I receive a newsletter daily about LDS church activities. These two were received today with links to read about the whole story MORE ON CHURCH GENEALOGY ONLINE See http://newsnet.byu.edu/noframes/show_story.cfm?number=9841 A "Computer Genealogy Conference" was held at BYU on Thursday. LDS Church spokesman Dale Bills commented on the Church's plans: "We are committed to creating a service that will significantly enhance people's ability to do (genealogy) research in the privacy of their own homes." As for the possibility of combining with other online services, Bills commented, "The church is open to making family history resources work well for as many people as possible. If that means cooperative work, we may look into it." ===== FAMILY HISTORY IN NEW JERSEY See http://www.bergen.com:80/home/mormon18199903189.htm Thanks to Gems subscriber Sherman Watkins <[email protected]> for this reference from the Bergen (New Jersey) Record. The article examines the focus placed on genealogy and family history by the LDS Church, and the doctrines and beliefs behind the emphasis. The article also mentions the Church's efforts to help non-LDS patrons: "On a recent Wednesday morning, about eight patrons -- all non-Mormons -- were doing research at the Family History Center in the LDS Church in Emerson. Four volunteers were on hand to help with the research. Of those, only Luella Mathusek of Dumont and Marrianne Perkins of Englewood (who is Eric Perkins' mother) are Mormons." Marilyn Georgeson