Family History Leadership & Consultant Training July 2011

The following is from FamilySearch.

FamilySearch Leadership and Consultant Training

The turning of hearts signifies a spiritual awakening as individuals and families serve their deceased relatives and experience the joy of being active participants in a fundamental part of Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation. Participation in temple and family history work touches the soul as the Holy Ghost bears witness to the eternal nature of families. This witness is sometimes called the Spirit of Elijah.

The Leader’s Guide to Temple and Family History Work: To Turn the Hearts (available at http://lds.org/service/serving-in-the-church/temple-and-family-history?lang=eng) describes how leaders can organize, lead, and implement temple and family history work in wards and stakes. It gives details not found in Handbook 2: Administering the Church. The guide describes how family history can be an integral part of the ward council’s efforts to bring about the salvation of souls. It also contains relevant information on how family history consultants can help ward and stake leaders implement and advance family history efforts. The guide is currently available online and is also scheduled to be printed and distributed to local units in October 2011.

Each month, starting with this letter, FamilySearch will publish a series of commentaries, training tips, and success stories to illustrate how leaders and consultants can bless the lives of those to whom they minister. It is intended that this material supplement local training in ward and stake councils. These letters could be made available to council members each month prior to council meetings. Feedback from both consultants and leaders on experiences they had using these principles and sharing the success stories with ward members is critical to planning the content of future letters. Recipients will receive a feedback questionnaire soon after they receive each letter.

In order to receive these valuable materials, you need to go to https://familysearch.org/serve as soon as possible to validate the information you have provided. Sign in to the site using your LDS Account.

 

Important Principle for Ward Councils: Strengthening the Ward through Temple and Family History work

(See To Turn the Hearts, pages 3, 11, 12)
Temple and family history work can help the ward council in the many aspects of the work of salvation, including member missionary work. As it says on page 12 of To Turn the Hearts, “Family history allows Church members to share a gospel topic in a nonthreatening way. Many people have a natural interest in families. . . .Ward council members, including the ward mission leader, can encourage members to invite friends and family of other faiths” to participate in nonthreatening family-based conversations that “can invite the Spirit and create interest in the message of the restored gospel.”

Suggestions for Ward Councils:

• View the new online course titled “Family History and Missionary Work” found athttp://broadcast.lds.org/elearning/FHD/Local_Support/Consultant/FH_Missionary/player.html
• Identify family history and temple activities that would be of interest to ward leaders and members where the online course could be used for training. The ward mission leader could work closely with full-time missionaries and ward missionaries as they consider the benefits of and work with ward leaders to bring about some of these activities.
• Call or assign consultants who have an inclination to work with full-time missionaries and train them to become familiar with the available resources.
• Report successes and bear testimony about specific activities. Invite ward members to become involved with full-time and ward missionaries.

As part of your feedback, please complete the questionnaire found at the end of the online course.