LDS Church Introduces New Tools to Help with Family History, Missionary and Temple Work

During the RootsTech conference last weekend, general authorities for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced new tools that will help members with the work of salvation.

During the family history leadership session on February 6, Elder Allan F. Packer of the Seventy described salvation as “the bottom line” for missionary, temple and family history work.

Packer, along with Elder Brent H. Nielson, a member of the Seventy and executive director of the Missionary Department, and Elder Kent F. Richards, a member of the Seventy and executive director of the Temple Department, were featured together on a panel during the session. LDS.org reports that the content they discussed and the tools they introduced will be incorporated into training materials that the church will use throughout the world in various wards and stakes.

Packer encouraged the priesthood leaders that were in attendance, mainly bishops and stake presidents, to take advantage of these new tools. He said,

[pull_quote_center]As you exercise your keys, utilizing best practices and the tools we share with you today, there will be a synergy to increase the results for your families, your wards, and stakes.[/pull_quote_center]

Some of the tools introduced include the following:

• Missionary Department: two new pamphlets to help missionaries teach investigators and retain them as new members of the Church. These pamphlets will soon be available in different languages and online.
• Temple Department: Church members can now print ordinance cards at home before going to the temple.
• Family History Department: a “starter” card for those new to Family History, “Strengthening Eternal Family Bonds through Temple Service: Start Building Your Family Tree,” will help individuals to become engaged
• Family History Department: Individuals can now enter names, pictures and stories, from the “My Family” pamphlet, into FamilySearch.org.

For the complete list of new tools the leaders introduced, visit LDS.org.