Our
ward had an activity on Saturday. I was
asked to give a spiritual thought in relation to said activity –
which was on family history. I thought I
would just give a quick and short thought about why we have family history and
sought inspiration. I listened to a
conference talk given by Elder Nelson (now president) had given in 1994 which
mentioned “genealogy”
being replaced with “family history”
which for me opened a whole new floodgate of questions.
Curiosity
got the better of me and I researched dates and information related
specifically to downtown Salt Lake. By the time I had finished my research I
had enough information for a talk though unless specifically assigned the
family history topic it is not a talk that I’ll
ever give from the pulpit.
So
my thought was:
“Genealogical Society of Utah
started exactly 130 years and 3 days ago.
So what is the difference between Genealogy and Family History. I would love to give you the reference but
this quote came up as an IA overview, but I thought it was such a good quote I
thought I would share it.
“Genealogy is the “bones” of a family tree and family
history is the “flesh” that brings it to life.”
I
concluded with another quote:
President Spencer
W. Kimball taught that “our great part in this aspect of missionary
work is to perform on this earth the ordinances required for those who accept
the gospel over there.”
I
did not share any dates or discoveries that I had made as I researched the
history specifically of the family history library located in Salt Lake.
According
to Russell M. Nelson (GC Oct 1994, who at the time was an elder and not
prophet, seer and revelator) the Genealogical Society was organized on November
13, 1894. I remember going to the church
office building where the Genealogical Society was on an upper floor. I don’t
know that it was really open to the public per se –
I was always with a group and had assumed prior arrangements had been
made.
I
remember searching through large books with legal documents containing family
group sheets and either copying the information by hand or most likely using
the copy machines and adding said information to my very own Book of Remembrance. How grateful I am that the legal paper is a
thing of the past.
Apparently
the family history thing (then tacked with the name genealogy) became a hot
item during the 70’s thanks in part to
Alex Haley. The Genealogy Library in
Salt Lake was not built until October 1985. The name was changed to the Family
History Library almost two years later in August 1987. For a good while there people came to Utah to
use the Family History Library, my aunt being one of them. She would sleep in the extra bed we had,
leave in the morning, spend the entire day downtown, and return at night to
sleep.
On
January 10 last year the name was changed to FamilySearch library to accompany the
online source which is available world wide.
How blessed we are to literally have so much information at our
fingertips and do not have the expense of traveling to one destination or back
and forth to several.
The
children’s
songbook was initially published in 1989.
On page 94 is the song “Genealogy –
I Am Doing It” also changed
to “Family History–
I Am Doing It”. I remember hand writing the new words but cannot
find the book I used. The second verse is
the same but the first us different – except for “progenitors” (that’s a big word for primary kids) I like the flow of
the “Family History” lyrics as opposed to the “Genealogy” ones.
Geneology – I am doing it, my geneology
Fam’ly history—I
am doing it, My fam’ly history.
And the reasons why I am doing it
And the love I
feel when I’m doing it
Are very clear to me
Is very sweet to
me.
I will keep my book of rememberence;
I learn stories of my progenitors;
I’ll write my history.
I write their history.
It’s a record of my family
I keep records of my loved ones
My geneology
On my own fam’ly tree.
