Finding a Cousin Who Needs Temple Work on FamilySearch Family Tree

A new link appeared on my FamilySearch.org startup page today. Here is a screenshot of the link:

I must admit that I feel a sense of trepidation when I seen this kind of invitation. It harks back to the days of the green arrows on New.FamilySearch.org when there were hundreds of duplicate names created and submitted for Temple work from my family alone. The idea has somehow gotten ingrained in the family history community that FamilySearch Family Tree is somehow an endless source of names to take to the Temple.

You might not see the same links because these links are contextual and show up depending on your particular circumstances and ancestry.

I was pleasantly surprised that this particular link led to a page that expanded the simplistic view that mining Family Tree was the way to produce "names." Here is a screenshot of the next page in this series:

These options showed different aspects of the new descendancy view in the Family Tree program. Although the introduction emphasized how "easy" this process could be, otherwise, the concepts were sound and a refreshing change from the idea that the Family Tree program is an endless source of names. There still seems to be a fear that telling people they may actually have to do something besides click green icons will somehow drive them away from genealogy and family history, but all in all, this approach is a very positive step towards helping members with families that have belonged to the Church for years to find available research opportunities. However, there is still very, very little support for those who need to "add missing family members to Family Tree." This is especially true if we are talking about family members who lived in the 1800s or before.