How to Encourage and Engage Members to get Four Generations

Gail Lynette Thacker

I have been tasked, as a stake consultant, with leading a discussion with the ward TFH Leaders about how to encourage and engage the members to complete four generations in Family Tree. Have any of you found a plan, program, or way that has been successful? How to meet or chat with members and see where they are, if they need help, etc? It's a daunting task to just go down the ward list and start contacting members.

Chris Schmink

Unfortunately, we have not had a great deal of success locally to a large extent because of the ways that have been tried in the past. However, what has not been done to any significant extent is to utilize ward T&FH consultants as their callings are designed to be used - one on one with members and families, just as full time missionaries work one on one with individuals and families to help them gain an understanding and testimony of the whole purpose of the Church (Moses 1:39). Significant articles have been published on the concept of working directly with individuals and families, and the training available on the Church website pertaining our callings that one on one work with individuals and families.

Our high councilor over T&FH for a number of years would stress the importance of helping members have their own personal spiritual experiences with this work. And that comes not from sitting in a 5th Sunday "lesson" or a class, or even attending a stake family history discovery day. Those kinds of experiences (the personal spiritual ones) come from either individual efforts where self-motivation is sufficient, or from those special one-on-one experiences that begin with a prayer (as all T&FH work should), and focus on the people that are represented in FamilySearch's Family Tree by names, dates, and places. Those names, dates, and places are boring. But the stories and events and circumstances of the peoples' lives are frequently anything but boring! And the sheer joy and gratitude felt by those on the other side of the veil when their ordinances are completed is beyond description in words.

I strongly believe that a ward T&FH leader is one of the most underrated callings in the Church. Few are even aware that he is required to hold the Melchizedek Priesthood. An enthusiastic Aaronic Priesthood holder cannot hold that calling. While the ward T&FH leader does not hold keys himself, he works under the authority of the elders quorum president who does hold keys for his office, and he is the only person in the ward holding Melchizedek Priesthood keys.

Few also realize that the EQP is not in a direct line of authority under the bishop who, though he is also a high priest in the Melchizedek Priesthood, is actually holding an Aaronic Priesthood office. And those are the keys a bishop holds. The EQP reports directly to the stake president, who also holds Melchizedek Priesthood keys, and he reports up a line of authority beyond the stake level.

While this forum isn't the place to go a lot further on the details, it would be well to prayerfully study the Handbook (especially Section 25) and also the priesthood doctrines regarding Melchizedek and Aaronic Priesthood, to gain insight on just how important the role of those ward T&FH leaders really are. The Handbook (25.2.4) directs that the "consultants serve under the direction of the ward temple and family history leader...." Then it goes on to specify what those consultants are to do in that same section.

So I'd say, help strengthen those ward T&FH leaders, showing them from the Handbook what their responsibilities are, as well as how they fit in the ward and stake structure. And help them really understand that because their callings are Melchizedek Priesthood callings, they are of great significance in the spiritual matters of the Church, even the entire goal of the Church - to help everyone on both sides of the veil to receive all of the ordinances required for exaltation, not just immortality.

Then send those leaders back to their wards to train their ward consultants in the same way, in order that members get the benefit of the higher level of "conversion" that goes beyond baptism and confirmation, and gain a real understanding of just how important all of the ordinances are to those currently confined to a form of spiritual prison until such time as they can receive all of the ordinances and progress eternally (and hold leadership positions in the Church on the other side of the veil to further this work). There is really no difference between what's done by the full time missionaries on this side of the veil, and that which ward consultants are doing (under the direction of the ward T&FH leader). They are helping people to become qualified to receive all of the ordinances. Be sure to read the D&C 131:1-4. And by all means, please spend time learning from Robert Givens' excellent presentation in this Community Group: https://community.familysearch.org/en/discussion/143868/preparing-and-planning-a-lesson-a-way-to-find-names-in-tree#latest

--Chris

N Tychonievich

@Gail Lynette Thacker Some units in my stake have had success doing just what @Chris Bieneman Schmink mentioned--unit consultants working with members one-on-one or as families. The ones that have had the most success have started off by focusing on 4 groups:

--new members

--members returning to activity

--children moving from Primary to the youth programs (and their families)

--members of the ward or branch council. We find this to be a good place for newly called consultants to start. It not only allows them to get some experience helping people who are likely to be cooperative, but it also gives the unit leaders opportunities to feel the joy of discovery and connection. As unit leaders gain stronger testimonies of the work, they feel its importance to the spiritual health of the unit more. From there, it all just snowballs through the unit in wonderful ways.

lindastowemiller

My experience as a consultant has been that for each person, there is a heart-touching experience with a special "extra" element that will change them and their attitude toward family history (which many think of as boring, names, dates and places - clerical work). The trick is for the consultant to prayerfully find an experience and discover the special surprise of significance for the person. It is a wonderful spiritual challenge for consultants to discover it.

Like a patriarchal blessing, the experience is written (on the lesson form) so they can study it later. It is prayerfully prepared - I always start at least two weeks before, and search until I find the special thing. It is more than just a name that needs temple ordinances - it is a special friend in the spirit world. I have been so surprised to find really wonderful discoveries of special significance to the person I am helping. It has always been something they did not know, and is special in some way. There are special experiences for new converts, for young people, for priesthood leaders, for Relief Society sisters, for stake presidents.

I offer to help them, set a time to get together, and then pray and work like crazy to find what special discovery the Lord has for them. Sometimes we have discovered wonderful stories (not written - we put them together in figuring out what pictures are about, for example), sometimes we have discovered a relative who has the immigrant great-grandfather's sister's diary, sometimes it is discovering a picture of a double gravestone with two lambs, marking the resting place for forgotten children who are missing from FamilySearch - there is always something special.

Once people find their special personal connection, they are interested in family history because it now is meaningful to them in a new way.

Motivating people in family history takes more than finding a "name" to take to the temple. They need a connection, some special element that makes them care and motivates them to go to the temple to honor their new friend in the spirit world.

Yvonnewedgworth

Earlier in my career as a consultant I challenged our ward to a competition between the youth and the adults and the results were spectacular. We soon had about 75% of the ward completing their 4 generations sheet with pictures.