The document provides tips for getting more involved in family history despite limited time by focusing on indexing, adding sources and editing data in the family tree, prioritizing relatives, and utilizing online resources like FamilySearch. It notes that over 1 million images are processed daily and records are being continually added, while emphasizing finding and qualifying direct-line ancestors and their families for temple ordinances.

1. How to Get More
Involved in Your Family
History Despite
Limited Available Time
Ben Baker

2. Thinking vs. Doing
• According to a 2008 BYU study
– 95.9% of members think that doing
family history is very important
– 84.6% of members spend less than one hour per
month doing family history
• Only 2.6% of adult members have submitted a
name for temple ordinances during the past year
• Find a way to end “Temple Welfare”

3. Family History Department
Mission Statement
To help church members fulfill their divinely appointed
responsibility to find their families and qualify them for
temple ordinances
Discover people you don’t know about already
Should be doing temple work for your own family

4. Family History Process Flow

5. Simple Ways to
Move Your Work Forward
• Indexing
• Family Tree
– Add sources
– Edit bad data
– Flag non-matching duplicate people
• Prototype Method for Prioritizing Relatives

6. Records Being Added Daily
• Over one million images processed every day
• 23% of vault is digitized
• Expect to have all 2.4 million rolls of microfilm
at vault digitized in 3-4 more years
• Over 200 cameras at archives throughout world

7. Indexing
http://indexing.familysearch.org
Makes it possible to easily find
people in records
Anyone can help
– Can do in short time periods
– Great for youth
– Practice mission language or
learn a new one

8. Family Tree
• Will replace new.familysearch.org soon
• Public access, not just LDS church members
• Ability to attach sources
• Can edit data/relationships others contributed
• Provide justifications for all changes

9. http://www.familysearch.org/invite/familytree_tab
http://www.familysearch.org/invite/public1
https://familysearch.org/tree-training

10. Sources
• Links historical documents to
people in the tree

11. Search for Records

12. Find Relevant Results
https://familysearch.org/blog/familysearch-webinar/

13. My Source Box

14. Add Sources To Person in Family Tree

15. Edit Bad Data
• Edit or delete
conclusions
and
relationships
with change
history
• Justifications
for changes

17. Possible Duplicates

18. Merge Duplicates or
Mark Not a Match

20. For more information, see manual, handouts and webinars at
https://familysearch.org/tree-training

21. Who is My Family?
“I would invite you to read carefully in the sections in the
Doctrine and Covenants that focus on this sacred
responsibility. And the language that says that you are to
perform these ordinances not for the dead, but for your dead.”
~Elder David A. Bednar
• See Doctrine and Covenants sections 124, 127-128
• Direct Line Ancestors
• Descendants of direct line ancestors and their families
• Probable ancestors (Ex. Same town and surname)
http://broadcast.lds.org/elearning/FHD/Local_Support/Consultant/Temple_Policy-Name_Submissions/player.html

22. Temple Tab
Only useful if you already have already submitted names for the temple

23. Hunting for Icons

24. Who are my closest relatives that …
– May already be ready for LDS temple work?
– Have data that needs correcting?
– Have potential historical record matches?
– Are missing sources to document conclusions?
– Are end of line ancestors?
– Have probable unknown children?
– Are not being watched for changes by others?
– Have potential duplicates that should be merged?
–…

25. Prioritization Scheme Wish
Direct Ancestors Collateral Relatives Relatives Through Marriage
Parents
Siblings
Grandparents
Great Grandparents
Spouse
2G Grandparents
Aunts/Uncles
3G Grandparents
4G Grandparents
1st Cousins
5 G Grandparents
Great Aunts/Uncles
Parents-in-law or step-parents
6G Grandparents
7G Grandparents
2G Aunts/Uncles
8G Grandparents
Siblings-in-law
9G Grandparents
Grandparents-in-law

26. Weighted Relationship Distance
WRD(g, c, m) = α(|g| + 1) eβc eγm
• g – Generational Distance
• c – Collateral Distance
• m – Marriage Distance
• α, β, γ – Weighting Factors

27. Generational Distance
• Number of generations from base person
• Positive or negative integer
• Examples:
– Father: g = 1
– 2nd Great Grandmother: g = 4
– Child: g = -1

28. Collateral Distance
• “Horizontal” distance from base person
• Positive integer
• Examples:
– Sibling: c = 1
– 1st Cousin: c = 2
– 4th Cousin 3 Times Removed: c = 5, g = 3

