Family history is important to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and during the Christmas season the significance of understanding family traditions and recalling family stories often increases.
This episode of the Church News podcast features Dan Call, FamilySearch.org manager of Discovery Experiences and Centers. He explores how Latter-day Saints can learn about and honor their unique family history during the sacred Christmas season.
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Transcript:
Dan Call: My life would not be the same without family history. I’m not naturally a genealogist. I’ve never been the big researcher. But being this close to family history for 13 years has literally transformed me as an individual. I think sometimes we think family history is a program. It’s not. It is a doctrine of the gospel that changes and softens hearts, and it has softened my heart greatly. I know that family history can shape, modify. It is a doctrine that changes, and it’s through Christ. It is through Jesus Christ, it is through His gospel, those powerful temple covenants. It’s transformative. It truly is.
1:02
Sarah Jane Weaver: This is Sarah Jane Weaver, executive editor of the Church News, welcoming you to the Church News podcast. We are taking you on a journey of connection as we discuss news and events of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Family history is important to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But the significance of understanding family traditions and recalling family stories only increases during the Christmas season. On this episode of the Church News podcast, we welcome Dan Call, FamilySearch.org’s manager of discovery experience and centers.
He’s here to explore how we can learn and honor our unique family history this time of year, in person, online, in our homes and, of course, in the temple. Dan, welcome to the Church News podcast.
Dan Call: Thanks so much. Glad to be here.
1:54
Sarah Jane Weaver: Well, it’s great to have you here. You’ve been with FamilySearch for about 13 years now. Can you tell us a little bit about the organization?
Dan Call: Yeah, so FamilySearch.org is the Family History Department for the Church. A lot of times, people get confused with FamilySearch as being Ancestry. That’s not us. FamilySearch is one of the biggest family history products out there. We have a lot of many, many millions of records, a lot of families that we’re trying to capture to try to help people know who they are and where they come from.
2:25
Sarah Jane Weaver: How did you come to work for FamilySearch?
Dan Call: It was really the hand of the Lord in my life, really. I never would have thought that I would end up at FamilySearch. And through a few different events and a few directions and a few spiritual promptings, I found myself there. And I told my first boss I’d be there for three years. And that was 13 years ago.
2:48
Sarah Jane Weaver: Well, and you have some responsibility for what we’re calling “discovery experiences.”
Dan Call: Yeah.
Sarah Jane Weaver: Tell me what those are.
2:56
Dan Call: So, on FamilySearch.org, underneath the Activities tab, there’s a bunch of different experiences there. And they’re really tailored for beginners, they’re tailored for kids, they’re tailored for family members, people who are just getting started. You know, family history is — if you want to use the analogy of a pool — doing research is a 10-foot-, 20-foot-deep pool. I’m trying to get people’s feet wet. So we really are trying to get that person who is just starting that journey, kind of starting to rev the engine a little bit.
These experiences on FamilySearch.org, like I said, under the Activities tab, or FamilySearch.org/discovery, there’s “Where Am I From?” It’s a mapping experience that shows where your family’s from and the cultural aspect of your family, it gives you recipes; kind of a reclamation of your family identity, you know, especially those who live in the United States and have been here for quite a few generations. We’re kind of disconnected from our Norwegian heritage, right, or Swiss heritage, those kinds of things. And we’re really trying to tee up to help people understand, you know, these countries that they are connected to but they have no idea what it’s about.
“All About Me” is about your name and what was taking place the year you were born, but also what was taking place during your family’s lives, right? So when I look back at my grandfather, who was born in 1918, you know, I get to see that the movie ticket was 3 cents. It’s a little different than our luxury-seated, you know, $5 Tuesdays, right? It’s a little bit different kind of approach. So, again, trying to connect yourself to those ancestors that have come before you.
4:37
Sarah Jane Weaver: Well, and there’s also a section on famous relatives. Now, I want to think I have some famous relatives.
