I recently received a call from my brother in Sweden who was excited to tell me that he and his kids were at the cemetery in the old town of Laxarby where a few of our ancestors were buried. We paid a visit to this cemetery 8 years ago when my family and I vacationed… Read More Sharing the Spirit of Elijah
My husband, Ray, and I were going on a road trip to Nauvoo, Illinois to visit some historical places of our stalwart pioneer ancestry. On the trip, we were passing through Fort Madison, Iowa which lies west of the Mississippi River before getting into Nauvoo. As we were driving through Fort Madison, a memory clicked in… Read More Spiritual Experience in Fort Madison, Iowa
In a RootsTech presentation in 2017, President Russell M. Nelson made an important connection that family history work can aid missionary work. Here is a link to a 2-minute excerpt from his remarks: https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/session/family-history-can-aid-missionary-work Among other things, he said the following: People have an inborn desire to know something about their ancestors. That can become… Read More Family History Can Aid Missionary Work
My husband, David, is the only member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in his family. We had been interested in finding his ancestors for decades and had worked on it to the best of our ability and time. Then, six years ago, we moved into the Little Cottonwood Ward. One of the… Read More Finding my Husband’s Italian Ancestors
I joined the church when I was 15 years old. I had no idea why prior to joining the church I was drawn to genealogy. I would go to the Ohio Historical Society and spend hours in the microfiche looking for family members in newspaper articles and books. I was drawn to know who they were… Read More The Mystery in Genealogy
Most of us have attended a few family reunions. Through the years, I have enjoyed gathering together, having a picnic with extended family, hearing stories of ancestors, and playing games to learn about the descendants of my great grandfather, Breneman Barr Bitner. In 2008, it was an extra special family reunion I will always cherish… Read More A Family Reunion on Both Sides of the Veil
Each week I hear from patrons and consultants at the Granite Family History Center about their experiences with temple and family history. It is exciting to learn of the joy to the heart and comfort to the soul they receive. It is so inspiring and rewarding to be involved in such a wonderful endeavor. In… Read More THE HEART AND SOUL OF FAMILY HISTORY
Elder Renlund has counseled, “When God directs us to do one thing, He often has many purposes in mind. Family history and temple work is not only for the dead, but blesses the living as well.” I would like to share an experience about how temple and family history work has blessed both the living… Read More Blessing the Living and the Dead
My sister Sandy loved doing genealogy. She died in 1998 and most of her research was done before she learned to use a computer. She wrote letters to vicars and libraries all over the world. She would always include a ten dollar bill in her requests and felt that this brought answers faster. She spent… Read More Not Just a Name on a Card
One day I took some women to the Family History Center. One was not a member of the church who was visiting from Florida. I helped her sign on to FamilySearch and she added her immediate family to her tree. I showed her how to search for records and right away we found a record in… Read More Memorable Experiences at the Center