Category: Family History Activities

What Matters Most

  Mitchell’s Journey is a tender, heartbreaking, inspiring story about an incredible young boy who was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy at an early age, and eventually died from the disease. His father, Christopher M. Jones established a Facebook page to chronicle his son’s journey and continues to post photos, essays, and videos about Mitchell’s story. His personal reflections on...

The Human Knot

You may be familiar with the lively, entertaining, interactive activity The Human Knot. The instructions are simple: Gather as a family or group and stand in a cluster. Grab each other’s hands then try to untangle yourselves into a continuous circle without letting go of each other’s hands! What implications for family history can be found in this activity, and how...

The Power of Family Recipes

It may be making mom’s potato salad (though it never tastes quite as yummy) or mixing up grandpa’s famous peanut butter fudge that spurs childhood memories and turns an ordinary moment into a bonding one. Cooking recipes from our heritage can bring a sense of togetherness that spans generations by strengthening ties with the living and the dead. Family recipes are...

The Amazing Audio Feature of The FamilySearch Memories App

A few weeks ago, my husband and I took my eighty-seven-year-old father to visit his ninety-seven-year-old brother in a nearby city. Holding each other’s hands, they reminisced about memories such as planning to run away from home as young boys. They laughed at how their mom offered to make them sack lunches to take along in case they got hungry....

Stepping into the Shoes of Our Ancestors

As a professional costumer, I enjoy studying fashion trends and creating clothing that represents historical time periods and various cultures. I am continually fascinated by the transformation that takes place when a person dons the costume for a character he or she is portraying in a theatrical or film production, or even a family history home video or skit. Dressing...

Inside the Guide: Interviewing Relatives

As part of a recent research project, I was asked to conduct an interview with my oldest living relative. Being the shy and quiet person that I am, I felt a little uncomfortable with this task because I didn’t really want to interrogate my grandma. However, once I was with her and asking her questions, I recognized the long-term value...

Why Visiting Grandparents Matters More than We Might Think

So many people have wonderful memories of visiting grandparents over the years ( I sure do), but how many of us knew at the time there were so many resultant benefits from those visits–things that make a difference in varied and numerous aspects of the lives of both the visitors and the visited? Recording stories and memories during our visits...

New Video – Overview of Family History Activities in The Family History Guide

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but a video is worth a million! Check out this new video that gives an overview of some of the activities for families, individuals, youth, and children found in The Family History Guide. The activities tab is located on the menu of our home page. Reap the benefits of planning and participating...

Capturing Memories In A Family History Time Capsule

Today my maternal grandmother, May Catherine Rasmussen Clark, would have been 127 years old. She was my first piano teacher and her home was always warm and inviting–filled with homemade bread, hand-crafted toys, and the smell of fresh linen. For much of my young life, my siblings and I could walk from our house to her house in just a...

Tips for Hosting a Virtual Family Reunion

If you are planning a family reunion and face the challenge of how to gather everyone in the same place at the same time, this blog post is for you! In his 2016 RootsTech Video Presentation, Joseph Richardson offers a solution to the issue of families being spread far and wide: host a virtual family reunion! The Family History Guide Activities Section...