My Ward's Visit to the FamilySearch Discovery Center

I coordinated my ward family history class' visit to the FamilySearch Discovery Center in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City on September 18, 2015. There were 22 of us! We had a blast! Here are some photos of our experience. This is my third visit to the Discovery Center and I plan to take more ward members and their families in the future. You can read about my other two visits (links are posted at the end of this post).

ONE of a kind! Notice that no one else has his name!

This image below is a new feature since I was at the Center in June. You can select any of the people on this screen (brief tree view) and review the meaning and popularity of their name and info from their birth year.

Can you tell my children had fun? This was their 2nd visit.

While I was there this time I was fortunate to meet Carol Kendall. She is serving a family history mission with her husband. They both recognized me from my 2015 RootsTech presentation. It was fun visiting with her and connecting with her online since our visit.

The Family History Library will be going through a renovation and the main floor will encompass a large Discovery Center to be completed in Summer 2017. Don't wait for the larger center! Come visit the Discovery Center in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building now!

I think the Discovery Center is so fun and engaging. Some of the youth that came with us that night now want their own FamilySearch accounts and they want to come back soon so they can see the information from their own logins instead of their parent's. Anyone over the age of 8 can obtain a free FamilySearch account.

Follow this link to plan your visit and learn more about the FamilySearch Discovery Center: https://familysearch.org/discoverycenter

Read my other posts about the FamilySearch Discovery Center:
My Family's Visit to the FamilySearch Discovery Center
FamilySearch Discovery Center

#DiscoverMyStory     #FamilySearch

Memory Jogger Monday - September 28

What medical issues have you had to deal with throughout your life?

I have had asthma my entire life. I remember having to swallow yucky liquid medicine as a child and then later having emergency needs to be on a nebulizer. Now I have a twice daily inhaler and a rescue inhaler.

As a teenager I dislocated my knees and then in college I dislocated my left shoulder. Today I have arthritis in my knees and my shoulder from those injuries.

As an adult I have high blood pressure and am currently watching my sodium intake to keep my blood pressure in check. I have also struggled with infertility and I have PCOS (PolycysticOovary Syndrome). You can read more about PCOS from my post in April, From Surgery to Health.

See this post for more information about "Memory Jogger Monday": 

Writing a Personal History or Keeping a Journal

FamilySearch Partner Search

I have been watching and waiting for this change to come to FamilySearch for a few months.

This is what the individual detail page view looked like in January 2015. 

Notice on the right in the red box that the first section is called RECORD HINTS and the second section is called RESEARCH HELP. 

RECORD HINTS were suggested records for the individual determined by algorithms.

Under RESEARCH HELP the option was to "Search Records". This feature would allow for a search of the records available within FamilySearch to help identify records that were not found by the algorithms.

A few months ago the RESEARCH HELP box switched to the first section and the features changed to include: Data Problems, Record Hints, and Research Suggestions.

The box in the second section changed to SEARCH RECORDS and the option listed was "FamilySearch.org". 

Then it changed to this:

When I saw that new box, I knew what was coming soon. I have been anticipating the change that took place this week for a few months.

On the morning of September 24, 2015, this is what I found on FamilySearch. 

The second section called SEARCH RECORDS now contains data filled links to some of the FamilySearch partners. It looks like American Ancestors is missing from this new feature.

To get the most from this new feature you need to have accounts with these companies in order to access the records. 

LDS Church members can set up FREE FamilySearch linked partner access accounts by clicking here:

FamilySearch Partner Access

Current partners:

Ancestry.com

findmypast

MyHeritage

AmericanAncestors.org

This is what happens when you click on FamilySearch:

The data filled link pre-fills the search feature on each site. See the red boxes in each of these partner images.

When you click on any of the the partners (not FamilySearch) you get this box letting you know that you are in fact leaving the FamilySearch site to visit one of the partner sites.

Here is what the search looks like in Ancestry.com:

 This is the search for findymypast:

This is the search for MyHeritage:

I anticipate that in the future we will see AmericanAncestors.org in this feature as well as new future partners.

One thought of caution with using the new partner search feature: The search is only as good as the data in FamilySearch. The more accurate and correct your FamilySearch data is, the more accurate and correct the partner searches will be. So, if your partner searches are yielding no results, perhaps your data in FamilySearch is incorrect.

I am excited to be alive at this time when a great deal of family history research can take place in my home or anywhere in the world with internet access.

What do you think of these new features?

