Today’s youth have long been prepared for the current technologies used to find ancestors. They go together like peanut butter and jelly. Young people understand the “techie” language and are not afraid to get involved. Speaking to the youth, Elder Bednar reminded us in the October 2011 general conference, “It is no coincidence that FamilySearch and other tools have come forth at a time when young people are so familiar with a wide range of information and communication technologies. Your fingers have been trained to text and tweet to accelerate and advance the work of the Lord—not just to communicate quickly with your friends. The skills and aptitude evident among many young people today are a preparation to contribute to the work of salvation.”
What are the youth doing with this technology and family history? They are:
- Indexing.
- Accepting the temple challenge.
- Discovering family stories and photos.
- Finding family names to take to the temple.
- Sharing their family history experiences on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Facebook.
- Collaborating with other youth.
- Helping to hasten the Lord’s work.
The youth are using their talents and abilities to bless not only their own lives, but also their ancestors. This energy, combined with helpful resources and guidance from caring family history consultants and family members, is accelerating family history at a pace never before seen in the Church’s history. People worldwide are benefitting from these collaborative efforts.
Need resources to help the youth find or add family names to their trees?
- For youth with no names in their trees, check out the print or online version of the booklet My Family: Stories That Bring Us Together.
- For youth with some names in their trees, check out this flowchart for guidance, and use record hints.
- For youth with many names, check out resources such as FamilySearch partner records and apps. You can also use descendancy methods to find cousins with the FamilySearch fan chart and descendancy view or Puzzilla.
In speaking to the youth in the April 2016 general conference, Elder Quentin L. Cook shared, “I rejoice in the extraordinary faithfulness of our youth in indexing and finding their ancestors and then doing the baptism and confirmation work in the temple. You are literally among the prophesied saviors on Mount Zion.”
Reach out to the youth. Get them involved in discovering their families, planning Mutual, ward, and stake family history events. Cheer them on to the temple. And then watch the Spirit of Elijah work wonders in their lives, and see the apostolic promises fulfilled.
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Youth Temple Challenge: Promised Blessings
Youth in Action: The Time Is Now
