Family History

March 06, 2026 09:47 AM MST
Elder Kearon shared his thoughts during the 2026 Temple and Family History Leadership Instruction.
1 Min Read
January 29, 2026 10:01 AM MST
The Molinaros now refer to what happened as their “family history miracle.”
1 Min Read
January 07, 2026 11:52 AM MST
RootsTech 2026 has announced seven keynote speakers, three to speak at the in-person event and four to speak virtually.
1 Min Read
November 14, 2025 11:53 AM MST
Mission President Gregory D. Roney dedicated the visitors’ center as a “place of gathering to invite all to come to know [God’s] beloved Son better.”
1 Min Read
August 29, 2025 02:15 PM MDT
“I was impressed that the Bible had been kept safe for a reason,” William Dunbar said.
1 Min Read
July 09, 2025 03:12 PM MDT
FamilySearch is collaborating on an epic journey across the Atlantic Ocean.
1 Min Read
June 25, 2025 02:29 PM MDT
“Those six months were the most spiritual and happiest time of my life.”
1 Min Read
May 23, 2025 01:37 PM MDT
At age 21, Allison was disowned by her father. Then, only two years later, she was stranded by her first husband in an unfamiliar country. 
8 Min Read
May 22, 2025 02:07 PM MDT
The belt is constantly moving between missionaries in the Ashby family.
2 Min Read
April 28, 2025 03:02 PM MDT
When Geri and Grant arrived in Europe, they had a goal to find their family. Two miracles helped them find their way.
4 Min Read
February 21, 2025 10:52 AM MST
A story is a gift; it connects us to our past while lighting the way to our future.
5 Min Read
February 18, 2025 02:32 PM MST
I understand more deeply now that these are not “names” we “take” to the temple but people we come to the temple to be with.
2 Min Read
December 06, 2024 10:11 AM MST
The inspiring line-up includes married Olympic and Paralympic Gold-medalists who made history at the 2024 Paris Games.
1 Min Read
November 25, 2024 02:14 PM MST
Expand your family history research with a free Storied account.
1 Min Read
November 19, 2024 01:09 PM MST
“I didn’t do it for recognition. I just enjoy doing it. I live alone, and it gives me something worthwhile to do,” she says.
1 Min Read
November 18, 2024 04:05 PM MST
These men were strangers before beginning their missions in Nauvoo.
1 Min Read
July 31, 2024 01:49 PM MDT
The blessings given to deceased, direct-line family members are available to most users online, even without submitting a request. Here’s where you can find them.
1 Min Read
June 11, 2024 02:40 PM MDT
This activity includes all ages, requires minimal prep, and creates lasting family memories.
2 Min Read
June 07, 2024 07:34 AM MDT
Here are a few ways to help your little ones get more actively involved in your next family get-together.
2 Min Read
April 18, 2024 01:59 PM MDT
These 10 moments from the Book of Mormon reveal beautiful insights about temple covenants.
6 Min Read
The video, filmed before President Ballard’s death in November 2023, shows him bearing testimony at Carthage Jail where his great-great-grandfather Hyrum Smith and great-great uncle Joseph Smith lost their lives.
1 Min Read
February 15, 2024 04:30 PM MST
Kristin Chenoweth, an Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress and singer known for her work in musical theater, TV, and film, is coming to RootsTech 2024.
1 Min Read
January 10, 2024 12:52 PM MST
Small and simple steps to help others can have far-reaching effects, and the intention behind the service is perhaps more important than the amount of time it takes.
3 Min Read
November 27, 2023 11:11 AM MST
Meaningful family traditions, like making tamales, can add light and love to your holiday celebrations in unexpected ways.
8 Min Read
October 11, 2023 06:00 AM MDT
I’ve become a firm believer in a gentle power that carried me through anxiety as a missionary in ways I’d never dreamed possible: family history.
6 Min Read
October 06, 2023 07:29 AM MDT
Family history may sound intimidating, but there are a few simple ways to slip it into your spiritual diet.
6 Min Read
September 25, 2023 11:41 AM MDT
Creating a video life story of your loved one is easier than you think with this simple process and questionnaire.
4 Min Read
August 14, 2023 07:00 AM MDT
Joseph Smith taught that “a welding link … between the fathers and the children …” must be “whole and complete and perfect” (Doctrine and Covenants 128:18). The words welding link suggest a chain. Chains are strong things. They hold under great stress and pressure.
7 Min Read
July 18, 2023 05:45 PM MDT
“My fourth-great-grandparents’ love story is as good as any proper romance novel, but all the more special because it connects me to my ancestors in a deeply meaningful way.”
10 Min Read
May 05, 2023 06:00 AM MDT
When one woman’s mission ended sooner than she wanted, she felt her ancestors’ support in taking her next steps.
