First Class

I taught my first Family History Sunday School class yesterday. For those that were in the class, here's a summarized review of what I was trying to share. For those that were not in the class, here's a summary of what I was trying to share.

Basic Steps
Family History for Temple Work Purposes can be divided into three steps:
1) Gather Information
2) Organize Information
3) Process Information

Process
With an attempt to "begin with the end in mind", here's what we need for and do in the "Process" step.

We are trying to take care of these items: B E P S C
B is for Baptism
E is for Endowment
P is for sealing to Parents
S is for sealing to Spouse
C is for sealing to Children

In order to do this we need the following information:
B & E: The name of the individual, male or female, an event date & place
P: Add the individual's father's name
S: The name of the husband, marriage date & place

C: This is just an indicator from the Parent's perspective that the children have been sealed to the parents. The information is taken care of from the Child's perspective.

Once we reach the "Process" step, we can see where additional information needs to be added and go back to the "Gather" step.

In the "Process" step, we also share the information with others.

Organize
There are many ways to organize genealogy. The most common tools are the pedigree chart and the family group sheet. There are other tools that can also be used. The key to organization is to pick something that works for you. Use it until you discover you need something else or until you find something else that works better for you.

I like the Ahnentafel numbering system.

Today it should be obvious that organizing information using the computer has many advantages that have not been available in the past. The computer presents its own set of problems -- picking software, understanding data, doing backups. There is also the choice (or need) to store things locally as well as online.

Gather
This step can be split into two parts: 1) Where to look & 2) What to gather.

Where

• At home
• At relatives' homes
• On the internet
• At libraries
• At government & religious institutions (including parishes, court houses, government offices, etc.)

What

• Vital records (e.g., birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates, censuses)
• Military records
• Journals, personal & family histories
• Newspapers
• Books
• Photo albums
  

Summary
Naturally, this is just an overview; therefore, there are lots of details and even many whole items that have been left out. We will cover some of these details and other items in subsequent lessons.

Assignment
This is a multiple choice assignment -- choose multiple items! And, please share what you learn.

• Do something!!
• Contact one of the Family History Consultants for an in-home consultation!!!
• Visit the Family History Center
• Play with PAF
• Gather your home-based information
• Check out the Family History Religion class at BYU -- Rel261
• Try something else