Family History

As I listen to ‘Love Your Lineage,’ it feels as though someone has finally opened a bolted door and welcomed me into a space that I never knew I could inhabit.

Elder Gerrit W. Gong and Sister Susan Gong will be the keynote speakers for Family Discovery Day on the final day of RootsTech 2023.

Earlier this week, the Church announced that family history centers worldwide will now be known as FamilySearch centers.

“Love Your Lineage” helps listeners discover that no matter what our background or family situation, everyone can make deep and powerful connections to their ancestors.

In a clever nod to two October holidays, FamilySearch has shared photos of vintage Halloween costumes your parents or grandparents may have worn as children.

Mark your calendars: The next annual RootsTech conference will be taking place on March 2–4, 2023.

Mark your calendars for March 2–4, 2023!

When Carine Clark was diagnosed with cancer, she grew worried about getting lost after passing to the other side. Her solution to those fears? Family history and temple work.

Many people visit cemeteries on Memorial Day, but what other meaningful memories can your family make together?

FamilySearch records have helped piece together incredible stories of early Latter-day Saint pioneers internationally.

“A friend asked me if I felt any guilt for contributing to an enterprise that was allegedly aimed at capturing deceased souls and ‘baptizing’ them into the Mormon church.”

Read about the heartwarming reasons why this son has been anxiously awaiting the release of the 1950 Census records.

Dale Adams says many people—particularly women—leave almost no mark on genealogical history. He’s here to change that.

The 1950 Census data is about to be released. Here are some ways you can make the most of this valuable family history record.

With over 1,500 free sessions, it can be overwhelming to know which of this year’s RootsTech sessions might be most useful. So here are the top trending videos of the conference:

Anyone who watches The Bonner Family can see straightaway that the performers have natural talent. But what listeners may not know is that the Bonner’s talent doesn’t begin with their generation—it’s a part of their family’s legacy.

Elder and Sister Soares along with six other celebrities from around the world will be the featured speakers at this year’s conference, and nearly 900 sessions will be available in 40 languages.

The identity of her father had been a mystery for almost 49 years. And now it was no longer a mystery. It was simply a name.

Justin Bean has often been told he looks like “The Fighting Preacher,” his ancestor Willard Washington Bean. And after collision with a teammate during a game last week, the resemblance might be growing.

FamilySearch offers dozens of virtual webinars every month to help both novice and experienced piece together their family histories.

This week, FamilySearch International announced that it will participate in the 1950 U.S. Census Community Project.

After the 1950 US census records are released on April 1, beginners and experts alike will all have access to search and review the treasure trove of data!

RootsTech 2022, the largest family history event in the world, will be held virtually again in 2022.

One researcher has discovered that baby books are rich in history, but many parents see them as a source of stress. Here are some high- and low-tech solutions to help with the job.

A rare genetic condition has never kept Michelle from doing what she wants. Still, no one expected how massive the results would be when she accepted the call to be a family history indexer.

Even though we might miss family members who have died, Latter-day Saints understand that we can see our loved ones again, and taking time to remember them doesn’t need to be a sad or mournful experience.

No matter your heritage, new FamilySearch activities can help bring a new element to your Halloween-time traditions

Forget about scrolling through endless pedigree lines to find an ancestor. Now you can use FamilySearch’s new Discovery Search to find any specific ancestor with one quick query.

The records of more than 11 billion people will be available to anyone with a computer.

When one woman’s mission ended sooner than she wanted, she felt her ancestors’ support in taking her next steps.

There are lots of firsts for RootsTech in 2021, which will be held February 25–27. Although the event is typically hosted in person in Salt Lake City, this year marks the first virtual-only gathering due to COVID-19. And for the first time, nearly 2,000 on-demand sessions will be available for free for 365 days.

Elder David A. Bednar, Elder Gary E. Stevenson, and Elder Dale G. Renlund will host a training focused on the theme “Hear Him Through Temple and Family History Work.” The training can be viewed on-demand beginning Thursday, February 25, 2021, on ChurchofJesusChrist.org/family-history, the Church broadcast page and in the Gospel Library app. Languages will include English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, German, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Swedish.

Many Latter-day Saints attend the temple to find reprieve from the fear and anxiety life can sometimes bring. But even though temples have been closed through months filled with more than their fair share of anxiety, the Lord has not left us without help.

In this week's episode of This Is the Gospel, Jeff says he only knew three things about his grandfather George growing up. One, he was born in the former Yugoslavia in a country that is now called Montenegro. Two, George was raised in Worland, Wyoming. Three, he had changed his last name from Mijušković to Marks. That was all. Any other attempt to get any information regarding family history from his grandfather led to a command to, "Shish." But after a chance encounter on a humanitarian aid trip to Haiti, Jeff slowly began finding breadcrumbs that led to his Mijušković line. And so after a killer deal on airfare, Jeff found himself in his family's homeland armed with a letter written in Montenegrin and an unquenchable desire to discover his own family history.

It was such a small moment in general conference you may have missed it. President Russell M. Nelson discussed how “unusual times can bring unusual rewards,” noting that “family history work has increased exponentially.”

FamilySearch has announced that RootsTech 2021 will be held in February as a free, virtual event.

The following excerpt from The Holy Temple originally ran on LDS Living in October 2016.

Most people would agree that journaling is important, especially during such a unique time in history, but sometimes it can be difficult to know what aspects of your life to write about. FamilySearch.org recently shared a list of 16 creative and approachable journal prompts that will have you eager to get started.

The Family History Library in Salt Lake City temporarily closed its doors as a health precaution against COVID-19. But the closure of the building hasn’t stopped the Church from making the library's resources available. On the contrary, the Family History Library and FamilySearch have used this as an opportunity to make innovative changes to the services they can offer people around the world.

For 10 years, RootsTech has inspired family history connoisseurs with attendees from all over the world. The 2020 event saw nearly 30,000 attendees, according to Church Newsroom.

Elder David A. Bednar, Elder Dale G. Renlund, and Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will host a training centered on the theme “Ministering to All through Temple and Family History.”

2019 was a big year for FamilySearch. According to an article released by FamilySearch, new tools helped users index 123.6 million new records and upload 850 million new images of historical records. Growth was not only seen in records uploaded and indexed but by the number of new people added to the FamilySearch Tree: 46.9 million. Within the report, FamilySearch thanks its 318,000 volunteers for serving a total of 15.4 million hours.

When you hear the words family history, do you go into a coma? Believe me, until a few years ago, I could have matched my coma with yours any day.

The following article has been adapted and republished with permission from evalogue.life.

With more than 1 billion indexed records available, FamilySearch now offers users the ability to edit online the indexed names of their ancestors.