The Planner is a tool available to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for helping someone else with his or her family history. Use it to view the FamilySearch Family Tree from the other person’s point of view, browse discovery activities, design personalized family history experiences, record notes, and build lesson plans.
To access the Planner, first go to Helper Resources. Near your name in the top right part of the screen, click the help icon (a question mark in a circle). At the bottom of the pop-up box, click Helper Resources.
In Helper Resources, you will see the Planner on the right side of the screen, along with a list of people you are helping and an option for adding more.
Notice that your own name at the top of the Planner is hyperlinked. You can use the Planner for yourself, and try out the features. Trying it out is a great way to get to know the Planner better and learn how it works.
Below your name, you see a list of the people you are currently helping. The list has been organized into 3 categories:
- People who have accepted your helper invitation. Click the person’s name to begin helping.
- People you have invited but are still waiting to hear from. If you click the person’s name, you will see a message that says, “Waiting for Permission.”
- People whose names have expired from your list.
Your people list can accommodate up to 300 names at any given time. After that, you’ll need to delete a name—or wait for a name to expire—before adding someone new.
Add Someone to the Planner
To add someone to the Planner, make sure that he or she has a FamilySearch account. Otherwise, you can’t send that person an invitation. A simple phone call or email should do. (Here’s the page for creating an account, in case someone needs it.)
Once a person has an account, you’ll need to advise the person to go to his or her account settings on FamilySearch.org and turn on the option to Receive and Offer Help. This option is on the Settings page under the Notifications tab. This option is important—if the option isn't turned on, people can’t receive your message.
Now for the invitation. From the Planner’s main page, click the button labeled Add Someone.
When the box appears, begin typing the person’s name. Possible matches from your ward or branch will appear. When you see the person you’re trying to add, click his or her name.
Tip: If the name does not appear, check to see that you spelled the name correctly. It could also be that you entered too much information. If the person’s first name is “James Robert,” for example, try searching with only “James” instead of both names.
Next, select your method for requesting helper access. You can send the person an email, copy and send an invitation link, or choose one of the Helper Number Options.
To copy the invitation link, click the Copy Link option. Share the copied invite link with the person you want to help through text, social media messaging, email, or another preferred method. After clicking Copy Link, the name of the person you want to help will appear in your Planner’s Invite list, where you can recopy or delete the invite link. The link is valid for 30 days.
When the person who is being helped clicks the shared invite link, a new page opens and gives the option to approve or deny the invite request. If the request is approved, the name of the person being helped will be added to the People You Are Helping list.
If you choose one of the Helper Number Options, you will need the person’s birth date or FamilySearch username, followed by his or her helper number.
Tip: Most people don’t know their helper number. They can find it on the Settings page, under the tab labeled Account.
Begin Helping
Once the person accepts your invitation, you can click his or her name and begin using the Planner on the person’s behalf. You’ll know you’ve entered the Planner for someone else because you’ll see a banner at the top of the page with that person’s name in it. If you don’t see the person’s name, then the information in the Planner is for you.
Below is an image of the Planner navigation panel. Each link is important and can make you a more effective helper.
The first link, Discovery Ideas, is divided into three categories: Family History Activities, Hints, and Temple. If the person you are helping is not a member of the Church, only the first two categories will show.
Activities are short, simple, and fun—great for families with children and for people who might have only a few minutes to experience something meaningful about their family history. Hints point to opportunities in Family Tree where a person might be able to add a source or identify a missing ancestor. The third option, Temple, identifies people in the person’s tree in need of temple ordinances.
As you explore these options, look for tasks or activities that you think will interest the other person. Listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Depending on the person, some activities will definitely be more effective than others.
The remaining items in the navigational panel are fairly self-explanatory. The Tree option takes you to an expanded 7-generation view of the other person’s family tree—a view that can be filtered in a number of ways. You can filter, for example, to see which ancestors have photos or stories attached to their profile pages, which are in need of temple ordinances, or which have promising research suggestions for the budding genealogist to take advantage of. Or you can use the tree simply to look for those areas in the tree where ancestor names are missing.
Once you’ve identified an activity that you think the other person will enjoy, you can use the Notes and Plans buttons to begin planning your visit. Your work will be saved and available to you each time you access the Planner on behalf of this same person.
Renewing Access and Deleting Names
The names of people you are helping appear on your helper list for one year. Expired names remain for an additional year after that, along with a button for renewing your helper access if you want to continue helping.
To renew your helper access or to remove a name from your list, click the three dots to the right of the name. You will then see options for completing either task.
If what you’ve just read seems like a lot and perhaps difficult to remember—don’t worry; with a little practice it will become easier! The Planner is an extraordinary tool. It offers dozens of ways to browse someone else’s family history and create family history experiences. As mentioned earlier, the best way to get to know the Planner might be to try it for yourself—before you’ve sent out any invitations.
Just go to Helper Resources, click your name, and you’re on your way.
