Releasing Temple Reservations and Finding Cousins

Nearly six months ago, I found myself sitting on a few hundred temple ordinance reservations. After exhausting my immediate family members with handfuls of ordinance cards every few months, I realized that even though we were proficient in regularly attending the temple, that we'd never be able to do all the temple work I had reserved. Extended family and a neighbor have also helped with some of the work.

The majority of these reservations were names I, my sister, and my father had added to the FamilySearch Family Tree through in depth research. I am still in the midst of adding more people to the Tree and am regularly notified via my 110 Year Temple Work Calendar of names now ready for temple work whom I researched in the past.

I realized something very powerful ... I am adding more names to the Family Tree then we'll ever complete temple work for and I'm reserving everyone I add.

There is still much research to do and I feel compelled to keep researching and adding people to the Tree. So, I don't think I'll be stopping the research anytime soon. I'm attending the temple as frequently as I can right now. I do think that I can sacrifice more time to attend a little more frequently and I'm going to work on that. Still, I'll never complete the temple work for everyone I am adding to the Tree.

Why do I feel the need to reserve the ordinances for everyone I add? It is because through my research I feel like I know these people and feel the desire to make sure their temple work is complete. However, all their temple work is not getting completed by it remaining in my temple reservation list.

Last October, I decided to release more than half my reservations. I first printed a reservation list of all the names I had reserved and made notes on the list as to which family member had which printed name. Then I started releasing names or sharing names with the shared family file (temple file). I chose to share with the temple those names I had spent the most time researching / documenting. I made a note in the margin as to if the name was released, shared, or held by a family member.

It was a freeing feeling! I could now focus on those whom I was immediately taking to the temple and I could focus on continuing my research and adding people to the Tree.

What happened next was an added blessing!

About three to four weeks later, I revisited that printed list and looked up each ID number in the Family Tree to see the status of the ordinances. I found living cousins who were reserving and completing temple work! Over the past six months, more than 50 distantly related, temple attending, living cousins have been helping do the temple work. I have contacted 15 of them directly and have shared more ordinances with them.

It has now been nearly six months and I wanted to capture a snap shot of the temple work that has been completed thus far and summarize my thoughts on releasing vs sharing with the temple file vs keeping in my own reservation list.

I compiled this data in the chart below.

I'll start with the Male ordinances:

41% of the Initiatories released have been completed and 100% shared with the temple have been completed.

19% of the Endowments released have been completed and NONE shared with the temple have been completed.

8% of the Sealing to Parents released have been completed and NONE shared with the temple have been completed.

Now the Female ordinances:

72% of the Initiatories released have been completed and 100% shared with the temple have been completed.

18% of the Endowments released have been completed and NONE shared with the temple have been completed.

4% of the Sealing to Parents released have been completed and NONE shared with the temple have been completed.

Now Sealing to Spouse ordinance:

27% of the Sealing to Spouse released have been completed and NONE shared with the temple have been completed.


Some thoughts:

• In all ordinance categories, more than half that I released have been reserved by others.

• There are still many ordinances ready to be requested from my release; I checked them all again yesterday and today.

• One distant cousin reserved many of the ordinances and immediately shared them with the temple file and there has been little to no activity on those ordinances.

• The initiatories I shared directly with the temple were completed within two weeks of being shared.

• The endowments and sealings I shared directly with the temple have had no activity in six months.

• Names on my list that were held by immediate family members have been completed and more have been shared with them which they continue to work on.

Next steps:

• I'm going to continue researching and adding new people to the Family Tree.

• I'm going to continue to attend the temple as regularly as possible.

• I'm going to release the names I shared with the temple file so that more living cousins can find the names in the Tree and do the temple work.

How about you? Are you sitting on a large temple reservation list? Do you have more ordinances on your list than you can complete in one year? If so, I suggest you print a copy of your reservation list, so that you can find the names again if needed, and have faith and release the excess names so other family members can help take their common cousins to the temple.

I promise you that you will be filled with peace and a new perspective when you do this.

I'd love to hear your experiences, please share them in the comments.

***

Update: 18 October 2019

In the past few months, I've chosen to share the names to the temple file and I'm finding that with the new Ordinances Ready tool I am able to identify more living cousins to help with the temple work.

It Is Not A Race!

