Why Should I Do Family History?

Spirits in the spirit world learn about the gospel. (Jr)

1 Peter 3:18–20; 4:6

Tell the children about someone you know who has died. Explain that when people die, their spirits leave their bodies and go to the spirit world. Read 1 Peter 3:19 and explain that when Jesus died, he went to visit the spirit world. There, He asked the righteous spirits to teach the gospel to other spirits who had not yet accepted the gospel (see Doctrine and Covenants 138:30).(Come, Follow Me—For Primary: New Testament 2023 “1 and 2 Peter”)

Show a picture of a temple. Explain to the children that when they are old enough, they can go to the temple and be baptized for their ancestors who were not baptized while on earth. Help the children fill out a simple family tree (see an example at “Family History Coloring Pages,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org).(Come, Follow Me—For Primary: New Testament 2023 “1 and 2 Peter”)

Friend July 2023 “My Family Tree”

Spirits in the spirit world learn about the gospel. (Sr)

1 Peter 3:18–20; 4:6

Draw on the board a circle with a line through the middle. Write Spirit Paradise on one half of the circle and Spirit Prison on the other half. Invite one of the children to read 1 Peter 3:18–20; 4:6 (see 1 Peter 4:6, footnote a, for revisions from the Joseph Smith Translation). Explain that when Jesus died, He went to spirit paradise. He instructed the righteous spirits there to teach the gospel to the spirits in spirit prison. (Come, Follow Me—For Primary: New Testament 2023 “1 and 2 Peter”)

Seminary Doctrine and Covenants and Church History Seminary Teacher Manual

President Joseph Fielding Smith: “[The Father] is going to give to every man the privilege of hearing the gospel. Not one soul shall be overlooked or forgotten. This being true, what about the countless thousands who have died and never heard of Christ, never had an opportunity of repentance, never met an elder of the Church holding the authority?…The Lord has so arranged his plan…that all who have died without this opportunity shall be given it in the spirit world.”

Invite a parent or an older sibling of one of the children to tell about going to the temple and receiving ordinances for one of their ancestors. (Come, Follow Me—For Primary: New Testament 2023 “1 and 2 Peter”)

Why Are Mom and Dad Going to the Temple?”(August 2009 Friend)vNoah learns why his mom and dad keep going back to the temple.

• “Abraham Abraham and Me” (July 2016 Friend)
  James shares how he was baptized for one of his ancestors in the temple.

Invite the children to fill out a simple family tree (see an example at “Family History Coloring Pages,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org). (Come, Follow Me—For Primary: New Testament 2023 “1 and 2 Peter”)

Friend July 2023 “My Family Tree”

Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families: New Testament 2023 “1 and 2 Peter” What can your family do to feel connected to your ancestors? Perhaps you could celebrate deceased ancestors’ birthdays by preparing their favorite meals, looking at pictures, or telling stories from their lives. If possible, you could also plan to receive ordinances for your ancestors in the temple (for help, visit FamilySearch.org).

Friend July 2023 “Why Should I Do Family History?” By Neil L. Andersen

1. You can learn about the family members who came before you.
2. You can be linked to your family forever.
3. With technology, doing family history today is easier than ever!
4. It is important work for you to do.

To Do Temple Work for Our Ancestors

Friend October 2019 “The Temple Challenge” Temple Scramble: This girl has taken a family name to the temple. Can you put the pictures in order?

Friend October 2022 “Gathering Heavenly Father’s Children” Most of Heavenly Father’s children don’t know about His plan. They don’t know about Jesus Christ. They don’t know they can be baptized or sealed to their families. Heavenly Father wants us to help gather His children so they can come home to Him. And you can help, starting with your ancestors.

Temple Sealings

Elijah was sent to restore the keys

Malachi 4:5–6

Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Old Testament 2022 ” Malachi’s prophecy about Elijah the prophet was fulfilled when Elijah appeared to Joseph Smith in the Kirtland Temple and gave him the priesthood keys that allow families to be sealed together forever. You might consider inviting someone in the ward who has responsibility for temple and family history work (such as a member of the elders quorum presidency or Relief Society presidency) to help you teach this doctrine to the children. Remember to be sensitive to the feelings of children whose families have not been sealed.

• Write each phrase from Malachi 4:5–6 on a separate slip of paper. Give the slips of paper to the children, and ask them to put the phrases in the correct order. Read the verses together, and discuss questions like these: Who did the Lord promise to send? When did He say this person would come? What did the Lord say that this person would do? Why would this person need to come? Where was this prophecy fulfilled? (see Doctrine and Covenants 110:13–16).

