This article covers principles 3–5 of the Find, Take, Teach process. To be effective in helping others love family history, you must have a spiritually prepared lesson plan. Base the lesson on what you have learned in reviewing the family tree of the person you are helping as well as any promptings or impressions you have had while preparing. Inspire the person to continue forward in family history. See the person as beloved investigators who can become converted to this part of the work of salvation.
Try these steps to get started preparing a personalized lesson:
- Get access to the person’s FamilySearch account. Ask for his or her name, birth date, and the last five digits of his or her membership record number.
- Search the person’s family tree before you meet. Use the Help Others function to explore their family tree.
- Prepare and deliver a personalized lesson. Create a detailed plan to help them accomplish their goals and feel the Spirit.
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Resources
Luckily, you’re not alone when it comes to preparing a personalized lesson. You can use the lesson plan template to organize what you want to teach. See an example of a personalized lesson using the lesson plan template.
Tips
- Build your lesson plan based on the person’s experience level in family history.
- Keep your plan short; 30–45 minutes is an ideal experience for a beginner.
- Help the member feel a connection to his or her ancestors by sharing memories and records.
- Look for and share common experiences between ancestors and those you are helping.
- For families, make a plan for involving all members of the family and how you might encourage them to work together to find names and perform temple ordinances for their ancestors as a family.