Photo from LDS Media Library

I believe in the Bible and in God's literal creation of Adam and Eve as our first mortal parents. I believe that Adam and Eve are the parents of all those who have ever lived and will live on this earth. I believe that Adam was the first father of the human race. I also believe that through the recorded "begats" in the Bible we can identify some of the descendants of Adam and Eve.

I further believe that in the days of Noah that God flooded the earth and that Noah and his family were the only ones to survive the flood. Therefore, because of the flood, I believe that Noah was the second father of the human race. And through the recorded "begats" in the Bible we can identify some of the descendants of Noah.

So, yes I believe we all descend through Noah and through Adam. Do I believe that we need to prove that we are the literal offspring of Noah and Adam? No! Because I believe everyone that has ever lived since the time of Noah are his offspring. Should we go around boasting of this fact that applies to everyone? No! In fact, when I hear such things, I think "Oh, how trivial, why are they wasting their precious time?"

Family History is not a race to Adam and Eve!

It is also not about "bragging rights" to whom we may be related. It is not about wasting time duplicating people or records or even duplicating LDS temple ordinances. It is not about harvesting other's work when you have not spent anytime yourself tending to the garden. It is not about arguing or quarreling over who "owns" what piece of information about a common ancestor or even who "owns" the ancestor!

"Comparison is the thief of joy." - Theodore Roosevelt

It is about moving at our own pace, in our own time, and with our best efforts. It is about growing where we are planted.

Family History takes great care, like holding a newborn child; examining every finger and toe. It is about documenting, with valid sources, the real people who had a close connection to you and your life. It includes a young mother sharing family stories and pictures with her young children. It is visiting with the oldest living member of your family to record their life history before time and age and illness take it away.

It involves time and thought and effort and dedication and patience and long-suffering and cooperation and collaboration. It involves waiting and hoping and crying and laughing. It involves heartache and sadness and warmth and love. It is about the living just as much as it is about the dead. It involves miracles when records are finally found in ways that cannot be described by any words. It is a tugging in the heart.

How often do we miss the best gifts in search of something that is trivial or isn't ours to claim? Are we racing past our generations of ancestors and their meaningful lives? Who will claim our ancestors and their families if we are in a race to "boast"? I believe the destination is important, but the journey is critical!





Have we documented all 256 of our 6th great-grandparents and their families? Most of this generation lived in the early to mid 1700s; where many records are available and to some extent accessible in our own homes, on our own computers, and even on our phones!


What about all of their children? And their grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc to the present day? If we estimate each couple had only four child-bearing children per generation, then within only NINE generations that would be 22,369,536 people (with spouses),  Have you documented, with sources, all the the descendants of all of your 6th great-grandparents? Do you know the identity and location of all of your living 7th cousins? Are you collaborating with them in your research; all 8 million of them?



We have work enough to do!

Here is some further understanding on the subject taken from the February 1984 LDS Ensign, I Have a Question - https://www.lds.org/ensign/1984/02/i-have-a-question?lang=eng

"I've heard that some people have extended their ancestral lines back to Adam. Is this possible? If so, is it necessary for all of us to extend our pedigrees back to Adam?"

Robert C. Gunderson, Senior Royalty Research Specialist, Church Genealogical Department. "The simplest answer to both questions is No. Let me explain. In thirty-five years of genealogical research, I have yet to see a pedigree back to Adam that can be documented. By assignment, I have reviewed hundreds of pedigrees over the years. I have not found one where each connection on the pedigree can be justified by evidence from contemporary documents. In my opinion it is not even possible to verify historically a connected European pedigree earlier than the time of the Merovingian Kings (c. A.D. 450–A.D. 752).

"Every pedigree I have seen which attempts to bridge the gap between that time and the biblical pedigree appears to be based on questionable tradition, or at worst, plain fabrication. Generally these pedigrees offer no evidence as to the origin of the information, or they cite a vague source.

"The question also asks if it is necessary for us to trace our pedigrees back to Adam. I believe that when the true purpose for which we do genealogical research is understood, one will realize that it is not necessary, at this time, to connect our pedigrees back to Adam. In fact an attempt to do so is probably detrimental to the overall goal of genealogical and temple work—to make available the saving ordinances of the gospel for all the dead.

