Best way to use reports?
Greetings from Frankfurt, Germany! I was recently called as the Temple and Family History Leader for our ward. It looks like I have access to a couple of reports (the Family History Activity Report and an Indexing Report). Are there any other reports I should be aware of? What are the best ways to use these reports?
Answers
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Not an answer, be aware that only you and your Bishop have access to the TFH activity report. I save and share that report with my fellow consultants, Ward Council and Stake FH center leaders. Know that a Stake TFH calling no longer exists; it’s your Stake HC over TFH.
Also be aware that anyone that indexes in your ward can see the indexing report. This report only has a one year live date; meaning you can only compare to the previous year. Hence, I created my own excel spreadsheet to capture year to year info.
Email me if you want to see it.
Happy New Year!
Andy Huntley
Ashburn, Va Stake
huntleys3@outlook.com
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While it is true that the T & FH Consultants do not have access to the FHAR, I know that the Elders quorum President & counselors also have access to that report, because my husband is a counselor & he has access to it. That’s how I get the report for our ward, as a T & FH Consultant. It is possible that the RS Presidency has access as well, but I have never checked on that.
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As far as how to best use the reports, I believe it is up to your stake &/or ward to set goals for T & FH activity & that report can help you see if your ward/stake is approaching goals your ward might choose to make in those areas.
For example, our stake leaders set a goal one year of having 20% of our members submit a name to the temple throughout the year. The following year they set the goal for the wards to improve on the % they got the previous year, so we have been able to use the FHAR to see how we are progressing towards achieving that goal. You can also use the various graphs to see activities that your ward might want to set as a goal, like adding memories to the tree or numbers of members involved in indexing during the year. These are just some ideas, but I hope this gives you a start into what might be good areas to make goals in your own ward.
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The bishopric, EQ and Relief society presidencies, as well as the other presidencies (YW, Primary) all have access. There is a table of access available in Leader and Clerk Resources that shows who all can get the FHAR, and it's not just the Bishop and ward T&FH Leader. But it is true that neither stake nor ward T&FH consultants have access - that report is supposed to be accessed by, and then USED by bishoprics and presidencies (i.e. leaders). There are a few others like the clerk and executive secretary, as far as I recall without looking at the chart this morning. But they're in assistant positions directly to the bishopric, thus their access. It's intended that leaders will lead, and they need information to do that.
To find the access table, sign into the Church main web site and click your name at the upper right corner of the home page. Then under "Tools and Support" click "Leader and Clerk Resources." When the Leader and Clerk Resources page opens up, click "Other" and the "Access Table" will appear as follows:
Then just click the Access Table and look down under "Reports" to find the "Family History Activity Report." It will show who has access.
And as @Carole McIntyre said, it is not only the top large graph that's important, but especially the lower smaller charts, with comparisons to the two previous years to that same point in time (i.e. compares the same progress for any given month to that same month in the two years previous). Seeing how many people have even logged on to FamilySearch (or not) during the year tells a great deal about just how much activity there is in the ward/branch. The same is true with how many people are helping to build FamilySearch by adding records through Indexing. The other big item, to me, is the number of people adding to "Memories" in FamilySearch. As depicted in the movie "Coco," while the consequences aren't exactly the same, being forgotten can never happen far into the future if we're supplying the photos, stories, pictures of documents, and even audio interviews and other audio files for our ancestors (and ourselves). No matter how many generations from now, my posterity will now always be able to see the photo of my grandfather standing in the middle of Siberia on Christmas Day, 1918, in his Army uniform and a big fur hat issued because of the bitter cold in that region. And in that photo, they will always be able to see the ring he wore on his finger through the war as a 19 year old young man, given to him on his 18th birthday and worn throughout the war until it got so thin that it could no longer be worn without danger of breaking on the bottom side. Nearby on his memories page is a photo of that ring today (with the bottom half of the ring rebuilt so I can wear it every day, 100 years later, along with the story that goes with it. My great-great-greats and beyond will come to know their long-ago ancestor, through that and other priceless things on his page, because of "Memories."
Thanks Carole for that reminder that it's not just about names/dates/places, but about the people that data represents - just like the names are not what we go to the temple for, but we go in order to perform the saving (and releasing from spirit prison) ordinances for those very real people for whom we do that work. Hopefully leaders will come to really know the FHAR and learn to truly use it for the people involved (us here, and our anxiously awaiting ancestors "over there").
