FHE Theme: Family History
Scripture: Malachi 4:6, Moses 6:5-8
Songs: ”Families Can be Together Forever” and “Family History – I Am Doing it” Children’s Songbook
Discussion: I know that my kids love watching videos during our lessons, and there are so many Church sponsored videos out there it's easy to throw one or two in, so I thought it would be great to start the lesson with this cute video from Family Search:
There are also Family Search videos for “What is a Family Tree?” and “What is an Ancestor?” that are really adorable too.
Have a family discussion on why we should know our family history. Here are some suggested topics for your discussion:
• Knowing where we come from can help us know who we are.
• Being an eternal family isn’t just about the people sitting in the room but extends to past generations.
• Knowing who our ancestors are will help us make sure they have their temple work done.
Most of the times I get overwhelmed when I think about doing family history work, but there are a couple of ways that each member of your family can begin.
Family Search has recently revamped their entire website to be super duper user friendly. It is now a piece of cake upload and tag pictures, share stories, create a family tree or a fan chart, or get online help.
As a family, as part of the lesson, create a Family Search account, and accomplish one thing - even if it's something tiny like uploading ONE picture, or printing a family tree that your grandma has already done the work for. Or you could index a batch of records as a family. If you have little kids keeping their attention might be difficult, but if you have computer-user-age children, make sure they see how the site works - learn it together.
Try not to get everyone frustrated with the Family Search site, or the topic of Family History altogether. Keep things fun and interesting - your main goal is to make the family realize that Family History isn't impossible and can even be fun. So if you want to switch gears, I suggest telling some family stories. Something silly your mom did as a kid, or a story that has been passed down through the generations.
My own personal goal, after this lesson, is to pull the thought of Family History from the back of my brain into the foreground every once in awhile, and maybe one of these days I'll actually start doing more with it. Have your family set their own goal for Family History, and who knows, maybe someday you'll all be expert genealogists!
