In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes incorrectly called the Mormon church,) genealogy is an important part of religious life. Using a variety of church resources, Latter-day Saints gather names, dates, places, and stories from their family tree in an effort to provide all humankind with LDS ordinances and ceremonies.
Why Do Mormons Do Genealogy?
Latter-day Saints are encouraged to research their family history and keep Mormon genealogical records for two main reasons:
- To get to know their ancestors
- To gather names for proxy ordinance work
In the LDS church, members are taught that families can be together forever — even after death — with the sealing ordinances that are performed in Mormon temples. Children are linked to parents, grandparents, and so on inside the temple. Learning about the ancestors with whom they will spend eternity is an important pursuit for Mormons.
Genealogy may be interesting, but to Mormons it is also more than that. "We are not hobbyists in genealogy work," says church official Dallin H. Oaks. "We do family history work in order to provide the ordinances of salvation for the living and the dead." The ultimate goal of LDS genealogy research is to provide proxy ordinances, or vicarious ordinances, to all humankind.
Mormons, Genealogy, and Proxy Ordinances
Mormonism teaches that in addition to faith in Christ, salvation also requires the ordinances of baptism, LDS temple endowment, and sealing to families. Mormons believe that God has provided a way for those who have died without the chance to get these ordinances to have them done on their behalf by a living person in the Mormon temple.
Mormon genealogy is a way to gather the names of ancestors who died without being members of the church, or who were Mormons but didn't receive all LDS priesthood ordinances. The ordinances are only believed to be valid and spiritually binding if they are accepted by the deceased individual in the afterlife.
Official Mormon Genealogy Website
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints maintains the Family Search website, where members all over the world can keep records of their family trees and prepare names for vicarious temple work. The Mormon genealogy site has a vast library of family history resources that are also available to the public for free genealogy research.
Mormon Family History Libraries
Most local LDS chapels also have family history centers inside to assist the Mormon and non-Mormon community with their genealogy research. Free of charge, patrons can access the online genealogy resources to which the center has a subscription, seek help from the volunteers staffing the center, and order microfilm and other records from the Salt Lake City Family History Library.
The LDS church encourages its members to work on their genealogy. Not only is it a productive and enriching hobby, but also Mormons see it as a way to extend the chance for non-LDS ancestors to be baptized, endowed, and sealed to their families in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Please visit What is the Mormon Temple? for more information on the significance and functions of temples in the Latter-day Saint faith.
Sources:
Official website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Dallin H. Oaks, “Family History: ‘In Wisdom and in Order’.” Ensign, June 1989.
Jenny Evans - Jenny Evans is a freelance writer and editor specializing in parenting and the family. She is also the Mormonism Topic Editor for ...
Join the Conversation