Family History

No matter your heritage, new FamilySearch activities can help bring a new element to your Halloween-time traditions

Forget about scrolling through endless pedigree lines to find an ancestor. Now you can use FamilySearch’s new Discovery Search to find any specific ancestor with one quick query.

The records of more than 11 billion people will be available to anyone with a computer.

There are lots of firsts for RootsTech in 2021, which will be held February 25–27. Although the event is typically hosted in person in Salt Lake City, this year marks the first virtual-only gathering due to COVID-19. And for the first time, nearly 2,000 on-demand sessions will be available for free for 365 days.

Elder David A. Bednar, Elder Gary E. Stevenson, and Elder Dale G. Renlund will host a training focused on the theme “Hear Him Through Temple and Family History Work.” The training can be viewed on-demand beginning Thursday, February 25, 2021, on ChurchofJesusChrist.org/family-history, the Church broadcast page and in the Gospel Library app. Languages will include English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, German, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Swedish.

Many Latter-day Saints attend the temple to find reprieve from the fear and anxiety life can sometimes bring. But even though temples have been closed through months filled with more than their fair share of anxiety, the Lord has not left us without help.

In this week's episode of This Is the Gospel, Jeff says he only knew three things about his grandfather George growing up. One, he was born in the former Yugoslavia in a country that is now called Montenegro. Two, George was raised in Worland, Wyoming. Three, he had changed his last name from Mijušković to Marks. That was all. Any other attempt to get any information regarding family history from his grandfather led to a command to, "Shish." But after a chance encounter on a humanitarian aid trip to Haiti, Jeff slowly began finding breadcrumbs that led to his Mijušković line. And so after a killer deal on airfare, Jeff found himself in his family's homeland armed with a letter written in Montenegrin and an unquenchable desire to discover his own family history.

It was such a small moment in general conference you may have missed it. President Russell M. Nelson discussed how “unusual times can bring unusual rewards,” noting that “family history work has increased exponentially.”

FamilySearch has announced that RootsTech 2021 will be held in February as a free, virtual event.

The following excerpt from The Holy Temple originally ran on LDS Living in October 2016.

Most people would agree that journaling is important, especially during such a unique time in history, but sometimes it can be difficult to know what aspects of your life to write about. FamilySearch.org recently shared a list of 16 creative and approachable journal prompts that will have you eager to get started.

The Family History Library in Salt Lake City temporarily closed its doors as a health precaution against COVID-19. But the closure of the building hasn’t stopped the Church from making the library's resources available. On the contrary, the Family History Library and FamilySearch have used this as an opportunity to make innovative changes to the services they can offer people around the world.

For 10 years, RootsTech has inspired family history connoisseurs with attendees from all over the world. The 2020 event saw nearly 30,000 attendees, according to Church Newsroom.

Elder David A. Bednar, Elder Dale G. Renlund, and Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will host a training centered on the theme “Ministering to All through Temple and Family History.”

2019 was a big year for FamilySearch. According to an article released by FamilySearch, new tools helped users index 123.6 million new records and upload 850 million new images of historical records. Growth was not only seen in records uploaded and indexed but by the number of new people added to the FamilySearch Tree: 46.9 million. Within the report, FamilySearch thanks its 318,000 volunteers for serving a total of 15.4 million hours.

When you hear the words family history, do you go into a coma? Believe me, until a few years ago, I could have matched my coma with yours any day.

The following article has been adapted and republished with permission from evalogue.life.

With more than 1 billion indexed records available, FamilySearch now offers users the ability to edit online the indexed names of their ancestors.

Turn the hearts of your children—without twisting their arms.

Family history work is an important part of the gospel and brings not only salvation for the dead but salvation for ourselves. But sometimes there are those moments in family history that deserve a good chuckle.

Interested in DNA testing? Genetic genealogist Diahan Southard answers the most frequently asked and most timely questions regarding this popular trend.

With thousands packed into the Salt Palace Convention Center, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints kicked off the ninth annual RootsTech family history and technology conference by announcing a $2 million donation to the forthcoming International African American Museum Center for Family History.

At 99 years old, there aren’t a lot of things Nellie Leighton hasn’t seen or experienced.

I still remember the day I was called to be a patriarch. The stake president came and sat on the stand just before I began conducting sacrament meeting. After the closing song, he asked if my wife and I would meet with him.

I remember the first time I went through the temple like it was yesterday. I remember taking the temple preparation classes and talking to my parents about the process, but I was still so unsure of what was coming. As I entered the temple doors and the front desk worker scanned my freshly-signed recommend, I felt immediate peace. I just knew that was where I needed to be at the time, and the rest of my experience followed a similar pattern.

Throughout his service in the Church, President Nelson has provided profound insight into family history work, the spirit of Elijah, and redeeming our kindred dead. Here is a small portion of those insights, excerpted from the new book Teachings of Russell M. Nelson.

“The thing is, each family Bible has a story,” Joseph Kerry says. Learn more about his incredible work returning Bibles back to the families whose genealogy is recorded inside.

Leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints presented Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand, with a two-volume family history today in her Wellington office.

Some people think they can’t write an interesting family history. “My ancestors were boring,” they say. There’s nothing to tell.” Others find too much drama in the past and find it painful or embarrassing to record. Still others haven’t taken interest in writing their family stories at all.