Dan Call: Yeah, absolutely. Well, and the thing that’s fascinating about that experience is that if you connect into those famous people, for a 14-year-old boy to know that they are connected to Walt Disney, it is glorious. The hardest thing about it is that around the world, these trees are not as mature, right? We have people from every vein around the world. We have famous people from all these different countries. But sometimes your personal tree is not as mature to connect to that person. So, you know, as the family tree grows in the different countries year over year, you’re going to start finding more “a-ha”s as you start building your tree out in these different locations and try to connect in. But yes, “Famous Relatives” is a very popular experience.
5:28
Sarah Jane Weaver: And I also love this section where you can compare a face. My family has a pretty dominant chin. And it is actually fun for me to spend some time on FamilySearch.org and actually get to see where that chin came from.
5:45
Dan Call: Yeah. Well, what’s fascinating — and I don’t know how this works with DNA — but do not be surprised, if you’re a man, that your top match is your third-great-grandmother. Do not be also surprised if you’re a female, that your top match is your third-great-grandfather. I don’t know what it is, but that always shows up as the first or second. And I will say it’s a little jarring for a 17-year-old girl to look like, you know, her third-great-grandfather. But usually when you look at that person on the other side of the screen, and you’ve never known anything about them, you’re like, “OK, who is this?” And you take one step further and you start learning more about somebody who looks, you know, you got your looks from, your physical looks.
Every time, there’s something deeper. There’s something deeper about that story, that connection, that heritage. But it’s funny how it becomes very personal. We’ve seen so many experiences where somebody will, like, “I don’t look like that person at all.” And all of a sudden they click in, and they read a story, and like, “Holy cow. That’s where I got my musical talent from,” or “He was a baker. That’s what I do.” It’s fascinating to see how those stories kind of come out.
6:58
Sarah Jane Weaver: Well, and as we think about stories, especially during Christmastime, it feels so sentimental and precious this time of year. I was cleaning my basement the other day in preparation for Christmas, and I noticed on one of the bookshelves down there a series of books that were given to me each Christmas by my grandmother. And when you open them up, there’s a note written in each one. They’re dated each year. To this day, I make sure that my children have a book from me every Christmas, and I do the same thing.
And so, there has to be something about the holidays that makes us think about family and family that’s already gone or passed on.
7:41
Dan Call: Well, and I think the veil is thinner, right? I think there’s a light that’s in the world. I think the veil is thinner. It’s fascinating because, you know, the deacons hold the keys of the ministering of angels. I don’t think we understand what that means. Obviously, there’s been a lot of talks about it. President Jeffrey R. Holland has taught a lot about ministering of angels. And I don’t think we really understand how thin the veil really is and how much they come to our rescue.
But I think, especially when you think about spiritual promptings during the Christmastime, you know, needs that all of a sudden pop out in your mind, of like, “I need to check on somebody.” I think this is such a sweet and soft time to understand that we are all connected. But there’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes with our ministering angels trying to help us and guide us towards Christ. And I think we’re coming to a deeper realization of how thin the veil really is and how much those ministering angels are coordinating a lot of things to help us grow.
8:43
Sarah Jane Weaver: And last year at this time, I had gone on an assignment that took me to Sweden. Now, my mother’s maiden name is Eriksson. I didn’t know my Grandfather Eriksson. He had passed away before I was born. And yet, one morning, I got up early and was walking the streets of Stockholm and actually went to FamilySearch.org and looked up some of the stories about him, because there was something that felt connected. I felt connected to him in some way, being maybe where his family had walked. There has to be something that binds us together as families.
9:22
Dan Call: There’s a spiritual aspect of knowing your homeland. Being in your homeland, it feels familiar. It’s fascinating how familiar that it feels and how comfortable it feels. But usually when you can tie it to, “Wow, that was the church,” you know, especially with the history in Europe, right? These churches have been around for hundreds of years, and to know that that’s where your great-great-great-grandfather went to church, he walked the streets; and then you start reading the stories. Wow, that’s a powerful experience.
9:53
Sarah Jane Weaver: And you also think, “Wow, this place is charming. And he left this place, and he came to the desert to start a life?” And suddenly, you have greater appreciation for the testimony that brought him west, that brought him to Zion, that helped him settle in this place where we have so many blessings today.
