Sunday night - one hour - 6-7 p.m. - in the Cultural Hall.

Primary Children were singing on the stage in front of the curtain for about 10 minutes as families were arriving and then sang for about 10 minutes after 6 p.m.

The Stake High Councilor over Family History, Brother James Miller, conducted and announced the prayer and the rest of the program.  He gave a 5-minute talk on family history.

Another High Councilor, Brother Luking, then introduced the theme, "Set the Record Straight."  He complimented the primary children on their singing and warned the adults that they'd better be nice to the children because if the adults didn't get their own histories written, then their histories would be written by their children and that could be very interesting!  He then presented in an entertaining and humorous way the answers that the primary children had given on questionnaires that had been given them.  After each, he asked the parents present to "set the record straight" and tell the real answer.  (You'd have to choose the right person/personality to do this in order for it to be humorous and successful.)

Sample questions: 

What's your grandma's maiden name?  (usual answer:  granny, grandma)

Where did your mom and dad get married:  (answers:  temple;   Las Vegas;   in our house)

What did your grandpa do for a job?   (go outside and watch me ride my bike; went to a building)


Then he read answers that Young Women had put on questionnaires.  These were more correct because some had asked their parents the answers--which had sparked some good discussions between parent and youth.

Questions:

Who was the first member of the family to join the Church?

What did your parents/grandparents do on dates?   (hunted jack rabbits & deer; sat around watching test patterns on the early TVs)

What games did your parents/grandparents play in their youth?

What does "dampen the clothes before ironing" mean?


The filled-out questionnaires were on a table for people to read, since only a few could be used during the program.

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The program took the first half hour.  Then the second half hour, families could look at the displays, have refreshments (punch and cookies), and watch a video that was set up.  The video had been made for an "academy awards night" for the young men and young women.  It showed the young men and women participating in talent shows and doing activities.  Each ward had made a video, then the stake had combined them all in a professional video.

One display table had a file folder labeled "Family History Starter Kit" containing the Members Guide to Family History Work, and other helpful handouts.  There was one for each family.

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There was a stand-alone mirror with a sign on top that said, "Family History starts with YOU!"   There were questions strips attached around the sides of the mirror to get people thinking about all the interesting things they could write about their lives.

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There was a sign that said:

"Each time a person dies without his or her history being preserved, it's as if an entire library burned down."

                    African Proverb

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