Thanks to Bro. Russell Hansen for leading us through the new family history course. In each of the seven lessons Bro. Hansen focused on the spirit of the work and not the technology. Although the technology of the digital age, such as Internet, e-mail, new.familysearch.org, digital images, etc, accelerates the work, there is no soul in the technology itself. It is the Spirit of the Elijah--which is a manifestation of the Holy Ghost--that gives family history and temple work meaning and value.

Inspired by Bro. Hansen's lessons, I resolved to do more. As a result, Lorraine and I have decided to attend the temple every week. Now that we don't have children at home we only had to make one minor adjustment to our schedules to accomplish this goal.

This blog has been created to inspire each other as we continue to pursue our family history and temple goals. This can be a means to share success stories, ask for help, and collaborate with each other. Who knows, we might find out we share more than the same zip code! So in this spirit, I offer a few links to some family history sites you might find helpful in your searches:

1. Utah Death Certificates: The State of Utah posted death certificates from 1904 to 1958. These public records are free and may be downloaded. Visit: http://www.archives.state.ut.us/research/indexes/20842.htm

2. Utah Digital Newspapers: The University of Utah has started this digital collection, which continues to grow. Visit: http://digitalnewspapers.org/

3. Mormon Missionary Diaries at BYU: This online digital collection is easy to search. I found the journal of the missionary who taught and baptised my ancestor with a detailed entry on his baptism date. Visit: http://www.lib.byu.edu/dlib/mmd/

You may share what is working for you by using this blog. Thank you for participating in the family history class, and please, contribute to the blog when you can. You may want to bookmark it for easy reference.

Ken Crossley kvc@byu.edu (801) 798-9746
High Priest Group Leader

For assistance with your famiy history, contact the family history consultant for the Mountain View Ward, Bro. Scott Terry, (801) 794-2765