"No obstacles are insurmountable when God commands and we obey"
- - Heber J. Grant
December 09, 2015
Give the Gift of Family History this Christmas
by Kathryn Grant

This year, are you looking for meaningful Christmas gifts — something beyond the latest gadget or trend? Consider giving the gift of family history. It may take a little more planning, but family history gifts offer eternal value as they connect us to our loved ones both here and beyond the veil.

Here are some possibilities:

  • Interview a parent, grandparent, or other family member and record his or her life story. You can write the story or make an audio recording. It doesn’t have to be long or complicated. It has been said that when someone passes away, a library of knowledge is lost. Don’t wait until it’s too late to capture experiences that only that person can share.

  • Plan a family temple session, doing family names if possible. Previous columns have explained how to find valid names. If you don’t have your family own names at present, check with other family members to see if they could use help.

  • Do a batch of indexing. Some families give service as a gift to other family members; indexing is a great option for that type of gift.

  • Plan a family reunion. It doesn’t have to take place over the holidays, but it’s a great gift regardless of when it’s held.

  • Give a calendar that includes family photographs. Copy shops or office supply stores may offer this service.

  • Arrange to take family history classes together.

  • Print a large-size fan chart showing your family. (A caution here — if you print the chart from an online site such as Family Tree rather than your own verified database, verify the information to be sure it’s accurate before printing the chart.)

  • Give a subscription to a genealogy site.

Start now so you have plenty of time to plan.

Wilford Woodruff said, “Oh, I wish many times that the veil were lifted off the face of the Latter-day Saints. I wish we could see and know the things of God as they do who are laboring for the salvation of the human family who are in the spirit world; for if this were so, this whole people, with very few, if any, exceptions, would lose all interest in the riches of the world, and instead thereof their whole desires and labors would be directed to redeem their dead.” (Quoted in the Family History Student Manual, 2012).

The gift of family history is one that endures eternally.


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About Kathryn Grant

Kathryn Grant is a user assistance professional with a passion for usability and process improvement. She also loves family history and enjoys the challenge and reward of building her family tree.

As a child, she lived outside the United States for four years because of her father's job. This experience fueled her natural love of words and language, and also taught her to appreciate other cultures.

Kathryn values gratitude, teaching, learning, differences, and unity. She loves looking at star-filled skies, reading mind-stretching books, listening to contemporary Christian music, attending the temple, and eating fresh raspberries.

Kathryn teaches Sunday family history classes at the BYU Family History Library, and presents frequently at family history events. For more information, visit her Family History Learning Resources page

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