Riverton FamilySearch Library/Youth Conference

Search and Serve Youth Conference
The Riverton FamilySearch Library offers a one-day family history youth conference activity for ward and multi-wards.

The library youth conference activities are designed to help youth and their leaders feel the Spirit of Elijah and learn how its influence can bless the lives of both the living and the dead through family history and temple ordinance work.

Workshops provide instruction on the key elements of genealogical research and offer hands-on experience to help participants with their individual family history responsibilities. Young men and women are also encouraged to use their technical skills to help their own family, ward members, friends, and others with their family history efforts.

Elder David A. Bednar's Invitation and Promise to Youth
“The skills and aptitude evident among many young people today are a preparation to contribute to the work of salvation.

“I invite the young people of the Church to learn about and experience the Spirit of Elijah. I encourage you to study, to search out your ancestors, and to prepare yourselves to perform proxy baptisms in the house of the Lord for your kindred dead (see D&amp;C 124:28-36). And I urge you to help other people identify their family histories.

“As you respond in faith to this invitation, your hearts shall turn to the fathers. …Your love and gratitude for your ancestors will increase. Your testimony of and conversion to the Savior will become deep and abiding. And I promise you will be protected against the intensifying influence of the adversary. As you participate and love this holy work, you will be safeguarded in your youth and throughout your lives.”

Elder David A. Bednar, "The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn," General Conference, October 2011, Saturday afternoon session.
This activity will be available many Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays during the summer of 2015. The following table shows available dates. The number of openings for each day are shown in parenthesis.

Reservations
The deadline for registration is May 1, 2015. Reservations will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Book early to secure a date.

Group Sizes
The library can accommodate ward or multi-ward groups with a maximum of 75 youth and leaders.

Cost
A FamilySearch lanyard and all training material for the workshops will be furnished for participants at no cost. There will be a charge for the printing of optional pedigree fan charts.

Lunch is available at the Riverton Office Building cafeteria or groups can bring their own. The cost of lunch is $5.40 for a hamburger, fries and a large drink. The cafeteria accepts all forms of payment, including direct charges to ward accounts. The Riverton FamilySearch Library, however, accepts only checks or cash. Please note the Library cannot accept bills larger than $20.00.

Preparation
Detailed instructions for participants will be sent to leaders following registration. It is imperative that all participants register for an LDS account. Youth and leaders need to have access to their username and password to participate fully in the conference activities.

10:00 a.m. - Welcome and Introduction
The conference will begin with a short overview of the library’s resources and layout, an outline of the day’s activities, and some important guidelines.

10:15 a.m. - Workshop One
One of the primary elements of family history research is to determine what we already know about our families. This workshop will provide training and hands-on experience in using FamilySearch Family Tree to find family history and temple ordinance information that may already exist about families. Attendees will also learn how to add photos, stories, and documents to their family tree. The printing of family pedigree fan charts will be an optional part of this activity.

12:30 p.m. - Workshop Two
After determining what we already know about our families, the next step in family history is to verify the information we have and to search for more records. This workshop will provide training and hands-on experience in using FamilySearch and other resources to locate documents containing family history information and then add them to FamilySearch Family Tree as sources.

2:00 p.m. Workshop Three
One of the best ways to give service to others is to help index the millions of digital records the Church has acquired over many decades. This workshop will help youth understand the concept behind FamilySearch Indexing, learn how to index, and have hands-on experience completing an indexing project.

3:30 p.m. - Review and Farewell
The day’s activities will close with a short review of the workshops and activities, and will give bishops or other youth leaders an opportunity to conclude the youth conference with any testimony or encouragement they feel is appropriate. Email ut_rivfslibrary3@ldschurch.org or call 801-240-9601 with any questions.