Family History: More Than Work for the Dead

A zebra sticking his nose into an old, blue car.

Family history isn’t just for the salvation of our ancestors. As we learn about our ancestors, their example strengthens us. I always felt like family history was for old people, so when Elder David A. Bednar gave his talk “The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn” in October 2011, I immediately… Continue reading

Where Is My Happily Ever After?

A woman holding an apple

It may be hard to believe that our imperfect families can be happy together forever, but if we are able to forgive, we will see blessings. Families can be hard to live with. Whether it’s trying to understand someone we don’t get along with or talking to family members who… Continue reading

Finding Yourself in the Faces of your Ancestors

an image of a man and woman holding a baby and a toddler

Find out which of your ancestors you look like with FamilySearch’s new feature, Compare-a-Face. Family history is an important responsibility for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and we have been asked to learn about our ancestors. This responsibility can be enjoyable; as we learn more… Continue reading

Obtaining Salvation for You and Your Ancestors

black and white photographs

By doing temple work for our ancestors, we develop gratitude and love for them and recognize the significant role we play in their salvation. Cynthia Doxey, associate professor of Church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University, says that we are “noble and great ones” who can help our ancestors… Continue reading

The Blessings from Connecting with Our Ancestors

hands opening a black and white family picture book

Connecting with and learning from our ancestors is a simple way for us to receive a multitude of blessings, including increased faith and strength. Family history work—the act of learning and discovering more about our ancestors—is a way that we can connect with our family. The simple effort of researching… Continue reading

The Healing Power of Family History

A woman laughing with her grandmother in a garden

As we link generations by doing family history work and performing temple ordinances, God promises to send us healing blessings. Shortly after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, President Russell M. Nelson addressed The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with a talk entitled “Hear Him.” Due to government… Continue reading

The Law of His Nature Is Love

Hand holding two black and white photos of ancestors.

Love is bound into the eternities through saving ordinances. Love is patient, love is kind, love is binding. Christ teaches us to love one another under all circumstances, regardless of one’s religion, ethnicity, political views, sexual orientation, or other potentially dividing differences. This belief is surely a tenet of many religions;… Continue reading

Did Joseph Smith Write about Your Ancestors?

Joseph Smith Papers

Are your ancestors mentioned in the pages of Church history during Joseph Smith’s day? Find out through a quick and easy—and free—search. One day, after venturing onto the Joseph Smith Papers website, I discovered the search engine designed specifically for finding individuals’ names in the site’s collection of documents. The… Continue reading

Family History: How Do We Even Start?

Young adult woman holding temple cards

We know we need to do family history, but the mere thought can be overwhelming. What should we do? Why should we care about people who exist as little more than names on a piece of paper? Recently, President Russell M. Nelson has emphasized the importance of gathering Israel and… Continue reading

Family History: Why Is This Even a Thing?

Group of women on laptops

Why should sorting through the names of people I don’t even know be important in my own life? Family history. We’ve all heard of it. But several friends have mentioned to me that family history work just seems too complicated and, honestly, just not worth their time. Since I am… Continue reading