you could use a credit card or a fixed amount disposal credit card – but I didn’t tell them that you could use PayPal!  Oops!  I see that PayPal is now an option for online film ordering . . . .   Don’t tell me how long ago the change was made – probably a long time ago!  Now those who didn’t want to use a credit card should be happy . . . but perhaps there will be people who don’t know what PayPal is nor how to use it! (go to paypal.com and look on the left mid screen for the link to “How PayPal Works”).  I have had a PayPal account for a long time and found it useful for online ordering.
2. familysearch.org/serve  I used to type in consultant.familysearch.org but now I type in familysearch.org/serve and get to the same site!  Fewer letters to type! This is the place to register if you are a FH Consultant or FH Centre Director or Priesthood leader with FH responsibilities.  You can also edit your registration – and update your email address! You need to sign in to use this site – use your LDS Account.  This web site is also the new location for training resources for FH Consultants and FH Centre Directors.  There are already several resources listed.  The first item on the list under Core Training is “online training.”  This takes you to Internet learning where you can see the modules available to you based on your calling – and which ones you have completed or have underway.
3. Wiki page for your FH Centre  Did you know that your FH Centre can have its own wiki page provided by FamilySearch? To see a sample go to familysearch.org then click on Learn and search for FHC.  A good example of what you can do is the Logan FHC. There is a link also to a template and instructions on how to create your page.  Let us know if you create one.
4. The Future of PAF  Periodically this topic seems to pop up!  If you are a PAF user and like using it – do not stress!  You can still use it . . . .  and products like Family Insight will help you work between your PAF file and nFS.  It used to be that everyone in the church used PAF – but now we have choices.  There are several products that work with nFS.  There are even several free alternatives.  You get to chose for yourself! We hope you like your choice – if you don’t then change to something else – moving data between programs is usually not too hard.  We hope you are an enthusiast for whatever product you use.  Please be careful however that you don’t try to force your choice on others!  Resist saying that one product is better than another.  There are lots of good products and what is good for one person’s style of working may not be good for another person.  Resist pressure from patrons to just tell them what to use.  If you can’t resist the pressure – they really are putting the thumbscrews on you! – then suggest they use PAF!

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The First Word of the Restoration

by

Sue Barnsley

If any one was to ask you, “What was the very first word of the restoration?” Would you know the answer? I recently asked that question in one of our monthly Family History Training sessions. I was a little surprised at the answers. Then someone said it.

In the spring of 1820, the final dispensation of the fullness of times: the great restoration of all things promised by the prophets of old began. On a clear and beautiful spring morning, a young man, troubled in mind and heart about which church he should join, sought out a secluded wood near his home were he could ask God for help. He received his answer in a most glorious vision of the Father and the Son. Much knowledge was imparted that day, but think for a moment, of all the words that have been written and spoken in the Church since the Restoration began, what was the very first word of the Restoration?

“16 But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.

17 It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved gSon. Hear Him! “

JS 1:16-17.

Calling me by name—think of the implication of that simple statement. These two glorious Beings with all their power, glory and majesty did not have to inquire about who Joseph was or what his name was. They Knew him!

This uneducated farm boy, living in the back woods of New York State. His family was poor; they had very few earthly possessions, yet Heavenly Father knew him. And He and Jesus Christ had come down from Heaven to personally answer his prayer. They knew him! And they knew his name.

When I was told the Joseph Smith story when I was investigating the church, it made logical sense to me that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ would know the name of this young man, in my own teenage mind, I believed and I still do that Heavenly Father knows the names of all children. This knowledge and this understanding have profoundly affected the way I do the work of family history. That simple statement: calling me by name, calling me by name, is quite astonishing when we think about it.

There is power in a name. If I where to mention some names to you such as Ghandi, Winston Churchill, or even Hitler, they have the power to evoke in us a strong reaction. There is power in a name. Our ancestors were given names by their parents’; those names had meaning for them, just as our names had meaning for our parents. I have three living children. The names for each child was carefully considered prior to the birth of that child and shortly thereafter. This would be the name by which they would be known on the records of the church, this was the name they would be called for the majority of their lives. This is the name that Heavenly Father, their Heavenly Father would know them by here.

