Latter-day Saint Youth: Service

The Joy of Serving Others

You know that feeling you get when you do something for someone else that they can't do for themselves? Family history provides all kinds of opportunities to serve others on both sides of the veil.

Try some of these ideas, and see what a difference you can make in the lives of others and in your own life! Begin with your own family.

Helping Others Get Started

A great way to help others get started in doing temple and family history activities is to help them create a FamilySearch account and get four generations on their branch of the family tree filled in. Whatever has already been placed on a person's family lines will then be filled in—it is amazing!

You can help others learn what to do next by teaching them about The Family History Guide. It's a free site anyone can use, to learn any part of family history and explore over 200 activities.

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For example, if you want to teach others how to upload Memories to FamilySearch, in the FamilySearch drop-down menu select 2: Memories. In Goal 6 you'll find step-by-step instructions that make it easier for anyone and everyone! Check out the Trainers menu for teaching suggestions, lesson plans, slides and more.

With The Family History Guide, no one needs to know the entire "library;" anyone can just be the "librarian" who can easily find the information someone is looking for!

Helping Others Discover, Gather, and Record Memories

The following tabs on The Family History Guide Youth Page have ideas and information to help you help others in their family history discovery and preservation adventures:

Check out 9 Tips for interviewing Relatives.
See Using FamilySearch Apps to Record Oral Histories for additional ideas.
Read about how to use the amazing FamilySearch Audio app to record and save family stories.

If there is a Story Room in a FamilySearch center near you, you can record loved ones telling their story and answering questions. You can use the 52 stories project for ideas. Your session will be recorded for you!. You can record your loved ones (in or out of a story room) to Capture Memories Before It's too Late.

You can also offer to help your relatives write their life stories, a life sketch, or create a video of their lives (or a life chapter). They will be so grateful!

As you create personalized family history experiences for those you help, they can begin "where they are," and catch the spirit of this great work! You can help them feel confident and be successful.

See Temple and Family History and "Temple and Family History Consultants" below.

Temple and Family History Consultants

Watch this video for an overview of why and how our church promotes family history to help people everywhere to find and connect with their ancestors.

Family history consultants assist others all over the world. Whether or not you are currently serving as a youth consultant, past leadership sessions of RootsTech are worth watching! See also this RootsTech video where youth consultants share successful temple and family history activities.

Youth consultants can be prepared and worthy; they can bring hope to family members on both sides of the veil. Through family history and temple work, they can obtain blessings of protection from the adversary for themselves and those they help.

Youth temple and family history consultants can energize family history efforts and move the work forward in a mighty way." Kathryn Grant, Helping Youth Consultants Succeed

Check out RootsTech 2020 Leadership Instruction for Elder Bednar's call to action, counsel and promises to youth noted in Gather Israel On Both Sides Of The Veil.

Elder Renlund clarified the Temple and Family History Leadership Pattern which you can review here: Leadership Session at RootsTech 2018. Find additional information in A New Way to Teach Temple and Family History.

See the reason Tucker is using a hammer on Elder Bowen's knee (and what it all means) in the 2020 Temple and Family History Leadership Instruction article and video.

In The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn Elder David A. Bednar says, "I promise you will be protected against the intensifying influence of the adversary. As you participate in and love this holy work, you will be safeguarded in your youth and throughout your lives." In a time when there is so much temptation, we must find moral safety in our schools and avoid the filth that the Internet may expose us to. Heavenly Father has promised through modern prophets that He will protect us—the youth—from the adversary, if we participate in and learn to love something so simple and yet so powerful as family history.

That's certainly worth it, don't you think? Read more in The Testimony of a Youth Family History Consultant.

Helping Others Find Temple Names

You may have heard of Elder Neil L. Anderson's invitation to the youth of the Church to prepare as many family names for the temple as baptisms you perform in the temple, and to help someone else to do the same. Elder Dale G. Renlund recently renewed the challenge.

See Take Ancestors To The Temple to learn more about Elder Anderson's challenge and watch his video. This helps you to know how you can help others accept the challenge as well.

If anyone thinks the temple work is done on all of their family lines, teach them how to do descendancy research and find their cousins. There is always temple work to be done! See These Are Your Days, Neil L. Andersen, and Claim the Promises: Taking Family Names.

Photographing Gravestones

Cemeteries and Smartphones—who knew they could be a great pair? Check out this article to learn more, and see Youth Activities: For Latter-day Saints to learn how to get started photographing headstones, and how you can make a difference. If you don't have a smartphone, perhaps you can take along a family member and share the fun.

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 Find A Grave and BillionGraves.

Helping Others Learn To Do Indexing

Check out Why Indexing Matters, an October 2014 New Era article. For more info and ideas, see The Family History Guide Weekly Family Hisory Activities 2020, Week 25.

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As you create indexes to help family history researchers find what they need, you are performing a valuable service!

Check out this Indexing Overview and Youth in Action: The Time Is Now.

See Family History for Youth—Indexing to get started with web indexing. Watch this video to learn about Mackenzie's experience and to hear what Elder Bednar has to tell you about temple and family history service and the promises in store:

Watch this video to see how Stephen Jezek was able to feel the Spirit again, overcome addictions, and get baptized because of his experience indexing.

Keep Up The Good Work!

"Anytime you do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—take a step toward making covenants with God and receiving their essential baptismal and temple ordinances, you are helping to gather Israel. It is as simple as that" (Russell M. Nelson, Hope of Israel, worldwide devotional for youth, June 3, 2018)

We hope you enjoy the information, inspiration, ideas and activities found on the Family History For Latter-day Saint Youth page. Having this resource can help you to gather Israel and prepare for the second coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and help you to help others to do the same.

Our hope for all of you is to partake of the blessings of the temple and family history that are in store for you!

Service

Spread the joy of family history to others.