Temple and Family History Consultants

https://www.lds.org/callings/temple-and-family-history/guide/temple-family-history-consultant?lang=eng

For administrative purposes, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is divided into large geographic areas directed by an Area Authority Seventy. The Church is then further divided into Stakes and Wards. The newly organized Temple and Family History Consultants follow this administrative pattern. There are Temple and Family History Consultants at the Ward, Stake, and Area level.

From my experience, I would guess that very few members, other than some Bishops and most Stake Presidents, could name their Area Authority Seventy. Even fewer would be aware that there are Area Temple and Family History Consultants. Usually, a married couple are called to jointly served in this calling. The Areas of the Church can consist of a number of Stakes, sometimes as many as twenty or so. The calling of Area Family History Consultants has existed for many years. Some of these Consultants have been serving for as long as fifteen years or longer. While I was serving in the Mesa FamilySearch Library in Mesa, Arizona, I often worked closely with the Area Family History Consultants. As with the other level consultants, Area Family History Consultants became Area Temple and Family History Consultants.

With the reorganization of the Temple and Family History work in the Church, the Stakes are instructed to call their own Temple and Family History Consultants. These Stake consultants are now to be supported and trained by the Area Temple and Family History Consultants under the direction of the Area Authority Seventy. As with any change, so far, few of the Stakes have begun calling Stake level Temple and Family History Consultants.

One of the most common complaints from Ward level Family History Consultants has been a lack of training. Now with the changes, there should be a direct line of support and help from the Stake level to the Wards and from the Area level to the Stakes. Resources for this training are being provided on the LDS.org website. See the links above.