October is Family History Month!!

Okay, this totally my geeky family history major moment, but you all need to know this!!!

IT'S FAMILY HISTORY MONTH!!!

Families are amazing!!!

I love my family. We took family photos about a couple months ago and it was just so ridiculous. We can't be serious around each other. Our photographer would tell us to not smile and just look at the camera. Inevitably one of us would make some comment and we would end up cracking up. It probably annoyed her, but I loved it. I love that my family is able to laugh, joke and just enjoy being around each other. Look how cute some of these turned out.

This was our one attempt at a serious picture.... 

But it clearly didn't last long.. 

We seriously have so much fun. One wonderful thing about families is how you automatically have this built in support team, audience for all our grandest life moments and to know you and for you to get to know on a very deep level. Even though our immediate family is going to be some of the closest people in our lives, there is so much more to what a family is. A family is a life line. It connects us for years back, will connect us for years to come, and honestly could eventually connect the entire world. Learning about these connections is a large part of family history. 

I love this video from President Henry B. Eyring from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because of how he expresses why family history is important.

Isn't that just the greatest? I love how he said we OWE our existence to these people. And that's just what they are! People!
My college studies offer me the wonderful opportunity to get to know my ancestors. Not only am I looking at their names, but actually delving into their lives. I track them through birth certificates, census records, land records, death certificates, and any other type of record out there to learn all I can about this individual. Suddenly they become more than a name, but they become real people who lived here before me. As I learn about them, I seem traits they possessed that I now have. I gain courage from learning of the trials and hardships they went through. Family History is Awesome!! 

So now I challenge you to take part in family history month! It doesn't have to be big or in depth, anything counts. In fact here are ten options for you:

1. Index! You may feel your family work is done, but by indexing you are allowing records to be put online faster, which will inevitably help someone else find their family. 
2. Go through any old boxes around your house. Who knows if you happen to have your great-grandma's death certificate lying around? If you find anything, digitize is whether by scanning it or taking a picture. Once digitized you can share it with other family members!
3.  Add memories to familysearch.org/memories. FamilySearch has created a system that almost like Facebook for those who are dead. You can add pictures, stories, documents and even audio. Once added you can tag any family member who is involved in said memory. This is an awesome opportunity because it becomes a world wide photo album. Who knows you may have a photo of grandpa that your cousins have never seen before? 
4. Find a record. This can be done on familysearch.org/records and can provide such awesome information. Maybe you know the basics of when they were born and died, but do you know if they had a radio? Look on the 1930 census and you can see if they had a radio. Or maybe take a look at their death certificate and see what information you can find there. There is just something special at being able to view the original document. 
5.  Go to the temple. For those of you who are LDS, try to make it to the temple this month. Going and performing work for the deceased is most definitely a form of family history work! 

"The great plan of happiness enables family relationships to last beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants, available only in the temple, make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally. Marriage, the family, and the home are the foundation of the Church. Nothing is more important to the Church and to civilization itself than the family!"

 (“The Standard of Truth Has Been Erected”)