New LDS.org Website Launched

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has launched their new website.  The new homepage offers many new and updated features, quick links and resource materials.  The updated site has a more current and visually appealing design and a new search engine.

With a little effort you will find the new site more useful and user friendly. I played around with the new site and am finding I really like it. The new SEARCH process is feature rich and I can find my search results easily. There are a few collections that have not been converted to the new site yet so periodically you may be directed back to the old classic LDS.org site until everything has been converted.

There are some simple, yet subtle, features on the homepage, so be careful you don’t overlook them. This first image is at the very top of the screen, above the “white space”. 

Click on the MENU button to see a complete menu of the site listed in columns by category.

Click on the TOOLS button to see such items as the CALENDARS, WARD and STAKE Websites, and your ward DIRECTORY.

Then look carefully to the right and you will find the SEARCH box. As you type you will be prompted with possibilities.  On each page you arrive at you will be given a sidebar to further filter your search. It’s very useful!

The top portion of the “white space” on the website provides links to Church video’s and you can click though them by pressing the light blue arrow tab on either side of the image.

The balance of the page is designed in useful columns with quick links to further features, a shortcut back to the old “classis” LDS.org, upcoming events and messages from the prophets and apostles.

At the very bottom of the “white space” don’t miss the link to the Home Page Archive! This will take you to back issues of the homepage features.  And always take the time to view the very bottom of the webpage. Here you will find extra shortcuts to Menu items, Resources, and the Most-Visited Content on the site.

Now if you want even more HELP with the website, click here to watch the video lessons!

United States Record Selection Table - FamilySearch Wiki

Website Review

I often get asked a question that may seem elementary to many genealogists, but there are thousands of people who really don't know how to get started with their family history.  And that's okay! We all started in that very same place and learned the process one step at a time.

You finally decide you want to start researching and proving the family information that you have been gathering and just need a map to give you the directions. Well, the FamilySearch Wiki has a page that will provide you with that map! Let's take a look at this useful tool that maps the process for U.S. records.

The United States Record Selection Table works just like a map. It contains a table of web links. Each link will direct you to another web page with more detail and possibly more links.

As you can see, you just go down the first column and decide what fact or info you need. Then you will find two additional columns. You should first look for the type of records suggested in the middle column. In this example click on the link "census".  If you don't have any success or need further info, try the sources in the right column.

As you select a link you will be taken to a page that gives you more info and links. So if you have a person's name but do not know the age of the person nor when he/she was born then  first look for one or more entries in that center column. Let's try "census" records. When selecting that link the following page appears.

Notice that this Wiki page has links to the various web sites that have indexes, transcriptions, or images of census records. Continuing down the page is a selection list by State. Select a state and you will find a spreadsheet with more links that can take you directly to the online data.

So if you are not sure where to go with your research, start with a map!