Temple and Family History

  Temple and Family History Lessons Lesson 8 Research in Family Search   The admonition from the Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith is to “Seek after our dead”.   So far in these lessons we have reviewed how to record and preserve the evidences of our ancestors.   In this lesson we will look at the task of “seeking” them, or doing research. Seeking out our dead involves looking for their names in records that generally were created during their lifetimes.  Many of life’s events result in a record being made.  Birth, starting and finishing school or other training, starting or changing employment, dealings of employment, land sales and purchases, major moves, marriage, divorce, military service, death, burial, all may be accompanied by some record creation.  Many such records are still in existence for about the last 400 years.  Before that time records are scarce and difficult to find.  Organizations like Family Search and...

 Temple and Family History Lessons Lesson 7 Sources in Family Search In our last lesson we learned how to add ‘Memories’, specifically photos, to an individual’s ‘Person Page’ on Family Search.  In this lesson we will look at the classification and importance of sources of information used to establish facts, and how to record them in Family Search. In an environment where the entire world has access to, and the ability to edit, information that we submit regarding our ancestors, it is important that all our information be backed up by strong sources that document and defend the validity of that information.  It is unlikely that disputes will arise over claimed historical facts if adequate evidence is presented along with the facts.  Arguments occur when neither of two disputing parties can support their proposals with defensible documentation, that is, documentation that not only supports the fact that is presented, but is also undisputedly tied to the person in que...

  Temple and Family History Lessons Lesson 6 Memories   In Lesson 5 we considered the task of adding persons to the Family Search Family Tree by using the “Add” tools on the ‘Person Page’.  In this lesson we will learn how to add memories such as photos, documents, and stories to the Person Page. The Church, the creator of ‘Family Search’, intends for this site to be much more than a repository for the world’s genealogy.   The expression used to identify this work in the church is “Family History”, rather than ‘Genealogy’, because it is hoped that members seek out the histories of their ancestors rather than just names, dates, and places.  This intent is nowhere more visible than in the provision on the Person Page for saving all kinds of historical information pertaining to the ancestor.  The name of this history-saving place is called “Memories”.  This name is fitting because, if you ask what kinds of things should be added to this p...

 Temple and Family History Lessons Lesson 5 Adding people from the Person Page In our previous lesson we introduced ‘The Person Page’ in Family Search, and we looked at some of the factual information displayed on The Person Page.  We also showed how to review the status of Temple Ordinances for the person on the Person Page and how to request that ordinances be performed for that person.  In this lesson we will describe how to add names to the Family Search tree from the Person Page.   Figure 1.  Adding Names through the Person Page Figure 1 is a screenshot of the ‘Family Members’ section of my mother’s Person Page.  In this figure I have identified five links that can be used to add names from this page. The circled links are numbered 1 through 4 and the fifth link is just numbered, “5”.   Link No. 1 is used to add a spouse to the database.  This could be a first spouse or an additional spouse of the person whose Person Page you are working...