It’s a common dilemma: When trying to find names for the temple, how do you know where to start looking, whether you’re working on your own lines or someone else’s?
Sometimes I’ve struggled for quite a while to find a good starting place. But when I seek the Spirit’s guidance, finding a starting place is a lot easier.
Seeking the guidance of the Spirit involves listening, but it also involves prayer and action. Here are some basic steps that have worked for me:
- If I’m helping someone, I ask the person I’m helping to pray for me.
- I find a quiet place to work—somewhere without distractions where I can hear the Spirit.
- After praying for guidance, I look at the pedigree. My favorite view is the fan chart in the Family Tree. I don’t go back further than the late 1700s, and I typically look in countries where I’m familiar with the language.
- As I review the fan chart, I listen for what I call “heart tugs”—those sweet spiritual impressions that someone is hoping to be found.
- When I feel drawn toward a particular individual, I go to that individual’s Person page in the Family Tree. I focus on one family at a time. My goal is to unite families, not gather large numbers of names at a time.
- I look for missing spouses and children. If I happen to find a name ready for temple ordinances, I verify it. But it’s not my focus. I’m trying to find people who need to be added to Family Tree.
Two experiences illustrate this process.
One Sunday afternoon I was helping missionaries at the Provo MTC get started on their family history. As I was working with one sister missionary, another sister, Sister Montgomery, stopped to talk to us. She seemed disappointed as she mentioned that her lines had already been thoroughly researched, and she probably wouldn’t be able to find any family names.
Although I was working with the first sister, I felt impressed to offer to help Sister Montgomery. I knew from experience that names can usually be found even on full trees, and I was confident we could find names for her.
When I offered to help, she still seemed doubtful that anything could be found. But when I asked if she would pray for me, she willingly agreed. She gave me her helper information, and we planned to meet the following week.
Later, after going to a quiet place, I prayed earnestly for the guidance of the Spirit. Then, I looked at the fan chart for Sister Montgomery’s family. I found myself drawn to the name of Abraham Chadwick. Abraham was one of the first converts in Sister Montgomery’s line, and his faithfulness and testimony were apparent from his record in Family Tree. It wasn’t surprising to see that he’d done temple work for much of his family.
But then I began to look at Abraham’s siblings. One of his sisters caught my eye. Her work was done, but as I looked at her children, few had spouses and those who did had few or no children. It didn’t take long to find historical records showing spouses and children who needed to be added to the Family Tree.
So when I earnestly seek the guidance of the Spirit to find a starting place, does that mean it’s always simple? No. There are times when the path has twists and turns. Fortunately, the Spirit is there to help along the way.
For example, my friend Darla asked if I could help her and her teenage daughter, Chloe, find names for the temple. We arranged a time to meet, and I asked her to pray for me as I prepared.
I went to a quiet place and prayerfully reviewed the fan chart. But this time, I didn’t feel any particular guidance. I kept looking and praying. That was when I noticed a problem with Darla’s grandmother, Sarah Helen Harvey: she appeared to have the same parents as her husband! Something was clearly wrong.
A little checking revealed that Sarah was linked to her own parents and to her husband’s parents (something I could have fixed, but I felt impressed to leave it for Chloe to do). I also felt impressed that the “hidden” line—the one I hadn’t seen on the fan chart because of the wrong parents—was the one I should work on. So I displayed that line on the fan chart and soon felt an impression to look at the line of John Kellett, Darla’s 4th great-grandfather.
Checking historical records showed that John had descendants who were missing from the Family Tree. During my meeting with Darla and Chloe, Chloe was able to add several of them to the Family Tree and reserve their temple work.
Listening for the Spirit’s guidance in finding a starting place takes practice, but it has gotten easier the more I’ve done it. The Lord knows exactly where I should be working. If I’m willing to seek that guidance instead of thinking I have to figure it out on my own, I find a better starting place more quickly.
After years on the sidelines, Kathryn started her family history and discovered a new passion. Her specialty is mentoring new family historians and helping them find success—and maybe even helping them avoid some of the mistakes she's made. She frequently presents at family history events and serves as the lead temple and family history consultant in her stake.
