Maybe it’s just because I belong to a church that puts a huge emphasis on family history work, but it seems to me that family history and genealogy work have become bigger and bigger within the last year or two. And I think a lot of that has to do with the internet and how easy it is to access online records these days. There might be some evils that are associated with the internet, but there are some huge benefits, as well.

However, in order for the records to become available, first someone has to go through the handwritten records (censuses, birth/marriage/death certificates, etc) and in essence “translate” them into a digital copy. And that’s called indexing. And July 15-17, FamilySearch International is sponsoring their third annual “Worldwide Indexing Event”.  FamilySearch is hoping to bring at least 72,000 people together from around the globe during a 72-hour event to save the world’s records by making them searchable to the public.

This might not sound enjoyable, I get it. I was hesitant at first, too. But indexing is really so fun. It’s almost like a game as you sift through records and try to transcribe the old fashioned handwriting and foreign names.

I challenge you to visit https://familysearch.org/worldsrecords and sign up for the event! If you scroll down the page, there is a section (in blue) where you can learn a little about indexing (takes less than 2 minutes to scroll through) and get a small taste of what indexing entails. Friends, even if you just index a few names, you are making it easier for us to find our relatives and learn more about our own unique family history. So let’s get out there, and save the world’s records. It’s important, I promise.

FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. It is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 4,921 family history centers in 129 countries.