For the LOVE of Family History.

We are a family of history lovers.

All kinds of history!

As members of  The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,

family history is extremely important to us.

A few months ago in our ward (our local church congregation)

I was called (assigned) to be a Temple and Family History consultant.

For a history lover that's about the best kind of assignment, one can receive!

"Temple and family history is about connecting with past, present, and future generations. The more people discover about their family’s story, the more they learn about themselves. Discovery goes beyond names and dates. A true discovery moment adds color and detail to an ancestor’s history, traditions, and homeland." 

"[My] opportunity is to create inspiring experiences that bring joy to all people as they discover, gather, and connect their family on both sides of the veil."

With my purpose firmly in mind, and with the help of a committee, I set about arranging our first Ward Temple and Family History activity.

We held a ward picnic immediately after church on Sunday.

We invited everyone to stay and have some lunch rolls and juice together in the hall.

Here are some pictures of us setting up.

(Above - Innocent Mashonganyika our Temple and Family History Leader)

(Below - Innocent and Liam getting 70 cups of juice ready)

(Above - some of our lovely Relief Society ladies preparing lunch rolls for 70 people -

left to right - Angela, Jade, Mbali (a visitor) and Sarah)

(Below - Dadirai Pise, our very sweet Relief Society President)

I put together a display and some handouts for those attending the devotional.

We had missionaries from FamilySearch present to help with those needing to set up accounts to start their family history.

(Above - Sister Erasmus with Sister and Elder Dixon)

After our ward lunch together 

( amid all the excitement I forgot to take pictures of the lunch)

we gathered in the chapel for a 45-minute devotional.

There was a simple and beautifully spiritually uplifting program which concluded with an absolutely beautiful musical item by Travis Alexander, a member of our ward.

As I sat and watched and listened to people exiting the chapel, 

I was really pleased to hear positive comments.

"This has really inspired me to start my family history"

"This was wonderful"

"This really helped to expand my view of what family history is...it's not just about finding 10 names to take to the temple... it's about so much more."

It was a well attended, successful, unifying and spiritually uplifting activity. 

I feel so blessed at this time to be serving in this calling and to be serving with a great bunch of people on our committee!

And the best part is that I get to do it alongside my daughter who is serving as a missionary in the FamilySearch, family history center.