Working For Our Ancestors

As soon as I read the news article in the Ensign last year, I signed up for indexing names from census records not previously available for geneologists. What a great way to help others! It was frustrating at times as I had a dial up account then and sometimes the census sheets were really, really slow coming. But I persevered and got them done. In 2008 I did 40,007 names. So far this year I've done 15,956 names. Now that I have a highspeed server it goes so much faster, I can do 3 or 4 pages instead of 1 or 2 each day.

Sometimes the hand writing with those old style fountain pens or dip in ink pens make for difficult and even at times impossible disciphering of the names. At times I type out a name that I haven't a clue on but just seems right. I like to think that's the Spirit of Elijah telling me what the name is.

Now for new.familysearch.com. This is a fun way to check for previous temple work for ancestors already done or to get names submitted to the temples to be done. We can't attend the temple very often so I submit the names to be done by the temples rather than print out cards to do ourselves. I've submitted hundreds of names so far. The last Stake Temple trip in April, 17 of the ladies had their endowments done and all the others have been done since then. 129 males are still waiting for theirs to be done, then the sealings can take place. I check my list of submitted names every other week so I can go into my PAF and mark them done.

It was gratifying to see that the work was completed for thousands of our ancestors from way back to the first years the temple work was being done for the dead! What a blessing for us and for them. The sad part is that several have had their work done numerous times which is such a waste! So many others are still waiting that could have been completed by now if the work was not duplicated so many times.

I feel so privileged and blessed to be able to do both indexing and submitting names to the temples, both forms of Missionary work!Now I need to buckle down and to the research for those names who are not able to be done because of lack of information and the generations that I have no record of as yet.

Marilyn Antill, Corry Branch