LDS Church begins public test of online genealogical service
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The LDS Church has begun a brief public test of a new Internet-based genealogical service, which can be seen at http://www.familysearch.org.
The Web site is the product of a project to make part of the church's extensive collection of genealogy records available on the Internet. Access to the site does not require a password.
A statement from the church indicates the public test of the site will continue for several weeks. The site may be unavailable at times or experience periods of slow response due to test requirements, the statement says.
"The church believes that, once the test is completed and the service is formally launched, it will greatly enhance the way people trace their family history," the statement says. "Depending on the evaluation of the test, the full service may be launched this spring or summer. At that time, but not until then, detailed explanation will be made of the site and its various elements."
The Family History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is an international leader in genealogical research. The church has the world's largest collection of family history records, which is available to the public through a system of 3,200 LDS Family History Centers around the world.
For more than a century, the LDS Church has encouraged its members to search out their ancestors.
