Family History Videos Recently Released in West Africa

The Africa West Area Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has created short videos intended to encourage members to become more engaged in Temple and Family History work. The videos are being incorporated into family history training materials and are also intended to be inspirational messages freely used supporting Family History related firesides or devotionals, events such as FSY conferences and YSA Summits, workshops, or other Family History related events.  Because each video has a unique message encouraging and supporting different aspects of the work, each one can provide a different type of support for specific family history related events or for a series of classes with different focuses as summarized below.

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The video "Uniting Families Through Temple Covenants" by Elder Alfred K. Kyungu, President of the Africa West Area, tells us that President Nelson has emphasized that the most important work on the earth is gathering Israel on both sides of the veil. We need to perform family history and temple ordinances for our ancestors, as our salvation is linked to theirs. The construction of new temples in Africa provides unprecedented access, and we must actively participate by preparing family names for temple work to bless both our ancestors and ourselves.

The video "Uniting Families Through the New FamilySearch App" by Elder Adeyinka A. Ojediran, First Counselor in the Africa West Area Presidency, tells us that the new FamilySearch Africa App and website is a specialized tool designed to help African members just starting their family history to identify their ancestors and prepare their names for temple ordinances. By using its any of its four modules 1- Prepare a Names for the Temple, 2- Create a beautiful Family Trees, 3- Find Your ancestor in Africa and 4- Record a Story, users can start fulfilling their responsibility to unite their families across generations and become saviors on Mount Zion.

The video "The Rising Generation's Role in Gathering Israel" by Elder Isaac K. Morrison, Second Counselor in the Africa West Area Presidency, tells us that young adults in the Africa West area are called as pioneers to be the driving force and beacon of hope in gathering Israel by performing vital temple work for their ancestors. By preparing for their own endowments and engaging in family history, they can answer the prayers of their forebears and become partners with heaven in this crucial work.

Although the videos were originally intended primarily for use in temple and family history training and events, members can benefit from watching them and heeding their counsel.  Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in his April 2018 General Conference talk, emphasized that, "As Church members, we do have a divinely appointed responsibility to seek out our ancestors and compile family histories. This is far more than an encouraged hobby, because the ordinances of salvation are necessary for all of God’s children. We are to identify our own ancestors who died without receiving the ordinances of salvation." It is key to note that this divine responsibility is for all members of The Church, not just those with a specific calling in Family History. The videos can help all members understand and improve their efforts in fulfilling this divine responsibility.