• Write on the board a question like What does it mean for the hearts of the children to turn to their fathers? (see Malachi 4:6). Invite the children to ponder this question as they watch the video “Their Hearts Are Bound to You” (ChurchofJesusChrist.org). Then invite the children to share their thoughts about the question on the board. Discuss together experiences you or the children have had learning about family history.

• Show the picture of Elijah from this week’s outline in Come, Follow Me–For Individuals and Families. Invite the children to share what they know about the event this picture depicts (see also Doctrine and Covenants 110:13–16). Testify that the sealing power Elijah restored allows families to be united eternally—including families who didn’t have that opportunity in mortality. If you have participated in a sealing, either for yourself or for a deceased person, talk about what you felt during that ordinance. Ask the children to share their feelings about their families and about God’s plan to help families be together forever.

To Have Our Hearts Turned to Our Fathers

Explain that when we learn about our ancestors and do temple work for them, our hearts are turning to our fathers.

Friend August 2002 “The Heart of the Children” Fold the hearts in half, and glue each half to a half of a different heart (see illustration).

To Record Our Personal Family History

Old Testament Stories “Adam and Eve’s Family” After Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden, they continued to learn about Heavenly Father’s plan for them on earth. They had many children and taught them all that they knew about the Lord.

Adam and Eve’s family kept a book of remembrance. They wrote their family history in the book. They wrote about how the Lord helped them.

Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families: Old Testament 2022 “Genesis 5; Moses 6” Reading about the “book of remembrance” that Adam and Eve’s family kept may inspire your family to make your own book of remembrance. Discuss as a family what you would like to include. Maybe you have photos, stories, or documents from your family history. You might choose to include things that are happening in your family now. What will future generations find valuable? You could also discuss how the phrases “by the spirit of inspiration” (Moses 6:5) and “the pattern given by the finger of God” (Moses 6:46) could guide your efforts. Consider saving information from your book of remembrance on FamilySearch.org.

Scripture Stories Coloring Book: Pearl of Great Price “Adam’s Book of Remembrance”

Friend January 2022 “Come, Follow Me Activities: Family Testimony Book”

Story: Adam and Eve’s family made a “book of remembrance” (Moses 6:5). They wrote about Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father’s plan. This book was the beginning of the scriptures.

Song: “Love Is Spoken Here” (Children’s Songbook, 190–91)

Activity: You can make a book of remembrance too! Ask everyone in your family to write down their testimony of Jesus Christ. Then attach the pages together to make a book. Add it to your treasure box on page 30.

Heavenly Father Wants Me to Learn About My Family History.

Doctrine and Covenants 128:18

Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 “Doctrine and Covenants 125-128” There are simple ways in which young children can participate in family history work. Help them feel love for the people in their family tree.

• Create a paper chain with names of people in your family (see this week’s activity page), and bring it to show the class. Tell a few things about the people on your chain. Read to the children from Doctrine and Covenants 128:18, and explain that Joseph Smith taught that “there is a welding link … between the fathers and the children.” Help the children make their own family chains, and invite them to take the chains home and have their parents help them add names of ancestors.
• Ask the children to share something about one of their grandparents. Tell one of your favorite stories about your parents or grandparents. Show pictures if possible. Encourage the children to learn more about their grandparents and other ancestors.

Friend October 2019 “The Temple Challenge” Sister Jones, the general primary president, challenges a 12 year old boy to find a family name to take to the temple. He later writes to her letter telling of his success and of his opportunity to be baptized in the temple for his 3rd great grandfather and how that felt. He also tells her of his desire to do more.

Friend November 2021 “They’re Waiting for Me!” Giselle lives in India, and she can’t wait until the temple is built there so she can do baptisms for her ancestors who have died without knowledge of the gospel. (Photos at link)

Friend October 2019 “The Temple Challenge” Temple Scramble: This girl has taken a family name to the temple. Can you put the pictures in order?

For additional teaching ideas see Family History and Resources for Teaching Children “Family History”

Heavenly Father Wants Me to Do Family History

Tell the children that 3 Nephi 25:5–6 contains a prophecy about an event that would happen in the latter days. Invite them to read these verses to find out what it was. Testify that this prophecy has been fulfilled, and invite the children to read about it in Doctrine and Covenants 110:13–16(see also Gospel Art Book, no. 95). Explain that when we learn about our ancestors and do temple work for them, our hearts are turning to our fathers.Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Book of Mormon 2020 “3 Nephi 20–26: “Ye Are the Children of the Covenant”

Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 “Doctrine and Covenants 2; Joseph Smith—History 1:27–65: “The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn to Their Fathers”

• Sing together “Families Can Be Together Forever” (Children’s Songbook, 188). What does this song say we can do to be with our families forever?

