While we continue to “Find, Take, and Teach,”we also need to keep in mind that part of the process should involve learning the story of your family. Our family stories can be dramas with lots of turns and twists. Very few of us have “perfect” families. How can we preserve all the stories, aspirations, and setbacks in our stories? In a recent FamilySearch blogpost, Rachel Coleman outlined seven different ways we can preserve our family history.

Her first idea is to put together a scrapbook. You can combine old and new pictures of your living family members and ancestors for future generations to enjoy. Be sure to label all pictures with names and dates so your posterity won’t have to re-do the work you’ve already done.

Another suggestion is to record a video. Interview your family members about the things that are important in their lives. These could include childhood memories, life events, favorite scriptures, or even their testimonies. Consider using the question from #52Stories for the interviews.

Make a recipe book of your family recipes or recipes that your ancestors would likely have used in their time period. You can either print a recipe book or even include those recipes on FamilySearch in that ancestor’s profile.

Create a specific place in your home for precious family objects. When objects are in a prominent spot in the home, they can be used to tell the stories that make those objects significant.

It is always a good thing to go digital. Collect all the video tapes, 8mm film reels compact discs and convert them to digital format of some kind. This would include scanning your pictures and storing them on your computer or external hard drive. Digital formats make it easy to share these treasures with all members of the family. Use a Dropbox folder to share pictures or upload them to FamilySearch.

If you have scraps of material from clothes worn by different family members, you can make a quilt using those scraps. Ties and shirts are popular clothing items used to create quilts. You can also combine materials that reflect your family stories, like tartans if you have Scottish heritage.

Last and certainly not least, write your own story. If you haven’t already begun answering the questions from the #52Stories challenge, this would be a good start. Remember that you don’t have to spend lots of time answering the questions, and you can use the medium of your choice, such as computer, pen and paper, tape recorder, etc. Share that story on your FamilySearch Family Tree profile.

Rachel Coleman, “Seven Ways to Preserve and Share Your Family Story Today,” FamilySearch Blog, 25 July 2017