I registered and took tutorials and found the system very nice. The biggest surprise was in learning that it was not a good idea to create a large GEDCOM file and submit it. Instead, there are two options: enter everything from PAF by hand, or make very small GEDCOM submissions after making sure there are no duplicates.
The latter, it turns out, is a better strategy. In the case of copying things, it is not possible in a lifetime to capture all the rich details that are contained in our family PAF.
Let's say that we were to go with minimalist submissions, and they were accepted for ordinances. Then anything we submitted later would be an addendum. And no one but the original submitter can add to a file unless it's considered a second opinion.
Further, it is the rich details that will probably end up resulting in connections being made to other submitters' work.
So the only solution is to pick a family, use NFS to find out if it exists in their records, and if not, to submit just that much via GEDCOM.
It will take time. But it is a glorious work! I had so much fun with the people I entered by hand, few as they were!
After entering whatever names time allows, one then checks for previously done ordinances, and moves on to submitting them for consideration for temple work. This process was very interesting! Every name I submitted was carefully screened, and I had the great joy of consolidating a half dozen or so records (in pairs) at this point (and rejecting other suggestions).
After about 3 hours of work, and the elimination of names that had been 'done', I found I had only 6 or so who needed all ordinances.
Unfortunately, right at that moment, as I submitted them to be printed out and bar-coded, a glitch happened on the NFS end - possibly because so many of us had been trying out this system last night and were all calling it a day.
So I 'lost' the submission. But it served a purpose: I noticed one more duplicate, and was able to remove it.
Tonight for Family Home Evening we will continue the process and get some more printouts done.
The biggest lesson is to have every bit of information possible in PAF (or somewhere) and then submit it all at once. This concept should not be taken to the extreme that nothing is ever done! If new facts come to light, the original submitter has the option of adding them seamlessly. But if a date, for example, is known but is not submitted at the time of submission for ordinances, the person will go through as (for example) 'birth unknown'. That just rubs me the wrong way, and I almost let it happen!
On a personal level, there is one other challenge: I would like the grandchildren to be able to participate in the temple work for our family members, and that means baptisms at this point. So I feel the need to gather a large number of 'complete' names very soon so this can be done in a practical manner. Only then can we move ahead and do the rest of it. And that is something we have taken on as part of our mission prep.
SOOO....I anticipate shoving aside other obligations to accomplish this.
That's the end of the first report. I trust I will have more understanding and accomplishment soon. Your input is welcome. PL
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2 comments:
Something that comes to mind as I read this is that you and I are in quite different stations of life right now! Duh. But I never really thought of it that way until I read this post. That's why missions are set aside for seniors. Seniors have so much to offer, in addition to the ability to sacrifice whatever else you have on your plate for focusing on whatever the Lord needs. I love your focus.
I really appreciate not only the comment but the insight in it. It has been a bit strange to me - and that's what I've been trying to capture w/ this blog - that once we made the decision, a whole new, full life opened to us.
I thought we'd have a lot to do, but here are so many different arenas where we need to put our attention. And every one of them is in the interest of helping us grow enough in wisdom and understanding so we can be useful 'somewhere out there'.
I saw a bit of it and captured it in the first post introducing the blog, but more keeps opening up.
This is NOT a matter of finding something to do for a few years. By accepting the challenge, a whole new world has been opened to us, not just in sacred arenas but even down to the most practical. I can't overstate the all-encompassing scope of it, and you have picked up on some of it in your comment. It is as sweeping as becoming new parents - or maybe pregnant for the first time with all that ahead.
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