Church Announces Name Change for Family History Callings
Contributed By Camille West, ChurchofJesusChrist.org Church News
A temple and family history consultant assists a mother and daughter with family history.
Article Highlights
- Those serving in a family history calling will be called temple and family history consultants.
- The change more closely aligns family history and temple service.
In an effort to more closely align family history and temple service, the Church is changing the title for anyone serving in a family history calling or role to temple and family history consultant.
The change was announced both in a February 9, 2017, official notice and by Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during a Rootstech leadership training session February 9 held in the Conference Center Theater.
“To simplify our efforts in finding names and taking them to the temple—going forward, all family history consultants, center directors, and indexing directors at all levels will now be called temple and family history consultants,” Elder Cook announced.
“These temple and family history consultants will be instructed to always work with the end in mind—assisting members in taking their family names to the temple. New training will be available on the website.
“We encourage you as priesthood leaders to include in these callings people of all ages and at all levels of experience in family history. This will be a great blessing to families, your stake, and the consultants as they work together.”
Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Ruth Renlund, used chopsticks to illustrate that both missionaries and members need to work together to accomplish the work. “Two chopsticks working together can simply accomplish what one chopstick cannot,” Elder Renlund said.
Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles announces that all family history-related callings will be called temple and family history consultants. Photo by R. Scott Lloyd, Deseret News.
Elder Dale G. Renlund and Sister Ruth Renlund use chopsticks as an object lesson to illustrate that both members and missionaries need to work together to accomplish the work. Photo by R. Scott Lloyd, Deseret News.
According to Temple and Family History Callingson ChurchofJesusChrist.org, the primary responsibility of all ward, stake, or area-level temple and family history consultants is to “help members have a personalized one-on-one family history experience in finding their ancestors, performing temple ordinances on their behalf, and sharing what they learn with others.” The website encourages consultants to “prayerfully seek the Spirit as they prepare and deliver these experiences.”
President Gordon B. Hinckley said: “All of our vast family history endeavor is directed to temple work. There is no other purpose for it. The temple ordinances become the crowning blessings the Church has to offer” (“New Temples Provide the ‘Crowning Blessings’ of the Gospel,” Ensign, May 1998, 88).
A temple and family history consultant assists a visitor at one of the Church’s family history centers.
