My mother-in law’s mother died when she was 5 years old, and her father placed her and her sister for adoption in separate families. Consequently, she had little knowledge of her parent’s families, though she did have some contact with her father. She had a letter written by her paternal grandmother to her father and… Read More Following the Clues in Family History Research
I love reading and hearing stories of people who were brought to Christ, changed their lives through repentance, accepted His atoning sacrifice, received the ordinances, and made sacred covenants to aid them in staying true and faithful to the Gospel. We can read accounts in The Book of Mormon of the effect of missionary work… Read More The Merciful Plan of Salvation
I don’t know if you’ve had this experience while doing Family History, but when my husband and I do ours… we can get lost in the maze very quickly. You know, one thing leads to another and pretty soon you are lost! Though there are many techniques for keeping track of doing the work of family… Read More Master the Maze
Many of us get intimidated when we hear the word “research”, it conjures up memories of assigned research papers or research projects, reluctantly completed, often after much anxiety and procrastination. Our lack of desire to do Family History research may stem from bad past experiences, a lack of knowledge and skills required to do the… Read More I Don’t Need to do Family Research Anymore, Right?
It seems appropriate at this time of year as we have celebrated Thanksgiving and are approaching the Christmas Season to be reminded of the gift family history can be in our lives. The following is from Elder Dale G. Renlund talking about family history and the wonderful blessings it will bring into our lives. “When… Read More The Gift of Family History
My mother died in a car accident when I was two years old. She was the youngest of eight children born to my grandmother. By 1955, my grandmother had buried her husband, three babies, and two adult children, one of them being my mother. As a little girl, I would go to the nearby cemetery with… Read More Don’t Forget the Babies!!!
Often as I consult with people, the question arises of how to keep track of all the ancestors we are researching. I have found printing and using the descendancy chart of each ancestor helps me keep track of where I am on my search for lateral line cousins, especially those needing ordinance work done. Listed… Read More Ten Tips in Using Descendancy Charts to Help Organize Your Research
My heart was full as I watched five of my grandchildren each receive a towel and then a hug from their great-grandma as they exited the temple baptismal font after being baptized by their father or uncle. My dad, their great-grandpa, was also present serving as a witness. Having four generations in the temple to… Read More A Towel and a Hug
Have you ever found an ancestor that needs some temple work done only to realize that they are only 109 years old–just a year away from being able to do their work? Different people have different methods of trying to keep track of this work to be done in the future. One solution is a… Read More Eternal Reminder
Although it was more than four decades ago when I received my endowment in the temple, I have never forgotten the impact it had on me. The endowment ordinance itself was a rich spiritual experience, but it was what happened afterward that left an indelible impression on me. As I was walking back to the… Read More Saving Ordinances – Joy on Both Sides of the Veil