One Week. One Hundred Thousand Volunteers. Come Help “Fuel the Find*” Around the World!

The Worldwide Indexing Event is coming August 7-14, 2015, and this year it’s one week long! Join volunteers from around the world to help “Fuel the Find”*. You have one week to participate by indexing at least one batch in the language of your choice. If you are fluent in a non-English language, challenge yourself by helping to index in that language. We are especially looking for help indexing French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish records.

Learn More

Some of the Amazing Blessings from Family History

Our praise for the pioneers is empty if it does not cause inner reflection on our part

In the July Ensign, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf comments "As I think about our pioneer heritage, one of the most moving things that come to mind is the hymn “Come, Come, Ye Saints” (Hymns, no. 30). Those who made the long journey to the Salt Lake Valley often sang this hymn during their trek.

I am very much aware that all was not well with these Saints. They were plagued by sickness, heat, fatigue, cold, fear, hunger, pain, doubt, and even death.

But despite having every reason to shout, “All is not well,” they cultivated an attitude we cannot help but admire today. They looked beyond their troubles to eternal blessings. They were grateful in their circumstances. Despite evidence to the contrary, they sang with all the conviction of their souls, “All is well!”

Our praise for the pioneers is empty if it does not cause inner reflection on our part."

As we reflect on the significant achievements made by the pioneers in our families I hope we can appreciate how their sacrifice and commitment has blessed our lives. And as we do so, may we each reflect on how we can be more compassionate, more hard working, and more optimistic as we exercise faith in our lives in order to benefit our posterity.

Patriotic Duty...Where to Begin?

The American political system affords citizens a wide range of opportunities to participate in and influence the political process. Through voting, writing letters, contributing to campaigns, and even running for office, ordinary people can shape public policy.

The real questions are what do you do? 

and 

Where should you begin? 

This year as you prepare to celebrate your Freedom and contemplate on your patriotic duty, consider taking a free online course like this one:

"An American Citizen's Guide to Government and Politics" 
provided free to everyone courtesy of Brigham Young University's Independent Study program.

Free Online Courses in Family History and Genealogy at BYU Independent Studies

Did you know that Brigham Young University Independent Study offers 10 Free online courses for Family History and Genealogy Research? 

Here is a complete list of all free courses offered online at BYU Independent Study.

There are also three free online courses for Family History and Genealogy Basics:

• FHGEN 070 — Introduction to Family History Research
• FHGEN 075 — Writing Family History
• FHGEN 080 — Helping Children Love Your Family History

Three free courses for various types of record searches:

• FHREC 071 — Family Records
• FHREC 073 — Vital Records
• FHREC 076 — Military Records

and Four free courses for researching various regional and ethnic searches:

• FHFRA 071 — French Research
• FHGER 071 — Germany Research
• FHHUG 071 — Huguenot Research
• FHSCA 073 — Scandinavia Research

FAMILY HISTORY SITES / RESOURCES / TOOLS

Please don't let the following list of resources overwhelm you. This post is intended to be a collection of all resources used in our Family History Class. It is doubtful that you will actually use more than a handful of these great resources on your own. They are simply provided here so you can know where to find all resources used in class in one simple place.

TOOLS & RESOURCES TO GET YOU STARTED

www.FamilySearch.org

www.Ancestry.com

www.Puzilla.org - leverages FamilySearch.org information to find cousins

Getting Started with Indexing - https://familysearch.org/indexing/get-started-indexer

www.rootstech.org - an annual conference with great speakers, genealogy experts, and great tips on how to get started. Some videos from previous years are available online.

L.D.S. LEARNING LIBRARY

1. Learning Center - https://familysearch.org/learningcenter/home.html
2. Learn about Family History (mormon.org) - http://www.mormon.org/values/family-history
3. Beginning Genealogy Courses - Complete series of 5-Minute Videos - https://familysearch.org/learningcenter/home.html
4. Family History Topics - https://www.lds.org/topics/family-history?lang=eng

• Youth Temple Challenge - https://www.lds.org/topics/family-history/temple-challenge?lang=eng
• Family Home Evening - https://www.lds.org/topics/family-history/family-home-evening?lang=eng
• Prophets Speak - https://www.lds.org/topics/family-history/prophets-speak?lang=eng
• Roots Tech - https://www.lds.org/topics/family-history/family-discovery-day?lang=eng
• Youth and Family History - https://www.lds.org/youth/family-history?lang=eng
• Sunday Lesson - https://www.lds.org/callings/temple-and-family-history/sunday-lesson?lang=eng
• Manuals - https://www.lds.org/callings/temple-and-family-history/leader-resources/leaders-guide-to-turn-the-hearts?lang=eng
• Family History Callings - https://www.lds.org/callings/temple-and-family-history?lang=eng
• Ward and Stake Leaders - https://www.lds.org/callings/temple-and-family-history/leader-resources?lang=eng
• Videos - https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/categories/family-history
• Full- and Part-time Missionaries - https://www.lds.org/topics/service/family-history?lang=eng
• Help & Technical Support - https://familysearch.org/ask/#/

ANCESTRY.COM

1. Learning Center - http://www.ancestry.com/cs/HelpAndAdviceUS
2. First Steps - http://www.ancestry.com/cs/Satellite?childpagename=USLearningCenter%2FLearning_C%2FPageDefault&pagename=LearningWrapper&cid=1265124577005
3. Next Steps - http://www.ancestry.com/cs/Satellite?childpagename=USLearningCenter%2FLearning_C%2FPageDefault&pagename=LearningWrapper&cid=1265124601069
4. What's New - http://www.ancestry.com/cs/Satellite?childpagename=USLearningCenter%2FLearning_C%2FPageDefault&pagename=LearningWrapper&cid=1265124574476
5. Family History Wiki - http://www.ancestry.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

Family History Centers

Main - Family History Library 35 North West Temple (801) 240-2584 https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Family_History_Library

Local - 1240 East 500 South (801) 299-4245 https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Bountiful_Utah_Heights_Family_History_Center

Family History Consultants

Stake - Kevin & Shauna Robins

Ward - Tracey Bryant, Sydney Garner, Doug Jessop, Annie Page, Austin Phelps

Software and Mobile Apps

Family Tree Mobile App - https://familysearch.org/campaign/mobile/tree?cid=hp-1538

Family Tree Maker (by Ancestry.com) - http://www.ancestry.com/cs/apps/products?o_xid=59013&o_lid=59013&o_sch=Direct

Family History - Getting Started with Online Indexing

Indexing is for everyone! Whether you are new to family history or are one of the people who claim that "my family history work was all done by great Aunt Patty," there is always plenty of work to do with indexing. And with today's tools, online indexing is easy. So whether you are looking for a fun, new, full-time hobby or if you just want to pitch in when you can, there are plenty of projects to get involved in and many can be done in as few as ten minutes.

Here are a few helpful links to help you get started:

• Indexing - A Quick Start
• Here is a complete PDF guide that you can print and keep as a handy reference.
• Indexing Complete List of Online Resources
• A step-by-step Guided Tutorial
• Try indexing for yourself in this Test Drive
• Learn how your efforts can make a BIG difference in this video explaining why "Indexing is Vital"

Sign on with Family Search Indexing now!