Are you already familiar with the priesthood and family history focus to Find an ancestor name, Take it to the temple, and Teach someone else to do the same? Have you tried it? As a family history consultant, you can teach your ward members how to follow this inspired direction from our leaders. For some members of your ward, following this process may seem like a daunting task. They may feel that they don’t have time, that they don’t know how to start, or that they just don’t have the interest. However, here are some simple ways to help ward members receive the blessings of the Find, Take, and Teach process.
Experience Find, Take, and Teach for Yourself
The best training for teaching others to find, take, and teach is to do it yourself. Your personal experience will help you better understand each step of the process. More important, you will also become a witness of the special experience of taking your own family names to the temple. That testimony will strengthen your ability to teach others how to take family names to the temple. The Church members you work with will feel your conviction of the blessings that accepting this challenge will bring to them and to their ancestors.
Get to Know Ward Members and Pray to Know How to Help Them
As a family history consultant, you are entitled to receive revelation for how to help Church members with the Find, Take, and Teach process. Pay attention to promptings as you meet with families in your ward and learn about their specific needs and interests regarding family history.
Try new methods of teaching to help spark interest. Some ward members may be interested to learn about the origin and meaning of their name. Others may want to see if they are related to anyone famous. Whatever their interest, be open and responsive, and do your best to be up-to-date on what family history tools are available.
Break It Down into Simple Steps
A few weeks ago, my son was heading to the temple to do baptisms for the dead. Even though I thought my family tree was basically complete, I wanted him to have a name to take to the temple. Using the descendancy view in Family Tree, in just 20 minutes I was able to find two names for him to take. It was a special experience for me to see that the Find, Take, and Teach process is possible, no matter how complete a family tree may seem. More special still was an experience my son was able to have in the temple by being baptized for his ancestors.
Some of the Church members you work with may think, as I did, that their family history is done. Others may have empty trees and not know how to begin. If they have full trees, teach them about using the descendancy view to help them find cousins awaiting temple blessings.
If they have an empty tree, start with the print or online version of My Family: Stories That Bind Us Together to help them capture what they may already know. From there, a good next step is to teach them how to use the search feature on FamilySearch.org or how to use partner sites such as Ancestry.com to find new family names. Teaching simple things such as how to print a Family Ordinance Request will make the Find, Take, and Teach process seem a much more doable task, and ward members will feel more confident in teaching others about this process.
Don’t Forget the Youth!
At RootsTech 2015, Elder Neil L. Andersen reiterated and revised a challenge to youth and young single adults to “prepare as many names for the temple as baptisms you perform in the temple, and help someone else to do the same.” The youth of the Church have many opportunities to go to the temple. As a ward family history consultant, you can help them accept Elder Andersen’s challenge to prepare for these temple visits. Through social media, youth can also help others around the world learn about this challenge using the hashtag #templechallenge.
You can also involve the youth of your ward and stake as special teachers or technology consultants to help older members and other youth to catch the spirit of family history. Elder David A. Bednar’s counsel that youth have been prepared for these days where technology is evolving so quickly becomes truer as the years pass.
As you use these simple steps to inspire others to follow the Find, Take, and Teach process, they will begin to feel the spirit of Elijah, and their excitement to teach others about the process will grow. It will be a blessing to you, to those you teach, and to many others on both sides of the veil.
