Need Folks to Use the FHC
I was called in Feb 2020 to be a Ward Temple and Family History Consultant. Our FHC was closed due to Covid. When I was able to re-open, I opened on Thursday nights when the kids have activities, hoping parents would stop in. They haven't ☹️. How do you get people to come?
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Are you also called, set apart, and listed as a FamilySearch Center (FSC) leader, or are you only called and set apart ward temple and family history consultant as you mentioned above? If you aren't called (and entered into the Church system properly) with the correct Stake calling that appoints you as the FamilySearch Center leader (formerly called director, and possibly now being changed to "coordinator"), there needs to be clarification with your stake president as to whether you (or anyone) is even serving as the Center leader. If your stake isn't clear on how all that works, then it's not at all surprising that you're having difficulty. If someone seems to think your FSC is just a ward facility, that is entirely incorrect. All FamilySearch Centers are stake facilities, and are under the direction and control of the stake president, not a bishop or just a randomly assigned ward T&FH consultant. In fact, the leader of the FSC is by definition a stake T&FH consultant who is then also assigned the responsibility to lead that FSC.
Section 25 of the Handbook says that the FamilySearch Center staff members are generally to be assigned from among ward T&FH consultants, but that would be a discussion between the various ward T&FH leaders (after consultations with their respective bishops) and the person in charge of the FSC. And if the center leader hasn't even been called to that position by the stake (it's a stake calling - there are no ward FSCs), then the the high counselor that should be assigned to T&FH doesn't even had a FSC leader with whom to coordinate.
Assuming you're actually formally called to the FSC leader position and properly entered into the Church computer system, you need to be discussing this issue with your assigned high councilor. It would indicate that ward T&FH leaders as well as ward T&FH consultants, EQ and RS presidencies, YW leaders, and the bishopric (over the Aaronic PH quorums) are not fully understanding and fulfilling their leadership and training roles for ward T&FH positions, and the membership in general, and that the stake leaders are not working with the ward in order to increase that understanding and activity.
If it was all functioning well, members would better understand the need to release their ancestors from spirit prison, and that the only way in which that can happen is to have the ordinances performed on their behalf. That's fundamental. And it requires entry of every one of our ancestors into FamilySearch's Family Tree on the web site. It warrants a good sit-down discussion with the person that called and set you apart as the Center leader so that he can go back to the stake presidency (return and report!) and explain the issue to them for decisions as to resolution.
One additional suggestion you could use is to obtain a copy of the latest Family History Activity Report (FHAR) from that same stake person who called you, and study it together to see the "health" of the stake or your ward at least, and why it's probably not surprising that members aren't flocking into the FSC. You do not have access to download the FHAR, but every quorum and RS presidency, bishopric member, high councilor, and others has the ability to download that monthly report on the stake's T&FH "health," and that ought to be being reviewed and discussed in the various councils (high council, stake council, stake adult leadership council, ward council, and the ward T&FH coordination meeting which is really also a council in which counseling together takes place).
Once you've had this discussion with your assigned high councilor, it becomes his responsibility to work it out with the stake presidency as to how it's going to be fixed in the stake. Responsibilities for all of that are clearly outlined in Section 25 of the Handbook. You can only do so much, and motivating whole wards or the stake is neither your responsibility nor even within your power as you lead the functioning of the FSC. Your primary responsibility is to make that place as inviting as you can, and make sure your staff are all trained well so they can assist those that do come in. But since they will mostly be from among ward consultants, they are each members of their respective ward T&FH coordination meeting, where they also have the right and responsibility to bring up this issue and discuss solutions within each of their wards.
Hope that helps - at least some. Just remember, you can only do so much, and you are only called to do what your calling outlines in the Handbook as well as the FamilySearch Center Operations Guide.
--Chris
P.S. I would add that stakes are going to become increasingly responsible for reaching out into their local communities to invite those full communities to take advantage of what we have to offer in our FSCs, to include qualified assistance in finding our ancestors and getting them organized properly on Family Tree within FamilySearch, along with showing them the free Premium resources available only within the FSC (which would otherwise cost around $1000 if we subscribed to those resources at home the last I checked). Plus, the FSC has access to so-called "restricted"records none of us can see at home - again, for free. All of that community outreach should be led by the stake, including the stake communication specialist.
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Thank you SO much for your answer. I am just called to be a Ward Temple and Family History Consultant and the representative from the Relief Society Presidency over Family History. I have located the three Family Search Coordinators called in our stake. I'm a fairly new member of the Church and haven't learned the procedures yet.
