Visitors to your family history center usually have one question in mind: How do I find an ancestor to take to the temple? Generally, most family trees can be put into one of three categories:
- The tree is very empty.
- The tree is partially filled.
- The tree is very full or nearly complete.
Empty Trees--My Family: Stories that Bring Us Together
If a family tree is very empty, completing the booklet My Family: Stories that Bring Us Together is the very best place to start. Digital versions can be filled out online. Paper copies can be purchased online . Once the booklet is completed, enter the information in Family Tree and prepare any family names in need of temple ordinances. The booklet is available in 32 languages in print and many more languages online in digital format.
Partial Trees—Hinting and Attaching Sources
Hinting helps you to find records that are already indexed and posted on FamilySearch.org. The accuracy of hinted records is about 98.5 percent. Hinted sources can often lead to finding enough information to qualify ancestors for temple work. Family Tree is updated regularly with new hints. If the person you are searching for is newly added to Family Tree or if you are not finding any hints listed for your person, just wait a few weeks and check back. You may find that FamilySearch has added new hints to help you with your research.
Always attach the new source to the family member it applies to. Add newly-found family members, and provide whatever information they need to qualify for temple work. Completing partial families through hinted records is a fast and easy way to find and take ancestors to the temple. Newly-indexed records and new collections in combination with new people added to Family Tree can help answer the question “Where do I find ancestors to take to the temple?”
Full Trees—Descendancy Research and Attaching Sources
“I had never been able to find a name in my family history to take to the temple because so much work has already been done. So I decided to just start attaching sources to names and selected an ancestor born around the time the Church was organized. I found a census and double-checked the names. All of the kids were already known and had temple work done. I found another census and attached those too. Then on the fourth census, I found this man's adult daughter and her two children living with him. We did not show her as married or having children. Since finding her on that census, I was able to find her eight children, her husband, her husband’s family, and her children's children. In total, I've found 26 names from my efforts that started with attaching sources. My daughter just took those names to the temple and did baptisms this Wednesday. Many commented on how the Spirit was especially strong while they were doing the work for these names, including the baptizer, who teared up as he said the names of these individuals who were finally being baptized.” —Judy Gyllenskog, Oregon
If your family tree is very full, follow this sister’s plan. Open the family tree in fan chart view.
- Go to the outer ring of the fan chart. (If the researcher is young, he or she may need to go back one or two more generations.) Choose an ancestor born about 1830.
- Hover over the ancestor’s name in the fan chart, and then click the fan chart that appears near their name. This moves that ancestor to the center of the fan chart.
- In the upper left corner of the page, click the Fan Chart, and then click Descendancy.
- To choose how many generations of descendancy to view, click one of the numbers next to Generations. If you are just beginning your research, one generation is recommended.
- Find and attach sources, particularly birth, death, or census records to that ancestor and his or her family. The brown icon with a computer and magnifying class to the right of a person’s name indicates that some record hints are available.
- If no hints automatically appear, look for the ancestor in specific records that should show the ancestor in a family group.
- Continue attaching records as you move down the tree toward yourself, remembering to gather information on each child in each family, including spouses and children. An easy way to move down Family Tree toward yourself is to add another generation to view from the Generations 1 2 3 4 toolbar button. Click here for help with using the descendancy view.
- Keep in mind that temple work should be restricted to family members who are at least 110 years old, unless you have permission from an ancestor’s closest living relative. To see the current temple submission policy, sign in to org with your LDS Account. Above your name in the top right corner of the screen, click Get Help. Then click Help Center from the menu that appears. In the topic list, click Family Tree. In the Frequently Asked Questions search box, type Needs permission. Click the option about the 110-year rule.
- Once you finish one family line, go back to the outer ring of your fan chart, and repeat the same descendancy process with a new ancestor.
Many tools are now available in Family Tree to help Church members find and take their ancestors’ names to the temple. One of the most important things you should do as a family history center director is to work at finding your own family members and then performing the needed temple ordinance work for them. Following this process will give you some ideas on how to be successful in finding ancestors or descendants of your ancestors who need temple ordinances. Be persistent! You can find them! Then submit the names yourself, and whenever possible prepare to attend the temple in behalf of your family members.
Teaching
This is a spiritual work, and the spiritual experiences you have with your own family names will give you greater capacity to influence others who come to the family history center for help—both your staff and visitors. Share your experiences of finding your own ancestors and completing their ordinance work. Share your expertise, but most importantly share your personal feelings and testimony of the eternal nature of families. The Holy Ghost will help your message inspire others and will turn their hearts to their own family members. When those you teach have their own experiences of finding a name and taking that name to the temple, encourage them also to share and teach others, especially their family, about the wonderful opportunities available to them to take part in the work of salvation for those we love.