Answers to prayer usually come in quiet ways to mortals through the mediation of the Holy Spirit and through the intervention of other mortals. There are times, however, when God chooses to do the unusual—to give visions or dreams, to send angels from the courts of glory, in short, to minister to our needs in truly spectacular ways. Nephi explained that on certain occasions God “hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the nighttime. And by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent up on high; and angels came down and ministered unto me” (2 Nephi 4:23–24).

The value of preserving and sharing ancestral stories was recently verified by researchers who were trying to understand why some people, including children, are better able than others to cope with serious, even disabling stress and trauma. One study found that “the more children knew about their family’s history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives, [and] the higher their self-esteem.” This factor was indeed “the best single predictor of children’s emotional health and happiness.” Those with “the most self-confidence” had what one researcher called “a strong ‘intergenerational self.’ They know they belong to something bigger than themselves" (Bruce Feiler, “The Stories That Bind Us,” The New York Times, March 15, 2013).

“Family history is something that’s really tender to all of us because it’s about family and we know how much our own families mean to us,” said Professor Jill Crandell, director of BYU’s Center. “We actually become attached to those families and there is a certain amount of inspiration involved when working on these cases.”

Pianika Duncan is a mother of two and a Latter-day Saint from a small town called Ngaruawahia in New Zealand. She wrote a song called "Bring Mana to Your Name," which was inspired by her love for family history. Duncan explains the word "Mana" means pride and strength. She incorporates Maori, the native language of New Zealand, and English into the song.

Same-sex relationships, including same-sex parents and same-sex couples, will soon be provided in FamilySearch Family Tree.

Former president of Germany Joachim Gauck praised the Church for its missionary work and the commitment of its members as he received his personal family history from Elder Uchtdorf.

When I telephoned my 82-year-old mother to ask if I could write a novel about her early life, she erupted in objections. “My childhood isn’t interesting at all,” she insisted. “I can’t remember dates and places anymore, and there just aren’t enough memories to write about.” After calming her down, I persuaded my mother to let me come for a visit to explore the feasibility of the project. The dismal, wet drive from Springville, Utah, to Boise, Idaho, offered no hint of the miraculous year and a half that lay ahead.

Family history—if there is one hobby Mormons are known for, it's our love of finding our ancestors.

On March 3, President and Sister Oaks sat together as keynote speakers in the closing session of the 2018 RootsTech conference—the largest family history conference in the world.

Whatever we expected from the DNA test, it was not this:

Could you be related to a bodyguard of Joesph Smith? Here's what historian Jeffrey D. Mahas had to say.

What an incredible find thanks to the help of Mormon genealogical records.

I’m not a Mormon. But when I stumbled upon some old love letters written by a Mormon widower, I was compelled to seek out his descendants and share this precious family treasure with them. It was a journey that touched my heart in ways I could never have imagined.

Most of us have a vivid memory of the first time we went to the temple to receive our endowments. I was a newly called missionary and had traveled to the Los Angeles Temple. I did not know what to expect. Although some aspects of my own endowment were wonderfully edifying to me, much of it was confusing. I left bewildered and a little frightened. I have since discovered that my experience was not unique. I have also discovered why my first experience was not all what I had anticipated. At the time, I did not understand the manner in which the Lord teaches His children in His house. Had I understood, my anxiety and confusion would have disappeared, even though my comprehension level might have remained the same.

When my grandmother was about to pass away, she made me promise her that I would do all of the “Mormon stuff” in the temple for her. This was quite the turnaround considering that, at one time, she told me I would break her heart if I served a mission. (During that same time, I felt the support of her husband who had passed away, helping me to continue to move forward with my decision to serve.)

The following is adapted from Receiving Personal Revelation: Using a Journal to Improve Your Communication with Godby Larry Tippetts.

“I have felt the Lord’s hand in my life as I have progressed through many years,” Elder Echo Hawk said.

Using information from Mormon genealogy, researchers are discovering more about cancer and genetics than ever before.

How can you create a family reunion to remember for years to come? Here are a few great tips. And the best part is, you'll be doing a little family history while having fun!

Several years ago as I was about to depart for work, a call came from my bishop. His oldest son had disappeared. The boy had eaten breakfast and dressed for elementary school, but when his mother was ready to drive him and his sisters to school he could not be found. They thought perhaps he had walked. His mother transported her daughters and then made a search. The boy was not at school. It was at this point that calls went out to the police and to several ward members. I delayed my departure for work and along with several dozen others, commenced an intensive search of the neighborhood. After a few hours, his mother found him, curled up on the floor of his closet with the door closed. He was fast asleep.

"It's really important to know not just who you are, but from which you come," said U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge. "I think it's really, really important. I'm really ecstatic about the fact that I have some more information about my family."

Uncanny, I think when the archivist hands the old photographs to me, a jackpot of images related to the Ogden Stockyards. These 60-year-old albums illuminate exactly what I need to see. The special collections director says, “These literally just came in, so new they haven’t even been indexed yet. I knew you would be excited.” When I ask their origin, she says, “The estate of Alice Petersen just donated them.” Alice Petersen died in 2015, but the collection arrives exactly when they can help tell the stockyard story.

From peoplediscovering birth parents to finding unexpected relatives to learning their ethnic makeup, ancestry.com is using family history to reveal many incredible things. Here's just one example.

President Henry B. Eyring's April 2017 general conference talk inspired many, especially when it comes to the importance of family history work.

Elder Larry J. Echo Hawk of the Quorum of the Seventy and member of the Pawnee Nation recently presented a book full of family history to Navajo Tribe President, Russell Begaye.