This is a lesson worthy of sober reflection and meditation, a lesson that ought to stay fresh in our minds and hearts, a lesson that ought to affect how we do this work, how intently we search and pray, how sincerely we plead with our Father in Heaven for help.

 

Sue Barnsley is assigned to train the Family History Consultants in the Edmonton Alberta Riverbend Stake.  In addition to one-on-one training, she organizes and conducts a monthly training session for all consultants in the stake.  We are grateful to Sue for sharing some of her knowledge, expertise, and experience with us.

 

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Affiliate Libraries – What they Mean to FHCs

Brother and Sister Miller, Area FH Advisers New England

This article also includes suggestions on how to make better use of your FHC

NB  I have edited references to New England so they refer to our area – the edited comments are in brackets

In an effort to bring family history resources to more people, the Family History department has allowed local public libraries to enter into agreements to become family history “affiliate libraries.”

 

Thank you Brother and Sister Miller

These are public libraries who contract with the Family History department to provide access to Family History Library microfilms and microfiche.  The libraries use their own resources and staff to provide this service; people requesting films pay rental fees just as they do at family history centers.

(Some) libraries in our region have expressed interest in becoming affiliate libraries, and some already have.  The best candidates are libraries that are open for a significant number of hours several days a week and are looking for ways to offer more services to patrons without increasing their cost.

(There are a few affiliate libraries in our area already).  Other local libraries now are looking into making similar arrangements on a smaller scale.

What does this mean to Family History Centers?  According to the new church handbook, family history centers exist primarily to help members identify and prepare names of ancestors to receive temple blessings.  However, the church has long offered (and will continue to offer) use of our facilities to nonmembers as well.

Affiliate libraries make it easier for people to access church resources in areas where a family history center is not as close or has limited hours.  They also relieve the crowding that sometimes occurs when there are more patrons than equipment in a family history center.

However, family history centers that rely very heavily on nonmembers may need to launch some initiatives to get more members to use their local family history center.

While the internet makes it possible to do genealogical research from home, family history centers serve several important functions.  First and foremost, they are a place to get one-on-one assistance from trained workers (or people who know how to call family history support to get answers to questions).  Personal assistance is probably the greatest resource offered at a family history centers.

In addition, family history centers have access to materials not available at home – especially microfilms and microfiche that can be ordered from Salt Lake, and often maps, books and other resources that have been gathered.  (There are also pay to use web sites and software available for free in a FH Centre). From visits to a few family history centers in our area, it is clear that they are great resources with important materials to help researchers.  Some have collected local records and family histories or family group sheets of interest to people with roots in the local area.  These are treasures!

(FH Centres are also encouraged to offer classes and workshops to both members and the community – see new Leader’s guide)

If your family history center is mainly used by nonmembers, now is the time to get the members into it.  Don’t just invite them generally – schedule each family for visits – not just one, but working sessions to help them with their family history.  By having a schedule, workers know who to expect – and can remind them before their scheduled session.

While members can do family history work at home, the fact is that most don’t – either because other things push it out of the schedule, or because when they sit down to work on it, they really don’t know what to do, and they don’t have the time to figure it out.

Begin with members of the ward or branch council.  As leaders, they need to know what resources are available and how to use them – and more importantly, set an example for the rest of the ward.  As they gain experience and prepare their own family names to the temple, they can see ways that this can benefit other members of the ward as well.

Scheduled visits should not be just tours of the family history center; they should be actual hands-on working sessions.  Members should leave with a list of things to do, things to obtain, and a specific plan on how they will obtain them – and when.  Help people understand that besides the resources they can see in the family history center, there are millions of valuable resources that can be ordered for a modest cost – some of which can give them exactly the information they need.

Right now, there are only (a few affiliate libraries in our area).  Rather than seeing them as a threat to family history centers, take steps now so that they can be a valuable asset – extending the time available for genealogical research and reducing the burden on family history center staff as more and more people become interested in tracing their roots.

 

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