List of Mormon family organizations
Encyclopedia
Mormon family organizations (i.e., family organizations
or associations) are entities created by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (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.
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
. More specifically, "family organization" refers to organization
s 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. "[E]stablishing 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 recent General Conference addresses and other church publications.
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
, education
, conducting family history
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.
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
in continuous existence.
In 1971 the Internal Revenue Service
of the United States
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
s. The University of Utah
has made unique contributions to the study of genetics
due in part to long-term genealogy
efforts of the LDS Church, 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. The name(s) of the primary ancestor are included in parentheses when not otherwise obvious or apparent.
B
C
E
F
H
J
K
L
M
N
P
R
S
T
W
Y
Family association
Generally, a family association or family organization is an organization formed by people who share a common ancestor or surname. They join together for a variety of purposes including exchanging genealogical information, sharing current news about family members, having reunions, and promoting...
or associations) are entities created by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) to accomplish the basic purposes of family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
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 members tend to be very family-oriented, and have strong connections across generations and with extended family, often through regular family reunionFamily reunion
A family reunion is an occasion when many members of an extended family get together. Sometimes reunions are held regularly, for example on the same date of every year....
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
Temple (LDS Church)
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a temple is a building dedicated to be a House of the Lord, and they are considered by Church members to be the most sacred structures on earth. Upon completion, temples are usually open to the public for a short period of time...
.
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
Plan of salvation
According to doctrine of the Latter Day Saint movement, the plan of salvation is a plan that God created to save, redeem, and exalt humankind...
. More specifically, "family organization" refers to organization
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
s 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
General Conference (LDS Church)
General Conference is a semiannual world conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held in April and October, where members gather in a series of two-hour sessions to listen to instruction from Church leaders...
, a "Priesthood Genealogy Seminar" was conducted by LDS Church leaders in which the importance of family organizations was frequently emphasized. "[E]stablishing 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
Sabbath
Sabbath in Christianity is a weekly day of rest or religious observance, derived from the Biblical Sabbath.Seventh-day Sabbath observance, i.e. resting from labor from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, is practiced by seventh-day Sabbatarians...
day in recent 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." Individual or immediate families are regularly encouraged to hold weekly Family Home EveningFamily Home Evening
Family Home Evening or Family Night, in the context of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, refers to one evening per week, usually Monday, that families are encouraged to spend together in study, prayer and other wholesome activities...
and participate in family councils. More formal family organizations consist of the descendants of a common ancestor
Ancestor
An ancestor is a parent or the parent of an ancestor ....
. The purposes of such family organizations may include coordinating family efforts in promoting welfare
Welfare
Welfare refers to a broad discourse which may hold certain implications regarding the provision of a minimal level of wellbeing and social support for all citizens without the stigma of charity. This is termed "social solidarity"...
, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, conducting family history
Family history
Family history is the systematic narrative and research of past events relating to a specific family, or specific families.- Introduction :...
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.
Influence
Formally constituted family organizations figure prominently among descendants of some Mormon pioneerMormon Pioneer
The Mormon pioneers were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Latter-day Saints, who migrated across the United States from the Midwest to the Salt Lake Valley in what is today the U.S. state of Utah...
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
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in continuous existence.
In 1971 the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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
Plural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
), 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
Genetic disorder
A genetic disorder is an illness caused by abnormalities in genes or chromosomes, especially a condition that is present from before birth. Most genetic disorders are quite rare and affect one person in every several thousands or millions....
s. The University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
has made unique contributions to the study of genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
due in part to long-term genealogy
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
efforts of the LDS Church, 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. The name(s) of the primary ancestor are included in parentheses when not otherwise obvious or apparent.
Organizations (alphabetized by male progenitor surname)
A- Allred Family Organization (William Allred)
- Milo AndrusMilo AndrusMilo Andrus was an early leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Andrus was born in Wilmington, New York to Ruluf Andress and Azuba Smith....
