Three questions. Three questions that Steve Rockwood, CEO at FamilySearch International, asked in his closing remarks at RootsTech Connect. How did your ancestors live? Who did they love? And, what did they learn? This is the expanded vision at FamilySearch as this work continues to go forward. The organization is committed to assisting people, using its combined resources, in transforming the name of an ancestor into real person. A pinch. A dash. Voilà! The real story.

Rockwood shared that FamilySearch has helped people make connections to their ancestors for over 125 years, but he believes that this is only one-third of its mission. Past, present, and future, FamilySearch seeks to connect each person to a record and the records to each other to create one family tree. One family. He says it’s “all about stories.” 

In 2016, Rockwood compared genealogists and family historians to heart specialists. You can read about it here and here.  In this session he suggests that those involved in this work can turn, change, and heal hearts by exploring the questions in the title of this post as they pertain to our ancestors:

How did our ancestors live?

Who did our ancestors love?

What did our ancestors learn?

I might add that we ask ourselves:

How do we live?

Who do we love?

What are we learning?

We might also want to look to our posterity and ask:

How will they live?

Who will they love?

What will they learn?

Steve Rockwood went on to say, “Your real story matters. Your story deserves to be remembered. It’s your story that has lasting value.” 

Do you agree?

During RootsTech Connect I checked out the mosaic—a family portrait of attendees. When I zoomed out, I saw an artistic rendition of a world map. When I zoomed in, I saw individual portraits of friends, colleagues, and people I’ve never met. We make up the world. We each have a story. Since our stories make up our world, let’s assist one another and write some good ones, you know, ones with happy endings! 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I am designated as an official ambassador and compensated speaker at  RootsTech Connect. Nevertheless, I have been with RootsTech since its inception and with its predecessor for many years as a paid participant. As always, my coverage and opinions are my own and are not affected by my current status. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

© 2021 Lynn Broderick, a.k.a., the Single Leaf. All Rights Reserved.