"It is currently my responsibility to review the records submitted for temple work for those individuals who lived prior to A.D. 1500. I would estimate that 90 to 95 percent of these records are duplicates of work that has already been performed. This does not mean that most of the temple work has been completed for those individuals who lived before A.D. 1500. On the contrary, the great majority of the individuals of that time period still need their temple work done. The problem is that the resource procedures and source materials are of such a nature that members working in this time period end up retracing the paths of many before them, obtaining the same results. A few thousand names are listed over and over, while millions of others remain lost.

"The result is that nearly all the effort expended in the pre-1500 area, and all that expended in attempts to compile pedigrees back to Adam, seems to be a waste as far as accomplishing our true purpose. At the same time, our more recent ancestors, to whom we as individuals have a far greater responsibility, are often ignored—even when many research procedures have not yet been explored.

"I would recommend that no one undertake research prior to A.D. 1500 without first checking with the Genealogical Department, and then only after all avenues of research for more recent generations have been exhausted. The probability of discovering information in the pre-A.D. 1500 time period that would lead to new temple work is practically nil, unless one receives some specific direction.

"In the due time of the Lord we will have our connections back to Adam. Given the current state of our records, I feel that when we attempt to extend pedigrees back to Adam we come dangerously close to ignoring the admonition of Paul: “Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions. …” (1 Tim. 1:4.)"

Cousins ... Removed?

I think family relationship charts are intriguing.

I also admit they can be confusing. 

If you really want to see something confusing, try a Google image search for "cousin chart" or "relationship chart" and take a look at all the confusing images.

I am also often asked questions similar to: "What is all this business about cousins being removed from each other?"

Here are some relationship charts that are intriguing to me and may help you figure out your relationship to a common relative.

This one is from Crestleaf:

http://crestleaf.com/

This one is from Cousin Country:

http://cousincountry.com/

And Ancestor Search offers an online cousin calculator:

http://www.searchforancestors.com/

I really love the Wikipedia resources on "Cousin":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cousin

Here is the Wikipedia definition of "ordinals" and "removals" used in defining cousins:

The ordinals in the terms "first cousins", "second cousins", "third cousins", refer to the number of generations to one's closest common ancestor. The number of "G" words used to describe this ancestor will determine how close the relationship is. For example, having "Great-Great-Grandparents" in common would be third cousins.

When the cousins are not the same generation, they are described as "removed". In this case, the smaller number of generations to the common ancestor is used to determine the degree, and the difference in generations determines the number of times removed. Note that the ages of the cousins are irrelevant to the definition of the cousin relationship.

I have made my own cousin chart that I use in determining relationships with common ancestor cousins. 

Perhaps my chart and my explanation will help you more easily determine your cousin relationships. 

Here is my chart to the right >>>

The children of a common ancestor are siblings. 

The grandchildren are 1st cousins, the great-grandchildren are 2nd cousins, the 2nd great-grandchildren are 3rd cousins, etc.

For an example in using my chart: 

I want to determine the relationship between a 2nd great-grandchild and a 5th great-grandchild of a common ancestor. 

We use the cousin closest to the common ancestor in determining the degree of the relationship.  

In this example it would be the 2nd great-grandchild and the cousin degree would be 3rd Cousins. 

Next we determine how many generations are different between the 2nd great-grandchild and the 5th great-grandchild. 

From the chart we can see that these two cousins are separated by three generations.

These 2 cousins would be 3rd Cousins 3 times Removed (3C3R).

You can also figure out a relationship between two cousins of a common ancestor without using a relationship chart.  Just some simple math ... well, I love math ... so I think it is simple.

Example 1: 

3rd great-grandchild & 5th great-grandchild

The cousin degree is 4th Cousins ... (the 3rd great-grandchild + 1 generation). Remember to use the cousin closest to the common ancestor.

The generation difference is 2 times removed ... (5th - 3rd). The number of generations between them.

= 4C2R

Example 2:

1st great-grandchild & 4th great-grandchild

Degree = 2nd cousins ... (1st + 1)

Removed = 3 times ... (4th - 1st)

= 2C3R

Example 3:

6th great-grandchild & 3rd great-grandchild

Degree = 4th = (3+1)

Removed = 3 times = (6-3)

= 4C3R

I hope my cousin chart and my math examples will help you more simply determine your relationship with your common ancestor cousins. 

Please try my chart and my math equations and let me know in the comments how they work for you.