Family Organization
B
- Israel Barlow Family Association
- Barton Family Organization (John Barton)
- Belnap Family OrganizationBelnap Family OrganizationThe 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 of Mormon Pioneer Gilbert Belnap and his plural wives...
(Gilbert BelnapGilbert BelnapGilbert Belnap was a Mormon pioneer, LDS Church leader, and an early colonizer of Ogden, Utah, Fort Lemhi, Idaho and Hooper, Utah.-Biography:...
/Adaline Knight/Henrietta McBride) - Bennion Family Association
- Braithwaite Family Organization
- Richard Brough Family Organization
- Orson Pratt Brown Family
C
- Anson Bowen Call Family Organization
- William Cazier and Pleasant Drake Family Organization
- Ezra Thompson Clark Family Organization
- Moses Clawson Family Organization
- Phineas Wolcott Cook Family Organization
- Myron E. Crandall Family Organization
E
- Bishop David Evans Family Association
F
- Winslow Farr, Sr. Organization
- Nathan H. Felt Family Association
H
- Hale Family Organization
- Hanks Place (Ephraim HanksEphraim HanksEphraim Knowlton Hanks 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....
) - Nathan Harris and Rhoda Lapham Family
- John and Jane Hayes of Clonakilty Family Organization
- John N. Hinton Family Organization
- Abraham Hunsaker Family Organization
J
- Benjamin F. JohnsonBenjamin F. JohnsonBenjamin Franklin Johnson was an early member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a member of the Council of Fifty....
Family Organization
K
- Heber C. KimballHeber C. KimballHeber Chase Kimball was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement. He served as one of the original twelve apostles in the early Latter Day Saint church, and as first counselor to Brigham Young in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his...
Family Association - Knaphus Family Organization (Torleif S. Knaphus, sculptor)
L
- Christopher LaytonChristopher LaytonChristopher Layton was a Mormon colonizer and Patriarch who founded the cities of Kaysville, Utah, Layton, Utah, and Thatcher, Arizona. Layton, Utah is named after him....
Family Organization - Leavitt Family Organization (Thomas Leavitt)
- John Doyle LeeJohn D. LeeJohn Doyle Lee was a prominent early Latter-day Saint who was executed for his role in the Mountain Meadows massacre.-Early Mormon leader:...
Family Organization
M
- Alexander Findlay Macdonald Family
- Karl G. MaeserKarl G. Maeser-Brigham Young Academy:When Maeser arrived at Brigham Young Academy in 1876 it was dying. Enrollment had declined since Warren N. Dusenberry had started the school a few months before. There were only 29 students at the time of Maeser's arrival....
Family Organization - John Marriott Historical Society
- Maughan Family Organization (Peter Maughan)
- Daniel McBride and Abigail Mead Family
- Joseph Stacy MurdockJoseph S. MurdockJoseph Stacy Murdock was an American colonizer, leader, and Latter-day Saint hymn writer. He wrote the words to "Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice."-Early years:...
Family Organization
N
- Alexander NeibaurAlexander NeibaurAlexander Neibaur was one of the first Jewish persons to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
Family Organization
P
- John PackJohn PackJohn Pack 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.-Biography:...
Family Association - Packard Family Organization (Forrest Packard)
- Sanford Porter Family Organization
- Jared PrattPratt-Romney familyThe Pratt–Romney Family is the name of a U.S. political family. It is linked by marriage to the Smith Family and the Matheson Family.The Pratt–Romney Family is the name of a U.S. political family. It is linked by marriage to the Smith Family and the Matheson Family.The Pratt–Romney Family is the...
Family Association
R
- Henry Rampton Family Association
- John Hardison Redd and Elizabeth Hancock Family Organization
- Charles C. RichCharles C. RichCharles Coulson Rich was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and served as an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ....
