Family History Is More Than ...

Photo From LDS Media Library

“Family history is more than genealogy, rules, names, dates, and places. It is more than a focus on the past. Family history also includes the present as we create our own history. It includes the future as we shape future history through our descendants. A young mother, for example, sharing her family stories and pictures with her children is doing family history work.” 

- Elder Allan F. Packer, "The Book", LDS General Conference, October 2014.

They Are One Work

Manti Utah Temple - Photo From LDS Media Library

“Family history and temple work are one work. The words family history should probably never be said without attaching the word temple to them. Family history research should be the primary source of names for temple ordinances, and temple ordinances are the primary reason for family history research.” 

- Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander, “Bridges and Eternal Keepsakes”, Ensign, May 1999, p. 84.

The Heavens Will Open

Photo From LDS Media Library

“My dear brothers and sisters I entreat you to make a sacrifice of time to the Lord by increasing the time you spend doing temple and family history work and then watch what happens. It is my testimony that when we show the Lord we are serious about helping our ancestors, the heavens will open and we will receive all that we need.” 

– Wendy Watson Nelson, Family Discovery Day General Session, RootsTech 2017.

Blogiversary - 2 years

Today this blog is officially 2 years old! And once again it is time for RootsTech this week.

I have been busy preparing for RootsTech since September 2016 when I was invited to serve as the RootsTech Ambassador Coordinator. I have helped provide communication from the FamilySearch-RootsTech Team with 100 social media ambassadors; many of whom are also speakers, vendors, and entrepreneurs. It has been an amazing ride. Keeping the keynote speaker announcements secret was tough and caused giddy outbursts at times; resulting in strange looks from my family! All the hard work culminates this week! I will be posting all about RootsTech throughout this week and I'm sure into the coming weeks as the volume of information is always so much. It's like trying to drink from a fire hose!

I also have some blog posts I've been thinking about and working on over the last year; yet I haven't shared them. I hope to "catch up" on some older posts and I have some new things to share for this year too.

This past year, I have also been busy in other aspects of my home, family, and personal life and have found that each day is full of "everyday family history". I'm going to share a series of posts around that theme. I hope some of what I've discovered over the past 6-8 months will also help you identify those "everyday family history" moments in your own life.

If there is anything family history related you are interested in learning more about, let me know in the comments or message me through my Facebook page and I'll do what I can to answer your questions either personally or in a future blog post.

I'm excited to share the things I've been learning and all the new things yet to learn.

Thanks for joining me on this ride!

Eternally Linked Beyond The Bounds Of Mortality

London England Temple - Photo From LDS Media Library

“Elijah came not only to stimulate research for ancestors. He also enabled families to be eternally linked beyond the bounds of mortality. Indeed, the opportunity for families to be sealed forever is the real reason for our research. The Lord declared through the Prophet Joseph Smith: 

“These are principles in relation to the dead and the living that cannot be lightly passed over, as pertaining to our salvation. For their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation, … they without us cannot be made perfect—neither can we without our dead be made perfect.”

 – Elder Russell M. Nelson, "A New Harvest Time," LDS General Conference,  April 1998.