Helping Members Record Family History

Many ward members have not written their personal histories. This may be especially true of the older members. I could seem to be an overwhelming task to them.

May I suggest ward consultants can make this task a bit easier by volunteering to record on audio cassette their personal histories. Offer your services. They and their descendants will thank you eternally. And by the way, be prepared for some of the most spiritual experiences of your life.

Make it your personal crusade not to let anyone from your ward leave this life without leaving a record of their life!

When you ask a person if you can record their life story, they may try to put you off by saying their life was dull and uninteresting. You may even have said the same thing about yourself. But you and they are wrong!

People's lives are fascinating, and once a person gets started talking about themselves, they get excited. I've seen depressed older folks perk right up as they begin to remember events of the past. They seem amazed at their ability to remember events they have not thought about in years. I feel sure that the Lord is helping here.

For equipment, you will need a cassette recorder. Hopefully, you already have one which you use to record the voices of your children and grandchildren. If not, they are relatively inexpensive.

If you have a video camera, consider taping at least part of the interview while you are recording it on audio cassette. A moving picture will be of great value to that person's descendants.

Use an external microphone rather than the one that is built into the machine. The small clip-on microphones work best, and the subject quickly forgets they are being recorded. Large microphones held up to the face sometimes make people self-conscious.

Use only high-quality 60-minute audio tape. Buy the cassettes that have small screws in the corners. These cassettes can be taken apart to make repairs if the tape should break. Don't forget to buy labels for the cassettes as well.

To put the subject at ease, interview them in familiar surroundings. Recording in the subject's own home is best. They are more relaxed and will open up more.

You must be prepared with questions when you interview. I have compiled 23 pages of questions which produce from five to fifteen hours of recorded history. These are available in the Resource Center at the family history center.

Even though you may have prepared questions, be flexible about sticking to them. Many times in an interview, the subject will get off on a subject that is important to them. Let them have their way. After all, our goal is to record the essence of the person.

During the interview, watch the person closely and check for signs of fatigue. It is a good idea to keep recording sessions to not more than two hours. People get tired after that.

If you can, type out the oral histories you have collected using the following suggestions:

• Listen to a short segment--a sentence or two--and type it out.
• Make changes to convert conversation into a coherent written form.
• Leave out the "uh's" and "you know," and convert the "yeah" to yes, etc.
• Convert sentence fragments into whole sentences.
• When making changes, try to be true to your authentic "voice" of the subject.
• Make paragraphs and chapters where natural.
• Plan for every one hour of recording to take two to four hours to transcribe.
• Type on acid-free paper.