Thomas S. Monson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said, "Consider the connections that are formed when a young woman helps her grandmother enter family information into a computer or when a young man sees the name of his great-grandfather on a census record.
"When our hearts turn to our ancestors, something changes inside us. We feel part of something greater than ourselves. Our inborn yearnings for family connections are fulfilled when we are linked to our ancestors . . . "
Recently, young women in the Wailoku area in Fiji visited a family history centre to register on FamilySearch to access genealogical information on their own families. Their goal is to create family trees filled with the names of their ancestors, and link the present to the past.
Understanding that they are a product of generations of family, a sense of worth and purpose in their own lives is being awakened.
"The Family: A Proclamation to the World and the vast family history efforts are but two evidences of how this Church brings hope and help to the sacred institution of the family," said President Russell M. Nelson, a senior leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The young women and their leaders in the congregation have decided to use their school holidays to work on their family history. Flora Dakuiyau, a Latter-day Saint youth leader, said, "This sacrifice of time is our contribution to our ancestors."