Personal Ancestral File Parties

Tim and Donna Foster of the Manitowoc Branch, Appleton Wisconsin Stake, had been involved in family history and temple work for years. In the spring of 1995, however, Brother Foster felt a great sense of urgency to generate more interest in family history in his branch and discussed it with his branch president. The Fosters met with Ray and LaFond Hall, who were serving a full-time family history mission, and an idea was born: Why not bring members together in a workshop where they could enter their names into the computer using the family history software Personal Ancestral File? With the help of the Fosters and the Halls, members could run the names that were ready for temple work through TempleReady and go home with a submission disk.

With the blessing of the branch president, the Fosters and the Halls planned the evening. They brought seven computers to the Manitowoc church building. Members came on the appointed date, some with 2 names, some with 20 or more. They entered their names enthusiastically, and when they needed help, it was there. By the end of the evening, 11 members had a TempleReady submission disk.

Manitowoc members who had not attended the first workshop asked for a second chance, and when a second workshop was conducted, members from neighboring Sheboygan Branch attended too.

Over all, the workshops resulted in nearly 50 TempleReady submission disks being prepared. Many of the members traveled to the Chicago Illinois Temple to perform the temple work, and in addition they have increased their confidence and enthusiasm for family history.—Ray M. Hall, Perry Fourth Ward, Willard Utah Stake