12 Days of Family History - Noelle Bott

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12 Days of Family History Luke 2:4 – Joseph returned DEC 1 with his family to the land of his lineage, “every one to his own city.” What would be the lands of your lineage? Luke 2:3 – Caesar’s decree  Tell your kids or a friend about growing DEC 2 was not only about taxes, but for a census of the people. Records were vital to Rome and are vital to family history. up in your hometown, or about an ancestor who moved away from where they grew up.  Try the Where Am I From? Activity on Without them, we have no way of finding the FamilySearch website. names of our relatives to take to the temple, or to find out our family stories.  Complete a batch on FamilySearch Web Indexing. For a brief introduction to indexing, click here.  Try the Picture My Heritage activity on Luke 2:8 – The shepherds’ jobs made their visit to the Savior symbolic of not DEC 3 only His humble circumstances, but also His love and care over us, his “flock.” What are the FamilySearch website. some of the occupations that have made an impact on the lives of you and your ancestors?  Find and add the occupation of one of your ancestors on FamilySearch. For tips, click here.  With kids, talk about different jobs you and your ancestors have had and play charades using those jobs as prompts.  Try the Recommended Tasks section to start attaching records to find more about your ancestors. 1 DEC 4 Luke 2:15-16 – The shepherds received news from the angels and went to search for the Savior. Searching for records can help you and others find new connections in your family tree.  Search for records in FamilySearch. For a quick overview on searching for records, click here.  Give your kids scavenger hunt clues to members of your family tree: you could use clues like “Find an ancestor who was born in Germany,” or “Find a family Luke 2:18-19 – Mary pondered over her experiences, maybe DEC in part to try to understand her part in 6 with more than 10 children.” everything that was happening. As we write and ponder our own experiences, we are promised greater understanding and DEC 5 Luke 2:17 – When the shepherds found the Savior, they shared their story with everyone they could. What are inspiration. These experiences could inspire others as you share them or pass them on in your personal history.  Take time to record your testimony, or some of the important stories in your family a meaningful experience that has tree? Have you recorded these experiences or helped you understand God’s plan for shared them on FamilySearch? you.  Find and read some of the stories from  Help your kids start a journal or draw a your family tree on All the Stories. picture about why they love the Savior.  Attach a story to FamilySearch – it could be a family legend that has been passed down, Grandma’s recipe, or a special piece of advice from a parent. Click here for a guide on how to attach stories to your family. Luke 2:20 – We don’t know what the first Christmas really looked like, but pictures can DEC help us feel connected to our heritage and 7  Try the Record My Story activity on understand more what their lives were like. FamilySearch. This activity makes it  Attach a picture of a loved one on easy to think of stories to add to your FamilySearch. For a brief guide, click own FamilySearch profile, for here. generations to come to enjoy.  Try the Compare-A-Face activity with your family. 2 DEC 8 Matthew 2:1-2 – While the shepherds may not have had far to go to find the manger, the wise men came from the East to find Him. Luke 1:36 – Mary’s cousin Elizabeth was the mother of John the DEC 10 Baptist. Their lives and missions were tightly Sometimes the search for information about connected. If you have a large family tree, you our family tree is harder than others, but our may want to begin researching your perseverance is a way we can “cousins,” doing descendancy show our love to our ancestors research. and the Lord.  Explore the descendancy  Learn about more tips view on FamilySearch to find and places to search for family members who need records on your family. more research. Try the FamilySearch wiki  Use the Relative Finder to for region-specific help, or find out who else you may be articles like this to get related to! 11 ideas.  Teach your kids something you have DEC learned about doing Luke 2:25-33 – Throughout His family history work, or mortal ministry and beyond, about FamilySearch. many have struggled to accept that Jesus of Nazareth and the Messiah are one and the same. 9  One common question in family Matthew 2:4-6 – prophets history is how to know whether to DEC foretold Bethlehem long before would be that the merge duplicates. Check out this article or this post for tips. birthplace of the Savior. The places of our lives and our ancestors’ can also hold significant meaning.  Try the Improve Place Names project on FamilySearch – it only takes a few “The keys are to be delivered, the spirit of DEC 12 Elijah is to come, … and the Saints to come up minutes. as saviors on Mount Zion.” – Joseph Smith.  Try the All About Me activity with your  Reserve a name to take to the temple. family.  Explore the In-Home Activities page for more ways your family can prepare. 3