2 Min Read
April 04, 2023 07:00 AM MDT
Read more about why FamilySearch may need to start turning to the lightning-fast speed of AI to keep up with all of the documents coming in.
2 Min Read
March 07, 2023 10:53 AM MST
In his RootsTech keynote address, Sean Astin shared stories about his own family and his daughter’s deep-dive into their family’s history.
1 Min Read
March 06, 2023 02:31 PM MST
In Adassa’s own words, “We’ve got a couple of Brunos in my family!”
1 Min Read
March 01, 2023 12:17 PM MST
Dr. David-James Gonzales has tried to make sure he is very open and intentional with his own children in discussing their family’s physical features and embracing their heritage.
3 Min Read
February 08, 2023 07:00 AM MST
Brittany Watson Jepsen—creator of the blog The House That Lars Built—and her family history–inspired home recently took center stage in a new TV episode.
2 Min Read
January 24, 2023 11:12 AM MST
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.
8 Min Read
Elder Gerrit W. Gong and Sister Susan Gong will be the keynote speakers for Family Discovery Day on the final day of RootsTech 2023.
1 Min Read
January 12, 2023 03:00 PM MST
Earlier this week, the Church announced that family history centers worldwide will now be known as FamilySearch centers.
1 Min Read
November 04, 2022 04:28 PM MDT
“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.
2 Min Read
Fun
October 24, 2022 01:47 PM MDT
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.
1 Min Read
October 11, 2022 12:12 PM MDT
Mark your calendars: The next annual RootsTech conference will be taking place on March 2–4, 2023.
1 Min Read
June 16, 2022 02:26 PM MDT
Mark your calendars for March 2–4, 2023!
1 Min Read
May 27, 2022 03:56 PM MDT
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.
4 Min Read
May 26, 2022 09:54 AM MDT
Many people visit cemeteries on Memorial Day, but what other meaningful memories can your family make together?
1 Min Read
April 21, 2022 11:07 AM MDT
FamilySearch records have helped piece together incredible stories of early Latter-day Saint pioneers internationally.
1 Min Read
March 08, 2012 01:37 PM MST
In a letter read in LDS Church worship services last Sunday, the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reiterated "the policies first stated in 1995 concerning the submission of names for proxy temple ordinances" and urged "faithful adherence to these policies by all members of the church." This week, the church has introduced a "technological barrier to prevent abuse of the New FamilySearch system," according to LDS Church spokesman Michael Purdy.
1 Min Read
March 08, 2012 01:02 PM MST
A technological crackdown, telegraphed by Mormon leaders, has effectively blocked the pre-eminent whistle-blower of controversial proxy baptisms from accessing the LDS Church’s database that chronicles so-called baptisms for the dead. LDS officials defend the move, saying it helps prevent overzealous Mormons and mischief-makers from violating church policy by submitting the names of prominent Jewish figures, such as Anne Frank and Daniel Pearl, both discovered on the baptism rolls in recent weeks.
1 Min Read
March 06, 2012 05:16 PM MST
Last week, there were more stories about posthumous Mormon baptisms -- this time it was Daniel Pearl. Pearl's parents sent an email to the Boston Globe, in which they responded to the LDS: We appreciate your good intentions but rest assured that Danny's soul was redeemed through the life that he lived and the values that he upheld. He lived as a proud Jew, died as a proud Jew and is currently facing his creator as a Jew, blessed, accepted and redeemed.
1 Min Read
March 05, 2012 01:28 PM MST
I feel fairly certain that Dornan Willett would have been shocked to learn that his years of devotion were newsworthy. I thought of gentle Willett this week as news media once again made a story out of the practice of baptisms for the dead. His example showed me some of what I think the media coverage — as fair-minded as some of the coverage has tried to be — has missed.
1 Min Read
March 05, 2012 02:25 AM MST
Calling proxy baptism in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints "eccentric, not offensive," Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby wrote recently that "Mormons undergoing peaceful rituals in their own temples aren't on the list" of the "very real, very dangerous enemies" to Judaism. "In Judaism, conversion after death is a concept without meaning," wrote Jacoby, who is Jewish. "No after-the-fact rites in this world can possibly change the Jewishness of the men, women, children and babies whom the Nazis, in their obsessive hatred, singled out for extermination.
1 Min Read
March 01, 2012 03:30 PM MST
In a Republican presidential campaign marked by controversies over birth control, moon bases and the proper means of transporting a dog, it was perhaps inevitable that incantations spoken on behalf of the dead would get their turn: In a gesture widely covered by the U.S. media, Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel has called on Mitt Romney to denounce the Mormon practice of posthumously baptizing non-Mormons - Jewish Holocaust victims, in particular. Here in Canada, former Canadian Jewish Congress president Bernie Farber is publicizing the issue. In a column (see above), he writes that, "the effort at posthumous conversion stings our collective Jewish soul."
1 Min Read