Originally published: Cincinnati, Ohio: Betterway Books, 2000.

Your Step-by-Step Guide to Ancestry.com! Ancestry.com keeps growing, but how can you find your ancestors on the huge and ever-changing site? In this workbook, an essential companion to the Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com, you'll learn how to use Ancestry.com to its full advantage with detailed guides to searching Ancestry.com's digitized records. Each section briefly discusses how to search Ancestry.com for a particular type of record (including census records, vital records, and historical publications), then shares detailed, illustrated tutorials that put those strategies into practice. And with the worksheets and genealogy forms in each section, you can easily plan your own Ancestry.com searches and apply what you've learned. The workbook features: • Introductions to using the seven most important record groups on Ancestry.com, plus tips to navigate AncestryDNA and use DNA test results in your research • Step-by-step case studies showing how to use Ancestry.com to find ancestors and solve research problems • Fill-in worksheets and forms that let you apply the book's techniques to your own research Packed with expert advice, handy worksheets, and real-life search scenarios, this workbook will give you the hands-on knowledge you need to mine Ancestry.com for your family's records.

Otto D. Batty received most of his education from parochial schools. His first nine years were at Bethlehem Christian School in Kennewick, Washington, graduated from Concordia College-High School in Portland, Oregon in 1956. He received his A.A. degree from Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Washington in 1969, and B.A. degree in Education from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington in 1976. Otto majored in Social Studies with a strong emphasis in History. In 1961 while in Wyoming, Otto developed a great love for the Scripture. Over the years, he read 23 different translations and paraphrases of the Bible. He even read the Bible backwards from Revelation to Genesis. When asked why, he simply replied, "Just for fun." However, he wouldn't do it again or recommend it, saying "It was chronologically distracting." Otto has taught many Sunday School classes to both teenagers and adults. This work emerged out of those life experiences. The more Otto read the scripture the more he became excited about what he "discovered." It was quite a surprise to him to learn so many believers had never read the whole Bible through once. Filled with a hunger to encourage others to read and find the "gems" he found in the Scripture, in 1985 he wrote and taught this Bible Study with a twist. The emphasis is on "discovering the gems," not theology or doctrine. It is fast paced, fun, and simple. Its primary purpose; to encourage believers to apply Romans 10:17, "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God."

When lectors, readers, and proclaimers of the Word need the most trusted, accurate, and user-friendly tool to help them prepare for the Sunday readings, they rely on Workbook. And for the past 30 years, Workbook has provided confidence to lectors and readers, giving them vital tools to feel prepared in their ministry as proclaimers of the Word. Workbook provides: -Full text of the First, Second, and Gospel Readings, and the Responsorial Psalm for context -Annotated pronunciation aids adjacent to the word in question—a helpful way to build skill and confidence -Proclamation advice with notes on pacing and tone -Reading commentary by a Scripture scholar for the First, Second, and Gospel readings -Bolded text, indicating where stress and emphasis should be placed within the reading To proclaim the Word of God is a vital ministry in the Church. When lectors, readers, and proclaimers of the Word read confidently and with conviction, the liturgical life of the assembly is inspired. Workbook provides the context, ease-of-use, and guidance to instill that confidence in those who read at Mass so those who listen can encounter the Lord through the Word proclaimed.

Series: Pericope, 2 The Book of Ruth reads like a novel. Scholars agree on the literary virtuosity of its author, but are deeply divided about the way she or he has structured the work. For the first time ever, The Structure of the Book of Ruth makes use of hitherto neglected evidence from ancient Hebrew, Greek, Syriac and Latin manuscripts in an attempt to create a more objective basis for discussions about the book’s structure. This type of structural analysis is a powerful new tool in the hands of Bible scholars. Structural irregularities appear to elucidate the redactional history of the Book of Ruth. Structural breaks and links appear to function as markers indicating a certain understanding of the text to the exclusion of other possibilities. The question of divine justice comes out as the central theme of the book. Is it justified to accuse God of injustice, as Naomi did? The time when this problem was most virulent was the exilic and post-exilic period. Naomi appears to stand for the old Zion, the embittered widow of Lamentations 1. Ruth is a personification of the new Zion, the bride whom her divine husband will marry again. The remarkable openness to an active role of foreigners and women in the restoration of Israel is a deliberate protest against the draconic measures of Ezra and Nehemiah against marriages with foreign women.