The Johannesburg Temple is to Go Live with New FamilySearch on 8 July 2008

A number of sources have confirmed to me that the Johannesburg Temple has received this, the date of its going live with New FamilySearch.  It appears that family history staff in our temple district have been informed; family history blogs have obtained the information as well and are reporting it.

Concerning going ‘live’, the Ancestry Insider (ancestryinsider.blogspot.com)says:

‘Registered family history consultants and leaders are notified when their temple districts are about to change to NFS [New FamilySearch]. … The initial notification usually gives an approximate time frame of 3 or 4 months for the NFS release, but not a specific date. A final notification gives the date to stop using TempleReady, the date all temple district members can access NFS and the date the temple will begin using NFS.’

The same blog provides information that on 8 July, members will be able to print cards for temple ordinances using a Family Ordinance Request.  This system makes use of the New FamilySearch website, available at new.familysearch.org.  Apparently, members will be able to register on and access the site about three days prior to the activation (about 5 July 2008), early in the morning.

With this announcement, Renee Zamora, on her blog ‘Renee’s Genealogy Blog’ (rzamor1.blogspot.com), says that 56 temples are now live and 34 are in the process of going live.  That leaves only 37 which have not been announced.

This is a most exciting development for members in our region.

For those of you who know are thoroughly confused by the above, the Church has been introducing an incredible new system called New FamilySearch.  The website’s predecessor, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org), is one of the largest family history research websites in the world.