Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve and his wife, Sister Melanie Rasband, spoke at the 2026 RootsTech conference.
They spoke about the importance of learning from the stories of our ancestors and coming unto Christ by uniting families for eternity.
“We recognize that our faith is not ours alone. It is a gift passed from generation to generation, as we honor the sacrifices and devotion of those who came before us with testimonies, often born through trial and unwavering trust in the Lord. Their stories now become linked to, and a part of our own,” Elder Rasband said.
A short video was shared where Elder Rasband told a family story and testified to the power of family history and temple work.
After the video, the Rasbands held a small panel with their grandchildren and asked them questions about the video and how family history and the temple have impacted their lives.
Included in the presentation was a performance by actors from the British Pageant portraying the conversion story of one of Sister Rasband’s ancestors, set in Liverpool, England, in 1840.
“Stories like these help us build faith and have the strength to endure the trials of our days. Having cleaved to their personal experiences, sometimes even harder than our own,” Sister Rasband said about the story of her great-great-grandmother.
It was Kevin Heffner and Mandy Black’s first time at RootsTech, and they enjoyed learning more about how to do family history.
Black said Heffner, her father, joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 19 and has been doing family history work on his side for about 50 years.
“Every day is a beginning. You never become an expert, because it grows faster than you can keep up with it,” Heffner said.
“I thought it was really nice to have an apostle emphasize the importance of family history and learning from the stories that we know from our ancestors,” Black said. “Ones that we can find out so that we can have our faith strengthened in Jesus Christ and the ability to lie with our families.”
Heffner and Black are from California, but are now living in the Salt Lake area and plan to come to RootsTech again next year.
“We both have a very strong testimony of the importance of family history, and we feel close to our ancestors, just as it has been displayed today,” Heffner said.