10:16
Dan Call: Yeah. I have an ancestor, Friedrich Neuenschwander. He came from Bern, Switzerland. And he ended up in Star Valley, Wyoming. And, you know, little Switzerland, I guess you’d say, beautiful area. But when I looked at Bern, I’m like, “Why would you leave this?” Right? And then the simple answer is the gospel. The gospel pulled them to Zion, and it was one of those moments that obviously resonated and changed the course of the family so drastically, and what a huge blessing. But yeah, you go back to those places, and like, “This is charming. Why did you leave?”
10:49
Sarah Jane Weaver: And I feel the same way about my English ancestry. You go to England in those rolling green hills, and you just think, “This is beautiful.”
Dan Call: I mean, serene. Are you kidding me? My heavens, right? It’s gorgeous.
11:04
Sarah Jane Weaver: Well, it’s also a little rainy. But you know, I think that we can all picture our heritage, appreciate our heritage. And now let’s talk about how that heritage impacts holiday traditions.
11:18
Dan Call: You know, it’s fascinating because we all have stories, we all have traditions. Many of us do not know where they come from. A funny family story that we have is that great-grandmother would always cut off the legs of the turkey. And it kept on, like, going through the generations. And, well, come to find out, the reason why she did that: because the pan was too small. Right? The pan was too small. We have big enough pans. We don’t need to cut off the turkey legs anymore.
And it’s funny because you don’t know where these stories or where these traditions come from, and trying to understand where they come from. I had a huge discovery for me, was I went and did my DNA. I’m actually adopted, and I found out that I have Mexican heritage. And I’ll tell you, since then, Día de los Muertos is a huge — it just tugs at me, right? The “ofrenda” and my family and those who have gone on, those ministry angels, if you want to talk about those people that are, you know, assigned to me or to my family. Really reclaiming your heritage.
It takes work, right, knowing where these traditions come from. But when you can tie to where these traditions come from, the stories behind them, wow. Talk about nostalgic and beautiful.
12:36
Sarah Jane Weaver: And my producer, KellieAnn Halvorsen, she speaks all the time about Norwegian and Swiss heritage and how that impacts her family’s Christmastime and her family’s Christmas celebrations. They have a vignette of a Norwegian Christmas display and a Norwegian Christmas cake. And I think all of us have certain traditions that would spill down through the generations.
I personally love a beautifully decorated Christmas table. I love Christmas china, and china in our family has been passed down for generations. And I think the reason I love Christmas china is because my grandmothers loved it, and their grandmothers loved it. And there’s something special about sitting down together when someone took care to make the table look nice.
13:28
Dan Call: Well, and it’s funny how it ties you to those past generations, right? In our house, it’s the Christmas village, right? My mother passed away about 13 years ago. And my kids love that village, but it’s because it ties to her. You know, it’s fascinating how the things that we surround ourselves can be used as a reminder of the eternal family. And, you know, these traditions that we carry on, you kind of hope they resonate and continue on. You hope they are pointed at Christ, right? Sometimes, because at Christmastime, we can get a little little muddled with things, but the things that bring light, the things that are, you know, beautiful, those traditions that are pointed at — family, eternal family and Christ — you can’t beat it.
14:17
Sarah Jane Weaver: And I’d love for you to share some of your own personal experiences as you have explored your own family history.
Dan Call: Yeah. So, what’s fascinating is, with this DNA test that I took, I found out that 65% of my DNA is from Norway and Iceland. So, you know, part Viking, like KellieAnn. And as I start diving deeper in and understanding and learning this concept of Yule — it’s actually a pagan religion, but Yule, from the 21st through the 1st, it’s a time of deep, spiritual reflection. You give gifts, and it’s between the darkest day and then the new year, so it’s like this middle period of reflection. And it’s funny because it’s all around the Sun. Any coincidences there, right? This is about that renewal.
And as I start, you know, applying that in my own life, deep, spiritual reflection around Christmastime, giving gifts as a way of showing love to my children, you know, trying to find special things. But it’s been fascinating to really reclaim that Norwegian heritage. Now, it’s Viking, so I try to take the Viking out of it, right? But the traditions really are beautiful and where they come from.
