What is Family History?

I've been pondering the question, "What is family history?" and also, "What is family history for?" Especially as I've been trying to decide where I want to start and what direction I want to go in looking at my family history. I've come up with three answers (in no specific order.)

1. Documentation or Record Keeping
   This includes things like keeping and collecting birth and death certificates, searching census records and making copies, looking for headstones in cemeteries and taking pictures, and finding military or immigration records. It's anything that provides proof (especially government) that this person actually lived, that they existed, or proves important events in their lives. This part is when I'm glad I have my husband, a history major, to help me out. You definitely need an organizational system for this so that the sheer amount of documents doesn't overwhelm you.
   
2. Temple Work
   My second part of Family History is mostly applicable to members of the LDS church. We believe in doing temple work for our deceased ancestors. This is what I thought the only reason for family history was for a long time, and I still know it's very important. But you don't need as much information for this purpose. The other two purposes: Documentation and Journaling, can lead you to help and more information for this area, but mostly you just need names. I would personally prefer to have more information on a person, but at least finding names for Temple Work doesn't overwhelm me as much as it used to, now that I understand I don't need copies of all of the documentation listed above to be able to do someone's temple work. And it's probably the part that most motivates me in terms of past people. I'm excited for the church's new FamilySearch program to come online in Utah! The thing that was most difficult for me last time I tried to submit names to Temple Ready was that most of my relatives had their work done 10 or more times, and I was frustrated at the inefficiency of it all.
   
3. Journaling and Stories (his stories)
   The third part of family history is journaling. It's what most people do in their scrapbooks. It also includes oral interviews, personal histories, and personal journals. The only thing in this category that used to excite me was journals. I have over 10 volumes now. But since I've been married I've been more excited about keeping a record of our life, and having a way to record our future children's lives. Especially since my husband likes to take pictures.
   Scrapbooking in general has overwhelmed me since I'm not very crafty, so I've started thinking of it as a journal with pictures, and since then so many options have seemed to open up. One option is blogging, which I've really enjoyed beginning in many different ways, and that was validated for me in an article entitled, "Scrapbooks Move Into the Digital Age." Also, I learned from a family history fair that you can make a 12x12 page on the computer on Photoshop and have it printed at Costco on photo paper, and then just slide it into a book. For me that is SO much easier. No cutting, pasting, coloring, stuff that scares me. Just make it with the undo button right there handy, and print... high quality.
   And, of course, this overlaps as you find journals and pictures of relatives and learn more about their lives and stories.
   The thing I love most about the Journaling is the stories. Our lives are full of many interesting things. If they aren't recorded they can't be remembered. I'm still looking for a small journal my grandmother left entitled "Memories with the Grandchildren." She only made a few entries in it. But I remember loving to read them when she was alive. And it's a possession that now, after she's passed on, I would like to remember, record, copy, and share because they're her stories, and stories keep memories alive, and create memories by being shared.

Each of these categories can overlap, and as they do their findings in one area help with progress in another. As you decide to get census record copies for ancestors, you may find the parent's names and someone you hadn't been able to track. As you do an oral interview of a relative you may find the names of other relatives that no one else remembered.

I must add that I am no where near perfect in all of this. I'm just starting. But the breakthrough for me was the ability to categorize, and realize how much I'm already doing in an area, and which area I want to start working on next; instead of feeling overwhelmed by an overall concept of "Family History" with no idea where to start.