From the Philippines to Japan to Nigeria, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and FamilySearch users all over the world are connecting with ancestors and strengthening their faith through family history. Here are seven times family history blessed people this summer.
Philippines
On Aug. 9 in Quezon City in the Philippines, FamilySearch International and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples signed a memorandum of understanding to begin the process of preserving oral histories and genealogies of the Philippines’ Indigenous populations.
The Church’s Philippines Newsroom reported that the signing ceremony was part of the annual celebration of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples and National Day of Indigenous Peoples.
The Oral Genealogy Project will first be presented to all commission regional directors for acceptance. It will then be introduced to participating tribes, which will need to formally approve the initiative through a community resolution.
After that, parties will sign a tripartite memorandum of agreement: the tribe, FamilySearch International and the regional Indigenous commission. This agreement will formalize the tribe’s participation and outline the responsibilities of each party.
The contractors will then officially begin documenting and preserving the community’s oral genealogies.
“We consider this a landmark and unprecedented project because of its purpose, extent and magnitude in documenting and preserving oral genealogies in the Philippines,” said Michael Colemere, senior vice president at FamilySearch. “This pioneering effort will address the need to gather and record the largely undocumented stories and genealogical accounts of the more than 110 Indigenous cultural communities in this country.”
He added that FamilySearch International is “thrilled” to help make these records available on government and archive websites at no cost.
Tokyo, Japan
The Urawa Ward of the Tokyo Japan Stake held its annual family history fair on Aug. 3, 2024, the Church’s Japan Newsroom reported.
Themed “Continuing Your History for the Future,” the event aimed to help people pass on their family history by using digital technology.
Activities included interactive booths that taught participants various skills, such as creating a FamilySearch account, digitally preserving memories and colorizing black-and-white photos.
“Participants left the fair with a renewed sense of purpose and joy in their family history work, making the day both enjoyable and deeply meaningful,” the news release states.
Yamaguchi, Japan
The Shimonoseki Branch of the Yamaguchi Japan District held its own family history fair on July 27, 2024, the Church’s Japan Newsroom reported.
The event included information on the eras and cultures in which the participants’ ancestors lived, stories from their family histories and even a tribute to Elvis Presley, who is connected to the family trees of some of the branch members.
In the future, “we will continue to hold events that are enjoyable for both the organizers and the audience, so that we can become a Church that is open to the community,” said Shimonoseki Branch President Kenju Fukunaga.
Germany
Award-winning German journalist Rebecca Hillauer aired a story about the FamilySearch Library on radio station Deutschlandfunk Kultur on July 21, the Church’s Germany Newsroom reported.
Hillauer asked Ralf Grünke, media spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Germany, about FamilySearch’s commitment to genealogy.
FamilySearch hosts the largest family tree in the world, illustrating that all people are connected to each another, Grünke said.
“I believe there is hardly a more important message in a time when differences along religious, political and ethnic lines are increasingly being emphasized,” he said.
South Korea
The Suncheon Branch of the Suncheon Korea District held a “Friendship Night” on July 20 to encourage members to invite new friends to church, the Church’s Korea Newsroom reported. It included an activity where participants made newspapers from their family histories.
“It was a very informative and meaningful time for members and nonmembers to share photos at the meeting and make a newspaper,” said Suncheon Branch President Kim Dong-ui.
Nigeria
On July 13, FamilySearch hosted a “Family Meeting” event in Lagos, Nigeria, the Church’s Africa Newsroom reported. The first-of-its-kind gathering invited families to explore their ancestral roots through the FamilySearch Africa app.
Lyon Koledoye is the founder of SentientXT, which helped manage the event. Through FamilySearch, Koledoye said he discovered his connection to Thomas Bako, Nigeria’s first documented Christian martyr.
“The Family Meeting event offered us profound insights into our heritage and inspired us to strengthen family bonds by expanding our family trees and engaging more deeply with our relatives,” he said.
Peru
From July 11 to 21, visitors at the Mall Real Plaza del Cusco could delve into their family history using an interactive setup created by FamilySearch, the Church’s Spanish-language Newsroom reported. A similar event took place in Bolivia in May.
During FamilySearch’s time at the mall, participants received help from FamilySearch volunteers while researching their family histories.
