Link to Video is at:
https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/registered-session/sean-astin-keynote-address
Link to full General Session 3 Main Stage
https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/registered-session/main-stage-general-session-3
Friday, June 26, 2026
RootsTech 2023 Keynote Sean Astin
RootsTech 2024 President Ballard
Elder Ballard's video of his interview for the Family Discovery Session 2024
"Experience some of the final memories and life stories from President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles."
"Experience some of the final memories and life stories from President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles."
The link to this video is:
https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/session/family-discovery-session-2024-president-m-russell-ballard
Full session of Family Discovery Live Session is at:
https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/session/rootstech-2024-family-discovery-live-session
RootsTech 2023 Elder & Sister Gong
Elder Gong and his wife's video from RootsTech family Discovery Day 2024
Join Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and his wife Sister Susan Lindsay Gong as they embark on an international journey of family discovery.
The content of this video, as well as the thoughts, views, and opinions expressed herein, belong solely to the creator and do not necessarily reflect the views of FamilySearch International and RootsTech.
The link for this video is:
RootsTech 2025 The Piano Guys
The link to the video is:
RootsTech 2022 Elder & Sister Soares
"Join Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Rosana Soares, as they revisit their beautiful homeland of Brazil. Listen as they share the stories of their childhood and speak to the power of discovery."
The link to the Video is:
https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/session/elder-and-sister-soares-keynote-family-discovery-day
FamilySearch Resources for Consultants
Leader Temple and Family History resources
My Calling: Temple and Family History Consultant
Quick Start Learning Lessons, Table of Contents:
Quick Start Lesson Videos
Helper Resources for my calling as a temple and family history consultant
Learning Resources
Friday, June 19, 2026
Sealing Story in Cardston Temple
"When President Wood of the Cardston Alberta Temple was sealing a family together around the altar, he felt impressed to ask if the information on the sealing sheet was correct. The mother said it was. As they began the ordinance again, he again felt impressed to ask if there were other children who needed to be sealed. She assured him there were none. The third time, he heard a voice quite clearly say, “I am her child.” Again, he asked the mother if she had ever had another child. As she thought back to her early married years, she remembered a baby who had died shortly after birth. The mother rejoiced as her little girl was included as part of their eternal family unit."
Melvin S. Tagg, “The Life of Edward James Wood, Church Patriot,” [Master’s thesis, Brigham Young University, 1959], pp. 118–19.
Docrine & Covenants 128:18
"...For we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect... "
Sunday, June 07, 2026
RootsTech 2021: Elder and Sister Holland
This is a beautiful video (45 minutes) on their lives and family and family history.
At the end is I am a Child of God in multiple languages.
Watch at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2otJ3fnJuU
Our Greatest Responsibility
~ Joseph Smith
Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 475.
Also, quoted by President Nelson in Generations Linked in Love, April 2010 General Conference.
Saviors for all
John A. Widtsoe, “The Worth of Souls,” Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine 25 (1934), 189–90.
Our Duty
"It is our duty to secure as complete genealogies as possible, to discover our fathers and mothers back to the last generation, to connect, if it may be possible, with Adam, our first father upon the earth - a duty which we cannot escape."
Highest Kind of Unselfish Service
"The highest kind of unselfish service is that which we perform for those who cannot do it for themselves, as in temple work."
Blessings of Going to the Temple
"If he will leave his problems behind and in the temple work for himself and for his dead, he will confer a mighty blessing upon those who have gone before, and quite as large a blessing will come to him, for at the most unexpected moments, in or out of the temple will come to him, as a revelation, the solution of the problems that vex his life. That is the gift that comes to those who enter the temple properly, because it is a place where revelations may be expected."
Temple Worship, Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, April 1921.
Bless the Living
"While temple and family history work has the power to bless those beyond the veil, it has an equal power to bless the living."
Friday, June 05, 2026
Seen and Unseen Worlds are Closely Connected
"The seen and the unseen worlds are closely connected. One assists the other. Those who fail to partake of the privileges and blessings of temple work deprive themselves of some of the choicest gifts within the keeping of the Church. Temple work begins with genealogy."
~ Elder John A. Widtsoe
Quoted by Boyd K. Packer in his book: The Holy TempleRootsTech 2026: Elder and Sister Rasband
You can watch the video of Elder and Sister Rasband at the link below.
They appear at the 11 minute mark.
After their talk is a closing hymn. RootsTech's very own Jonathan Wing is on the piano.
https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/session/family-discovery-day-live-session-2026
Eternal Families
"The doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ centers on the family. Essential to our doctrine on the family is the Temple. The ordinances received there enable us to return as eternal families, to the presence of our Heavenly Father."
