FamilySearch Indexing -- Benefit to the entire genealogical community

If you have wondered if your efforts at indexing the Historical Record Collections for FamiySearch.org is having an effect, you really only need to go to the list of updated records to see what is happening. In a recent blog post from FamilySearch it was noted that "FamilySearch Adds More Than 9.5 Million Indexed Records and Images to Collections from Argentina, BillionGraves, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, and the United States." These are records indexed by volunteers helping to make all of these millions of records more useful.

In another touching blog post had a story written by Carlos Alberto Serrano, Family History Area Advisor in the Brazil Juiz de Fora Mission. His experience shows how Indexing can be a powerful tool to help activate youth as well as give an eternal perspective to all the youth in a ward or stake.

Yet another post from FamilySearch talks about "Indexing Presentations That Motivate and Inspire." The post includes the reminder that many great resources are available on lds.org and on the stake indexing director callings page that you can include in your presentations and training. Even though these suggestions are aimed at Stake Indexing Directors, they are also useful on the ward level. Even more useful information for motivation is contained in another blog post entitled, "Peer-to-Peer: How can I motivate and retain current volunteers?" I think one of these example is interesting:

L. Butler, from Idaho, United States“I decided there was strength in numbers, and I try and get everyone to do it. As of today, I have 1,090 indexers in my stake. I email each of them at the beginning of the month with a YouTube video, a training link, a letter of appreciation and encouragement, and a table showing how many names each ward has indexed and arbitrated. This always gives a few of them motivation. It also gets indexing back on their minds as well as on the minds of priesthood leaders. Everyone should be involved in some aspect of family history throughout their lives.”

This is an idea of what can be accomplished by one dedicated individual working with support from his Stake leaders.