Learning about my ancestors can bring me joy.

Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 “Doctrine and Covenants 2; Joseph Smith—History 1:27–65: “The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn to Their Fathers”

How have you felt your heart turn toward your ancestors? Think of ways you can experience such feelings more often. Perhaps you could ask a relative to share a story with you about one of your ancestors—even better, you could record it. Or you could invite [a family member] to learn about an ancestor and to share what they learn with the rest of the family. Maybe you could identify a deceased ancestor who never received gospel ordinances and then have a family member perform that work in the temple.

Why does the Lord want us to learn about our family members and perform temple ordinances for them? How are we blessed when we participate in family history and temple work?

To help your children understand the “promises made to the fathers,” you could read Abraham 2:9–11 together. Identify the promises God made as part of His covenant with Abraham. How do we “plant” these promises in our hearts?

Doctrine and Covenants 2.

Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 “Doctrine and Covenants 2; Joseph Smith—History 1:27–65: “The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn to Their Fathers”

Give each child a paper heart. Help them write their name and “I promise to remember my ancestors” on it. Read Doctrine and Covenants 2:2, and explain that Elijah came to turn our hearts to our ancestors.

Friend January 2021 “Come Follow Me”

Friend September 2021 “For Older Kids” Pick a family member you want to learn more about. Can you learn three things about them? Write their name in your journal and draw a picture for each thing you learned.

A year ago, we went to look at some gravestones for my ancestors. We looked at the dates and saw that one of my ancestors did not die as a baby like we had thought. She died when she was 11, the same age as me. I am preparing to go to the temple to get baptized for her! I can’t wait. Mary T., age 11, Texas, USA

Family History Service

Indexing

Friend May 2017 “For Older Kids” Try indexing! This means typing what old records say so people can search for their ancestors online. Have a parent help you download the program, or visit a family history center to do it.

Children Can Do Family History

Friend September 2017 “I Can Do Family History” A real life example and photos of children in a family that do family history and how they do it.

Friend October 2022 “Liv and Melanie’s Family Magazine” Liv and her sister make their family history into a magazine. They interviewed family members whose birthdays were in July. In the August issue the theme was Father’s Day, so they interviewed all the fathers in their family. Creating a family history magazine has helped them get to know extended family members better. (See photos at link.)

Friend July 2023 “Benjamin Talks about Family History”

Learning About Ancestors

Friend April 2022 “For Older Kids” Draw a flag from a country from your family tree.

Friend February 2022 “For Older Kids”

Friend November 2021 “For Older Kids” What is your family’s favorite food? Make a family recipe to eat together. You can also make food from the countries your ancestors are from.

Friend November 2020″ For Older Kids” Make a favorite family recipe! You could also try a food from a place your family comes from.

Friend October 2020 “For Older Kids” Play a family trivia game! Make a list of questions and have each member of your family answer them. Then have a quiz at home evening to guess who gave each answer!

Friend June 2020 “For Older Kids” Choose a grandparent you want to learn more about. Look up the year they were born and find out what world events or inventions happened that year. How was life different back then?

Friend April 2020 “For Older Kids” Go to FamilySearch.org/discovery and use the Compare-a-Face feature to find out which of your ancestors looked most like you!

Friend May 2020 “For Older Kids” Ask a parent or family member about a time when things didn’t go like they hoped. How did they get through it? Write or draw a picture about it in your journal.

Friend February 2020 “For Older Kids” Use an online map to explore places where your parents, grandparents, or ancestors lived.

Friend July 2019 “We have a home evening once a month about one of our ancestors. We tell a story about them and show a photo if we have one. We talk about the temple and how we will be with these ancestors again someday.” —Karen H

Friend February 2019 “Getting to Know Your Family” President Oaks discusses how to learn more about your ancestors and why. Also, how to do a Get-to-Know-you party to learn about an ancestor.

It gives me a good feeling to work on family history. I’m learning the names of lots of my ancestors and learning to upload their photos too. Someday when I meet them in heaven, I’ll already know them. Aidan A., age 10, Utah, USA

Friend September 2015 – Use technology to find names to take to the temple.

Have family members create skits about family history stories and act them out for family home evening. Ensign April 2017

Liahona June 2021 “The Godhead and Loving Others: Ancestor Treasure Hunt”

Doctrine and Covenants 69:8

The Lord asked John Whitmer to collect and record a history of the Church, “writing, copying, selecting, and obtaining all things which shall be for the good of the church, and for the rising generations” (Doctrine and Covenants 69:8). Notice how important record keeping is in the Church.