Note: while I don't have the definitive answer here in front of me, I'm almost certain that the numbers on the FHAR are totals of both adults and youth 12 and older, so it's not skewed by having a large Primary, for example - it's measuring those that actually can (and should) be actively involved in T&FH activities (not that a 10 year old can't do indexing - we've got one in the adjoining ward who completed 29 batches just in December! 😊 ).
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The report is vital for assessing how well we are helping to turn the hearts of our ward members to their ancestors. While the graph showing the number of ward members who have submitted a name to the temple or printed a temple card is the main graph, that also includes those using Ordinances Ready. Only the graph showing adding ancestor to the tree shows those who are doing research and finding their ancestors.
While submitting names is a great help, it only takes a click or two to get a name from Ordinances Ready and may not even be an ancestor or any relation. It may be harder to have your heart turned to names found this way.
Ordinances Ready is a great tool when you have forgotten to bring temple cards, have no reservations in your file at present or just want to help someone else out with their reservations. The temple work done with those cards is wonderful and vital.
Searching for missing children, spouses, siblings or parents of an ancestor takes an investment of time ,effort and focus and more easily brings the heart to the work. When followed up by the temple ordinances, it brings the complete saving experience of bringing your ancestors to Christ.
Be aware that what the report does not measure is temple work done for the people, only the card printing or temple sharing.
We use the report to set ward goals, evaluate results, make assignments for consultants and discuss ways to bring the spirit of the work into each ward family's life.
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The Brethren want all of us to be involved in some way. It isn't necessary, or realistic, to expect everyone to become a researcher. (Don't get me wrong - I am a long, long time researcher - and supporter of everything the Brethren want to happen.) Currently the system of submissions is a little out of wack. We have become such great submitters that we have litterally years worth of records stored in the holding pen (Shared Ordinances) and these names are often sitting there for years. It is a kind of negative situation for two reasons: 1) these names sit there waiting for years some times as so many of us are producing our own names and often producing more than we can possibly do and 2) this is creating a kind of negative situation when new people come in and find that all the easy to find people have already been either done or often are sitting there researved by others. This discourages many who want to participate but are not really into researching.
Ordinances Ready is performing a great service for all of us who produce more temple names than we can ever possibly do in the temple. It takes some of our shared names and allows others to take these to the temple. It is true this experience is different than that had by a researcher, but I don't think we should religate the OR experience to being a second class experience. The person taken to the temple by one using OR will reach out and touch the heart of the proxy just as readily as it would to the researcher/proxy. Both can have a rewarding exprience taking the name to the temple.
OR is just the first step in a series of changes to our reservation system according to Ron Tanner. Soon you are going to see all your shared with the temple names turned green in Tree (but labeled shared with the temple by you.) This will be done so more patrons will feel the success of finding a name (and maybe then will be inspired to try a little researching of their own.) It is my understanding that they weill be able to reserve those "green names" but will have a limited time to do the work or they go back into the system like OR names.
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btw - I am a Stake Temple and Family History Consultant - we still exist.
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My concern about Ordinances Ready is not that it exists, or what's intended, but how it's seen and used too often. If done properly, and if an ordinance shows as a relationship to the user, AND if that user verifies that the "John Smith" (or whoever the name belongs to) really is his/her relative and really does fit in that slot on the tree, then doing an OR ordinance can and should be just as spiritual an experience as if it was produced by original research by the user.
Unfortunately, I've seen too much emphasis in some units on getting a significant number of youth to the temple to "take names," with no discussion of what they're really doing (i.e. standing in place of a real person who - if they accepted the teachings they received in the spirit world - is very anxiously awaiting the completion of their own ordinances). IF the patron has confirmed the research and therefore knows that this is his/her relative properly attached to the tree in the right place, then that patron will very significantly and sincerely be representing the deceased person. That's what it's all about. But simply using OR to collect "a bunch of names" to take to the temple so the youth can do baptisms, is not in keeping with the spirit of the work. That's my concern with OR - not the intent or the process as far as the Church is concerned, but in terms of membership use of this wonderful tool.
