On September 1, 1928, while preparing to go east to obtain a doctorate, he accepted an offer to become Secretary of the Genealogical Society of Utah and to edit the Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine; a year later he was also appointed as organization's Librarian. He served in the Genealogical Society of Utah, later the Genealogical Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, until 1961. He developed the Pedigree Chart and Family Group Record used in the LDS Church's genealogical record system. He became a research specialist who helped people with their research problems, and was referred to as "Mr. Genealogy."