1. Look up an ancestor at FamilySearch.org or in other family history records. 
2. Read his or her journals or family members’ memories about this person.
3. Name some good things about your ancestor.
4. How are you like your ancestor? 
5. How are these records like a treasure to you?

Discussion: Talk about the things your ancestors accomplished. Discuss how their lives have blessed your life. Share ways your life is like theirs. Talk about ways your life is different than theirs.

Family Search.org

Friend February 2019 “For Older Children” What’s your favorite family photo? Add it to FamilySearch.organd write why it’s special to you.

Friend September 2017 “For Older Children” Ask your parents for old family obituaries. These are usually newspaper clippings that announce a person’s death and tell about their life. What do you want people to remember about you? Make a list of 10 things. Then upload the obituaries to FamilySearch.org.

Friend May 2021 “For Older Kids” How kids can get names to do baptisms on familysearch.org

Family Tree

Friend July 2023 “My Family Tree”

Friend April 2019 “For Older Children”Use the Family Tree app to find out where your ancestors are from. Click “More” and then “Map My Ancestors.” How many different places do you see? List them here!

Saving Family History Items

Friend January 2021 “For Older Kids” Make a family story book! Write down a story about your family and draw pictures for each page. Staple or tie the pages together to make a book.

Friend March 2017 “Family Night Fun” Each person collects an item to put in a treasure chest and tells why that item is a treasure to them.

Friend March 2017 “For Older Kids” Make a time capsule, and what would your ancestors have put in a time capsule

Friend November 2017 Make a family recipe! Do you know which family member it came from? Upload pictures of the recipe to the memories page of that family member on FamilySearch.org.

Friend December 2019 “For Older Kids” Start a cookbook of family recipes and make one of the recipes together.

Saving Family Stories

Friend June 2022 “For Older Kids” Ask an older family member to tell you a story about their life. Write or record it to save on FamilySearch.org

Friend March 2021 “For Older Kids” Interview a family member.

Friend September 2020 “For Older Kids” Part of family history is discovering who you are. Use these questions to learn about your name, and then write down everything you learn. Why were you given your name? Do any of your family members or ancestors share your name? When people hear your name, what do you want them to think of?

Friend January 2020 “For Older Kids” Find a photo of you or your family that you can tell a story about. Write down or tell someone everything you remember about that day.

Friend August 2019 “For Older Kids” Ask a family member to tell you about a day that changed their life. Make an audio recording of their story or write it down.

Friend June 2019 “For Older Kids” Do you have a funny family story? Interview a family member and write it down. Maybe you could share it for home evening.

Friend October 2023 “My Family Story” What stories do you know about your family? Draw your own family story in the boxes below.

Record Spiritual Experiences

Read 3 Nephi 23:6–13 If the Savior were to examine the records our family has kept, what questions might He ask us? Are there any important events or spiritual experiences that we should record? Now might be a good time to create or add to a family record and counsel together about what to include. Younger family members might enjoy decorating your record with photographs or drawings. Why is it important to record our family’s spiritual experiences?Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families: Book of Mormon 2020 ” 3 Nephi 20–26: Ye Are the Children of the Covenant”

1 Nephi CHAPTER 6 Nephi writes of the things of God—Nephi’s purpose is to persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham and be saved. About 600–592 B.C.

1 Nephi CHAPTER 9 Nephi makes two sets of records—Each is called the plates of Nephi—The larger plates contain a secular history; the smaller ones deal primarily with sacred things. About 600–592 B.C.

These verses could inspire your family to keep a record of important events and experiences from your lives. Maybe you could start a family journal, similar to the records Nephi and Lehi kept about their family’s experiences. What might you include in your family record? Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families: Book of Mormon 2020

Friend January 2024 “Come, Follow Me Activities: Plain and Precious Plates” The Lord told Nephi to make another set of plates for a special and wise purpose (see 1 Nephi 9). Make your own set of plates out of folded paper or pieces of cardboard. (You can even wrap your paper or cardboard with aluminum foil!) Write or draw what you learn from the Book of Mormon on your plates.

Family History Stories Influences

Friend September 2017 “Following Faithful Examples” Elder Rasband keeps a painting in his office that reminds him of his ancestors stories of faith and sacrifice because it helps him remember their good examples.

Friend December 2016 “For Parents of Little Ones” Tell your child true stories of your childhood or about them when they were younger. Tell them the stories as you drive in the car or before bedtime, etc.

Family History Songs

Gospel Media: Hearts of the Children Sing-along video