Salt Lake City, Utah - The Internet Index of the Pedigree Resource File (PRF) is the latest addition to the FamilySearch™ Internet Service, www.FamilySearch.org, offered by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Pedigree Resource File is a lineage-linked database containing GEDCOM files submitted to the Family History Department by people who want to preserve their records and share them with others. Over forty percent of the records submitted are from users outside the U.S., Canada, and the British Isles.

In addition to names of deceased persons, the PRF Internet Index contains vital information such as births, christenings, marriages, deaths, burials and other events. The Index also indicates when notes and sources are available from a contributor and how to obtain further information from PRF compact discs.

Richard E. Turley, Jr., managing director for the Family History Department of the Church said, "With the master index, when a user conducts an ancestor search on the FamilySearch Internet site, the Pedigree Resource File database will be searched along with the other databases the Church has on line (over 640 million names)."

Currently, the index contains information from the first seven PRF compact discs. It will be updated as new data CD's are completed and released. The PRF international database is growing at the phenomenal rate of 1.1 million names a month from user contributions.

The index will also feature a hot link to the Salt Lake Distribution Center Internet Site so users can conveniently order PRF compact discs. Individual CD's sell for $5.00 each. Sets of five CD's and a Master Index on CD sell for $15.00 each.

Individuals who would like their genealogies included in the Pedigree Resource File and the Internet Index are invited to submit their GEDCOM files to the Pedigree Resource File. This can be done, free of charge, by accessing the FamilySearch Internet site and clicking on "Preserve Your Genealogy" in the left-hand column. Instructions then show how to send a GEDCOM file over the Internet to Salt Lake City. The Church keeps a master copy of all submissions in its Granite Mountain Records Vault for long-term preservation.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been gathering genealogical records worldwide for more than a century to help its members in family history research. Today, the Church is the world leader in family history. In addition to its massive collection of records at its Salt Lake City library, the Church operates more than 3,400 Family History Centers worldwide.