If you want to do family history research on collateral family lines, check out the website my husband, Bill, developed at:
puzzilla.org
Here you are able to view descendant charts of your ancestors to determine where new research needs to be done. This website is very new and still in the development and testing phase, so many improvements or changes may be added over time.
This website also gives a link to an eight minute research video entitled, "Finding Herman" and an instructional video on how to use Puzzilla.org. Both of these videos were created early in the development of puzzilla.org and there are plans to update them.
In order to use this site, you will also need to log into familysearch.org. Anyone can create an account following the links. However, if you are a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints you will want to sign up using your individual membership number, which can be obtained in one of three ways:
*Ask the membership Clerk
*It is written on your temple recommend
*It is on the membership papers the bishop gives you during tithing settlement
The same user name and password is used to access lds.org, so if you already have an account there, you will not need to create another one. Just use the same log in information.
Important: Write down or remember the user name and password you set up so you can access family search in the future.
The youth in our Stake have been given a goal to find one of their ancestors by August 20, when they will attend a Stake Youth Temple Day and be baptized for the family member they have found. This challenge was first given in June, at their youth conference.
Each ward called multiple family history consultants consisting of both adults and youth. Several training sessions have been held for the consultants. Each Sunday, during Sunday School, some of the youth and their parents are invited into a special class where they bring their computers and work side by side to find their loved ones. Progress has been very gradual, but we are beginning to see many having success.
Today, we are combining our faith and participating in a Stake fast. We are praying for the spirit of the Lord to guide the youth and their families in finding these individual names. It is thrilling to be part of this work and to feel the Lord guiding and blessing us.
If you are reading this blog post and are not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you may be wondering why we perform baptisms for our dead ancestors. Some of my previous blog posts address this question; such as the St George Temple. We believe every person born on this earth is a child of a loving Heavenly Father. He wants everyone of us to have the same opportunity to learn of him and return to live in his presence.
The Lord has provided prophets to teach us and the Priesthood to perform the sacred ordinance of baptism, as well as other ordinances found in the temple. Those who died without being taught and baptized into the kingdom of God, continue to be taught in the spirit world after this life. Since baptism requires that we have a physical body, those of us still on the earth perform baptisms for them and they have the opportunity to accept or reject the work being done. Their agency is paramount.
Our priority is for each of us to do the work for our own family. And after we have found a grandparent, we feel it is just as important to find all of their children and grandchildren, not just the one we are directly descended from. After all, don't they, and we, love all our children?
(Note: One hundred fifty-six youth came to the temple that day and performed over 400 baptisms, the majority of which were their own family names. It was a moving experience to see the baptistry completely filled by the youth and their leaders, with many more waiting their turn to enter, all the way down the hallway leading to the baptistry. A fireside was held afterward where they shared their experiences.)
