On June 7, many gathered for celebrations commemorating Singapore’s 60th anniversary of independence. In conjunction with those celebrations, family history seminars brought many who turned their hearts to their fathers (see Joseph Smith—History 1:38, 39) and progenitors.
In partnership with FamilySearch, Genealogy Society Singapore, My China Roots, and Chinese Ancestry Research, the seminars brought together a diverse range of participants.
“This is the first time that FamilySearch has co-hosted a family history seminar in Singapore with three other local organizations in the genealogy field,” said Derek Au, FamilySearch’s area family history manager. “We are very glad to see close to 100 participants who are mostly the general public attend this seminar and to see their interest in their family history work. The spirit of Elijah touches the hearts of all, not just the members.”
One participant, Seah Wee Huang, said, “In every family, there is a story waiting to be shared. When we search for our family history, we do more than gather names and dates — we embark on a journey to discover who we are. We learn where we come from, the values that shaped us and the faith that carried our ancestors through trials and triumphs.”
Building bridges for Singapore’s Chinese diaspora
For many Singaporeans of Chinese descent — about 75% of the country’s population — family history work is complicated by language barriers. With English as the national language, most cannot read or speak Chinese. That’s where Eric Leach stepped in.
Leach, a Latter-day Saint from American Fork, Utah, and the Chinese product manager for FamilySearch, flew to Singapore for the event.
While FamilySearch initiated the idea, Leach emphasized that the event would not have been possible without local leadership.
“Genealogy Society Singapore took the lead,” he said. “They’re really the only genealogy society in the country. And because they’re fairly new and still growing, they don’t have the resources to do something like this on their own, so we offered to help.”
Professionally meaningful, personally powerful
“The people in Singapore are terrific. So many of them are interested in their roots, but they don’t really know how to begin,” he said. “Personally, I find great meaning in trying to help people with Chinese ancestry research their roots. ”
Much of the challenge lies in connecting Singaporean families — who may have been in the country for three or four generations — back to their ancestral villages in China. And once they do, they often encounter jiapu, “clan genealogy books,” written in classical Chinese.
“Even if someone studied Chinese three or four years in school, they’re really going to struggle trying to read their clan genealogy book,” Leach explained. “But if they’re able to find this book, they’re not finding five or 10 or 50 names. They can find 40,000 names in this book going back years.”
He pointed to the example of Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, whose genealogy traces back to First Dragon Gong, born A.D. 837 in southern China.
Still, Leach acknowledged that it’s not always easy. “Maybe 40 to 50% can find this book if they search long enough. But that means half of them can’t. So it’s kind of an all or nothing proposition for them.”
Faith-fueled outreach
With a temple under construction in Singapore, Church members are increasingly engaged in family history work. Many volunteered at the seminar to help train participants on the FamilySearch platform.
“It definitely involved members of the Church who are trying to reach out and make an impact in their community,” Leach said. “I think a little bit of even sharing their faith and their belief in eternal families.”
Leach continued, explaining that, “although FamilySearch doesn’t preach the gospel directly, we are absolutely engaged in the great work of gathering God’s children. We do this because we are one family. And family members help family members.”
Leach hopes participants took away what “family history is all about.”
“It’s about uniting people, uniting families, uniting everyone. The Chinese have a saying — 四海一家, pronounced sì hǎi yī jiā — ‘the four seas are one family,’" he said. “When you research your roots, I think you really discover how connected we all are.”
Leach said the real goal was to touch hearts and bring people closer — to each other and to God.
“It makes us better individuals, better communities, better nations and hopefully a better world,” he said. “So that’s really what we’re trying to do, we’re trying to unite as one people, one nation, one family of God.”
