It truly DOES take a Village....doesn't it?

It really DOES take a Village to raise a child...but how about a new member?

You have no doubt heard the phrase, "It takes a village to raise a child!"  Well of course, a new member is not a child, but we are all Children of God and their fragile testimony sometimes weighs upon getting out of bed as to, "Will anyone talk to me today?" to determine if they will come to Church.  We know we are better than this and we can do the little things God has asked us to do to help them feel more comfortable.  

Of course, we all have our own problems, families, and concerns that probably, we fall prey to Satan's whispers too when we get up...."Will anyone care if I don't come?"  Well, yes.  God cares...and all the members.   

Sometimes people's plates are so full they are tempted to say, "that's not in my job description, I don't have to do that."  "I wasn't called to do that..."  "It's not my calling..."  

I submit to you that when dealing with a new member, a new friend, a new neighbor in your neighborhood, everyone was called to Serve One another.  Everyone was called to Love one Another.  If you don't believe, me, I promise you, I can belt out that song while you are waiting.

Let's try harder.



From Br. Ted and Karen S Meyer, Area Temple and Family History Consultants
Scottsdale Coordinating Council

President Marc B. Robinson took the time to show the new Preach My Gospel additions and revisions showing the close parallels and ties to the importance of Family History

President Marc B. Robinson and Sr. Leann Malan Robinson

 

President Robinson gave us some great insight as to the new Manual and Opportunities to Serve one Another.  

Need to train someone on the Consultant Planner or Partner Access?

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Naswfamilyhistory@gmail.com for questions about family history.

TRAINING ON THE CONSULTANT PLANNER AND PARTNER ACCESS

HOW DO YOU USE THEM IN CONCERT WITH FAMILY HISTORY?

Genealogy - How do I know if I am on Course?

FOR OUR NEWSLETTER CLICK HERE!

We love to help people with their Family History!

Right now the focus is on training Temple and Family History Consultants on the Consultant Planner and Partner Access!

Stay Tuned!

Discover, Gather and Connect - Pulling the Family together!

I first became interested in Family History as a girl in Danville, CA where after school, I would walk sometimes to my friend Sharon's home.  To get there, you had to walk by the old Alamo Cemetery on the border of Danville and Alamo, which had been in existence since the 1800s.  To get to Sharon's even quicker, you could cut through the cemetery.  As a 12-year-old, I wasn't afraid of the spirits there, I was, however, fascinated with the stories on the headstones.  It was a pretty rickety old cemetery, not really kept up, no lawn to manicure.  I felt almost transformed into that space in time which they lived.  I longed to know what they endured, how I could have helped them, or make their lives easier somehow.  That became my first experiences with learning about our ancestors.

 Today was our Stake Conference.  In attendance was General Authority, Hugo E. Martinez who spoke to us.  His stories were heartwarming and full of love for the people and especially family history.

We had the opportunity to speak with him after the Conference and told him of the idea to have investigators be assigned to a TFHC while working with the Missionaries.  Once they are baptized, we can present them with a fan chart for their home and family members and continue to work on their tree.  They would already have names to take to the Temple, which is the request of the 1st Presidency, that each new member take their own names to the Temple within 60 days of Baptism.  

He was thrilled that we were working on this project and that it was a success.  He said that only 3% of all members every truly catch the Spirit of Elijah and that finding people for their family tree and not just getting names for the Temple, but really helping them to get to know their ancestors by finding stories and pictures for them, should our motivation for truly helping new members.

Several years ago, when I was first a Family History Consultant, I had put my pictures of my family on my computer as a screensaver.  Whenever I would walk by, I would see their names and faces floating by and I would hear their voices saying, "Please help us! Don't forget us!"  I can't express the feeling enough of the heartache or the tears stinging, rushing from my eyes within seconds of walking past that sight.  It was an emotionally impacted moment of which I will not soon forget.

I knew, even then, at 28 years old, that my goal would be to help people find out more about their families.  To have this wonderful man come right out and say to the effect of  'Don't just be a Temple Hunter, find out about the love in their families' was so heartwarming that I was moved to tears.

.  Family History heals hearts in a way that no other action can replace.   That relationship which was not so great when you were younger, will become as strong as a rock when you choose to show your ancestors that they have not been forgotten.

Start today.  Discover who your Ancestors are.  Gather them all together and Connect them to your family tree.  No wonder Family History is the 3rd most popular hobby worldwide.  It is inspirational to learn more about stories which can be passed down to their posterity.  

Let us know how we can help you!

Ted and Karen Meyer

Educate yourself on Genealogy! You won't regret it!

How do you get Youth to encourage Less Actives and Converts to do Family HIstory?

We are always trying to come up with innovative ways to involve Young Women and Young Men in Family History.  We have started encouraging extending callings them to become Temple and Family History Consultants.  With:

www.thefhguide.com 

This is an almost instant training program to get them off and running, to teaching them how to use the Consultant planner

www.familysearch.org/ask/planner

They can become a Ward Hero in 5 minutes as it shows them how to find instant successes, i.e., Temple Opportunities, Find a Grave records and Vital Records to attach to files, Memories of Pioneers and War Heroes to attach are easily pointed out to them for "click on me" instant access.

Their confidence  increases as their success record increases and exudes smiles on their audience.  It's a blessing to see!  So to complete the invitation, I created some cards to get them excited about coming in and experiencing Find, Take and Teach.  Here is a picture of what the Young Women could create to take to less actives and new converts.

When someone has a fan chart on their wall, those spirits, no doubt, reach out to them from beyond the veil and remind them that they are still there everytime the person walks by the chart.    I'm convinced that most people don't know how to get started and just need an invitation. Having your ancestors greet you daily will help us not to forget the great sacrifices they made for us to be here today. My favorite is the one on the lower 

I will scan these into a pdf and upload them to our blogs at naswfamilysearch.blogspot.com and genealogymama1.blogspot.com.  I hope these bring you joy and rallied interest in family history which will bring the Lord's work to Pass.  You can download these if you want to make some cards with a fan chart.

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Blessings to all!

Br Ted and Sr Karen Meyer,
North America South West
Temple and Family History Consultants
Scottsdale Coordinating Council
email us anytime:  genealogymama1@gmail.com or
naswfamilyhistory@gmail.com