Latter-day Saint Youth: Heritage

Learn about Your Ancestors

Where do you fit in your family tree? Who has gone before you and what were they like? What is the lineage as declared in your patriarchal blessing? What have you inherited from your ancestors? Where are your "homelands?" Discovering your heritage is all part of the gathering of your family on both sides of the veil!

Discover Where You Are From

From FamilySearch: Where Am I From?

"Find where your ancestors are from—and ultimately where you are from!" You need to have a free FamilySearch account and four generations entered into your family tree. You will be able to see where your ancestors lived, traveled, and where they migrated to different countries.

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You will see a flag and the percentage of your family members in the tree that lived in a country. You can also learn more about the country's food, recipes, family life, social customs, fun facts, and traditions.

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Timelines show you where your relatives were at a specific time in history [and in relation to historical events]."

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You can upload photos, stories, and documents or hear audio stories. Have fun making discoveries!

Virtual Homeland Visits

Once you discover the homelands of your ancestors, try Google Earth Street View to "walk" the streets (including any of the places found on this map).

Check out this tutorial on Google Earth. With Google Earth, you can find a unique view of an area on a specific date. See Eight things you can do with Google Earth. This is so fun it just may make your family's top ten favorite activities list!

Note: This podcast explains how easy it is to turn your information into a video.

Learn about countries and do research with the Countries page in The Family History Guide.

Pioneers Who Paved The Way

Some of you may learn about your Pioneer Ancestors and Nauvoo Relatives on FamilySearch.

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While many of you have pioneer ancestors, all church members have a shared heritage of those who helped prepare the world for the restoration (see What Had to Happen?), those who were part of the restoration, and those who forged and followed the trail to Zion in the early days of the church.

Many who have gone on before are forging new paths on the other side of the veil as they accept the gospel!

Perhaps you are the pioneer in your family! Read about this young pioneer who converted from Hinduism—what an example of faith! Your Ancestors Are Watching

See these FamilySearch activities to get to know your ancestors and benefit from their experiences. Record your own testimony for your posterity. Check out this activity: Five Things that Represent You.

Family Heritage Recipes

From FamilySearch: "Family recipes tell a story. They're often connected to people, places, and special memories. They have a who, a where, and a why. You're making family history when you prepare and eat these foods with your family."

Find the recipe for sweet potato pie and read more about the Reed family's tradition here.

FamilySearch: "Take some time to write down who has shared family recipes with you. Where did the recipes come from? Why are they meaningful to you? Even better, share your family recipes online by uploading them to the FamilySearch Memories App. Here they will be preserved and accessible to your family members and friends near and far."

You can share on social media, too. See Share Your Family's Food Story for more fun ideas and videos.

The Temples of Your Ancestors

Check out My Ancestor's Temples to see if, where, and when your ancestors were endowed and sealed.

What is your favorite temple? Record your temple experiences and feelings to share with those you love.

Your Missionary Heritage

From FamilySearch: "We're all part of a great missionary heritage. Whether your ancestors preached the gospel in far-off places hundreds of years ago or you're the one leading the way in creating your family's missionary story, we all have a connection to someone who made sacrifices, great or small, to share the good news of the gospel. These stories connect us, inspire us, and show us the conviction and faith found in our roots."

Find out which of your ancestors served missions, where they served, and then Celebrate Your Missionary Heritage.

Research your missionary ancestors in the Church History Database to find their names in mission records. How are you inspired by them, and what are your own mission plans?

You may also want to consider creating a collection of the stories of the first converts in your family lines.

Discover Your Lineage

"Your patriarchal blessing declares your lineage, or the specific tribe of the twelve tribes of Jacob (who was later called Israel) to which you belong. Though we are not all literal descendants of Jacob, the scriptures teach us that Church members are adopted into the house of Israel.

Your patriarchal blessing may also describe any related blessings that accompany your particular tribe. For instance, many members of the Church belong to the tribe of Ephraim, a tribe that has the unique responsibility to spread the message of the restored gospel to the world." Read more in Understanding Your Patriarchal Blessing.

See this website to order copies of your deceased ancestors' patriarchal blessings.

Interview Living Family Members

"Spend some time talking to the older members of your family; your parents, grandparents and maybe even your great grandparents. You will be surprised at the amount of intriguing stories from yesteryear that they will only be too happy to pass on to their younger progeny. Amongst the tales and the photograph albums may very well be recollections of good times and hard times, life during peace and war, political and economic turmoil, and also of voyages to new lands to seek better lives for themselves and their descendants."

"Exploring one's heritage and family tree is a humbling and rewarding experience that can truly awaken the 'real me' in each one of us. Your heritage is a gift from the past, from your ancestors. Discover it, claim it, make it yours. It belongs to you ... it IS you. The journey through your family genealogy, your family ancestry, is a journey you will never forget." Craig Thomson, What Is Heritage?

Check out the FamilySearch Memories App and this blog post to see how to make it easier to record and save to your FamilySearch Memories. See this idea for a great way to share stories.

Another way to learn about your living relatives (and your ancestors) is The Year I Was Born activity found in "All About Me" in FamilySearch Activities. The birth year can be changed right on the page.

Finding Family Stories

Discover ancestor stories on the FamilySearch fan chart along with family lines, birth country, sources, photos, research helps, and ordinances. You can even print it or make a fan chart "place mat." Play Fan Chart Bingo, or toss a die onto the chart and share (or learn) a fact or story about the person the die lands on.