Family. Ancestors. All the great-greats.
Yesterday morning I was clearing my inbox and opened an article about changes to newfamilysearch.org. I learned that in 2013 the current family history program will be retired and all the information will migrate to a program called Family Tree. The article said the new program could be accessed now so I decided to explore it a little bit and learn how it works.
For starters it seems to be much more user-friendly than the learning curve was with newfamilysearch. I didn't take the tutorials, I just clicked on things and looked around. My usual frustration with Neal's family line where so much work needs to be done is still a problem. People have reserved lots of names but still haven't done the work.
Rant: I don't care who does the work, but don't just reserve it and then let it sit for several years. Do something!
Ahem.
Anyway, I updated some details in Neal's family history and then decided to look at my family lines to see how far back they go. Back several hundred years (1600 and 1700's) I noticed little green arrows.
What?
Temple ordinances to be done?
Seriously?
Having no idea how the new program handles those details I just clicked on things that seemed logical and found myself on the correct screens.
(Deep breath)
I found 17 people on my own family line who are in need of temple ordinances. Seventeen. All of them have had the preparatory ordinances but need to be sealed, either to parents or to a spouse. It looks like work was done for them as individuals but the connections to parents or spouses hadn't happened.
For the record my family have been members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since the early days of the restoration. Ancestors were baptized, mostly in England, came to America and settled in the mountain west. Generation after generation in the church. "Doing genealogy" in our family consisted in great part of copying the records of others in the family and compiling a nice book of remembrance. (Remember those?) Too many of us probably felt that the work had "all been done" and there wasn't much for us to do unless we could afford to either go to England or hire researchers to do original research. Temple work for ancestors was something other people did.
I cannot begin to tell you how humble I feel about finding these names. I'm sure some of them are duplicates with a different birth date or other detail but some of them are truly in need of ordinances.
I sent emails to my siblings and asked if they wanted to help. Of course their replies were enthusiastic. The opportunity to be proxy for work on our own family line seems like such a privilege and I know they felt the same thrill.
At 4:30 this morning I received an urgent text message from a friend who needed help so I threw on some clothes and left. Because I'm up so early I will have time today to take the FOR sheets to the temple (Family Ordinance Requests) and have the cards printed.
2 comments:
That is really neat. I'll have to check out the new program! I remember when I was in 3rd grade, my greatest desire was to have my own book of remembrance. Mom and Dad promised me that if I could get so many spelling tests with 100%, then I could have my own, and I earned it! I still have it...with nothing in it! ;) So grateful for the new technology to get the work done faster and more efficiently!
That is so great Joan. I need to check out the new program too. I had a Book of Remembrance too. With very little in it. We've come a long way in the technology department.
I love how lots of little things (just meandering on the website, your friend needing help) contributed to this. Its a reminder to me that Heavenly Father is in the little details of our lives.
Post a Comment