In an effort to promote interest in family history, members of a congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in American Samoa decided to broaden their approach.
They invited the community to attend an open house held at the Church-operated family history centre in Pago Pago. They also invited local radio and television stations to be part of the event.
The event, held 24 May, included a two-hour live television and radio broadcast. During that time, individual names were read of those deceased during the influenza epidemic of 1918 – 1920.
If a listener heard the name of an ancestor they knew the family history centre had related genealogical information and were invited to contact the centre. Interest was immediate and strong. While the broadcast lasted only two hours, phone calls continued late into the night and into the next day.
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints operates over 4,500 family history centres around the world. Each is a branch facility of the Family History Library located in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. The library is the largest of its kind in the world.
Family history research is an integral part of Latter-day Saint theology. The Church teaches all humankind will have the opportunity of salvation through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
For further information, go to related topics.