I have used the temple file submissions a lot -- especially since my family file is large enough already. I particularly like submitting male names for individual ordinances through temple file. I save the sealings sometimes for my family file. In the two years of using New FamilySearch, this is what I have learned. (I will write this as simply as I can and try to help those on the list who are not familiar with the ordinance process.) As I find a family or add/edit information for a family, I notice if anyone needs temple ordinances. If many family members have already had their ordinances done, I concentrate on the other family members who still need their ordinances completed. It is important to seek out duplications, etc. for these missing ordinances because they might actually be completed already. I then choose the flashing arrow temple icon for the family (sometimes the individual in the lds ordinance section) and have two choices: "Assign ordinances to others" or "I will do the ordinances". (Wording might not be exact.) If I choose "assign ordinances to others", I can choose which ordinances I will do and which I want the temple to do. Sometimes I can handle a certain ordinance better than another one. For instance, baptisms and confirmations if our ward is having a youth temple trip. Sometimes I choose to have the temple file responsible for all the ordinances. After I make those selections, I will choose the "temple ordinance" tab at the top of the screen. Then I pick the last selection which has a heading "Make Names Available for Others to Do". I then go through the list which includes my family file entries. As I go through the lists, I determine if I want to keep a name in family file ("Me") or add it to the temple file ("Temple"). The family file entries will be blank if I have already processed the information through an FOR. If they are still available, they will have "ME" in the field. The ones that I have already released for Temple File, will have "Temple" in the field. I make the changes as I go through the information. Later, I can go back and switch the "Temple" back to "Me" if I want to do so. It is important to note that I cannot see which names are in Temple File from the other submission section: "Select Individuals or Families from my Reserved List". If I choose a person whose ordinances are supposed to be done in temple file, it will cause problems at the final steps of the FOR process. For me, I have learned to go into the "Make Names Available for Others to Do" BEFORE I create an FOR for family file. This is just me, perhaps, but it is a lot easier to print off the page for a family as I get the information ready the way I want it. I can then know for certain that the ordinances I choose for family files will be available for family file. As for the temple file submissions, it doesn't always happen right away. Sometimes I check later in the day or the next day. The work is marked "in process" -- sometimes for all the available ordinances or perhaps only for the first missing ordinance. As a person's ordinances are completed, their name is dropped off of the reserve list. They will remain on the list as long as an ordinance is missing. (So a patron can change the field from "temple" back to "me" if the ordinance(s) remains available. NFS is more flexible in these steps than FamilyTree.) One day I found a child who needed to be sealed to their parents. I cleared the name for the temple file and later that day she was sealed to her parents. It made me happy that the missing sealing ordinance was completed within hours. I live in Michigan and the sealing was done in California. What a great blessing NFS is for all of us! One final thought: if we are submitting information to help other ward members or family members, we should sign on as their helper. This helps the information we add to be credited to the proper submitter. It will say that a fact's contact is "so-and_so" and list their email address. The helper is listed with the tag "submitted by:". Mary Scott Northville Ward Westland Michigan Stake Detroit Michigan Temple