Saturday, October 15, 2011

October Semi-Annual Meeting

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THOMAS TOLMAN FAMILY ORGANIZATION
Semi-Annual Meeting October 15, 2011
Bountiful Family Center at 1:00 PM


PRESIDING: John Tolman
INVOCATION: Joan Tolman
THOSE IN ATTENDANCE: Barbara Tolman 20, Tom Tolman 12, Kathy Jones 80, Elese Elwood, Jessica Elwood, Bud Pace, Kristie T. Pitts 3, Jake Howlett, Beth Snider, Katie Madsen, Tonga S. Titcomb, Gerald O. Tolman, Ruth Ann Tolman Baker, Merrrola Black, Loraine Pace 280, Joan Tolman, Shirlene Tolman, Loraine Pace, John Tolman, Trent Larson 1, Janis T. Newton 3.

MINUTES READ BY: Janis Tolman Newton (Approved)

FINANCIAL REPORT: Barbara L. Tolman (Attached)

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE OR REMARKS: John Tolman

FACILITIES REPORT: Tricia Leslie

REPORTS OF BOARD MEMBERS:

CYRUS LINE: Kristie Tolman Pitts
JUDSON LINE: Tonga Titcomb

BENJAMIN LINE: Dawine T, Mills Johnson

GENEALOGIST: Loraine Tolman Pace (Attached)

TEMPLE READY: Glen Tonge

PUBLICATION EDITOR: Tom Tolman

INTERNET REPORT: Trent Larson

GUEST SPEAKER: Blair Keddington: Project Manager: Family Search

They want to make the site more user friendly. Work together more as a family rather than working as one. He showed the history of Family Search from the beginning. Goal is to have all people able to use and work on system by mid-year 2012. He was very interesting and knowledgeable.

BENEDICTION: John Tolman

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Research Report

A. Research Progress: 

  • 1. We are close to wrapping up some lines (Belgraves, Strutts, Frosts, Taylors, etc.)
  • 2. Harder to research in England in the early 1600s & 1500s, as records are so sketchy (christenings of children without mention of either parent) or damaged ( Earliest documented thus far are marriages of 12th gg parents John and Ellen Frost md. 25 Apr 1538 in Somerton, Suffolk, England and 12th ggparents Richard Belgrave and Elizabeth Hadelstone md. 25 Jan 1544, in Berkhampstead, Hertfordshire, England.
B. Editing of Journals of Thomas Briggs, father of Emma and Mary Ann Briggs who marry Jaren Tolman, son of Judson Tolman. (Slow, laborious process to make it readable)
 

C. As I listened to: Elder David A. Bednar, of the Quorum of the Twelve - Saturday afternoon Conference Session, I thought how pleased my father would be.    When I was a senior in high school my father got permission to teach genealogical research at the Bountiful Seminary as one of the class choicest for the seminary students. The success of those classes prompted him to prepare a proposed course outline to submit to the Church Education System for approval to have genealogy taught at other seminaries. I have a copy of that proposal. He believed long before Elder Bednar said it that the youth of the church should be doing family research and temple work. He felt most of us wait until we have one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peeling before we begin taking this work seriously. We had regular temple excursions as seminary students to do baptisms for the dead with our teachers doing the officiating. Others didn’t have father’s vision so, to my knowledge, the Bountiful Seminary was the only one to ever offer a class in genealogical research for the youth.
Elder Bednar:
“The youth of the rising generation have a key role to play in the work of salvation,
"...as members of Christ's restored Church, we have the covenant responsibility to search out our ancestors and provide for them the saving ordinances of the gospel....
"I now invite the attention of the young women and the young men and children of the rising generation as I emphasize the importance of the Spirit of Elijah in your lives today.
... Many of you may think family history work is to be performed primarily by older people," he said. "But I know of no age limit described in the scriptures or guidelines announced by Church leaders restricting this important service to mature adults. You are sons and daughters of God, children of the covenant and builders of the kingdom. You need not wait until you reach an arbitrary age to fulfill your responsibility to assist in the work of salvation for the human family....
"It is no coincidence that FamilySearch and other tools have come forth at a time when young people are so familiar with a wide range of information and communication technologies. Your fingers have been trained to text and tweet, to accelerate and advance the work of the Lord — not just to communicate quickly with your friends. The skills and aptitude evident among many young people today are a preparation to contribute to the work of salvation....
"My beloved young brothers and sisters, family history is not simply an interesting program or activity sponsored by the Church; rather, it is a vital part of the work of salvation and exaltation. You have been prepared for this day and to build up of the kingdom of God."
Church News • WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 8,2011
 

  • 1. Parents and leaders, please help your children and youth to learn about and experience the Spirit of Elijah. But do not overly program this endeavor or provide too much detailed information or training. Invite young people to explore, to experiment, and to learn for themselves
  • 2. Any young person can do what I am suggesting, using the modules available at
  • lds.org/familyhistoryyouth.
  • 3. Commit yourself to using research logs, and to documenting AS YOU GO! (It is a
  • challenge even to do it later the same day, if adequate notes have not been taken.) Apply the Genealogical Proof Standard to at least one family and decide if it helps enough to
  • continue using it...(especially important to use with immigrant ancestor)
  • 4. Use new.familysearch to get leads and for checking and completing temple work
  • 5. Use familysearch to find resources to prove the records you are working on so our records are true and acceptable to the Lord.
Closing: Recent experience in library finding father, who seemed too old to be father of William Taylor and father of John Taylor.