From another standpoint...over 30 years ago when the Church started this program there was not the access to public records like there is now and what was available was pretty much useless. People relied on thier family Bibles, their personal knowledge as well as that of their parents and grandparents. I have been surprised by many who still in this day and age can't tell you who their great grandparents were. Our country probably had the heaviest influx of immigrants less than 100 years before this began. The idea of record keeping was only beginning to catch on. This is evident when you research the Census records. Luckily someone in their wisdom had the notion to collect more than the "Male" head of household and how many people were under his roof This is not so hard to understand. Most great endeavors have rocky starts and the fact that one can recognize an error in the system shows it is working. Researchers now know how impotant it is to have the resources to prove their work. Its all just pretty fasinating. No excuses needed!