Training for Temple and Family History Leader and Youth
I am brand-new at this calling as the "Leader". I would like to know how to get the training I need and also the consultants.
I am particularly interested in proper way to teach Young Men and Young Women Family History using consultants. I viewed the 2020 Leadership Conference by Elder Bednar and want to promote his direction.
Thank you for your time.
Answers
-
Hello Vince,
Here is some information I found using the Help Center:
Temple and Family History Callings
Here is a really large list of subjects for Ward Leaders:
The Help ? on FamilySearch.org. An invaluable tool for us all.
On the upper right near to your name is a ? Question Mark. Click on that and when the confusing down box appears, click on "Help Center" at the bottom. When it goes to the next page, put your question in the Search Box. It takes a bit of time, using different search criteria to get the result you want. But likely it is there, just a bit hard to find.
Enjoy,
Anitra
0 -
Are there any examples of young men or young women family history consultants that provided teaching to less active young men or young women? These less active YM or YW have inactive parents or are single parents, etc.
0 -
Hello Vince,
Good question. Here are some things that we did.
My husband and I got those nice booklets, but we can't order them now. Covid.
But you can:
Organize a Pizza party in the kitchen. And everyone have a computer available for them.
Getting a FamilySearch.org account if old enough before the meeting.
I just found this:
http://www.ldsyouthleadership.com/teach-others-family-history-love/
We treated our inactive the same as active. We also offered to visit the home and show family how to sign onto FamilySearch.org Family Tree.
- We gave incentives. Goals and celebrate after.
- Children go home and try to list, using parents, as many ancestors as possible.
When you have the meeting, they can put a dried lima bean in a big jar for how many people they found. At the end, when the jar is filled you have a pizza party.
Like that.
Perhaps you can use their Youth booklets and find something they can do alone or with their families.
You can tell I'm into parties.
I think the link at top will be helpful.
Anitra
0 -
@Vince Fuller In addition to the good resources provided by @Anitra Whittle, I was given this by our high councilor over T&FH work. I provided it to a leader in my ward (in this case a brand new RS president who wants to really promote T&FH work, but isn't sure how to go about it and asked my help). Even though it seems initially to focus on your calling (ward T&FH leader), the further you dig into it, the more you learn how all of the different people all fit together in such meetings as your ward council and your T&FH coordination meetings. It will take the collective input of everyone, with different ideas that become pieces of the puzzle that come together after prayerful consideration and discussion.
Though the bishop has ultimate responsibility in a ward for "everything," he largely turns over most of the actual functioning in T&FH work to the EQ and RS presidents, as well as the ward T&FH leader - as he should. BUT - since his primary focus is the youth, he's also entitled to special insights on their behalf. Be sure to ask him for his suggestions and insights.
You are really the focal point of the work within your ward - use those with whom you work. And make sure you use the two youth members of your coordination meeting (General Handbook 25.2.7) - let them know what you need to know, have them work with the other youth in their quorum/class, and provide their valuable input.
Don't forget that they've become the real experts in the use of "technology" in most wards. It's just second nature to them, unlike the greyheads in the ward (no offense intended to anyone - "I are one!" 😁 ). So find ways of involving them through technology. The Planner tool can be one outstanding way to reach some of them during the COVID-19 limited in-person contact we've current got in most areas.
Consider which youth might make excellent T&FH consultants (yes, teenagers CAN be called to these positions - and can be outstanding at helping teach and motivate their peers - I've seen it work wonderfully, with some of them even teaching the adults quite effectively in our FHC during a class almost a year ago). Recommend names to your bishop for those possible callings, and then get them trained. That will likely take relatively little time due to their age and familiarity with technology - they'll simply need some basics of family history research, which FamilySearch is making easier and easier with hints, etc. Teach the kids to use the Planner tool and they can use it with their peers, reporting back their successes (and needs) at the next coordination meeting.
Again though, make sure you get intimately familiar with the attached information, and also the brand new rewrite of Chapter 25 of the General Handbook - it was just revised the week before Christmas, and has some great clarifications and enhancements in it. Remember - you're the main "cheerleader" in a sense, but everyone else in leadership really plays a key role of working together as a team to make this all work well. Make sure the youth are providing input, not just being told what they "should" do by a bunch of adults.
Hope this helps. You've got one of the very best callings in your entire ward! Just learn how to help all the players become a real team.
(This was supposed to be an uploaded attachment of a nice .pdf file, but the system won't allow either .doc or .pdf files to be uploaded. It supposedly allows .txt files, but even after turning this into a text file attachment I kept getting a message that the attachment was being moderated and could "take up to a few minutes." Two hours later, I'm giving up and just pasting the basic text below. Sorry it doesn't look better, but apparently no one is available at the Community level to approve the content as a .txt file attachment.)
--Chris
Ward Temple and Family History Leadership Patterns,Coordination Meetings, and Plans
Elder Dale G. Renlund Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
2019 Temple and Family History Leadership Instruction • February 28, 2019 • Conference Center Theater
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/broadcasts/miscellaneous-events/2019/02/11renlund?lang=eng
Temple and Family History Leader
My Calling as a Temple and Family History Leader Getting Started
What Should I Focus On?
Who Do I Work With?
Resources
0 -
Thanks to all for the suggestions. One wrinkle in all this is COVID. At this point I am suggesting each of the consultants meet virtually with the youth. Initially, I asked the consultants to get parent permission before "teaching" the youth and accessing electronic communication - trying to maintain safety for youth and consultants.
I know the Youth Protection Program is very important. Is there any suggestions or examples of teaching youth, adults virtually?
Thank you for your time.
0 -
In order to avoid a private adult-child extended one-on-one conversation in which the child is not related to the adult, we're asking our consultants to have one parent there with the child during the full session. Not only does that obviously give parental approval, it also avoids any question about an extended conversation between an unrelated adult and that parent's child. The best part of that is the parent-child interaction during the session as they discover more ancestors together. Then both of them learn (and are better motivated).
--Chris
0 -
Make sure that your Ward Clerk includes your calling (and that of your Consultants) in the Membership System. Once that happens, you will see helps for your calling when you log into FS as will your consultants and also receive pertinent emails from FS. Review all the Family History Leadership Event videos that have occurred, usually in February. Attend/review the RootsTech LDS sections, and sign up for the 2021 Virtual Event. Here is another link that might be in one of the tiny URLs above. https://www.thefhguide.com/
0
