FamilySearch Africa Leaders Training Kicks Off in Lagos, Nigeria

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On 16 June 2024, the Lagos Nigeria Ikeja Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hosted a train-the-trainer event on FamilySearch Africa App, aimed at helping to enhance and increase members' understanding and involvement in family history and genealogical work.

FamilySearch has just introduced a new website and app specifically built to assist in doing Family History work in Africa.  Africa is one of the fastest growing areas of the church, and the purpose of the new website is to provide a simple way for members and friends to get started with their family history and for anyone to find information on their ancestors more easily.

The website and app will provide powerful help to all Africans, even those experienced in genealogy, through the “Find Ancestors in Africa” experience.  Many countries in Africa have few historical written records available for research.  In many African cultures, records were memorized and recited orally by a designated member of a tribe or village.  Several years ago, Family Search started visiting villages and recording these oral records.  Since then, separate teams have been transcribing the names and information from these oral histories so that they are searchable.

The event in Lagos is one of many ongoing church leaders’ trainings across the African Continent. FamilySearch Africa is available to download as an app or can be accessed by heading to familysearch.org.

The training was opened by President Oyewole Oyedeji, 1^st counselor in the Lagos Nigeria Ikeja Stake Presidency, with an inspiring address emphasizing the doctrinal importance and blessings of temple and family history work.

Feedback about the FamilySearch Africa App from participants and leaders alike was positive, with descriptions such as “engaging” “simple,” “great,” “fantastic,” “comprehensive,” “interesting,” and “fun” highlighting the event's success. Uwem Samuel, the Secretary to the Ikeja Stake Primary Presidency shared her feedback. “Actually, I have downloaded the App, but I really did not know how to use it. This training has helped me to know what to do and to also help others who are not members and who are members to discover their root.”

A typical FamilySearch Africa training is instructional, interactive and practical. The Elder’s Quorum President of Ikeja Ward shared his assessment of the training approach; “I like how the training is not just a training, but we were able to integrate it into our family history plan”

The training saw a total attendance of 101 Church leaders out of 132 church members present. Olajide Rufus Ojo of FamilySearch said, “The attendance exceeded our expectation, and there are a couple of preparatory efforts we can attribute that success to, but I do not have doubt in my heart that The Lord Himself is currently encouraging and supporting all who will be involved in doing Temple and Family History work in Africa. I felt His help”.

With the Support of the FamilySearch Africa Team. The Lagos Nigeria Ikeja Stake remains committed to fostering a deeper engagement with family history and temple work among its members, leveraging technology and the new FamilySearch Africa App to strengthen spiritual connections and ancestral ties.

For more information on future events and updates, stakeholders are encouraged to follow FamilySearch Africa on social media platforms.