Performing temple baptisms for one of your own deceased relatives can be a powerful experience. When members get their first temple recommend for performing proxy baptisms or when they are returning to the temple after a time away, there is a great opportunity for leaders to help them take a family name to the temple, perhaps for the first time. Family Name Assist is a simple new tool available in Leader and Clerk Resources that gives leaders step-by-step guidance to help members do just this—prepare and print family name cards. The tool is easy to use, and the process can be completed in just a few minutes.
Family Name Assist allows bishopric members and branch presidents to give members their family name card right during a temple recommend appointment. Other leaders can also access the tool and help members with the same process. Family Name Assist simplifies and automates much of the necessary processing and checking when preparing a family name, allowing the member and the leader who is helping him or her to have a more spiritually-focused conversation. Leaders and members can focus on the Savior and the joy their temple service will bring their eternal family.
Some Leaders Can Access the Tool through Leader and Clerk Resources
The new tool has been added as a part of the temple recommend process but can also be accessed in a few other places. Bishops and branch presidents who are helping a member prepare to go to the temple may want to use the Family Name Assist tool to assist the member, because it takes so little time. They may also invite other leaders who have access to the Leader and Clerk Resources to use the tool, such as those with the following callings:
- Counselors in a bishopric or branch presidency
- Ward executive secretary or ward clerk
- Elders quorum or Relief Society president
- Young Women president
- Sunday School or Primary president
- Ward mission leader
- Temple and family history leader
When in the Leader and Clerk Resources (LCR), bishopric members or branch presidents with temple recommend stewardship can find the Family Name Assist tool under the Membership menu and Temple Recommends, as part of the proxy baptism recommend process.
Starting in March or April of 2024, extended ward council members will also find it available under the Leader and Clerk Resources Temple menu, under Help Member Print a Family Name.
When a leader is sent an invitation in Leader and Clerk Resources to help a member, a notification will show in the leader’s LCR Communications box under Messages. The invitation will include a link to the tool.
Other Helpers Can Access the Tool Outside of Leader and Clerk Resources
Temple and family history consultants, ministering sisters and brothers, and others may also use the tool to help members with printing cards for the first time. Members may even use the tool themselves, though leaders can ensure they have someone to assist if needed.
Leaders and other helpers should coordinate with one another to help new members learn more about serving their deceased family members in the temple and may attend the temple with them if possible.
Helpers without access to Leader and Clerk Resources can access Family Name Assist here.
New members, youth, or unendowed adults can access Family Name Assist here.
The tool’s prompts are user-friendly, even the first time using it. A preview page is available here, which provides a brief overview of the experience.
When to Use Family Name Assist
Use this new tool when a member is printing a family name for the first few times. It requires no in-depth research, since it relies solely on the member’s living memory to help prepare a name of a close relative (grandparent, parent, spouse, sibling, or child). If a member does not have a close deceased relative in mind, the tool includes the option to use Ordinances Ready to help search for a more distant relative with available baptism and confirmation ordinances on the Family Tree or names shared with the temple.
During the process of preparing a family name card, this tool helps simplify these steps for the member:
- Automates creating a FamilySearch account or connecting a public account to a Church record number
- Simplifies adding information about family members, which is saved into the FamilySearch Family Tree
- Automates checking for duplicates and verifying availability of ordinances
- Automates reserving names for temple ordinances and simplifies printing a family name card
The tool also has prompts along the way to help the leader familiarize members with spiritual principles and preparation suggestions for their temple experience.
Family Name Assist will recognize and use information the member may have already entered on FamilySearch. Everything a user enters using the Family Name Assist tool will be automatically saved to FamilySearch and is accessible later through the members’ FamilySearch account.
After a member has performed proxy ordinances for their close relatives and learned about the temple through their first or first few experiences, leaders can work with temple and family history consultants, ministering brethren or sisters, and others to help members fill in more information about their family on FamilySearch.org. Entering more information into FamilySearch when the members are ready will make it easier for them to use Ordinances Ready regularly when going to the temple. Ward helpers can play a crucial role in teaching members how to research deceased family members whose information is harder to find or teaching how to add relationships that need permission for temple ordinances.
More Information Available in the 2024 Temple and Family History Leadership Instruction
During its test phases, the Family Name Assist tool has been a great help to members and leaders alike. Members who were going to the temple the very next day after getting their recommend were able to take a family name card and do proxy ordinances for their own family members. Leaders felt it helped them bring the spirit of Elijah into their conversations with members as they helped them think about loved ones and what names they could take to the temple.
During the 2024 Temple and Family History Leadership Instruction, Elder Neil L. Andersen, Elder Gerrit W. Gong, and Elder Kevin S. Hamilton gave a great introduction of this tool and how it can be used for members. You can watch that instruction here.
As temples are built around the world, more and more members will be able to enjoy the experience of performing proxy ordinance work for their own relatives. Family Name Assist can enable leaders to more easily help them prepare and print family names. As President Nelson has said in a recent general conference, “Let us never lose sight of what the Lord is doing for us now. He is making His temples more accessible. He is accelerating the pace at which we are building temples. He is increasing our ability to help gather Israel. He is also making it easier for each of us to become spiritually refined. I promise that increased time in the temple will bless your life in ways nothing else can” (“Focus on the Temple,” Liahona, Nov. 2022, 121).
At FamilySearch, we care about connecting you with your family, and we provide fun discovery experiences and family history services for free. Why? Because we cherish families and believe that connecting generations can improve our lives now and forever. We are a nonprofit organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To learn more about our beliefs, click here.