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In my area nonmembers use the library more often than members. As a former librarian at my state genealogical society, it was also an affiliate library, there are reasons why the library isn’t used more.
inconsistent hours-It’s run by volunteers and sometimes life interferes.
Patrons need a way to check to see if the center is open. A phone number and/ an email.
another complaint is that the volunteers aren’t vey knowledgeable. I think if all volunteers had a few basic skills and basic knowledge about the FamilySearch website everyone would be a little happier
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Unfortunately, your story is not unique. There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding across the country, not just in your ward and stake. My suspicion is that people don't realize that every member now has the capability of logging on to the Church website, and reading the Church's General Handbook. In years past (not that many either!), that was only a printed document, and limited numbers of copies were sent to stakes and wards for only the people who were authorized to have various portions of the Handbook. And when someone was released, they were supposed to turn in their copy of the portion they had, so the person releasing them could make sure that the person replacing them could be given that copy that was supposed to go with the calling.
That has all changed in three major ways. (1) The Handbook literally updates sometimes even from one day to the next with small changes. Major changes are typically announced, however. (2) The full Handbook is now available to all members to read and study. And (3) the handbook is only found online (not distributed in printed form). And as such, you can view the portion pertaining to Temple and Family History at:
Plus, you can view the entire rest of the Handbook as well. It's well worth the time to study it once, then go back and re-read it again and again from time to time until you particularly understand your own calling and how that relates to others' callings, and their responsibilities to you (as well as yours to them).
Because of your calling as a member of your ward's RS presidency, you've actually been given a very important calling. You and the elders quorum counselor assigned to temple and family history (T&FH) are both automatically members of the ward T&FH coordination meeting, with the ward T&FH leader conducting that meeting and the EQ counselor presiding as the representative of the EQ president. You and that EQ counselor take what happens in that coordination meeting up to your respective presidents (EQ & RS), and they in turn represent all of that within the ward council. There is a fundamental principle in the Church known as "return and report," which enables good 2-way communication up and down the lines of authority and responsibility in the Church. The people at the top can't know what's going on at the bottom if those lower levels (the real working levels) aren't communicating upward to them, so that appropriate prayerfully considered decisions can be made at the ward level (in the ward council and ultimately approved by the bishop).
It seems that too many don't yet fully appreciate that the EQ and RS presidents jointly have the major responsibilities for "running" the T&FH activities within the ward. As my own stake president recently stated, "T&FH work generally is directed by the T&FH leader who is overseen by the RS and EQ presidents, the latter of whom is directly responsible to the stake president." There are others significantly involved, but it basically revolves around the EQ and RS presidents, who are responsible for reporting to the ward council where most major decision making is done in each ward (or branch council if it's a branch). And there should be an information flow back down from the ward council starting with those two presidents, to their respective counselors (you), who then take that information back down to the ward T&FH coordination meeting where a large number of different people should be attending (including the youth leaders who are presidents of their classes for YW and quorums for the YM).
I'll throw this in as something to keep in the back of your mind for now, as you begin to better grasp the basic organizational structure of T&FH work within a ward. The EQ president works closely with the bishop, but the EQ president holds Melchizedek Priesthood keys, and he reports to the stake president who also holds Melchizedek PH keys. The bishop is a high priest in the Melchizedek Priesthood, but his keys (given when he was ordained a bishop) pertain to the Aaronic Priesthood. He directs the affairs of the ward, and works closely WITH the EQ president, as the EQ president is responsible for things pertaining to the Melchizedek Priesthood. And interesting to most people (but not well enough understood) is that the ward T&FH leader must be a Melchizedek PH holder. If the most qualified family history researcher and FamilySearch expert in the ward happens to be a sister, she may be well suited to be the RS counselor in your position (but doesn't have to be), but she could not lead that ward T&FH coordinating meeting. That's a Melchizedek PH function for a reason. (a LOT to chew on there!) 😉
That may all sound a bit overwhelming at first, but as you gain more experience in the Church, you'll begin to realize that it's a pattern that began literally at the time of the creation, and is the same pattern used from the President of the Church on down through the various councils (the Quorum of the Twelve is basically the Church equivalent of the ward council at a ward level, for example). Stakes are organized the same way, with their high council, and high councilors assigned to go down to wards and organizations and assist in training them, counseling with them to learn how things are going, and then reporting back up the line to the stake president. It's a beautifully inspired pattern, but if not properly understood and used, it can cause all sorts of deviations that the Lord never intended in how He has directed that His Church should be organized (and run).
You can't fix it all, but you can lovingly help educate others as to how it should work, and gradually help it come together in your ward and stake. As it does, you will see the blessings begin to flow, including more patrons coming into your FSC (among many other blessings).
