Family History

Welcome to Family History in Focus!

Welcome to “Family History in Focus,” a new regular feature to appear in Meridian Magazine and hopefully brighten the lives of those who take time to read and share its contents. I am Sean Brotherson, your family history enthusiast and guide, and I will endeavor to offer up tips and share stories, and point out possibilities in the domain of personal and family history. As I heard a tour guide who often visited Norway with groups proclaim—“Welcome Along!”

Why Personal and Family History? 

I grew up in a home where faith in God and the spiritual life were central to the rhythms of conversation and daily living. From the time I was a small boy, I enjoyed the stories that my mother related of her pioneer ancestors and their faith in difficult circumstances. I came to see that stories of their faith and effort served to bolster and support her faith and effort—which was then passed on to me. I would also sit and beg my father to repeat stories from his Latter-day Saint mission among the Indigenous peoples of the southwestern United States. He would recount incidents of service, healing, faith, and inspiration from his missionary service or his own family’s spiritual lives. Again, faith in God and spirituality were thus taught and modeled in simple ways through the sharing of family experiences that made them real, tangible, and significant.

There are many purposes for personal and family history, and why these activities are encouraged among the Latter-day Saints and beyond. We’ll probably explore quite a few of them. But let’s just begin with a model from the Book of Mormon.

In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Nephi recounts that he was raised in a home where he was born “born of goodly parents,” who loved God and raised their children in righteousness. Not all family stories are like that. However, in the opening verse of the Book of Mormon (see 1 Nephi 1:1), Nephi notes that his family pattern included being “taught somewhat in all the learning of my father,” and my guess is much from his mother as well, and that his personal desires to preserve an understanding of God’s goodness led him to “make a record of my proceedings in my days.” So, think about that. The Book of Mormon, among other things, begins as a personal and family history. We get a bit of Nephi’s lineage; stories of his father; challenges with his siblings; and much, much more.

But I love that example, which begins the Book of Mormon. Nephi is attentive to the learning and experiences that came through his own family experiences, and then seeks to “make a record” of them to be passed on. Seems like a pretty solid argument to prioritize personal and family history to me, that is, if we would like to apply the meaningful examples of the scriptures to our own lives.

Challenges and Priorities in Personal and Family History

Is anybody else out there busy? Trying to “fit in” personal and family history can be a big challenge for most of us. Where do I start? What should I do? How do I find the time? Who can assist me?

I take a bit of encouragement from Nephi’s example again. He seemed fairly busy trying to make a new life in the wilderness, building a ship, traveling to a foreign land, and establishing his family there. I would say such endeavors created a significant time and logistical challenge in making a record of God’s dealings with himself and his family. He had limited time available, and he labored to engrave his writings upon plates of metal. Also, no TikTok technology or video cameras to capture his thoughts in a particular moment.

So, Nephi chose his words and experiences carefully and created a set of “small plates” upon which he recorded primarily the spiritual teachings and experiences he wished to pass down. He referred to the things he recorded as “the things of my soul” (see 2 Nephi 4:15). I love that thoughtful phrase. Also, he notes specifically that he recorded these things “for the learning and the profit of my children” (see 2 Nephi 4:15). A couple of lessons might be drawn here.

As with Nephi, any one of us will have to make choices about the content we record for personal and family history. I do not think that Nephi’s example is the only one to consider here. I mean, I would not object to half a dozen good jokes or funny stories in Nephi’s writings—most families like to share jokes and funny stories. Those are often favorite tales. But, at the least, in making our content choices, we should not neglect “the things of [the] soul”—which can be a variety of things.

Also, we ought to consider that Nephi specifically was interested in a particular purpose for passing on items of personal and family history, and this was again “for the learning and the profit of my children.” Or, a bit more broadly, for the “learning and profit” of his children, his relatives, and other loved ones—perhaps, all who might be blessed to read or listen to what he had recorded. Why do I say “listen to”? Well, today, many hear the stories that Nephi shared through spoken recordings, reaching their hearts and minds through hearing his experiences with their ears rather than reading them with their eyes. Personal and family history can come to us in different formats. But Nephi had a purpose in what he shared, and it was so that his experiences might bring some learning and profit to others.

If you delve further into the Book of Mormon as a family history example, many other ideas and lessons come forward. Jacob, the brother of Nephi, continued the family record and recorded that another purpose of it was to “give our children, and also our beloved brethren, a small degree of knowledge concerning us, or concerning their fathers.” So, this theme continues, but also makes clear that you don’t have to record and share everything. What is the “small degree of knowledge” about yourself or your family that you might like to learn about or pass on to others? Jacob goes further, stating their record was crafted in the hope “that our beloved brethren and our children will receive them with thankful hearts, and look upon them that they may learn with joy and not with sorrow, neither with contempt, concerning their first parents” (Jacob 4:3). A lot to unpack there, but very instructional.

We live in a modern age, a time when instead of metal plates there are computer disks and archival books, a time when instead of engraving instruments to write, there are computers and software programs and much more. In the midst of all our opportunities, we ought to remember to record those spiritual lessons and experiences that we “consider most precious,” as the Book of Mormon writers expressed.

A Family History Enthusiast 

Now, my enthusiasm for personal and family history is undeniable. I greatly enjoy it and endeavor to appreciate it. That is my main “qualification” for doing a regular feature on family history. Enthusiasm.

If you are interested in any other qualifications, I can note that I have graduate degrees in human development and family science; I study, teach, and write regularly for a living on personal development and a wide variety of family topics; and I have been engaged in “passion projects” on family history for about 40 years. I enjoy writing personal and family history books and related materials for my own family, and endeavor to help others do so as well. I just really enjoy the telling of life stories and personal experiences. But, particularly, those stories and experiences that uplift, build, guide, instruct, and illuminate the blessings of God and the fruits of gospel living and experience. That is my bias and my focus.

Features of Family History in Focus

So, what kind of features will get you here in Family History in Focus? Well, hopefully a few different items. Here are a few ideas:

• Tips and Tools for Doing Personal and Family History – I am constantly amazed by all the tips, tools, and great ideas for doing personal and family history out there. We’ll try to share some of those resources that you might utilize.
• Ideas to Explore in Personal and Family History – Part of the fun of family history is finding interesting and creative ways to record, explore or share family experiences. Annual conferences like RootsTech and many other sources offer up a variety of great ideas. We’ll try to share some of those as well as reader-inspired suggestions.
• Examples of Family History Stories and Experiences – Stories and experiences that are passed along in families come in many types. One of the favorite family stories in my family is “The Potato Chip Story.” Another? “Mark’s Midnight Christmas Runs.” Some make us laugh, some make us think, some make us cry. We’ll share stories of faith, fun, inspiration and more, from Church history, different family histories, and perhaps some that you’d like to share. For example, a column on stories on “learning to swim” and how to explore that topic, including your own offerings, might be an example.
• Resources for Personal and Family History – There are many valuable Church-linked resources for exploring your own and others’ personal history, as well as many from a wide variety of other useful sources. We will try to highlight some of these great resources that you can utilize.
• Examples of Good Family History Books, Memoirs, and Such – Personal and family history gets shared in different ways. I love good, interesting, uplifting memoirs or personal histories, and hope to share some examples that might be of interest for readers. There are some well-known books out there and many “hidden gems” that we’d like to point out or review as well. So, we’ll review a book or documentary, or other family history source on a regular basis, and you can let me know if you have any suggestions as well.

Well, that’s a bit of an introduction to this new feature, Family History in Focus, and I hope you’ll tune in for the read on a regular basis. Thanks to Meridian Magazine for the opportunity!