Thoughts on Changes and their impact on Family History

A number of major and minor changes have been announced in the last two sessions of the General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some of these changes will directly or indirectly affect those members who are interested in pursuing family history activities. Teaching genealogy in the Church has a long, although somewhat inconsistent history. The earliest formal attempt to teach members that I can find is this set of lessons first published some time before 1915. Here is a screenshot of the third edition cover.

https://archive.org/details/lessonsingenealo00gene/page/n1

The Genealogical Society of Utah was established in 1894 and continued to be the main agent of the Church for promoting genealogical research to the present. Currently, it is doing business as FamilySearch. Piecing out this history is quite difficult. The best reference is the following book published back in 1995.

Allen, James B, Jessie L Embry, and Kahlile B Mehr. Hearts Turned to the Fathers: A History of the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1894-1994. Provo, Utah: BYU Studies, Brigham Young University, 1995.

There are still copies of this book available on Amazon.com although they are becoming more expensive to acquire. There is a Kindle book edition that is reasonably priced.

Over the years, there have been times when teaching genealogical skills were promoted more by the Church than other times. At times, formal classes for both adults and children were implemented and then abandoned subsequently over the years there is quite a legacy of family history manuals and publications both by individuals sponsored by the Church and by those who published independently. I have acquired quite a library of these old manuals.

That brings us to the most recent practices. For many years, the leaders of the Wards and Stakes of the Church have been encouraged to call "Family History Consultants." During that same time, there has been a succession of supporting materials including manuals, CDs and DVDs. The support usually focused on holding a "Family History Class" during the Sunday School hour of the three-hour block of meetings on Sunday. Dating back to about 1962, the Church has been implementing "Family History Centers" around the world. The first of these was started at Brigham Young University inside the main Harold B. Lee Library on the Brigham Young University Campus. There are now more than 5000 of these Centers around the world. More recently, a few of the Family History Centers and Libraries have been augmented by adding "Family Discovery Centers."

The commitment of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to family history and genealogy is based on revealed scriptures. See the following:

• Family History
• Temples
• Baptisms for the Dead

As I have written several times previously, during our travels around the United States and Canada and while working at the Mesa FamilySearch Library and the BYU Family History Library, we have found that many, if not most, of the people, called as Family History Consultants or Temple and Family History Consultants are given very little, if any, training and about the same level of support. There are always notable exceptions, by and large even if members of a ward or stake are somewhat involved in family history, they are not aware of the Temple and Family History Consultants. I have very recently observed individuals being presented for sustaining vote as Temple and Family History Consultants when the person doing the sustaining did not even recognize the correct name of the calling. 

What will change from now until the beginning of 2019 when most of the recent changes go into effect? 

From the standpoint of the Temple and Family History Consultants who have relied on contact with the members during Sunday School, that contact will likely be curtailed. In fact, the instructions specifically indicate that Temple and Family History classes or meetings will not occur during the now two-hour block of meetings. Quoting from the enclosure to the First Presidency letter dated October 6, 2018:

Other courses, such as those for strengthening marriage and family, temple preparation, missionary preparation, and family history, will not be held during the second hour. However, at the bishop’s discretion and based on local needs, these courses may be taught at other times for individuals, families, or groups.

Does this change the present policies and instructions to Temple and Family History Consultants? No.

Here is a quote from Learn How to Help Others from the training for Temple and Family History Consultants on FamilySearch.org:

As a temple and family history consultant, you help individuals increase their love of family and build connections to their ancestors and our Heavenly Father through personalized family history experiences.

This is best accomplished by working with someone in their own home or as an alternative in a local Family History Center. We do this by talking to individuals and asking them if we can help them find names from their own families to take to the temples.

What about the Stake and Ward Temple and Family History Consultants? Well, there have also been a few changes in the Elders Quorum since the Elders Quorum was combined with the High Priests Group. The responsibility for Temple and Family History and Missionary Work on the Ward level has changed. The Bishop still has overall responsibility, but the Elders Quorum President and his counselors may be given those responsibilities.

Although there have been scheduling and organizational changes, the basic responsibilities of Temple and Family History Consultants and individual members have not changed. I will still be working to help people find their ancestors individually or when asked, in classes, webinars, seminars, and conferences.