Relative Finder - Cousins Around Every Corner

I am all about finding cousins. When I meet someone new, and we start talking about family history, my brain begins working immediately to try to find a common ancestor with my new friend. Did you catch that ... "we start talking about family history"? I can turn any conversation into a family history conversation ... can you? We all have parents and grandparents and ultimately we are all part of a global human family.

I love Relative Finder from the BYU Family History Technology Lab.
Go to https://www.relativefinder.org/ and login with your FamilySearch.org account.

Relative Finder will pull up to 14 generations of FamilySearch Family Tree data based on your account. You need to be connected to deceased generations in FamilySearch for this process to work. 90% of people with FamilySearch accounts are not yet connected to all four grandparents in the FamilySearch Family Tree. If you haven't yet been into FamilySearch or haven't been into your account for awhile, you will need to go there first to make sure you are connected to deceased generations.

There are currently two parts to Relative Finder: Public Groups and User Groups. The Public Groups are data sets the provider maintains that contain a specific set of individuals. For example, there are only 40 signers of the US Constitution.

User Groups can contain an infinite amount of people. Users join these groups by entering in the group name and group password.

You can create a User Group and invite anyone to join by providing them the group password.

You can also manage the group and add the FamilySearch PID of deceased people to any User Group you have created and you can choose at any time to leave any User Group that you have joined.

Relative Finder works by finding the nearest common deceased ancestor between you and the other people in the selected group. Because the data of living people in FamilySearch is protected you may find, in a common User Group, that your relationship to your immediate family members may be listed as cousin instead of sibling or parent. Remember that Relative Finder looks for the nearest common deceased ancestor. It doesn't know that you and your sister are siblings if the nearest deceased ancestor is a grandparent; it does know that your relationship is at least cousins.

In a User Group, if you and a friend find that you are related, you may notice that each of you show a different common ancestor. This is common and just means that you are connected on multiple lines.

Relative Finder reports relational data from FamilySearch Family Tree data. The relationships are only as valid as the Tree data. If you find inaccuracies in Relative Finder, then you are finding inaccuracies in the Family Tree. This provides a perfect opportunity to research and document and source the line in question. There are many instances of duplicate individuals in the Family Tree that need to be identified and cleaned and merged. Some gateway ancestors in Family Tree are not able to be merged at this time, but will be within the next two years. This will clean up the data even more. Once changes are made to the Family Tree, you will want to update your view of the Tree data in Relative Finder. You do this by going to "Settings" and select "Update Tree".

I noted in the list above that it looks like I am related to Orville Wright.  This caused a lot of excitement in my family and we had a few discussions yesterday. I wanted to know more about the Wright brothers, so I looked up information about them on a historical website and found that their parents were Milton and Susan Koerner Wright. If you notice in the chart below from Relative Finder, it looks like Orville's parents are Charles and Ruth Wright. So I went to FamilySearch Family Tree.  Due to some incorrect merging a couple of years ago by multiple people, the records of my relative named Orville got mixed with the records for the famous Orville Wright. What a huge mess! And a lot of work that needs to be done to get it fixed. Anyone in my family need a new project?

I have recently created two User Groups.

I am currently serving as the family history consultant in my LDS ward and I recently created a group for my ward members for the following three reasons:

1. A FamilySearch account connected to deceased generations is needed for Relative Finder to work. Relative Finder is a great gateway for getting people into FamilySearch; perhaps they will linger there.
2. It is fun to see the famous people you may be related to; only if the Family Tree data is correct. And if they find something wrong, now they have a family history project to work on.
3. Build unity in the ward family. When you realize that your neighbor / ward member is really your cousin, you feel greater love toward the other person. This can open doors for family collaboration. 

Results so far:
Energized ward about family history.
It is fun to find cousins.
No one knows who the women are in the group because of their maiden names.

Relative Finder just created a new tool that helps fix this maiden name issue. Under "Settings" one can now "Edit Display Name". So now the women can chose what shows up as their last name on the charts and lists in Relative Finder.

I also created a group for my high school graduating class. I am the chair of our 30th class reunion in a few years and I thought this would be a fun way to keep the connection and conversation going between reunions. There is also a common belief among some Utah historians that everyone who has pioneer ancestry in Utah is related to each other. I want to test this theory on a small scale.  I also want to know about my potential cousins I grew up with in an area that my ancestors settled; though my parents were transplants to the area.

Give Relative Finder a try. Create a group with your friends or associates. Have fun!

Be nice to everyone you meet; you never know who you may find to be your cousin!