SALT LAKE CITY -- Elder Neil L. Andersen, a member of the LDS Church Quorum of the Twelve, challenged thousands youth gathered at the RootsTech conference Saturday, Feb. 8, the to “find their cousins.”
He used “finding cousins” to describe family history research. Elder Andersen specifically mentioned puzilla.org, and demonstrated it’s effectiveness in finding, connecting and entering family history work.
“If your family history chart isn’t full… do your best to fill it in,” Elder Andersen said, “We discover something about ourselves when we learn about our families.”
Elder Andersen keynoted The RootsTech Discovery Day, a program designed for youth held Feb 8., that began with the pop of kettle corn.
The conference was appropriately themed “Connecting your family: past, present and future,” and consisted of classes, key note speakers and interactive genealogy technological programs for parents, leaders and youth.
Young Woman youth volunteers from Saratoga Springs, Utah
Family history has been a growing phenomenon around the world, not only among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Thanks to programs and phone apps like Provo-based Ancestry.com, the LDS Church's Famlysearch.org, PeopleFinders and Family Storytelling, people around the world are finding interest and ease in genealogy.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which sponsored the convention, has the world's largest collection of family history records and databases.
The RootsTech convention began on Feb. 5 and ended Feb 8. More than 10,000 people from 49 states and 21 countries were in attendance. Special events included famous blogger, Stephanie Neilson, Elder Foster of the Quorum of the Seventy and performances from BYU’s Vocal Point and Studio C.