15:33
Sarah Jane Weaver: Well, and I think so many of us are feeling these same sorts of urges to go on a similar discovery. My family loves the Disney movie “Mulan.” And we have three daughters, so we kind of like the woman power, you know; a young girl goes out and saves her nation. But the thing that I really, really like about it is that through that journey, she always acknowledges her ancestors. She always acknowledges the traditions of her family and the strength that she drew from those who have gone before. Now, we’ve also seen so many other Hollywood things looking at some of these traditions. And we’ve seen, generally, a surge in family history across the world.
Why is it, do you think, that so many people are interested in exploring family history right now?
16:30
Dan Call: I think it’s a spiritual thing, for sure. I think that we are all craving to know who we are, where we come from. I think about Moana, of all things, right? Grandma comes here, and she’s, you know, at the hardest difficult time. Why is it that when we are having difficulty, and all of a sudden we feel that surge of Spirit, it’s so familiar? It’s from our Heavenly Father, but I think it’s because Heavenly Father sends those people that are more interested in our own spiritual livelihood, right? Those ministering angels on the other side.
My mom has come to me a couple times in my life, and it has been overwhelmingly powerful. She’s the one who, in this life, would have been most fearful of me connecting with my birth family. She’s the one who has single-handedly helped me get connected, and a spiritual experience is just precious to me. But I heard her voice, I smelled her perfume. Every inch of the way she helped me in this life, in this journey. And she knew because I needed it for my own, to know who I was and where I came from.
We crave knowing who we are. And if you think about identity and connection, there’s a lot of things out in the world that are filling in the gaps of trying to create connection, but it’s superficial. If you look at a teenager, they’re doing everything in their power to try to figure out who they are, and they’re taking any wind of whatever it is to create their identity. The identity and the connection are in the stories. It’s proven that if in a family, grandmother and mother are sharing these stories and connecting through the past and the generations, a child has a nine-times greater ability of handling the stress of day-to-day life. The antidote is right here; these stories, who they are, where they come from.
Even the difficult parts. Like, we have skeletons in the closet. Everybody does, right? And that’s what’s beautiful about the gospel, that Christ fills in these gaps. But knowing the past stories, the difficulties, even some of the skeletons in the closet, help us know who we are, what to avoid, things that are difficult, things that I need to be aware of, but also give us really this identity of who we are and where we can go in the future. Or things that we want to avoid and things we want to do better the next generation.
19:03
Sarah Jane Weaver: Well, and I want to talk about how technology has aided in our journey. You mentioned DNA testing. You know, certainly years ago, if someone wanted to do family history work, they had to hope that their grandma went to the library in downtown Salt Lake City or someplace else to actually discover some of these things. And now, it’s at the fingertips of all of us. In fact, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have said, “Let’s let our youth have at it.” They’re programmed to do this even quicker than some of us who are immigrants to this technology.
So, how has technology changed the face of family history?
19:41
Dan Call: Well, it’s fascinating because, what was it, before the priesthood was restored, the patent office of the United States was closed. They closed it three years before the priesthood was restored. Three years after, they started back up. Since then, there has been such a growth, year over year, of discoveries and technology and all those different pieces, and it’s just going to get more and more and more advanced.
As Elder David A. Bednar says, that these kids are programmed to text and type. It’s in their DNA. It’s who they are. You know, my father had me on a computer at 3. That’s the reason why I do what I do today. My kids are on the same technologies. Now, yes, we have to be careful on how we navigate some of those things, because there’s a good and bad in all things. But the technology is making it easier to certainly connect with who you are, find those stories, right? Capture your stories, though, today.
Think about how many photos and how many stories that you have. Where are they being put? What are you doing with them? If you think about your grandfather or that grandmother, that person who you put on that pedestal, we don’t really always remember that we are that to someone else. Your kids and your grandkids look to you just like you looked at your grandfather or grandmother. And we don’t take that into account. These stories, the legacy that we can give them, is powerful.
