Orlando Temple District Prepares for NFS

I thought I would pass along this interesting email on FCHNET today:

Preparing for the new FamilySearch

On July 24 we received the announcement letter from our "Area Family History Advisor" that we would be having the new FamilySearch roll out meeting on August 5. In that meeting we were told that our Orlando Temple district will go live on August 28. (Yes - only a month after receiving our notice.)

It was emphasized in the meeting that they are really depending on FHC directors and all consultants to register and take the E-courses. The FHC directors received the well done roll out DVD while many of the priesthood leaders have not. The department staff were very careful to not appear to be directing the priesthood leaders. They did appeal to the leaders to call consultants (the key to the FH program), for them to encourage each family to prepare and submit as a beginning the first four generations of their family's records and they asked them to speak of the personal joy found in providing ordinances for their ancestors in the temple.

There are a number of things about the program that are still awaiting engineer attention. I've been told more than once by support to be patient when I've written about different processes that need attention. For example, if TempleReady was used to prepare ordinance cards since 1 Jan 2007, the completed ordinance information will not likely be viewed in either the IGI or new FS for several months. By contrast if ordinances are completed using the new FS submission forms, when those ordinances are completed the information can be viewed the same day. Also realize that PAF Insight and other synchrony programs will not access the new FS database so you will have to manually enter "Submitted" into your personal records database and then also manually update your records with ordinance dates. These kind of problems will disappear when all temple districts have changed over to the new FS.

Another interesting explanation concerned the use of GEDCOM submissions. If you have contributed any information before in Ancestral File or Pedigree Resource File, you need to realize that the first time you contribute with a GEDCOM file, you will create many duplicate records in the new FamilySearch that will need to be combined manually. If you plan on doing a submission with a GEDCOM file, it is strongly recommended that you use data management software that assigns unique record serial numbers (these numbers are also called Global Unique Identifiers or GUIDs). Therefore, it is important to carefully review what is in the database beforehand and to do small groups of GEDCOM submissions instead of flooding your
personal records in the FamilySearch database with such a merging task to be done that you might become overwhelmed.

Despite being concerned with adjustment problems, as I was combining records tonight, all of a sudden I realized one of my ancestral lines I've had blocked for years had four 3rd great grandparents and their children in the database. It is all very thrilling and overwhelming. How blessed we are to be participants in this historical moment.

Terry Mason, Director
Clermont FL FHC