Racing Against Time

October 2016

Historical records showing proof of life are disappearing at an alarming rate. Records of our ancestors are subject to storage issues, decay, and natural disasters. Last year’s typhoon in the Philippines destroyed millions of records in the Catholic diocese record archive. Census records in India are destroyed every ten years. And the mass move to digital record-keeping has nations throwing out handwritten records faster than ever. Only 13 percent of the world’s top genealogical records are digitized and preserved, leaving the rest at risk of destruction or loss. At current rates it will take 124 years to capture the top-tier records. Governments are asking FamilySearch for help in preserving their records at three times the rate FamilySearch and its crews can capture.

That’s where you can help. Every donation goes directly to FamilySearch’s record-capture project. Your donation has a direct and immediate impact on the number of records FamilySearch can make available to those searching for ancestors and preparing names for temple work. For just 10 cents you can save three records. That’s 30 records for every dollar you give. And that’s up to 30 people who will be forever grateful for your generosity.

The need to capture records in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia (shown in orange) is growing as the number of Church members in these areas grow.

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