I have a book of one of my family lines. The individuals are numbered and once you get the hang of the numbering system you can follow who belongs to which family. It has been awhile since I have looked at the book. I'll try to pull it out in the next couple of days and see if I can't explain this better. I have also seen where generations were numbered, all individuals with the same number came from the same generation.
Also, in your other post about getting started. The LDS church does have a free website that is very good.
www.familysearch.com On the website there are tutorials and suggestions on how to get started. You can also search their database which is quite extensive. There is also a link to download free software for storing your information, PAF (Personal Ancestry File). Most geneology programs have the ability to exchange data with each other.