I Made it Home!

I finally made it home from the St. George Expo! I went over to the family history center shortly after that! How is that for all genealogy, all the time! More posts from classes to follow this week! I just need to catch my breath!

A Minor Interruption!

More to post from the conference, but dealing with a minor interruption at the moment! Winter weather forced me (and a zillion others) to stop and spend the night in Cedar City! So, as soon as I make it home I will post the rest of my fun conference info! All I want to say right now is KUDOS to Holly Hansen and her help for making the conference the success that it was!

LIfe After the IGI

Robert Raymond, Used with permission

 

 

 

Is there life after the IGI? Yes there is! This class gave quite a bit of history of the IGI and what it's purpose was. Each entry identifies one person or one marriage. The IGI existed primarily to assist members of the LDS Church to verify completion of temple ordinances. The IGI WAS NOT designed as a genealogical tool! Now, with the genealogical community shifting and more people doing genealogy (LDS or not), the design had to change.There were many shortcomings with the IGI and as technology has advanced, these shortcomings have become quite glaring! The new design of FamilySearch IS designed as a genealogical tool! That is the goal going forward. If you want to know more about the IGI and where that information has gone, go to the FamilySearch Wiki!

Opening Session-Glen Rawson-Where Ol' Dogs Learn New Tricks: The Power and Drama of Original Records!

The opening session of the St. George began with Glen Rawson. He is the producer of the program "History of the Saints" that airs on KSL. He said that when he first started on this project he made the mistake of saying "that he couldn't make a show interesting from dusty old documents!" WRONG! One of the things that changed his mind was that he was visiting with Ron Esplin from the Church Archives (?). Brother Esplin handed him a book to look at. It was old and dusty! Brother Esplin asked Brother Rawson if he knew what the book was. Brother Rawson replied that he didn't. This dusty old book was Joseph Smith's first journal. What a treasure!

Brother Rawson said that "old records give you a sense of purpose, belonging, culture, and heritage." When he started the program about the Joseph Smith papers, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS/Mormons) gave him the charge to instill faith! These dusty old books belonged to real people who felt joy, pain, and suffering just like we do! We need to take the time to tell those stories. Brother Rawson says to "not miss the history by ignoring the original documents."

Brother Rawson went on to tell some individual stories of Mormon pioneers' lives that can be broadly applied to our day. He mentioned that researching individual records ties you to the people, you get the whole, complete story that is unfiltered, and you meet people on their terms.

Another quote from Brother Rawson..."The past is a foreign country...they do things differently there." He couldn't remember who this quote was from, but the meaning is clear. Our ancestors did things differently, just as just as we do things differently. Laws were different in their day. Laws are different in our day. Don't be so quick to judge and wonder why they did what they did. Our descendants will also do things differently from the way we do! Appreciate and learn life's lessons from your ancestors!

As a closing, Brother Rawson encourages us to tell the stories of the past, so that we may inspire and change our lives in the present.

I Made It!

Tomorrow morning starts the St. George Family History Expo. The opening session is "Where Ol' Dogs Learn New Tricks: The Power and Drama of Original Records." Well, this ol' dog is ready to learn some new tricks! Staying with the whole dog theme, my first class will be "Lassie! Go for Free Genealogy Help!" Wait up! Lassie is on her way! See you tomorrow! :)

On My Way to St. George Family History Expo!

 

The Family History Expo is finally here! I will be blogging during the expo (Friday and Saturday) so check back here often to see what is happening.