Research

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This week in Sunday School, we studied Section 47 of the Doctrine and Covenants.  This section calls John Whitmer to be the church historian and keep the records of the church.  As we study further in Come Follow Me, we read the quote by Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the Seventy who said, “We keep records to help us remember…We desire to help Church members remember the great things God has done for His children…Lessons from the past help us cope with our present and give us hope for the future.” (There Shall Be A Record Kept Among You, Ensign, December 2007).

How does this apply to us and family history?  Do we all have to be journal keepers?  Doctrine and Covenants Section 46 is about the gifts we receive from our Heavenly Father.  We do not all receive the same gifts.  Some have the gift of keeping detailed journals, but others do not.  I have struggled with keeping a journal most of my life, even though I like to write.  In these last couple of years, it has been an easier process but it still is a struggle.  However, I want to record the spiritual and daily experiences that occur so my posterity will know more about me and what made me who I am.  An easy way to do this for most of us, is to write a short story about the experience and tuck it away somewhere.  Why not “tuck it away” on your FamilySearch page?  A few weeks ago we talked about adding stories to our ancestor’s pages…. Why not add to ours also?   This is just a thought we would like to pass on – a thought that occurred while studying the Sunday School lesson……..

As we have talked with the ward members about Family History, one of the most common frustrations is research.  How do we do the research to find the information we need?  How do we find the records that confirm the information we found or that others have submitted? Along the right side of a person’s page in FamilySearch is Research Help.

FamilySearch does a lot of research for us.  Then they post it so we can add it to our family member’s page as a source to confirm the information listed there.  For Example:  if we have a birth date and/or place noted, FamilySearch may find the birth certificate that corresponds to that information. They will list a link in Research Help and you can bring up that information. As you look it over, you may find more information linking that source to your person, such as a parent name.  You can then decide if that information belongs to your family member and add it as a source.

·         Check to see if there is a number after the title of Research Help.  If so, it will tell you how many potential sources FamilySearch has found for you.

·         Click on one of the links.  A box will appear with all of the information from that potential source.  There may be a picture of the original document that you can review.

·         At the bottom of that box there are two buttons –“Review and Attach” and “Not A Match” – If you are certain that the information does not apply to your person, choose Not a Match.  If you have doubts, choose Review and Attach.

·         A new page will appear giving you more details so you can make a more informed decision.  On the left side of this page will be the information from the record, the right side will contain the information from your tree.  When you are certain that the record applies to your family member, clink on Attach and the record will be come a source for that person’s information. If you are still unsure, choose “Cancel”. You can always pull up that information another time when you have more corresponding info to either validate it or prove it belongs to someone else.

Do this for each of the links under Research Help.  You will be surprised how much of the research work FamilySearch does for us.  The brothers and sisters who work in the Family History center and the computers they use are amazing and provide a very valuable service for us! 

If there are no Research Helps listed on your family member’s page, go to the next section on the right hand side of the page entitled “Search Records”.  These links are for programs the church has partnered with to help in our research.  The one I am most familiar with is Ancestry.com.  Love that program!  However, the others have wonderful features as well and may have just the information you are searching for.  Check them all out and see what they have to offer you as you research.  When you click on the link, a box will appear that states you are leaving FamilySearch to go to a partner program and that the access is free to you if you link your FamilySearch account to that site.  Check it out. Because we are in technologically advanced era, there is a lot of information available to us at the touch of a button. 

While writing this I was able to add two new sources to my grandmother’s page on FamilySearch.  Under the section called Search Records is a section entitled “Latest Changes”.  This section shows all the changes that have occurred recently for that person’s page.  You can click on a “change” and view the details.  If the information was added by another FamilySearch member, they may have put why they think the information is correct and there will be a contact link to that person.  You may contact them and who knows?  You may have found another relative!  You may be able to share information on that family member or others in your tree! 

When my mother started doing Family History, she had to write letters (and send money) to various city, county and state offices to help her.  She then had to wait for a response – sometimes for months  - and often the results were disappointing.

Now we go onto a computer or tablet or phone and instantly access that same information – usually for free!  Heavenly Father has truly blessed us as we gather Israel, one family member at a time.  May your research be rewarding and give you fewer frustrations in the future as you put your family chain together for the eternities.  Let us know if we can help.

Brother and Sister May