Families are foreverWhy do we value family history?

“The foundation of the world lies in the country, the foundation of the country lies in the home, and the foundation of the family lies in the body.”

— Mencius·Li Lou Shang

FamilySearch (formerly Genealogical Society of Utah) is a nonprofit, global genealogical research organization that has been collecting and preserving genealogical records from around the world, including its predecessors, since 1894. FamilySearch works to connect families across the globe and across generations and provides free services to help find, update, preserve, and share genealogical records so that people around the world can discover their family trees.

FamilySearch is dedicated to helping people connect with and learn about their ancestors, their culture and experiences, their hardships and triumphs, because as people learn what their ancestors faced, the people themselves can gain greater confidence and courage to face their life's challenges and thus help strengthen the stability and harmony of their families.

FamilySearch is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church places a strong emphasis on family, believing that family relationships bring joy and meaning to life, and that the eternal nature of family, whether deceased, living, or future generations, are connected by an eternal, inter-generational bond. Therefore, knowing our ancestors not only helps us to better understand who we are, but also helps us to strengthen our kinship by connecting the present to the past, and building a bridge to the future.