~ Pres. Oaks
October 2025 conference.
Temple Work blessings
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“While temple and family history work has the power to bless those beyond the veil, it has an equal power to bless the living. It has a refining influence on those who are engaged in it. They are literally helping to exalt their families.” ~ Russell M. Nelson Generations Linked in Love April 2010 General Conference
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Monday, May 25, 2026
FamilySearch Oral Genealogy Initiative
"Global Oral Genealogies (OGEN) is a FamilySearch initiative to collect, preserve, and safeguard tribal, village, and family histories that exist primarily through oral tradition, especially in communities with few or no written records. We have preserved 2.7M Oral Genealogy interviews and family stories from 24 countries for indigenous populations in North America, MENA, Africa, and APAC. We preserve ~15,000 interviews each week. Many indigenous and undocumented populations pass family history and heritage verbally from generation to generation. As social structures change and tribal and village leaders pass away, these genealogies are at risk of being lost permanently. OGEN focuses on preserving these records‑at‑risk before they disappear. In this session we will discuss the details of this initiative, what we capture in an Oral Genealogy, what impact it will have on your country and community, and how we save these records-at-risk!" (RootsTech 2026 session description)
Watch the RootsTech 2026 session explaining this wonderful, amazing project.
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
BYU Technology Lab: Relative Finder
The BYU Technology Lab is found at: https://fhtl.org
This site is a non-profit student research lab focuses on connecting the human family through innovative information technology and genealogy, operating alongside related resources like the BYU Library Family History.Students have created apps and programs to help with the family history work. These programs are available on this website.
Below is the website's home page showing their photo from RootsTech 2026.
Relative Finder
One of their most popular apps is Relative Finder. To use this you must have your family tree on
FamilySearch. The description of the app is:
FamilySearch. The description of the app is:
"Find your relatives today! Relative Finder allows you to find relatives through the built in groups provided, and allows you to create your own groups to see how you are related to your friends, co-workers, and other famous people."
Direct link to Relative Finder click here.
But when attending a conference virtually Relatives Around Me doesn't work, as you have to be within 100 feet for it to work. There is one reason why you would want to use Relative Finder.
Virtual Conferences
For virtual events we can use Relative Finder. For the virtual attendees of the East Coast Genetic Genealogy Conference we created a group. Everyone attending the conference can join the groups and view their relatives who are also attending the conference. A link to the group is sent only to those attending the conference.
My closest relative is another one of the committee planning members! We both have ancestors in Quebec. To see the relationship between you and the Relative, click on the relative's name.
The following new screen appears illustrating how you are related. This is at the top of the screen.
Below the two of you, is listed the specifics of the relationship. Your family is listed on the left. Relatives line is on the right. (Only partial relationship shown below).
Famous People
You can use this app now to see if you are related to any famous people.
Below is the right side of the Home screen which has a list of famous people topics. Click on the boxes of the topics you want to see if you are related to any famous people of that topic.
You can use this app now to see if you are related to any famous people.
Below is the right side of the Home screen which has a list of famous people topics. Click on the boxes of the topics you want to see if you are related to any famous people of that topic.
I clicked Astronauts. Here is a partial list of the results.
The list continues on, to the 15th cousin. A total of 20 astronauts.
Try it out. Have some fun with the famous people.
Create a group of friends or church members.
https://universe.byu.edu/campus/byu-students-promote-family-history-resources-at-rootstech-2026
Monday, May 18, 2026
Temple Work closest to Savior's Divine Work
~ Gordon B. Hinckley
General Conference Apr. 1983
Help From the Other Side
Source: John A. Widstoe, quoted in Boyd K. Packer’s The Holy Temple, 252.
Elder John Andreas Widtsoe biography
Before I share those two quotes and more I would like to share the life of Elder Widtsoe because he was dedicated to family history and genealogy throughout his apostleship.