He Will Open The Way For You

Photo From LDS Media Library

“As you pursue family history work, you are going to find yourself running into roadblocks, and you are going to say to yourself, “There is nothing else I can do.” When you come to that point, get down on your knees and ask the Lord to open the way, and He will open the way for you. I testify that this is true.” 

- President Thomas S. Monson, “Hastening the Work,” Ensign, June 2014.

If You Could See Your Ancestors

Huett Family

If You Could See Your Ancestors

Nellie Winslow Simmons Randall

If you could see your ancestors

All standing in a row,

Would you be proud of them or not?

Or don't you really know?

Some strange discoveries are made

In climbing family trees.

And some of them, you know,

Do not particularly please.

If you could see your ancestors

All standing in a row,

There might be some of them perhaps

You shouldn't care to know.

But here's another question

Which requires a different view -

If you could meet your ancestors

Would they be proud of you?

Memory Jogger Monday - September 21

What were some of the challenges you have had to deal with in your life?

I have been very blessed in my life. At times when I think I have problems or troubles, I try to serve others. In the process, I realize that I have so many blessings.

I know I've had many challenges; mostly small ones. When I think about this question I am trying to determine if I had any huge challenges.

I guess one of my biggest challenges was about 20 years ago when I had just graduated from college and I was trying to decide where to live and what to do for work. My biggest dream/goal in my life was to be a wife and mother. At the end of high school and throughout college as my friends would get married and start their families that is what I wanted to do too. Big roadblock in that plan was that I wasn't dating anyone ... as in no one.

When college ended I was worried that my options for getting married would be diminished. At least that is what everyone around me said to me. Their words were discouraging to me.

Anyway, I moved across the state and took a job working at the University of Utah. After two years I moved to Logan to work at Utah State University. It was there in 2000 that I met my husband, Scott, ONLINE. He lived in Bountiful and worked in Salt Lake City; though he was from Cache Valley where I was living. We got married in November 2000 and I moved to Bountiful.

Due to infertility, it took 7 more years to have Emma and another 3 years after that to have Matthew. My biggest challenges are my greatest blessings!

And yet, perhaps my largest challenge is learning patience!

See this post for more information about "Memory Jogger Monday": 

Writing a Personal History or Keeping a Journal

This Work Must Hasten

Salt Lake City Utah Temple - © Stuart Gardner

“With regard to temple and family history work, I have one overriding message: This work must hasten. The work waiting to be done is staggering and escapes human comprehension. Last year we performed proxy temple endowments for about five and a half million persons, but during that year about fifty million persons died. This might suggest futility in the work that lies before us, but we cannot think of futility. Surely the Lord will support us if we use our best efforts in carrying out the commandment to do family history research and temple work. The great work of the temples and all that supports it must expand. It is imperative!”

– President Howard W. Hunter, “We Have A Work To Do,” Ensign, March 1995, p. 65.

Arizona Family Discovery Days

Photo from Gina Steinacker 

This past Saturday, September 12th, was a busy day for family history conferences. I presented four sessions at the Ogden Family History Conference in Ogden, Utah. You can read about my sessions in this post: 2015 Ogden Family History Conference - Of Roots and Branches

Two of my blog readers participated in Family Discovery Days in Arizona.

Chris Sieler in the Sierra Vista Arizona area taught a class about Finding the Living Among the Dead. He utilized the resources from my Finding the Living blog page and from the session I taught at RootsTech this year. He directed his class to my blog as a resource. He also added to his presentation to ask your parents for leads in finding the living. Thanks Chris! That is a great idea! Thanks for reaching out to me!

Photo from Gina Steinacker 

Gina Steinacker in the Gilbert Arizona area put together a display for her stake's discovery day. She focused her display on inspiring people to do everyday family history. She shared with her stake my "Memory Jogger Monday" concept and she wrote her first Memory Jogger for the event. Great job Gina!

I shared with her the various websites that I am utilizing for my blog questions and my Pinterest board for Family History Decor.

I also shared with her some ideas from my "Linking the Generations" class that I teach. I will be incorporating that class information into future blog posts called "Gateway Moments". Watch for them.

I asked Gina to share with me pictures of her display so that I can share them with you. I love the quilt that the display is resting on.

Photo from Gina Steinacker 

Now her ideas can help influence others all around the world; not just her Arizona stake.

Her display is right: Family history is an everyday thing! It is not just about research. It is all around us. It is about everything we do. It is about everything we are.

Do we realize the moments everyday in which we can share family treasures with our families? What are the eternal family keepsakes you are sharing with your family every day?

Thanks Gina! It is great to have a new family history friend!

Photo from Gina Steinacker 

Photo from Gina Steinacker