Mormon family organizations (''i.e.'', family organizations or associations) are entities created by members of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church) to accomplish the basic purposes of family life as understood within the church, in order to establish and strengthen family unity and identity across multiple generations.

Importance

As the basic unit of society, the family is also the fundamental organization within the LDS Church.

LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...

members tend to be very family-oriented, and have strong connections across generations and with extended family, often through regular

family reunion A family reunion is an occasion when many members of an extended family congregate. Sometimes reunions are held regularly, for example on the same date of every year. A typical family reunion will assemble for a meal, some recreation and discussi ...

s. For LDS Church members a knowledge and appreciation of one's lineage and heritage is closely connected to the sacred ordinances conducted in LDS temples. In its most general sense, the term "family organization" as used within the church refers to the fundamental concept of eternal family structure encompassed by the

Plan of Salvation The plan of salvation is a Christian concept regarding God's plan to save humanity from sin and its consequences. It occurs first in the New Testament, for example in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark, although some scholars consider ...

. More specifically, "family organization" refers to organizations created to provide structure and direction in meeting immediate and long-term family objectives and purposes. In connection therewith, LDS Church leaders have regularly taught the importance of establishing and supporting family organizations. During the 20th century as part of the church's semi-annual General Conferences, a "Priesthood Genealogy Seminar" was conducted by LDS Church leaders in which the importance of family organizations was frequently emphasized. " tablishing and maintaining family organizations for the immediate and extended family" has been expressly listed as an appropriate way to observe the importance of the Sabbath day in General Conference addresses and other church publications.

Purpose and organization

In 1978 the church asked all families to organize themselves at three levels: as "immediate" families, "grandparent," and "ancestral.": "From the early days of the Church, LDS families have regularly established family organizations, held reunions, and worked to make strong family identity." Individual or immediate families are regularly encouraged to hold weekly

Family Home Evening Family Home Evening (FHE) or Family Night, in the context of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), refers to one evening per week, usually Monday, that families are encouraged to spend together in religious instruction, pr ...

and participate in family councils. More formal family organizations consist of the descendants of a common ancestor. The purposes of such family organizations may include coordinating family efforts in promoting

welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

, education, conducting

family history Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

research, holding reunions, compiling family newsletters and publications, and other family-related LDS practices. Commemorating family heritage and legacy is another typical purpose and activity for family organizations. In September 2016, LDS Ancestral Families Association (LDSAFA) was established as a "free registration, publication and support consortium for LDS Ancestral Family Organizations (AFOs)."

Influence

Formally constituted family organizations figure prominently among descendants of some

Mormon pioneer The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter Day Saints, who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the Midwest to the S ...

s and other early converts to the LDS Church. The longevity of and degree of organization found among many Mormon ancestral family organizations is noteworthy. For example, the Jared Pratt Family Organization was founded in 1881, making it one of the oldest family organizations in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in continuous existence. In 1971 the Internal Revenue Service of the

issued a Revenue Ruling determining that non-profit family organizations that are expressly "formed to compile genealogical research data on its family members in order to perform religious ordinances in accordance with the precepts of the religious denomination to which family members belong" are exempt under Section 501(c)(3). Given their extensive documentation of lineages connecting many thousands of living individuals to a single common ancestor, their relatively larger extended family size (attributable in part to the early Mormon practice of plural marriage), relatively larger immediate family size, religious emphasis on "clean" or healthy living, and relative longevity, the genealogical data maintained by many Mormon ancestral family organizations have also been instrumental in medical research of

genetic disorder A genetic disorder is a health problem caused by one or more abnormalities in the genome. It can be caused by a mutation in a single gene (monogenic) or multiple genes (polygenic) or by a chromosomal abnormality. Although polygenic disorders ...

s. The

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

has made unique contributions to the study of

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...

due in part to long-term

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

efforts of the

, which has allowed researchers to trace genetic disorders through several generations. The relative homogeneity of Utah's population also makes it an ideal laboratory for studies of population genetics. The university is home to the Genetic Science Learning Center, a resource which educates the public about genetics through its website. There are several large Mormon ancestral family organizations, notable for their longevity, quality or degree of organization, or connection to well-known deceased or currently living persons. A non-exhaustive list appears below.