Life events
| 31 Jan 1872 |
Froya, Norway Parents: John Andersen Widtsoe and Anna Karine Gaarden |
| 1883 | Immigrated to Utah with his mother and brother. |
| 1884 | Baptized |
| 1 Jun 1898 |
Married Leah Eudora Dunford in Salt Lake City, Utah They have at least 3 sons and 4 daughters but only three live to adulthood |
| 29 Nov 1952 | Died in Salt Lake City, Utah |
Education
| Brigham Young College, Logan, Utah | |
| 1887 – 1891 | Graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University |
| 1894 |
Harvard University, Chemistry Graduating in highest honours Met Leah while at Harvard. |
| 1899 | Earned A.M. Ph.D. in physiological chemistry (Biochemistry) at the University of Göttingen, Germany. |
| 1900 – 1905 |
Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station at Utah State Agricultural College Co-Founded The Deseret Farmer magazine |
| Brigham Young University: Professor of Agriculture | |
| 1907 – 1916 | President of the Utah Agricultural College |
| 1916 - 1921 | President of University of Utah |
Apostleship
| 1921 - 1952 | A member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles |
Other Church Service
| 1898 – 1900 | Missionary to German Mission (with Leah while studying in Europe.) |
| 1921 – 1924 | Commissioner of Church Education |
| 1921 | Director of Genealogical Society of Utah |
| 1927 - 1928 | President of the British Mission |
| 1929 – 1933 | President of the European Mission Dedicated Czechoslovakia for the preaching of the gospel. |
| 1934 - 1936 | Commissioner of Church Education |
| 1935 - 1952 |
Associate editor of the Improvement Era magazine He wrote many genealogical articles for the magazine. |
Genealogical Work
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Before Late 1920s |
Genealogical Society of Utah board member. Worked on saving records. Individual Church members were strictly limited in how many ancestral lines they could research. Widtsoe and the board lifted this restriction. Widtsoe served as long-time director and president of GSU |
| 1927 |
Pushed for the creating of the Temple Index Bureau (TIB) Massive centralized card system cataloged millions of completed ordinances to prevent researchers from duplicating genealogical work. |
| 1938 |
Widtsoe, and fellow apostle Joseph Fielding Smith, actively championed and reviewed the work of photographer Ernst Koehler, who developed the initial specialized procedures, quality controls and camera modifications needed to capture open books on 35mm film.
Adopted using Microfilm for the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU) Played a pivotal, transformative role in leading the GSU, laying the direct structural and technological foundation for what is known today as FamilySearch. He bridged the GSU and modern family history practices established the global microfilming and indexing operations that modern users rely on. Millions of microfilms collected during his leadership era were later digitized, indexed and became the core data backbone of the modern online platform FamilySearch. During his leadership era: GSU launched its massive, worldwide microfilming program in 1938 This initiative sent photographers across the globe to capture vital records, church registers and government archives. These microfilms became the core data backbone of the modern online platform FamilySearch. John A. Widtsoe played a pivotal, transformative role in leading the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU), laying the direct structural and technological foundation for what is known today as FamilySearch. As an apostle and a scientist, his tenure bridging the GSU and modern family history practices established the global microfilming and indexing operations that modern users rely on. |
| Recorded records in Europe while living there | |
| Lecture: Temple Worship Written for UGA but a foundational text on the subject. | |
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Advocated for building a central genealogical library and establishing programs for exchanging research, laying the groundwork for the modern FamilySearch library |
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Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine John wrote many articles on how to research your family history and how to be organized Available on FamilySearch Full-Text DGS: 8918615 Available at the BYU Harold B Lee library. |
The Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU) and the Family History Department of the Church are one and the same. The GSU society was organized in 1894 as a separate institution from the Church. In 1944 the Genealogical Society of Utah became more closely affiliated with the Church as the Genealogical Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1975 it became the Genealogical Department of the Church and has since been renamed the Family History Department. The Church retained rights to the name Genealogical Society of Utah and does family-history-related business under that name with major genealogical and family history societies, government agencies and archives.
Sources for information in this blog and for you to learn more about Elder Widtsoe
Dialogue Journal
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/tending-the-desert-john-a-widtsoe-a-biography-by-alan-k-parish
Ensign (1971-2020)
February 2010 issue, John and Leah Widtsoe, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/john-and-leah-widtsoe, accessed 17 May 2026.
FamilySearch
John Andreas Widtsoe, KWCX-SG9
Utah History Encyclopedia
https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/w/WIDTSOE_JOHN.shtml
LDS Blogs
https://ldsblogs.com/65/john_a_widtsoe_mormon_apostle_and_scient
Temple Study
https://www.templestudy.com/2009/11/09/temple-worship-elder-john-widtsoe
Wikipedia, John Andreas Widtsoe,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_A._Widtsoe, accessed 17 May 2026.
Church News
Deseret News.John A. Widtsoe: Inspiring a lifetime of learning,
https://www.thechurchnews.com/1994/11/26/23256210/genealogical-society-a-century-of-steady-growth-and-development
A list of sources from another article
Conference reports of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Deseret News Church Almanac Index to the British Mission manuscript history and historical reports Millennial Star Missionary Department missionary registers, 1860-1959