How to Use Smartphone to Do Family History Lds

FamilySearch Tree Mobile App Enriches Lives and Makes Family unit History Work Easier

Contributed By Trent Toone, Church building News contributor

Article Highlights

• Using the FamilySearch Tree mobile app brought Amy Miles peace after her hubby suffered a brain aneurysm.
• Doing family history work brings heaven's assist to heal us during trials.
• The app helps users find nearby relatives, ready temple names, and find where their ancestors lived.

"I had not washed any family history previous to this. … It'south brought a peace into my life that never would take been at that place otherwise. … I feel like it's a phenomenon and such a blessing to be live during this age." —Amy Miles, FamilySearch Tree app user

Amy Miles could talk for hours most how the FamilySearch Tree mobile app has enriched her life.

For the past year, the 42-year-old wife and female parent of four has opened the app on her smartphone whenever she has time—waiting for kids in the carpool line at schoolhouse, showing Relief Club sisters how to use one of the features, and when interacting with her children during fun family dwelling house evening activities.

Engaging the app also helped Miles to discover comfort and healing when her husband suffered a encephalon aneurysm.

"I had not done any family unit history previous to this. … Information technology'due south brought a peace into my life that never would have been there otherwise," Miles said. "I feel similar information technology's a miracle and such a blessing to be alive during this age. Yes, there are things that are scary. But Heavenly Male parent has deemed for that. He's given the states tools that are actually stronger than what the adversary can throw at us. We just need to employ them. This is definitely ane of those tools. I experience it'south underutilized."

Since its launch in July 2014, more than 4 meg users have downloaded the free FamilySearch Tree mobile app. Information technology averages 700,000 monthly users, most of which fall in the 20–45 age range. The mobile app tin also practise 90 percent of the functions a user tin detect using the web on a desktop or laptop computer, according to FamilySearch.

"I think the app brings people to family unit history who otherwise wouldn't take come to family history," said Wendy Smedley, FamilySearch marketing managing director. "You tin do many of the same things on the mobile app every bit you can on a desktop computer or laptop. The app feels less intimidating. It'south a simplified experience. It's intended for people who want to practise something apace."

The FamilySearch Tree app is free and most used in the Usa, Brazil, and Mexico. Graphic past Aaron Thorup.

FamilySearch is planning some additional app developments for 2019, including simpler means to review and attach sources and new discovery features that designers hope will enhance the overall user experience. Users can expect to learn more than virtually new app developments while attending RootsTech, February 27 through March two, in Salt Lake City.

In contempo years the FamilySearch Tree mobile app has become a nifty way for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to learn about ancestors as well as find and gear up names to take to the temple.

The app has also immune nonmember users to build, view, preserve, and share family history stories, too every bit complete short and simple tasks, thanks to its handy admission and user-friendly usage, said Todd Powell, a FamilySearch senior product manager and mobile apps experience manager.

"It's allowing people to engage in family unit history when they have only a couple of minutes, on the get," Powell said. "It's the relative ease and availability of having the app with them at any time they want."

The FamilySearch Tree app'south well-nigh pop features include viewing ancestors and relatives around me. New additions volition be coming in 2019. Graphic by Aaron Thorup.

With the app, at that place'southward what people like to do and there's what's popular, Powell said.

One of the two more popular features is called "Relatives Around Me." When a group of people log into the app, they hit the "browse" button and run across how they are related to others within a 100-human foot radius.

This turned out to exist an exciting activity for Garland, Utah, resident Carla Jeppesen and others at a recent Relief Society action. She joked that it would be fun to try at stake conference, although the Wi-Fi would probable crash.

"It was fun to come across who was related. Granted, they were eighth and ninth cousins, but information technology was however fun to see the connection. Information technology gets y'all to go 1 step further and offset looking in your family tree," Jeppesen said. "1 sis said she was a catechumen and didn't have any relations. She was a little discouraged. We helped her do it and she constitute a couple of people that were related. She was excited."

FamilySearch Tree app users are most probable to exist between 20 and 45 years old and female. Graphic by Aaron Thorup.

A second pop feature is "Ordinances Ready," which makes it unproblematic for Latter-day Saints to detect and gear up an ancestor's name for a trip to the temple.

"The feel really lends itself to the mobile app and allows y'all to practice it [detect and gear up names] chop-chop," Smedley said. "We hope this becomes the norm for members."

A third characteristic is "Map My Ancestors." Using GPS technology, users can log in and access a map to find where ancestors lived and died, including cemeteries where they are cached, depending on their location.

On a road trip to Arizona last summertime, Powell used this app characteristic to locate the burial spots of a great-great-grandad and children who were great-aunts and uncles, he said.

"It was a really neat experience for us," Powell said.

And so there'southward the principal characteristic people like to apply, Powell said, which for Miles is her "accented about favorite" characteristic on the FamilySearch Tree app. It's called "Tasks," a check-mark symbol at the lesser of the screen. This characteristic allows users to view new ancestor hints or prepare ancestral ordinances for the temple.

When signed into the FamilySearch Tree app, users can find relatives standing within approximately 100 feet of each other. Photo courtesy of FamilySearch.

With much of her ancestors' temple piece of work already washed, Miles started becoming familiar with her family unit lines by attaching documents, like a birth or death certificate. Much to her please, in the process of doing this, Miles discovered more than 300 family names needing temple ordinances, she said.

Miles "dove into family history work" after her hubby was diagnosed with what she described as a "complex" encephalon aneurysm. In performing this sacred work she felt the power of words spoken past Elder Dale Chiliad. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in April 2018: "Family history and temple work provided the ability to heal that which needed healing" ("Family unit History and Temple Work: Sealing and Healing").

"Everyone could use a chip of heaven's assist," Miles said.

Smedley felt the same heavenly support while facing a difficult personal struggle. At a time when she felt particularly alone and isolated, Smedley was using the tree app and found an ancestor who had experienced the very same challenge. The discovery forged a strong spiritual bond that has helped her to go on going, she said.

"It stayed with me … and I knew information technology would be OK," Smedley said. "I had a profound sense of not being alone. I think that's why people love the temple and doing family history piece of work, because it deepens and builds your family unit connections. It builds love, and you feel less lonely."

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Source: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/familysearch-tree-mobile-app-enriches-lives-and-makes-family-history-work-easier?lang=eng