LDS Ancestral Family Organizations (alphabetized by male progenitor surname)

;A *Allred (Rocky Mtn.) Family Organization * Milo Andrus Family Organization ;B *

Israel Barlow Israel Barlow (September 13, 1806 – November 1, 1883) was one of the founders of Nauvoo, Illinois and a noted early member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Early life and conversion Israel Barlow was born in Granville, Massachu ...

Family Association *

Belnap Family Organization The Belnap Family Organization is a non-profit ancestral family organization that conducts primary genealogical research and preserves genealogical and other historical information on the Belnap/ Belknap family surname, including the descendants ...

*The Bennion Family Organization of Utah *Bluth Family Association *Braithwaite Family Organization *Brough Family Organization *Orson Pratt Brown Family ;C *Anson Bowen Call Family *George Q. Cannon Family Association *Cazier Family Organization *Ezra Thompson Clark Family Organization *Samuel Clark Family Organization *Phineas Wolcott Cook Family Organization ;D *Dastrup Family Organization ;E *Major Howard Egan Family Foundation *Bishop David Evans Family Association ;F *Winslow Farr, Sr. Organization *Peter Fullmer Family Organization ;G *Gardner and Brooks Family Organization *Henry Grow Family Association ;H *Hale Family Organization *

Ephraim Hanks Ephraim Knowlton Hanks (21 March 1826 – 9 June 1896) was a prominent member of the 19th-Century Latter Day Saint movement, a Mormon pioneer and a well known leader in the early settlement of Utah. Hanks was born in Madison, Lake County, Ohio, th ...

Family *Nathan Harris and Rhoda Lapham Family *Hatch Family Association *John and Jane Hayes Family Organization *Martin Heiner Family Organization *Henry Hendricks Family Organization *Abraham Heslington Family Organization ;J *Jackson and Flint Family Foundation * Benjamin F. Johnson Family Organization *George Jarvis and Ann Prior Family Association *Joel Hills Johnson Family Organization ;K *

Heber C. Kimball Heber Chase Kimball (June 14, 1801 – June 22, 1868) was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement. He served as one of the original twelve apostles in the early Church of the Latter Day Saints, and as first counselor to Brigham Young ...

Family Association *Joseph Knight Sr. and Polly Knight Family Organization ;L *Leo C. and Relia Shaw Larsen Family Organization *Western Association of Leavitt Families * John Doyle Lee Family Association ;M *John Marriott Historical Society *Hugh McKenna Family Organization *John Morse Family Organization *Joseph Stacy Murdock Family Organization ;N *

Alexander Neibaur Alexander Neibaur (January 8, 1808 – December 15, 1883) was the first dentist to practice in Utah and first Jew to join the Latter Day Saint movement. He was educated for the profession at the University of Berlin and was a skilled dentist befo ...

Family Organization *Nichols and Booth Family Organization ;O *Osmond Family Organization ;P *

John Pack John Pack (May 20, 1809 – April 4, 1885) was a member of the Council of Fifty and a missionary in the early days of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Biography Pack was born in Saint John, New Brunswick. He marri ...

Family Association *Francis Martin Pomeroy Family Organization *Sanford Porter Family Organization * Jared Pratt Family Association ;R *John Hardison Redd and Elizabeth Hancock Family Organization * Charles C. Rich Family Association ;S *Justus Azel Seelye Family Organization *Hyrum Smith Family Association *

Jesse N. Smith Jesse Nathaniel Smith (December 2, 1834 – June 5, 1906) was a Mormon pioneer, church leader, colonizer, politician and frontiersman. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was a first cousin to Josep ...

Heritage Foundation * Joseph Smith, Sr. and

Lucy Mack Smith Lucy Mack Smith (July 8, 1775 – May 14, 1856) was the mother of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. She is noted for writing the memoir, '' Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Ge ...

Family Association * Joseph Smith, Jr. and Emma Hale Historical Society * Joseph F. Smith Family Association *Abraham Owen Smoot Family Organization *Sorensen Family History Organization *John Martin Steiner and Anna Barbara Schmied Family Organization *Joseph Stout Family Organization *Jacob Strong Family Organization ;T *George Washington Taggart Family Organization *Joseph Taylor, Sr. Family Association *Tolman Family Organization *Theodore Turley Family Organization ;W *Workman Family Organization

References

Sources