Genealogy from the perspective of a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon, LDS)

Saturday, December 30, 2017

Do your own job, don't expect help from others

https://www.lds.org/callings/temple-and-family-history?lang=eng
Temple and Family History Consultants at the Ward or Stake level have a clear mandate as set forth in Understanding Your Calling on LDS.org:

The primary responsibility of all temple and family history consultants is to give personalized help to leaders and families, enabling them to:
 
Find the names of deceased ancestors, and gather their families on both sides of the veil.

 
Take the names to the temple, and provide necessary ordinances for them.

 
Teach their family members and others to do the same.
Once you have been called, you should start doing your job. See the links and instructions on LDS.org. During the years I have been a Family History Consultant and then a Temple and Family History Consultant, I was mostly ignored by the Ward leaders. But I recognized that I didn't need their help or support to do my calling. I could talk to Ward members personally and offer my help in finding names to take to the Temple. I could help them in their homes, in my home or at a Family History Center or Library. I had all of the tools on LDS.org including The Family History Guide to help me with my work in the Ward.

Before Church meetings and during times when I am with Ward members, I ask them if they need help in finding their ancestors' names to take to the Temple. Most of them respond negatively at first, but by persisting in friendshipping them and offering to provide support and help, ultimately my efforts always result in lots of opportunities to assist.

Now I am a Full-time FamilySearch missionary. Now, I can help even more people to have a Find-Take-Teach experience. I had several such opportunities while in the Missionary Training Center and now I am starting to have those opportunities with those around me in Maryland.

Quoting again from LDS.org, "How to Organize:"
Temple and family history consultant: Temple and family history consultants have the primary responsibility to proactively help members have personalized, one-on-one experiences finding their ancestors, performing temple ordinances on behalf of those ancestors, and teaching their family members or friends to do the same. Some temple and family history consultants at the area, stake, or ward level may be assigned to support indexing efforts, serve in the family history center, or train other temple and family history consultants.
Do your own job, don't expect help from others but feel grateful and blessed if you do receive help. 

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