Reader comments
Billions of family names to go online

Dan | 8:34 a.m. Jan. 16, 2008

Partnerships with others will add to the catalog of names which will serve as a greater resource so even more people will be able to search for family members. I am looking forward to this. Anyone can volunteer to perform indexing to help make it possible.

Becky | 11:52 a.m. Jan. 16, 2008

I'm one of the many volunteers who work on the indexing project spoken of in the article. It has been a wonderful experience for me. Some people may think indexing would be boring and tedious, but I find it fulfilling and interesting. The more I do the more I feel compelled to continue. I realize that the information I am deciphering is not just "data". It is information about a real person. I often wonder about who the person was and what life was like in that particular time and place. It adds a lot of meaning for me. I encourage everyone to volunteer. The time commitment is very flexible and there's comprehensive training online. I even have a supervisor I can call with questions.
I think it is awesome that they are expanding the project to help other depositories make their information available online, and at no cost to these organizations. The information my family has about our ancestors has grown in leaps and bounds through searching on the internet. I am thrilled that so many more documents will be available and especially that we will be able to see images of the actual documents when we search.

Query | 4:57 p.m. Jan. 16, 2008

The article is not clear as to whether the data will be available for free or if users will have to pay to gain access. If the latter, I wonder if it will cause some to not do research that will be used for a commercial enterprise.

Comments continue below

Skeptical | 7:25 a.m. Jan. 17, 2008

I'm skeptical of how accurate their records are. I recently found that my grandfather was baptized into the Mormon religion in Manti in the 1990's. What is the problem with that? Well, for starters my grandfather was never in Utah and he died in 1959! Its seems like they want to build their religion by baptizing dead people and then claiming them to be members of the church. I guess my grandfather can be added to those who were murdered in the Nazi concentration camps in Europe - those who's names are now with the mark of the beast.

Grandma Jean | 8:47 a.m. Jan. 17, 2008

I add my comments to Becky's. For those who have done personal research, they know how difficult it is to actually look at the original record. I went to Maine last year and it was awesome to hold the record books in my hands and look through them. However, I can't afford to travel all over the world and many times I have no idea where to look for some things I need. For anyone concerned about paying to view some of the images, unfortunately, not everything in life can be free. Organizations that provide resources have expenses to meet and a small charge access their information is only reasonable.

As to Skeptical. A person such as your grandfather could have many descendants and one of those might be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. That person would have every right to provide something to his ancestor that he believes will benefit him or her.

Ken Caye | 9:15 a.m. Jan. 17, 2008

Skeptical. No doubt some relative whom you may not even know exists submitted your GF's name to have vicarious temple ordinances done. In doing genealogy, you can find many branches of the family tree that you know nothing about. I attended a reunion a few years ago, & met dozens of cousins(intended). Those that have vicarious ordinances are not counted as members of the Church. Also, we do not baptize dead people. (Vicarious - endured or undergone by one person acting for another). Your bigotry (intolerant of those who differ)-I left out the really biting part of the definition because I don't know if that part applies to you or not. I firmly believe that we are free to worship as we please, according to the dictates of our heats & ascribe that privilege to all men. Good words to live by. Cuts down on the stress because we are not concerned so much about how others choose to worship their God.

Kevin | 11:34 a.m. Jan. 17, 2008

In the case of an affiliate group that "charges a small fee to view" the records microfilmed by LDS tithing money, I sure hope the leadership thinks long and hard about that.

Anonymous | 12:08 p.m. Jan. 17, 2008

Kevin- have you actually checked your facts about where and how LDS tithing is spent? Besides if you have faith in the gospel and pay your tithing with the trust that it will go where the Lord wants it to go then it really doesn't matter where it goes, does it?

Becky | 1:41 p.m. Jan. 17, 2008

To Query. My understanding is that the LDS church will not charge to access their information and many of the affiliates will not either. However, some of the affiliates may charge a fee to use the information that is housed on their own website. Even though the church helped them get their information on the web, I don't think they can control whether or not that entity charges for access. The LDS site will have links to those other sites for the user's convenience and some affiliates will opt to just have their information on the church website.

Anonymous | 1:55 p.m. Jan. 17, 2008

What impact will all this information have in aiding identity thieves and general loss of privacy? How does one opt out?

Re: Anonymous | 1:55 p.m. | 4:17 p.m. Jan. 17, 2008

You opt out by staying alive.

Cindy | 11:26 p.m. Jan. 17, 2008

Very Very interesting! all of the comments. I am excited that old records (previously extremely difficult to obtain or search) will now be available online! I once found originals (very old British parchment scrolls)being sold at Disney Land for a few dollars apiece (because the originals had been microfilmed)! How I would have loved to be able to find one of my own ancestors on one of those scrolls and had the actual document! Now will I be able to see the originals or will the new records available, also be in microfilm form? I would love to be able to see my great grandfathers tombstone or read accounts of my great-great grandfathers military service!

Higgy | 3:51 a.m. Jan. 18, 2008

Hi,

when will that happens ???

Jelly Belly | 9:47 p.m. Jan. 19, 2008

It all sounds great - but when will this happen and will it cost anything to view them?

Fizzbomb | 7:01 a.m. Jan. 20, 2008

Skeptical, the "records" (and I use the term loosely in this instance) you are referring to are from the "Ancestral File" - which is submitted by *users*. This is very similar to the family trees presented on RootsWeb or Ancestry.com. This type of *data* should be used as hints, not fact.

The article is referencing records (in the strictest sense of the word) produced by civil or military entities, such as the U.S. Revolutionary War Pension.

I began volunteering for the indexing project last June and have indexed such records as the federal Census, county marriages and births, and Irish marriages.

Matt Noxon | 10:19 p.m. June 4, 2008

I didn't bother to read all of the posts, but I have something to clarify in response to the post named "Skeptical."
Your grandfather may have died in 1959, but his babtism was done vicariously, probably by a youth in the church, at a temple in Manti in the 90's.
Just to clarify that, the records are accurate, you must have just mis-understood.

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