Have fun! And I say that not sarcastically or flippantly, but quite sincerely. Because as it works properly, it becomes wonderfully rewarding. Remember that President Nelson has said multiple times since becoming President of the Church that the gathering on both sides of the veil is THE most important work on the earth today. And he has also said it is the reason we've each come to earth at this time in the world's history.
--Chris
P.S. As you'll see in section 25 of the Handbook, there is no calling of "Family Search Coordinators" (quoted from your message above). Perhaps you meant to say stake temple and family history consultants. But if someone used that term, and there are three of them, there is some misunderstanding somewhere. Don't worry about it. Just learn your own responsibilities, do them to the best of your abilities and both you and the ward and stake will be blessed (along with all those you assist).
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Our FSC has a phone and it was not disconnected when the stake and ward clerk phones (or the hall wall phone in the foyer) were all disconnected several years ago. Exactly how that phone is funded (FM Group or coming out of the Stake budget), I do not know, but it is up to the stake president whether the phone is included in the FSC. If it's an older one and still has a phone jack, it's quite possible it could be re-established. FSC leaders should discuss it with the high councilor assigned to T&FH and request that a phone be reinstalled in your FSC. There is supposed to be a phone available at least anytime the Center is in use for emergency and safety purposes. That can be fulfilled by a staff member's cell phone, but I'm not aware of a specification as to how it's supposed to be done. One way or another, a phone is supposed to be available, and how that gets accomplished is a stake president's decision. The FM Group is not in a position to deny a strong stake president request.
Personally, I'm very grateful to our stake president for keeping the FSC phone. We have a nice Panasonic system with a wall mounted base unit with message capabilities, plus two wireless extensions for convenience in other parts of the room (what was originally designed as three small classrooms separated by sound curtains that could be opened to make a larger room, but the curtains were long ago removed and an outside door added for direct access when no other activities are going on in the building). Get your stake president's help on this.
--Chris
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I think Family History Centers are the MTC to train the family history consultants.
Then the family history consultants need to visit the people in their homes. Like missionaries.
Don't wait for the people to come to the Family History Center. Except for the occasional youth activity, it doesn't happen enough.
There is little that can be done at the FHC that can't be done at home.
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What I believe is coming is more and more community outreach, and the FSCs will be a resource that the community cannot get elsewhere except at a price. Yes, the FSC can provide help through the staff members for community visitors, but another huge value (especially for more experienced researchers) is the list of "Premium" resources that can be used in the Center at no cost to anyone - member of the Church or not. And even if there is a FamilySearch Affiliate Library in the nearby vicinity, they only have around 90% of the restricted records that can only be viewed locally from within a FSC - again, a benefit to Church members or not.
The Handbook states that, where directed by the Area Presidency, an area T&FH advisor can train stake people. That would certainly include a high councilor over T&FH, who would then become a primary trainer for ward consultants. And remember that "generally" (Handbook wording) FSC staff members are first ward T&FH consultants, who then get selected to be FSC staff members. Somebody has to train them. And ideally that would come from either (or ideally both) the ward T&FH leader and/or the high councilor over T&FH (and any stake T&FH consultants he chooses to assign to assist in that training. (See Handbook 25.3.5)
I've heard of multiple stake presidents that want to "reclaim" classroom space within a building by decommissioning their FSCs because they don't see a need for them any longer. That's exceptionally short sighted, due to insufficient information and understanding. FSCs are not an insignificant resource to Church members, though you are absolutely correct about the function of ward T&FH consultants. There is just other help available to those same members as they advance in their ability to do research and move into the other "paid-for" resources in the FamilySearch Portal, called "Premium" resources. Yes, those are now fully available to anyone with a laptop logged into the Liahona WiFi, while also sitting in any building whether or not there's a FSC in that building -- but someone has to show them where those resources are and how to use them. Again, that's a FSC staff member's job, along with explaining that there are more "restricted" records available within the FSC and at home or at a FamilySearch Affiliate Library.
I have strong (and supported) reason to suspect that we're going to see more and more emphasis on inviting in the general community to our FSCs as well, which means the FSCs will have in some ways an even more important reason for existing. But again - you're spot on with the emphasis being on training of ward/branch members individually and as families by ward T&FH consultants.
--Chris
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One very successful way we have had our FamilySearch Center used in the evenings is to work with the YM and YW leaders in the various wards of the stake to encourage classes to come in a couple of times a year and with the assistance of the workers in the Center and Consultants in the stake, reserve ordinances for family members and print the cards out. Following this practice over half of the youth in our stake have been classified as submitters on the FHAR in the past few years. This is wonderful as it means the youth are taking their own family to the temple and this can truly change their hearts.
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