2020-02 Feb - Help Your Friends Find Their Ancestors

Feb 2, 2020 family history invite a friend

Hello from your Ward Temple & Family History Consultants:

WHAT?

• Apply the Ward “Be the Light” theme by letting Family History Consultants help your friends find their ancestors.

WHY?

• The Spirit of Elijah may gain a foothold where the Spirit of the Lord has not yet.

WHEN?

All year, and starting now. We’ll help you find the ore to make tools to build the ship, so to speak.

HOW?

1. Ask your recent or old friend how much they know about their own family history or genealogy.

2. Offer them a chance to exercise their agency by inviting them to a 1-hour session at your house with a helper you know that is pretty good at genealogy (aka a family history consultant).

   • Inviting is enough. Avoid expectations. If they are interested, great.
   • If they’re not interested, that’s okay. Not everyone likes genealogy. Asking shows your interest in them.
   • The objective is to help them learn by doing, and to strengthen your relationship with them by serving them in this way.

3. Tell them this is not a class, but an applied session to hopefully identify some of their ancestors. We will not be proselyting, just helping them find their own ancestors (service).

   • Remind them to bring along any information or pictures they already have about their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents to reference. We’ll help them enter it into into familysearch.org.
   • You’ll have a good time as a friend listening to them talk about their family history, regardless of any outcomes.

4. During the actual 1-hour session at your house, here’s the agenda:

   • Prep: Prepare to be the host (snacks or cookies, etc.)
   • Introduce the Temple & Family History consultant by name
   • Ideally, open with a prayer to seek for the guidance of the Holy Ghost for finding your friend’s ancestors.
   • Ask what they already know of their first 4 generations and what they would like to find out next.
   • Help them log into familysearch.org using your wifi or a mobile app. Optionally, show them your family’s 4-generation fan chart as motivation.
   • Review what is known.
     • See what the family tree already has on their ancestor
     • Help them start their FREE family tree in familysearch.org
   • Help them add some names, dates and locations they have and/or add a picture if they brought some.
   • Conduct a few searches for them to see what records may reveal.
     • Add people and source links if we find anything.
     • If not, help them know it takes persistence and time. Tell your friend a story of when you found someone after initially getting nothing.
   • Ask if they know anyone still living who may know more.
     • Invite them to find out what that still-living person knows soon (before memories fade).
     • If they’re interested, we can show them how to capture stories and photos, and record and preserve audio files in the FamilySearch Family Tree using the Family Search Mobile apps.

5. Wrap up by asking how well they enjoyed this. Tell them how much you enjoyed spending time with them.

   • If they’re interested in more, invite them to set a goal to find their own 4-generations.
   • Invite for another finding session if they are interested.
   • Tell them about the family history center if they’re interested

Recap:

• Nov - Make a plan for your family history service to focus your efforts.
• Dec - Engage your children in Family History.
• Jan - Decide you want to do some Family History work. Set a goal for what in 2020.

HERE A LITTLE, THERE A LITTLE - This month is not for your own family, but for serving a friend’s family. Contact one of us.

Your Ward Temple & Family History Consultants