This outline introduces the strategies and records that can help you learn more about your ancestors from around the world who were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It teaches terminology and describes the contents, uses, and availability of major records of genealogical value for Latter-day Saints. It helps you decide which types of records to search. It will assist you in finding temple ordinance dates. You can use this information to identify names that need to be submitted for temple work, to Ancestral File, the Pedigree Resource File, or provide details about your family history.

In addition to this outline, you will also need to use the research outlines available for the state, province, and nation where your Latter-day Saint ancestor lived. For example, the Utah Research Outline (31081) and the United States Research Outline (30972) would help locate many records about Church members in those places. For a list of these research outlines and other Family History publications see the Family History Library Materials List (34083.) In this outline the Distribution Center item number is listed in parentheses following the titles of publications on this Materials List.

Using this Outline

The “Introduction,” “Basic Search Strategies,” and “Records Selection Table” describe the records at the library and suggest ways to do research effectively. The “Introduction” briefly describes major collections of records available at the Family History Library, how to use FamilySearch™, and the Family History Library Catalog to help you find Latter-day Saint ancestors. The “Records Selection Table” helps you choose records to search based on the kind of information you want to find about an ancestor.

After the “Records Selection Table,” this outline lists in alphabetical order the major record types used to find information about Latter-day Saints and their family history, such as “Emigration and Immigration,” “Genealogy,” “Membership Records,” and “Temple Records.” The names of sections in this outline are usually the same as the locality topics used in the Family History Library Catalog. However, records about Church members have been cataloged many different ways, and you may have to search several places to find all the appropriate records.

At the end of this outline you will find a short bibliography of sources under “For Further Reading.” This includes books with more detailed descriptions of how to do research for ancestors who were Church members, and important reference books which cover collections regarding Latter-day Saints.

This outline emphasizes the records created by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or records primarily about its members. The civil and private records created about the lives of Church ancestors are explained in more detail in other outlines.

Records at the Family History Library

The Family History Library has many of the records listed in this outline. The library has more than 40,000 microfilms with information about Church members, or their ancestors. The library’s major holdings of Latter-day Saint records include census, emigration and immigration, genealogy, membership records, missionary records, patriarchal blessings, priesthood records, and temple records. The library also has printed records of many church, mission, stake, ward and branch histories, biographical collections, periodicals, and family histories.

Some of the sources described in this outline list the Family History Library’s book, microfilm, microfiche, and computer numbers. These are preceded by FHL, the abbreviation for Family History Library. These numbers may be used to locate materials in the Family History Library and to order microfilm and microfiche at Family History Centers.

You can use the computer number if you have access to the Family History Library Catalog on computer disc (FamilySearch). The Computer Number Search is the fastest way to find a source in the catalog.

The Internet is growing in importance to genealogists. We cite Internet sources in this outline with their Universal Resource Locator (URL) address.

FamilySearch™

FamilySearch at Family History Centers. FamilySearch is a collection of computer files containing millions of names. FamilySearch is a good place to begin your family history research. Some of the records come from compiled sources, and some have been extracted from original sources. The Family History Library and many Family History Centers have computers with FamilySearch. A few FamilySearch resource files, for example, the U.S. Social Security Death Index, and the U.S. Military Index, are found on the Family History Library and Family History Center version of FamilySearch, but not on the FamilySearch™ Internet Genealogy Service.

Family History Library and Family History Center computers with FamilySearch do not have access to the Internet, computer on-line services, networks, or bulletin boards. Those services are available at many public libraries, college libraries, and private locations. Limited access to the Internet is available on a few computers in the Automated Resource Center in the Family History Library.

FamilySearch™ Internet Genealogy Service. The Internet site at www.familysearch.org allows you to preserve your genealogy, order Family History Library publications, learn research strategies, and look for information about your ancestors in the following resources:

Ancestral File, a file of over 35 million names organized into families and pedigrees.

International Genealogical Index, an index of over 600 million names from vital records primarily from the British Isles, North America, and Finland.

Family History Library Catalog, a description and classification of over 2 million microfilm reels, and hundreds of thousands of genealogical books. You can search the catalog by family name, locality, author, book or film or fiche number.

SourceGuide, a resource that contains a collection of over 150 “how-to” research outlines for states, nations, or genealogy topics, an extensive glossary of word meanings, and a catalog helper.

Family History Centers, a list of locations where you can order the microfilms described in the Family History Library Catalog and SourceGuide.

Web Sites, a categorized list of thousands of links to Internet sites related to family history.

Collaboration Lists links you to user created mailing lists of researchers interested in similar genealogical topics.

Family History Library Catalog

The key to finding a record at the Family History Library is the Family History Library Catalog. It describes each of the library’s records and provides their call numbers. The catalog is available at the library, and at each Family History Center, and on the Internet at www.familysearch.org/Search/searchcatalog.asp. It is available on microfiche and on FamilySearch computers at the Family History Library. All Family History Centers have microfiche catalogs; some Centers have FamilySearch computers.

The microfiche catalog is divided into four searches:

• Locality (on yellow-labeled microfiche)
• Subject (on blue-labeled microfiche)
• Surname (on red-labeled microfiche)
• Author/Title (on green labeled microfiche)