A free family history center opened on Aug. 1 in the Kent Stake Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 12817 SE 256th St.
The center is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays, noon to 9 p.m.; Wednesdays, 6 to 9 p.m.; and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Volunteers and family history consultants will be on hand to assist visitors. The center is a resource for anyone starting to explore their family, and for those who have been researching for years. The center includes access to computers, printers, scanners for photographs and family documents and links to millions of family history records.
The church operates more than 4,700 family history centers throughout the world as branches of FamilySearch and the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. These centers provide one-on-one assistance, classes and access records. One of the major resources available to all patrons is free online access to the FamilySearch Catalog, which consists of genealogical records that have been gathered over the past 115 years.
The church has a long history of encouraging and supporting genealogical research. The church teaches that families can be together forever, maintaining family bounds even after death. Through family history work, people have an opportunity to discover their ancestors, learning about the places ancestor came from and the experiences they had. This research can also lead to the discovery of living family members as common ancestors are found.
Many people that engage in even limited family history research often find they’re related to famous people from history, including presidents, historical figures, pioneers, pilgrims, royalty and even infamous characters from the past.
Additional information about the church’s family history work can be found on the website FamilySearch.org.
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