I’m shy and it is not easy for me to go out and try to convert the world. However, when I joined the church, I learned a new type of missionary work that didn’t require me to talk to anyone at all—at least not at first. I discovered family history.
You may have joined the church all alone, but when you do your family history, you can have the opportunity to convert your own ancestors. When you submit their names to the temple, someone will be baptized and confirmed on their behalf. Then they have the choice as to whether or not they want to accept the gospel, just as you had the opportunity to choose to accept the gospel into your own life. While you will usually not know whether or not they accepted until you die and meet you are certain to have some converts among your kin.
To Then register as a member of the church. This will allow you to find out if the work has already been done. While you consider yourself the only member of the church in your family, when you get a number of generations back, some of your ancestors will have other LDS relatives who got there before you did. This will speed up your research and keep you from duplicating efforts.
FamilySearch.org has tutorials for beginners. You can also visit your family history center (located in most stake centers and some ward buildings) for help. Take with you a four generation family group sheet. To do this, download free blank charts from FamilySearch.org and fill them out. Start with yourself. Put in all the information on yourself you have so far. Then add your spouse and children. Move backwards through your parents and siblings and their families. If you don’t know something, leave the space blank until you can gather the information.
Interview your relatives for help. Many family members are interested in learning who their ancestors are, even if they aren’t LDS, so you will find those who are eager to help you. When possible, record the discussions to save for future generations. You want more than facts, even though this is all you will be submitting. For your family purposes, you also want the family stories. Family history is a bit fashionable these days, so it’s likely they won’t be uneasy helping you if you promise to share the results.
Once you’re a number of generations back, you can begin searching the internet to find out who else is researching. However, not all online family history is valid, so verify anything you find there. Consider the internet a starting point.
As your family history grows, and you submit more names to the temple, you will begin to feel a connection to those ancestors. Often, when I work, I spend hours entering dull data, and then, suddenly, the spirit tells me something about the name I’ve just entered or I know that person has accepted the gospel. In my years of genealogy work, a few ancestors have become friends in my heart. I’ve had the opportunity to stand where a Pilgrim women stood, to leave flowers at the graves of ancestors who died before the United States was a country, and to have the security of knowing I’m building my own LDS family in heaven. Although I’m a convert, I am certain I have a large family of church members waiting for me beyond the grave.
The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.
