Youth Activities

Latter-day Saint Youth Activities

Overview: When Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, “Your fingers have been trained to text and tweet to accelerate and advance the work of the Lord—not just to communicate quickly with your friends,” he was talking about you - the youth of the church! “I encourage you to study, to search out your ancestors, and to prepare yourselves to perform proxy baptisms in the house of the Lord for your kindred dead” (Oct. 2011 general conference). Family history activities are a way to get to know those for whom you will do temple work, find information about them to document their lives, and help others learn how to find names of their ancestors. They are also a way to connect with your living family, and make fun family history memories.

The LDS.org Youth and Family History site provides tips on how to get started on family history, as well as videos and advice from other youth who have become involved in family history, and messages from Church leaders. Check out the LDS.org Family History Page for help in getting started with FamilySearch, ideas for talks, lessons, and activities, Rootstech presentations, and much more.

Y8-01: Early Church Ancestors
Find out the names of your earliest ancestors who joined the Church. Where were they baptized and how did the Church change their lives? Make a book of the conversion stories. These stories could be sent with missionaries when they go to share the gospel. See this FamilySearch blog for details.

Y8-02: Family History Youth Conference
Learn how to organize and work with your leaders to plan a family history youth conference.

Y8-03: Family Traditions
Learn about the power of family traditions in drawing families closer together and appreciating their history.

Y8-04: Taking Ancestors to the Temple
Learn about your ancestors and prepare their names for the temple with help on LDS.org and in The Family History Guide. Watch the video on the left to learn about Elder Anderson's challenge. You can also help 11-year-old children prepare names to take to the temple when they turn 12. See the announcement about new temple and family history opportunities for youth here.

Y8-05: Indexing—a Fun and Helpful Service Activity
As you create indexes to help family history researchers find what they need you are performing a valuable service. Plan indexing get-togethers with family and friends to multiply the fun. To get started with web indexing, see Project 5: Indexing in The Family History Guide, this FamilySearch blog post, and more videos like this one from the LDS.org Youth Site. Read these inspirational stories from youth about their family history experiences.

Y8-06: Embark on a Family History Activity (YM/YW)
Punch your passport for an exciting youth family history activity.

Y8-07: Preserve Living Memories
Interview living relatives or people in your ward to help document their treasured stories and memories. Encourage other youth to visit a living relative and record an interview that can later be transcribed and entered in FamilySearch tree. For more info, see this LDS.org article.

*Y8-08: Sanctifying the Sabbath with Family History
Learn about 10 ways to sanctify the Sabbath day with family history, including family history research, finding temple ordinances that need to be done, keeping family records, uploading memories to Family Tree, and taking a walk through a cemetery to photograph headstones for BillionGraves.com, a FamilySearch partner. Watch this video to discover what President Nelson counsels us to do, so we can "Make the Sabbath a Delight."

Y8-09: Helping Others with Photos and Documents
You can help others add photos and documents to their FamilySearch trees. Find instructions in FamilySearch Project 2: Memories in The Family History Guide.

Y8-10: Cemeteries and Smartphones
Who knew they could be a great pair! Check out this article to learn more, and the Temple and Family History Youth Activities page to learn how to get started making photographing headstones with your phone, and how you can make a difference. Learn about your own ancestors and, if you live close enough, photograph and preserve a record of their headstones. You can also do research to find graves at FindAGrave and BillionGraves.

Find more activities here: 1. Anytime Activities   2. Plan-Ahead Activities   3. Making Family History   4. Documenting the Past   5. Social Media Activities   6. Service Activities   7. Activities for Research