29. Marriage Distance
• Number of marriages from base person
• Positive multiple of 0.5
• Examples:
– Wife: m = 1
– Brother-in-law: m = 1, c = 1
– Additional wife of great grandfather: m = 0.5, g = 3

30. Generational Distance Weight
• WRD(g, c, m) = α(|g| + 1) eβc eγm
• G = α(|g| + 1)
• Absolute value to handle negative generational
distance
• α – Weighting factor to apply
• If g ≥ 0 then α = 1 else α = 1.76
• Use of α = -1 for negative values of g
• Generally corresponds to number of
generations – i.e. linear

31. Collateral Distance Weight
• WRD(g, c, m) = α(|g| + 1) eβc eγm
• C = eβc
• β – Weighting factor to apply, default 1.0
• Exponential as collateral distance increases

32. Marriage Distance Weight
• WRD(g, c, m) = α(|g| + 1) eβc eγm
• M = eγm
• γ – Weighting factor to apply, default 1.42
• Exponential as marriage distance increases
• Higher default weight causes faster increase
than with collateral distance

33. Assigning Weights to People
g c m G C M WRD
Self 0 0 0 1 1.0 1.0 1.00
Parents 1 0 0 2 1.0 1.0 2.00
Siblings 0 1 0 1 2.7 1.0 2.72
Grandparents 2 0 0 3 1.0 1.0 3.00
Children -1 0 0 3.52 1.0 1.0 3.52
Great Grandparents 3 0 0 4 1.0 1.0 4.00
Spouse 0 0 1 1 1.0 4.1 4.14
2G Grandparents 4 0 0 5 1.0 1.0 5.00
Grandchildren -2 0 0 5.28 1.0 1.0 5.28
Aunts/Uncles (only children of grandparents) 1 1 0 2 2.7 1.0 5.44
3G Grandparents 5 0 0 6 1.0 1.0 6.00
4G Grandparents 6 0 0 7 1.0 1.0 7.00
Great Grandchildren -4 0 0 8.8 1.0 1.0 8.80
1st cousins 0 2 0 1 7.4 1.0 7.39
5G Grandparents 7 0 0 8 1.0 1.0 8.00
Great aunts/uncles (siblings of grandparents) 2 1 0 3 2.7 1.0 8.15
Parents of spouse or other spouse of parent 1 0 1 2 1.0 4.1 8.27
6G Grandparents 8 0 0 9 1.0 1.0 9.00
Nieces/Nephews -1 1 0 3.52 2.7 1.0 9.57
7G Grandparents 9 0 0 10 1.0 1.0 10.00

34. Other Potential Applications
• “Doneness” of a person’s family’s temple work up
to a specified threshold
• Relationship to a person’s temple card given to you
• Easily view relatives with the same relation to you
(Ex. All siblings of 3G Grandparents)
• Average closeness of all temple name submissions
• Average closest relative needing temple work for
all users
• …

35. Prototype Demo

36. Q &A

37. Images Used
• Slide 1
– Right image – https://mediafinder.ldschurch.org/entry/4b26f30d8400488088d3798b81b89a12
– Bottom left image –https://mediafinder.ldschurch.org/entry/e05e8929cd9d4158aa0898a60a55d6d8
• Slide 2
– Top right image – Image from my personal collection (my great-grandfather, grandmother and great-uncle)
– Bottom image – Screenshot I created of a portion of new.familysearch.org
• Slide 4
– Image - Diagram I personally created
• Slide 6
– Bottom left image – https://mediafinder.ldschurch.org/entry/05147849c33340fda426cd3ec79be3f5
– Bottom right image – https://mediafinder.ldschurch.org/entry/7689f631f0f345ac88c835919a79e37f
• Slide 7
– Left image – Screenshot I created from indexing.familysearch.org
• Slide 9
– Image – Screenshot I created from familysearch.org
• Slide 10
– Top right image – Image from my personal collection (my father)
– Middle image – Screenshot I created of familysearch.org
– Bottom image – Screenshot I created of census record publicly available on familysearch.org
• Slide 11
– Image – Screenshot I created from familysearch.org
• Slide 12
– Image – Screenshot I created from familysearch.org search results
• Slide 13
– Image – Screenshot I created from familysearch.org
• Slide 14
– Image – Screenshot I created from familysearch.org
• Slide 15
– Image – Screenshot I created from familysearch.org
• Slide 16
– Top image – Screenshot I created from familysearch.org
– Bottom image – Screenshot I created from familysearch.org
• Slide 18
– Image – Screenshot I created from familysearch.org
• Slide 19
– Image – Screenshot I created from familysearch.org