Too Busy To Write Your Personal History?

Samuel Leavitt's Journal to Westpoint
Public Domain

Wouldn't you  love to know what your great-grandmother did as a teenager? What was important in her life? What did she do for fun? I have often wished that I could travel back in time and get these questions answered by talking to my great-grandmother! Wouldn't that be so cool?

Dennis Brimhall, President and CEO of FamilySearch has often said, "What would our great, great grandchildren wish we had spent our time preserving?"

Writing our personal history is something that we are ALWAYS GOING TO DO, but many times we don't get around to it. Randal Wright spoke last week at the BYU Family and Genealogy Conference about writing your personal history, three words at a time. It is a great concept! Read the full article here.

"If a man keeps no journal, the path crumbles away behind him as his feet leave it; and days gone by are little more than a blank...A man might almost as well not have lived at all as entirely forget that he has lived, and entirely forget what he did on those departed days..." (Frazier's Magazine, July-December 1859, p. 147)

Journals...Not Boring Anymore!

Let's face it. Either you are a journal keeper or you aren't. In my family, I am the journal keeper and my husband isn't really. As for the kids, they're split on the topic! However, whenever anyone wants to know something, they are grateful that I have made a note of it. For instance, today my youngest granddaughter rolled over and back for the first time. Somewhere down the line, someone will ask me about it. Another instance...my daughter has a little one close to potty training. My daughter asked me when she was potty trained. I told her to go look in the journal that I kept for her! My obsessiveness may seem bizarre, but I feel strongly that I need to record these things.

As many of you may have figured out, I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon). We are big journal keepers. Last month in the magazine that is produced for the youth (ages 12-18) there was a great article on journal keeping. What I loved is that it wasn't your everyday journal article! It had ideas on how to keep a journal that fits with what you love and your lifestyle. Here is the link!

Another idea for journaling... an online journal! I use ldsjournal.com (I have no connection and receive no compensation from ldsjournal.com). The account is free and anyone can use it. I find that I write more when I can type it because I type so much faster. I have journals for my three granddaughters and myself at ldsjournal.com. They give you the ability to print out your entries at any time and also the ability to create a book of your entries. How I would have loved to read a journal of any of my ancestors!