Local Pages
Family History Awakening
It was an exciting evening for Annapurna Vadlamani (Anu), a Visakhapatman resident. She was one of over a hundred people that gathered for a family history conference in Visakhapatman, India on January 26, 2019.
Why did she and so many others attend? Why would anyone want to dig up their genealogical roots? Many are very eager to do family history since the prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, announced that a temple will soon be built in India.
Anu was enthusiastic to share why she attended the event and why she loves doing family history. She is currently the Visak District family history consultant and self-reliance specialist for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Anu was also asked to translate for one of the speakers from English to Telugu during the event. She is married and has four children.
In 2008, she desired to find her paternal grandmother’s family history. Since she had passed away, Anu tried to find her grandmother’s sister. All Anu knew was her name, the city, and that she lived on Temple Street.
Anu traveled to another city, seven months pregnant with her two little children on her quest. When she arrived at Temple Street, she began asking people if anyone knew her. She said, “It was like the Lord’s hand was there, helping”. Each person she asked drew her a little closer until she found her great-aunt. It was like a miracle.
At first, she was worried if she would be accepted. Her great-aunt is Hindu and Anu is a member of the Church. She had only met her once before. However, her grandmother’s sister warmly welcomed her.
Anu eagerly sketched the four-generation family pedigree as they visited for two hours, “she was like an encyclopedia of information”. Anu exclaimed, “It was an amazing experience! I’ll never forget it! I felt a strong connection with my ancestors, like they were waiting for me to get the information recorded.” Anu explained that India’s government didn’t record birth and death dates. Approximate dates were typically remembered by lunar calendar. For example, a birth date may be recorded as five days after the full moon.
Anu was the first in her family to be baptized, then her sister and finally her mother joined the Church. At first, Anu’s sister was strongly against her joining the Church. However, when the missionaries told her more about Jesus Christ and the plan of salvation, and that she could see her grandmother again, she got very excited and knew it was true! She loved and missed her grandmother very much. Her maternal grandparents took care of her and her sister when they were little during a time when her father was out of work. She was baptized and became strong in her faith.
One of Anu’s favorite experiences was going to the Hong Kong Temple for the first time to do baptisms for the dead. She did 90 baptisms that day. She said, “The water was warm, but I didn’t get tired even though I was pregnant and a little apprehensive”.
Anu loves awakening others about their family history and telling them about familysearch.org. She shares her testimony often and exclaims, “It might look like a gigantic task, but it is not. All you need are names and dates and we will help you with the rest.”
The family history event was held at the Church building in Visakhapatman. Several speakers from different backgrounds came and shared their stories.