Share Family Stories with Others

Help others experience the joy that comes from connecting with family by starting a conversation about family stories.

Reminders of Who We Are

Family stories give us a sense of who we are and connect us to our heritage. Connecting with our earthly families reminds us that we are all children of a loving Father in Heaven. We are brothers and sisters and have a responsibility to help each other return home to Him.

Connect Through Conversations

Sharing family stories and listening to one another helps create understanding, empathy and trust. Relationships are strengthened when we share what makes us who we are.

Here are simple questions you can ask others to start a conversation:

What stories do you know about your ancestors?
Do you have any traits in common with them?
What are some of your family traditions?
Where are your ancestors from?

Elder David A. Bednar and his wife Susan encourage members, who are descendants of Abraham with the responsibility to gather, to share stories of family with others so they might feel the Spirit.

Create a Discovery Experience

Your conversation may lead to an opportunity to help someone discover more about their family. FamilySearch.org and the Family Tree app are great resources that are available to everyone for free.

Create a FamilySearch.org Account

Download the Family Tree App

Learn How to Start Your Family Tree

Try These Family History Activities

A dinner conversation about families quickly led to deep Gospel discussions and the discovery of two brothers’ previously unknown family lines.

Discovering your ancestors is a powerful way to understand who you are and become better able to make a difference for good in the world.

What legacy do you carry on in your family? Do you play the piano, dance, handy with tools, or have a sense of humor like a grandpa, mother, or aunt? Find those things that connect you to your ancestors and preserve their memory on FamilySearch.org.

Get Help from Experts

If you aren’t comfortable using FamilySearch or the Family Tree app, reach out to your temple and family history consultant. They can help you or a friend have a joyful family history experience.

A temple and family history consultant experiences the promised blessing of healing for one sister he helps with her family history.

A Path of Discovery

Very simple conversations or helping someone learn more about their family may open hearts to the influence of the Holy Ghost. When opportunities arise, you can share these and other truths:

Families are an important part of God’s plan.
Through Jesus Christ, each of us will live again.
The connection we feel with our ancestors is a reminder from God through His Holy Spirit that families are meant to last beyond this life.

Bonnie H. Cordon tells how her friend Kevin broke the awkward silence during dinner with a question about family history, which in turn allowed him to bear testimony of temples and eternal families.

One Great Work of Salvation

President Russell M. Nelson and his wife Wendy W. Nelson share how gathering Israel occurs on both sides of the veil when we help others learn more about their family story.

People are interested in their families, says President Russell M. Nelson during RootsTech. Family history can aid missionary work as missionaries help investigators discover their ancestors.

Some missionaries and temple and family history consultants experience the true nature of the work of salvation when they work together to bless the lives of those seeking the gospel.

This video follows the journey of a family who joins the Church, then experiences the joy of temple and family history work as they discover ancestral names and perform their temple ordinances.

Find more videos here.

Activities for Groups and Families

Find activities for groups or families here.