Weekly Family History Activities

From Come, Follow Me :

April 3, 1836, was Easter Sunday. After helping administer the sacrament to Saints in the newly dedicated Kirtland Temple, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery found a quiet place behind a veil and bowed in silent prayer. Then, on this sacred day when Christians everywhere were commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the risen Savior Himself appeared in His temple, declaring, “I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain” (Doctrine and Covenants 110:4).

Jesus Christ lives.

Record Testimonies of Jesus Christ

To create an opportunity for those you love to be influenced by your testimony now and in the future, you can preserve a hand-written document by uploading it as a photo, and you can record your personal witness of Jesus Christ on FamilySearch using the FamilySearch Memories Audio app or the Record My Story feature on FamilySearch Discovery. 

Recording can be done individually, with family or others. Help young children write or record what they feel about Jesus. 

"'And we write according to our prophecies' [2 Nephi 25:26] suggests the wisdom of making a permanent record of our testimony of Christ. We understand that the testimonies we bear are 'recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon; and they rejoice over [us]' (D&C 62:3). Our own descendants and others may look upon and rejoice over our witness of Christ written or recorded for their benefit." Todd D. Christofferson Becoming a Witness of Christ

Testimonies of Ancestors

You might enjoy creating a booklet or a collection of any testimonies of the Savior from the records of your ancestors. See stories of the first converts in your family lines, and Ten Ways To Discover, Gather, and Share Ancestor Stories.

The Living Christ

(Click to enlarge) Print copies here. 

As a family, you may want to audio or video record members of your own family taking turns reading from The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles. You could also audio record it directly to FamilySearch using the FamilySearch Memories Audio app or on FamilySearch Discovery. 

Because of Jesus Christ, I will be resurrected.

From Come, Follow Me :

Look for truths about death and God’s eternal plan in Doctrine and Covenants 29:26–27; 42:45–46; 63:49; 88:14–17, 27–31; 93:33–34.

See: Easter.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

“The facts of Jesus' death and Resurrection are hailed by those of Christian denominations as fundamental tenets. However, what Jesus' immortal spirit did after His death and before His Resurrection is a mystery to all but the Latter-day Saints. And the significance of what He did during those hours provides the doctrinal foundation for building temples across the earth." Spencer J. Condie, The Savior’s Visit to the Spirit World 

"The dead who have not heard or who rejected the gospel in mortality are in darkness, or in a state of misery (see Alma 40:14; D&C 138:2). Yet because of our Savior's visit, we have a hope for their salvation. We may go to the temple and turn the key, opening the gates of heaven for them and, by our service, for ourselves. For we know "that they without us cannot be made perfect—neither can we without our dead be made perfect" (D&C 128:15). Mercy and justice combine to give all of our Father's children the opportunity to return to Him." (Read more here)

Work for the Dead

Our ancestors and others are being taught the gospel in the spirit world, and they need our help. 

While the gospel may be accepted by spirits in the spirit world, the ordinances of salvation must be performed for them by those who are living here on earth.

Watch this video from President Nelson: "You cannot imagine, my son, how many spirits there are in the spirit world who have not yet received the gospel ... But many are receiving it, and a great work is being accomplished. Many are anxiously looking forth to their friends who are still living to administer for them in the temples."

Read more about the story here. President Nelson invites us to gather Israel on both sides of the veil. Watch his General Conference talk to us all and his broadcast to the youth in which he states: "My dear extraordinary youth, you were sent to earth at this precise time, the most crucial time in the history of the world, to help gather Israel. There is nothing happening on this earth right now that is more important than that. There is nothing of greater consequence. Absolutely nothing.This gathering should mean everything to you. This is the mission for which you were sent to earth."

Here are some ways to find those who need ordinance work done, See How do I create a free FamilySearch account? 

• Ordinances Ready
• Descendancy Research
• The FamilySearch Fan Chart
• Temple Opportunities
• Printing Temple Names
• Reserved Ordinances

See also Latter-day Saint Youth: Ancestors To The Temple and FamilySearch In-Home Activities.

When you exercise faith, you will receive inspiration to find the information needed for the temple. As Quentin L. Cook taught, you should not "underestimate the influence of the deceased in assisting your efforts."

Read more about proxy work for the dead here, and decide how you and your family can do your part and receive the promised blessings for helping those who cannot do this work for themselves.

The Holy Week Activity

See Week 16, 2022. 

"In addition to the important verses about Easter in the New Testament, we as Latter-day Saints are endowed with a most remarkable Easter gift! A gift of unique witness, another testament of the Easter miracle that contains perhaps the most magnificent Easter scriptures in all of Christianity. I am referring of course to the Book of Mormon and, more specifically, to the account of Jesus Christ appearing to inhabitants in the New World in His resurrected glory...and beginning with 3 Nephi 11, it tells the magnificent story of the resurrected Christ's visit to the Nephites, the Savior’s Easter ministry. These Easter scriptures bear record of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.This Easter, our family is going to focus on the first 17 verses of 3 Nephi 11, with which you are familiar...

We hope to make these chapters in 3 Nephi as much a part of our Easter tradition as Luke 2 is of our Christmas tradition. In reality, the Book of Mormon shares the greatest Easter story ever told. Let it not be the greatest Easter story never told.

I invite you to look at the Book of Mormon in a new light and consider the profound witness it bears of the reality of the risen Christ as well as the richness and depth of the doctrine of Christ." Gary E. Stevenson, The Greatest Easter Story Ever Told

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Dear Viewers,

This Easter, as the Management Team of The Family History Guide Association, we express our love of Jesus Christ and share our collective witness that He is our Redeemer, our Mediator with the Father, and our Savior. We know He is grateful for all you do to further the work of salvation for all of God's children on both sides of the veil.

We pray that you will know who your companions can be on life's journey, as Elder Holland shares:

"Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path—the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel." General Conference April 2009

May the message of Easter bless your lives and those of your loved ones always.

With gratitude,
The Management Team of The Family History Guide