Even if the name is not one of our own relatives, it would be marvelous for the person taking that name card to the temple to also first take a look at that person's "Person Page" and "Memories" to learn something about who that person really was, not just who s/he was related to. Then, whether family or not, we truly are representing a real person who's been very anxiously awaiting the completion of the ordinances we sometimes even take for granted.
In that way, what @Robert Givens is saying becomes the proper spirit of the work, not just statistics, totals, and youth "activities."
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I am one as well & we don’t even have a FHC in our stake (which is one the assignments for T & FH Consultants). 😁
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Thank you all for taking the time to reply! I appreciate your insights and perspectives.
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@Chris Schmink - I had to chuckle a little. What you described above for helping the youth connect with the people they take to the temple is exactly how we approach the assignment (get to know the person, are they related and how, are they a duplicate?, are they accurate, can we add any info through hints?, etc.) Sure works well in our stake. We had a little over half of our youth take their own names to the temple last year. One of the new YW in our ward went this past week already and bore her testimony about how powerful the spirit was when she entered the baptismal font and that she can't wait to go again. I know this was an OR experience as I have worked with this family as part of my stewardship.
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We try to do that as well, to have members look at the info for the person whose name card they print out. Most don’t have anything in memories, but we also have them look at the Timeline for some additional info about the person.
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In addition to memories and the timeline as mentioned by @Georgeann_Ray Georgeann_Ray, perhaps one of the VERY first things that someone should do with an Ordinances Ready name is to look at Sources for that person. If there are no sources, and then also no certificates (etc.) in that person's Memories section, there is nothing to conclude that is even a relative, let alone the right relative placed in the correct spot on the tree. Our FHC has a marvelous article posted on the bulletin board titled, "Prove It!" It's a marvelous discussion of what needs to happen to say with a decent amount of certainty that "John Jones" in Family Tree that Ordinances Ready identified as a potential ordinance that can be done, is actually OUR John Jones. A little research goes a long way (into eternity!).
-- Chris Schmink
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The Stake TFH calling does still exist, that is my calling.
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@Georgeann_Ray Georgeann_Ray, I missed your post until today. Whether you have a FHC in your stake or not, your calling exists for a different reason. Only the stake T&FHC calling with a "dash" after it and "- Family History Center" is assigned responsibilities for overseeing a FHC. In fact, the Handbook now says (Section 5.4.3.1), "Under the direction of the bishop, [the ward T&FH leader] "works with the elders quorum presidency to assign consultants to serve in the family history center as needed." So now there isn't even a calling specific to working in the FHC (except for the stake T&FHC - FHC). Those are now assignments made within wards after consultation between the bishop, the EQP, and the ward T&FH leaders.
But the stake T&FH consultant could be a key calling if stake leadership decides they want to really charge up the T&FH work in their wards and branches. It's the stake T&FH consultants who (by assignment) assist the high councilor in training. Paragraph 5.4.6.2 of the Handbook says (particularly note the last sentence):
"The stake presidency may assign one or more high councilors to train the ward temple and family history leader (if called; see 5.4.1) and members of the elders quorum and Relief Society presidencies who lead temple and family history work. As needed, these high councilors also coordinate the stake’s efforts in FamilySearch indexing and at family history centers. They may be assisted by a stake temple and family history consultant."
And remember what Elder Renlund said last February about whether to call a ward T&FH leader or not. He said that a ward "consultant reports to the ward temple and family history leader, who works closely with the elders quorum presidency, who supervises the work under the direction of the bishop. To deviate from this standard leadership pattern requires a good reason, concurrence of the stake president, and confirmation by the Holy Ghost.” In other words, all reasonably large wards and branches should ordinarily have a ward T&FH leaders.
The Church is very clearly placing emphasis on leadership in T&FH work, and training therefore becomes essential. That's where a stake T&FHC can become a multiplier for even a knowledgeable high councilor who can't be everywhere, all the time. In that way, the ward and branch leadership is properly trained, not just "called" to a calling title in the computer. And it's all the leaders that have access to the FHAR, for that reason - planning and leadership. So now I just get my copy from my high councilor via email so I know what's happening generally in the stake when questions come up (I'm what was formerly called a FHC "director" - the new official calling without a title 😁 ).
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