10 Updated Suggestions for Ward Temple and Family History Consultants

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

I have been reading some interesting online comments recently in response to the talks given by Elder Dale G. Renlund, Elder Gary E. Stevenson, and Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at a Temple and Family History Leadership Meeting held on Thursday, February 28, 2019, during RootsTech 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. In light of the newly clarified policies announced in this meeting and after thinking about the messages of the talks that were given, I have 10 Suggestions for Temple and Family History Consultants.

I have served as both a Ward Temple and Family History Consultant and as an Area Temple and Family History Consultant and as expressed by Elder Rasband at the beginning of his talk, over the course of many years, I have yet to have any Ward or Stake leader instruct me in the duties or responsibilities of my callings. I guess under these circumstances I often recall the counsel of Section 107 of the Doctrine and Covenants, quoted as follows in verses 99 and 100:

99 Wherefore, now let every man learn his duty, and to act in the office in which he is appointed, in all diligence. 

100 He that is slothful shall not be counted worthy to stand, and he that learns not his duty and shows himself not approved shall not be counted worthy to stand. Even so. Amen.

I would note that there doesn't seem to be any mention in these two verses about someone else's responsibility to teach us all our duty to learn to act in the offices to which we are appointed. Hmm. Perhaps the term "personal initiative" could be appropriately be applied to the situation of being called as a Temple and Family History Consultant? Here is my first suggestion:

Suggestion #1: When you are called as a Temple and Family History Consultant take the initiative to review the massive amount of information available to you online about your duties. 

You can start with all of the instructions on the ChurchofJesusChrist.org website. You might also want to watch the Temple and Family History Leadership Meeting online. Here is a list of links to the pertinent instruction to get started.

• https://www.lds.org/family-history/temple-family-history-consultant?lang=eng
• http://www.familysearch.org/calling
• Family History Lessons and Training Presentations

Suggestion #2: If you have any concerns about your ability to teach others how to use the FamilySearch.org website, take advantage of The Family History Guide's instructions.

Knowledge is power and any concerns you might have about teaching someone how to use the FamilySearch.org website including the Family Tree to help people find their ancestors are answered in the vast resources of The Family History Guide. If you or anyone you talk to is at all concerned about using this website, please be aware that it is linked directly from both the ChurchofJesusChrist.org and FamilySearch.org, although the links are somewhat obscure. Before those links were established, the website had to go through Church correlation and pass review. 

Suggestion #3: If you have any doubts about your ability to help others find the names of their ancestors to take to the Temples learn about the Ordinances Ready app.

In the past, there has been an emphasis on finding "green icon" on the FamilySearch.org Family Tree as a method of obtaining family names that are ready for Temple ordinances. These ubiquitous icons still exist but the emphasis for obtaining existing names has changed dramatically. The Ordinances Ready app, located on FamilySearch.org under the menu item for Temple, has an entirely different focus. In his talk at RootsTech 2019, my cousin Ron Tanner, the FamilySearch Family Tree Product Manager (his job title may have changed), outlined the sources of the names obtained by the Ordinances Ready app. The app obtains the names from the following sources, in order:

1. It pulls names from your own reservation list on FamilySearch.org

2. It pulls from any ordinances you personally have shared with the Temples

3. It pulls names related to you from the global temple list of shared names

4. It finally walks up and down your lines looking for other available ordinances (i.e. green icons)

5. If none of these work, it pulls a name of an ancestor from the global temple list

Since most of the names it will find have already been released to the Temples, considerations of duplicates and errors should not be a concern. These names are already reserved and if there are duplications and errors, there is not much you can do especially with those you have on your own reserved list. But I would suggest that before doing the ordinances, that you check the ID numbers of the people on the cards to see if, by chance, the ordinances you are planning on doing have already been done. 

There is presently a large backlog of names waiting to be done at the Temples. This may change in the future, but right now, it is a good idea to work on the names already submitted if you cannot or do not care to do any actual research. 

Suggestion #4: Learn about doing actual genealogical research from the huge collection of resources on YouTube.com

The Brigham Young University Family History Library has over 400 instructional videos on its BYU Family History Libray YouTube Channel and this is just a start. There are almost endless resources online about how to get started with genealogical research. Think about this, many times during our journey through life, we may be called to Church callings that we know little or nothing about. For example, you may have been called to be a Scoutmaster or a Relief Society President. When you were called, I suspect that no one told you how to do your job. But if you were diligent, you soon found out about available training either online or from meetings. Don't wait around until someone trains you. You must be proactive. See Suggestion #1 above.

Suggestion #5: Stop fixating on changes in the FamilySearch Family Tree.

I am getting pretty tired of criticism of the FamilySearch.org Family Tree. I don't want to go back over the issues and the unproductive comments and complaints that people make about the Family Tree again right now but I do reserve the right to make comments in the future. Right now, if you want to start with something positive watch some of all of the following videos on the subject:

• Family Tree-Why it works and why it doesn't
• Why Use the FamilySearch Family Tree
• Untangling the Mess on the FamilySearch Family Tree

These videos will give you answers to some of the complaints and concerns but there are a lot of other places to go for further information if you look.

Suggestion #6: Watch as many videos by Ron Tanner as you can find online.

Ron is both entertaining and informative. He is the authority on the FamilySearch.org Family Tree and is the best source of accurate information. The simple way to begin learning about the Family Tree is to search for "Ron Tanner FamilySearch" on Google. That will give you hours of enjoyment and instruction. You can also see his Facebook page Family History Ron. 

Suggestion #7: Get involved in the real genealogical community.

Most members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints think that genealogy is something done only by some older Church members. They have no idea that genealogy is a fairly common activity by others outside of the Church all around the world. To get some idea of the interest level in your community or county or state, look for a "genealogical society" in your area. Simply do a Google search for "genealogical society near me" and see what happens. You will be surprised to find out that there are people in your area who are dedicated to finding their ancestors and who have nothing to do with the Church. Consider joining and supporting their society. 

Suggestion #8: Start asking people around you, particularly in Church meetings, if they need help with finding their ancestors.

You might be surprised to learn that people actually do need help. Once again the key here is being proactive. If you think people are going to call you for help merely because they sustained you in a Church meeting, you are sadly mistaken. However, don't be a nag or a bother. Good people skills are a positive virtue for Temple and Family History Consultants. Telling people all about your personal research and all your problems with the Family Tree is not a particularly good way to garner interest in family history. Happily offering and actually providing help and resources is a good way to start. 

Suggestion #9: Don't keep making your leaders feel guilty about family history.

You do your job and let them do theirs. Do not get obsessed with the fact that you are "not getting the support I need" from your leaders. Not many of them have any interest in doing their own family history much less helping you or others. Sometimes being ignored is a very good thing. Think about my next suggestion carefully. Take some time to talk to people around you about family history and offer to help them personally. Follow through. Yes, you will have to spend some time talking and teaching, but not in a formal classroom setting. No one learns family history in a classroom. They learn it by doing their own work and if they need help, you need to be there to help them. 

Suggestion #10: Learn all you can about genealogy, genealogical research, computers, family history apps, and family history and then share it with others, one-by-one, on their computers when possible.

I think this last suggestion sounds a little bit like my first suggestion. Over the years, I have seen many people who knew little or nothing about family history or genealogy become competent teachers and mentors over time. The one thing I enjoy the most is learning something new. I spend part of every day learning something new. Right now, I am learning (for the third time) how to do videos and put them online. Of course, my subject matter will be genealogy, but I always start with the hardest subject I can find and then learn all I can about it. To do your job as a Temple and Family History Consultant, you need to start learning and keep learning. When we stop learning, we start dying.