My grandfather in 1986 handwrote to his posterity his testimony. It’s the only one I have of all my family members. It is precious to me. And the insight that he has of strengthening the future generations, I hope, you know, these warnings and in these different pieces, it is just chock-full of identity, of connection, but what our family stands for. How many of us are putting stakes in the ground?
Yeah, FamilySearch is absolutely for looking to the past, but it’s also a place to capture your story. If you go to your own person page, you can put memories, you can put experiences, you can put your testimony. Elder Neil L. Andersen, he talks specifically about your spiritually defining experiences. Write them down. They’re the keystones of your life. This is a great place to put them, is FamilySearch.org.
22:09
Sarah Jane Weaver: Well, and so many of us in this busy day and age when we feel so connected may not be doing those things. You know, I’ve read so many of my grandfather’s and my father’s missionary letters. How many of our missionaries write letters anymore? I’ve had two daughters serve missions. One was serving as a full-time missionary when the Church changed the policy allowing missionaries to call home on their P-day. And, really, we have a lot of letters from the first half of her mission where she was writing those. And the second half, a lot of that was covered in phone calls that are not preserved.
My father died in March of 2020. And when he died, I went back, and he had written his children a Christmas letter every year of my life. And we put all of those in a book. And collectively, they are precious to us. It was one moment where he sat down once a year, reflected on the things that meant most to him that year. And they meant something in the moment. But in retrospect, when they are all compiled to tell the story of his life, he always shared his testimony of the Savior, just as he was preparing to celebrate Christmas, and they are part of the fabric that is my family’s Christmas tradition.
23:34
Dan Call: My wife’s family does very similar. I think there’s a lot of these traditions that we’ve done, but we don’t naturally think, “Oh, that thing needs to go on for future generations on FamilySearch,” right? We don’t think that way. Like, for example, my son, he went on a mission as well, but he was post all that, so the phone calls. But he wrote once a week his email. And that was kind of the best of what was taking place that week. So I put those in a book as well and gave them to him. But those are online as well. They need to be there. They need to be under his story, because what an amazing chapter in his life.
I think sometimes we think we need to write a full book. We don’t need that. That is a big barrier to entry. That is hard. That’s not what we’re talking about, but one little snippet, even a three-paragraph story about how you know something is true, or this tradition of where this tradition came from, or why Christmas is a special part of your life. I’m telling you: Once that future family member reads that, that’s precious. It is absolutely precious, and it connects through the generations.
24:41
Sarah Jane Weaver: I want to talk about something that can encourage us and train us and teach us how to connect with our family history. And that is the annual RootsTech conference.
Dan Call: Yeah.
Sarah Jane Weaver: Talk about RootsTech and what goes into the creation and the facilitation of that really, now, global event.
25:02
Dan Call: RootsTech has a very, very soft spot in my heart because I was on the initial team when we started that. To see where it’s gone to today, it is literally the hand of the Lord trying to expand and to try to invite the world to come to us. And talk about so many wonderful classes. There’s a spirit about RootsTech of a gathering of people who have turned their hearts to their ancestors. There’s no other feeling like that, that I’ve ever experienced, apart from general conference.
When we go to RootsTech and when people engage in RootsTech and these classes, it’s literally a big family reunion. We look at the, you know, FamilySearch app. We’re looking at all of our cousins, how many people we’re connected to right there in the experience. And talk about healing on both sides of the veil. Beautiful experiences, wonderful event. Takes a lot of work. The RootsTech team, they really sacrifice a lot of time and effort to make that experience top notch.
But right now, my understanding is it’s the biggest conference in the world, not only in the physical space, but on the, you know, virtually. Millions of people come, and it’s just beautiful to see the hand of the Lord gathering people through family history.
26:19
Sarah Jane Weaver: And, of course, doing the family history work is only half of the equation.
Dan Call: Yeah, absolutely.
Sarah Jane Weaver: President Russell M. Nelson has promised us that spending time in the temple will bless our lives in a way that nothing else can. And so, let’s talk about what happens when we actually tie our families together through temple ordinances and covenants.