Family Association
S
- Justus Azel Seelye Family Organization
- Jesse N. Smith Family Association
- Joseph Smith, Sr.Joseph Smith, Sr.Joseph Smith, Sr. was the father of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Joseph Sr. was also one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, which Mormons believe was translated by Joseph Jr. from the Golden Plates. In 1833 Joseph Sr...
and Lucy Mack SmithLucy Mack SmithLucy Mack Smith was the mother of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. She is most noted for writing an award-winning memoir: Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations. She was an important leader of the movement during...
Foundation - Joseph Smith, Jr. Family Organization
- Joseph F. SmithJoseph F. SmithJoseph Fielding Smith, Sr. was the sixth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
Family Association - Samuel Harrison SmithSamuel Harrison SmithSamuel Harrison Smith was one of the younger brothers of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Samuel was a leader in his own right and a successful missionary. Smith is commonly regarded as the first Latter Day Saint missionary following the organization of the Church of...
Foundation - Erastus SnowErastus SnowErastus Fairbanks Snow , born in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1849 to 1888. Snow was also a leading figure in Mormon colonization of Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico.Snow Canyon State Park Erastus...
Family Organization - Sorensen Family History Organization (Nicolai Sorensen/Magdelena Olsen)
- John Martin Steiner Family Organization
- Edward StevensonEdward StevensonEdward Stevenson was a prominent Mormon missionary of the 19th century. He also served as a general authority in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as one of the seven presidents of the Seventy....
Family Organization - Joseph Stout Family Organization
T
- George Washington Taggart Family Organization
- Joseph Taylor, Sr. Family Association
- Tolman Family Organization
- Theodore Turley Family Organization
W
- John Fleming Wakefield Family Organization
- John Walker Family Organization
- John Henry Owen Willcox Family Organization
- Workman Family Organization (John Workman)
Y
- Brigham YoungBrigham YoungBrigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
Family Association
See also
- Culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsCulture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsA culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, reflecting the cultural impact of basic beliefs and traditions of the church, distinguishes church members, practices, and activities...
- Daughters of the Utah Handcart PioneersDaughters of the Utah Handcart PioneersDaughters of the Utah Handcart Pioneers was a historical society created to honor the memory of the Mormon handcart pioneers who traveled the Mormon Trail to Utah between the years of 1856-1860...
- Daughters of Utah Pioneers
- FamilyFamilyIn human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
- Family associationFamily associationGenerally, a family association or family organization is an organization formed by people who share a common ancestor or surname. They join together for a variety of purposes including exchanging genealogical information, sharing current news about family members, having reunions, and promoting...
- Family historyFamily historyFamily history is the systematic narrative and research of past events relating to a specific family, or specific families.- Introduction :...
- Family History LibraryFamily History LibraryThe Family History Library is a genealogical research facility in downtown Salt Lake City. The library is open to the public free of charge and is operated by FamilySearch, the genealogical arm of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .-History:The origins of the Family History...
- Family history societyFamily History SocietyA family history society is a society, often charitable or not-for-profit, that allows member genealogists and family historians to profit from shared knowledge. Large societies often own libraries, sponsor research seminars and foreign trips, and publish journals...
- Family reunionFamily reunionA family reunion is an occasion when many members of an extended family get together. Sometimes reunions are held regularly, for example on the same date of every year....
- The Family: A Proclamation to the WorldThe Family: A Proclamation to the World"The Family: A Proclamation to the World" is a 1995 statement issued by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints —whose adherents are known as Mormons—which defined the official position of the church on family, gender roles, and human sexuality. First announced by church president Gordon B...
- GenealogyGenealogyGenealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
- List of hereditary and lineage organizations
- Mormon pioneers
- Sons of Utah PioneersSons of Utah PioneersThe Sons of Utah Pioneers is an organization dedicated to preserving the memory of and studying the history of the Mormon Pioneers of Utah. The organizations is open to "All good men of every age and circumstance who have an interest in the early Utah Pioneers. It is not necessary to have...