On April 30, 2019, the new Ogden Utah Family Search Center was dedicated, and on May 6th, its doors were opened. According to www.lds.org, this Center “…replaced 40 stake family history centers throughout the City and surrounding areas.”
The new Family Search Center is much larger than before. It has two-levels, 12,000 square feet of space, and is located across the street from the Ogden Utah Temple. This facility offers the latest in several interactive activities, many online resources, and of course, a kind and friendly staff who is ready to help you. Additionally, there are monthly workshops to help gain further understanding in family history.
Elder Bradley D. Foster, a General Authority Seventy and also the executive director of the Church’s Family History Department said, “We engage technology in a bigger facility. We can bring big groups in here, we can bring in families here, we can teach in here, and it will give people the experience they deserve.”
I recently took my three younger children to the Family Search Center in Ogden. We had a wonderful experience looking up information about our ancestors. One part we particularly enjoyed was seeing who we were related to. If we go several generations back—I found out I’m related to Orville Wright, Joseph Smith, cast members in Studio C and more. My teenage daughter was especially excited to learn we were related to Studio C folks. We were also able to learn where the greater percentage of our heritage stems from. I am mainly from England and Germany.
There are 11 life sized-interactive media as well as 60-plus desktop computers, and three recording studios. This building is free to the public, and is not intended solely members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but for all people interested in their family history. We learn on www.lds.org that: “The Ogden facility is the latest of five Family Search centers, joining four others in Utah—in Salt Lake City, Lehi, Layton, and St. George. Two more are underway—in Bountiful, Utah, and Mesa, Arizona.”
The Family Search Center is located at 321 22nd Street. The north-side windows offer beautiful views of the Ogden temple. This is a loving reminder for all the Saints about the importance of family history and how it will help us progress the work on the earth. Operating hours are from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays and Fridays; 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays; and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.
Come spend some with your family, this summer, and see what this wonderful facility is all about. There are several volunteer missionaries willing to help and direct you. Children as young as 8 years old are able to have an account of their own, with parental permission.
