WHAT DO WE DO?

 For months you have asked this question ...

So have we!

Friends, family, and even complete strangers often inquire about what we are doing on our mission. A short boring answer is that we do data entry 8+ hours daily, Monday-Friday, and yes we do take an hour for lunch. Thankfully, start and lunch times depend on specific tasks and are fairly flexible – usually 7-3 or 8-4, with lunch times beginning about 11 a.m. and ending at 1:30 p.m.

My Desk Area

And often, as we traverse Temple Square Campus,  we have an opportunity to answer questions and chat for a few minutes with visitors when we offer to take pictures for those attempting selfies, etc. (and even of ourselves with BigFoot on Temple Square).

Bigfoot on Temple Square 

In April 2019 Elder Steven E. Snow General Authority Seventy and Church Historian and Recorder provided more extensive information in his 2019 Ensign magazine article titled, “The Sacred Duty of Record Keeping.” [1] 

Elder Kyle S McKay began service as the new Church Historian and Recorder in 2022. [2]

Much more information about record keeping in the Church is also available on its website.[3] If you are into such historical record keeping search for ‘Church History and Record Keeping,’ [4] ‘What is a Records Preservation Center,’ [5] and any other similar topic you can think up.  The scope of available information is mind numbing.

TMI already! 

I know, I know – but our real work is actually a bit exciting and quite interesting.

When Elder Ames was a young boy he asked his mother a question, and she replied “Go ask your father.” His father was a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, a Naturopath, Physical Therapist, and Chiropractor who spoke many languages.

Elder Ames answered his mother, “I don’t want to know that much.”

You also may not really want a long answer. It would start with:

 “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints completed the Granite Mountain Records Vault [6] in 1965 to preserve and protect records of importance to the Church, including its vast collection of family history microfilms. …

 “The vault safeguards billions of images on microfilm, microfiche, and digital media. Currently, the Church is in the process of digitizing the microfilms and making those digital records available through FamilySearch.org.   

 “The images … are collected through agreements with archives, libraries, and churches from more than 100 countries. Copies of these records are given free of charge to the record custodian [in that area] and on occasion, additional copies are provided to replace records that may have been lost in a natural disaster or fire. [See link below] to watch the story of how the Church was able to replace valuable genealogical records for the Pacific island nation of Niue after a devastating cyclone. [7]”

All that to say the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints collects and preserves records about the people and history of the world [8] - especially historical records about the church and its members.

There are several zones in our mission that assist the Church to digitize these records. 

We are assigned to the Family History Project Zone and spend most of our time correlating records provided by A.I. - artificial intelligence - with records already digitized and available in on Family Search. [9]  (Another zone teaches AI how to read records in any language and digitize most printed or written documents, and there are 13 zones in the 4 buildings comprising this mission) 

In other words, we link newly digitized records together, with data already processed and available, to form cohesive genealogies that may be searched - without cost [10] - by anyone, anywhere. 

What do you want to know about ancestors in your family? [11] 

1. The Sacred Duty of Record Keeping
2. New Church Historian Recorder 2022
3. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
4. Church History and Record Keeping
5. What is a Records Preservation Center?
6. Granite Mountain Records Vault
7. Niue Island Disaster
8. Importance of Family
9. The World's Largest Family Tree
10. Family Search
11. Simple Steps to Preserve Your Precious Family Memories