26:43
Dan Call: The thing that’s fascinating is that those of us who’ve been through the temple and have been endowed, you know, those promises aren’t just for my little family unit. Right? They go on through generations. And every time that you do work, it strengthens through the generations. There’s more of them on the other side to be able to aid us on this side. And every time that you go to the temple, you can feel there’s a connection. You can feel the strength, you can feel the power. If you want to, you know, use the temple as a hospital, a spiritual hospital, you can feel healing while you are there.
And I understand that every time that I go to the temple and I take a name to the temple, using Ordinances Ready, every time I take a family member with me, it’s a different experience. It really is. The prophets and apostles have always said the two halves of the blessing, right? Doing family history, but taking that name, that’s where it’s one in Christ. It’s one work. And every time that we do it, there’s just something different. It’s more special, because this is your family that you are helping to gather and bless and heal.
27:50
Sarah Jane Weaver: I have a great-grandmother; her name is Margaret Cannon. She found herself in the early 1900s a single mother with small children in Logan, Utah. And I think of that every time I go to Logan, because those would have been very cold, very frustrating, very challenging times as she had to dig down and figure out how she was going to take care of these kids and move forward in a really difficult situation. And then you compare that to the situations in your own life and think, “I can do this. If she did that, I certainly can do this.”
Later in her life, she was the matron of the Logan temple, and what a beautiful fulfillment of promises for someone who stayed true, who stuck with it. And I think that the temple can be a symbol of connecting families in a really beautiful way.
28:45
Dan Call: I think, as well, it’s a lifeline. I think with as difficult and as hard as sometimes days are with these challenges, you know, we’re experiencing life, right? Every generation has got its own unique issues. And the fact is the temple really is such a huge blessing, and we need to get to it more. We just do.
29:05
Sarah Jane Weaver: And that is a perfect place to wind up our discussion today. We have a tradition at the Church News podcast, where we always give our guests the last word, and we always have you answer the same question. And that’s: “What do you know now?” And I actually hope that you can answer the question in a little more depth, because I’m interested in what you know now after studying your own family history and family history, and how that family history can bless our lives during the holidays, and how connecting with our family history can strengthen our testimonies of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
29:41
Dan Call: My life would not be the same without family history. I’m not naturally a genealogist. I’ve never been the big researcher. But being this close to family history for 13 years has literally transformed me as an individual. Understanding the doctrine and the healing power on both sides of the veil, the connection, the help, the support, feeling those angels on the other side, experiencing such powerful spiritual experiences that you cannot deny them, and seeing the hand of the Lord in this work.
I think sometimes we think family history is a program. It’s not. It is a doctrine of the gospel that changes and softens hearts, and it has softened my heart greatly. It’s helped me be a different person. Again, like we were talking about, when you think about the songs that we sing at Christmastime, “Angels We Have Heard on High,” that’s a personal story for me. Angels are real. They are there in my life. And not only are they angels, but they are my loved ones who’ve passed on. I tell you emphatically that the veil is thin. They are there. Heavenly Father sends them. That’s why it’s so warm and inviting to our family members who — they’re the most invested with our spiritual livelihood, right? They see the big picture.
I know that family history can shape, modify, improve, whatever word you want to use. It is a doctrine that changes, and it’s through Christ. It is through Jesus Christ, it is through His gospel, those powerful temple covenants. It’s transformative. It truly is. And I just can’t say how much — I just love family history and temple work more than you can imagine, because it has shaped my life in ways that I never would have thought it ever could have.
31:56
Sarah Jane Weaver: You have been listening to the Church News podcast. I’m your host, Church News executive editor Sarah Jane Weaver. I hope you have learned something today about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by peering with me through the Church News window. Please remember to subscribe, rate and review this podcast so it can be accessible to more people. And if you enjoyed the messages we shared today, please make sure you share the podcast with others. Thanks to our guests; my producer, KellieAnn Halvorsen; and others who make this podcast possible. Join us every week for a new episode. Find us on your favorite podcasting channels or with other news and updates on the Church on TheChurchNews.com.
