Religion Briefs: Genealogical giants to tackle 1940 census

Genealogical giants to tackle 1940 census

The United States Census of 1940 is coming to the Internet, thanks
to a tag-team effort by multiple genealogical sites.

FamilySearch, the online family history and genealogy portal of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is partnering with
Archives.com and Findmypast.com to quickly digitize the 1940 census
records after they are released by the National Archives and Record
Administration of the United States in April.

When completed, the project will allow anyone to search the 1940
census records by name online, free of charge. At the time of the
1940 census, the population of the United States was approximately
130 million (the current U.S. population is more than 312 million).
Additional information about the project is available at
www.the1940census.com online.

LDS Church announces Idaho temple site

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced the
site for a temple to be constructed in Meridian, Idaho. Church
officials announced Monday that the Meridian Idaho Temple will be
constructed on a property at 7345 N. Linder Road. The Meridian
Temple, announced at the church’s General Conference in April, will
be the fifth LDS temple in Idaho.

No date for the start of construction has been announced, but it’s
anticipated that the temple construction process will last two
years. Latter-day Saints believe that temples are sacred and enter
them to participate in a variety of religious rites, including the
solemnization of marriages. Information and updates about the
Meridian Temple will be posted by church officials at
mormontemples.org/meridian online.

There are 166 LDS Church temples worldwide.