The RootsTech, London, exhibit hall opened to an enormous crowd of excited family history enthusiasts this morning – the last day of the conference. This was the busiest of the three days with an additional 4,902 attendees coming to learn, meet new friends and relatives, and enjoy the free “Family Discovery Day” to the fullest. Miraculously, our stack of pass-along cards held out to the end as did our voices! According to the director of events for FamilySearch, Jenn Allen, more than 350 US-Americans attended the conference, with over 60 exhibitors and 450 volunteers. The overall total for attendees was 9,727! Just wow! We are sure that there were as many reasons for people coming as there were attendees, and it was fun to learn what some of those specific reasons were. Steve Rockwood, FamilySearch International CEO explains: “There’s something very special about London, the U.K., and Europe. At least 95 percent of our members at FamilySearch have at least one of their bloodlines here in the UK or Europe.” Scott and I certainly fit into this category and the sadness we felt about this being the last day of Rootstech, London, was softened by the anticipation of doing some touring of our ancestral homelands that would begin the very next day. We admit that although the two of us were the only booth workers for the entire conference (a daunting task), sharing The Family History Guide with those who stopped by was worth all the work! We were hoping to have two helpers (our friends from Utah) for part of today, but due to some scheduling complications, they were unable to come to our aid except to stop by momentarily to share a pass-along card and a few of the reasons they love The Family History Guide with one of the RootsTech volunteers (who was amazed by it by-the-way). These two have helped us at RootsTech in SLC and know their stuff! It was great to see them.

It will be interesting to see if there will be another RootsTech, London in the future. Steve Rockwood explains that “for years, we’ve been asked to expand” and they have wanted to do just that. He goes on to say that they have had to be “very measured in our response.”  Having now been on the inside track by participating in this amazing event, we have a small glimpse of the incredible effort it must take to create something of this magnitude and we are grateful for all who made it happen! Perhaps we are in for an announcement in February about another international conference! Every review we have read considers Rootstech, London, 2019, a worthwhile endeavor, and we do, too. As the numbers indicate, the outcome from months and months of preparation by so many shouts a smashing SUCCESS! In addition to top-notch presenters, a variety of excellent exhibitors, great demos, and dedicated sponsors, the choice for keynote speakers (along with Nick Barratt as emcee) was incredible – a real draw. Today the world-renowned entertainer, Donny Osmond, took his audience on a family history adventure and brought most of us to tears as he reviewed and performed some of his favorite songs, shared personal stories, showed video clips from the past, and encouraged all of us to keep, preserve, and share personal and family histories as he does. It is “is all about stories and realizing that when you discover more about your ancestors you discover more about yourself…Your personal history is vitally important to your posterity. They deserve to know who you are.“ The extremely long line through the expo hall for his “meet and greet” proved that a lot of people were excited about even getting within 10 feet of him! You can read more about this famous star here. Like Donny, the ancestors of many attendees came from the British Isles as did his. He encouraged all who were listening  to draw on their examples of perseverance and tenacity to “help keep you going during difficult times.” View all recorded keynote sessions, speakers, and Latter-day Saint presentations here.

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his wife Sister Susan Bednar addressed those who attended Discovery Day. They shared beautiful personal stories of their British heritage and led the audience in a hands-on experience using the FamilySearch apps, walking them together through features such as Find a Relative, Find a Person, and Ordinance Ready. “You are a link to the past and a link to the generations yet to come,” Elder Bednar said. “No matter our current personal situation, every one of us is a member of an extended multi-generational family.” They encouraged the attendees to connect with their ancestors through their own family history efforts. Watch the full presentation here. Watch their addresses to youth and young adults here, along with other Latter-day Saint presentations.

Thank you again to all who made Rootstech, London what it was meant to be. You are appreciated! I asked Haley Marquez (an event coordinator at FamilySearch pictured with me to the right) what she thought of the whole event. The bottom line for her was that everything worked out and it was a success beyond expectations. That seems to be the general consensus from those behind the scenes and those in front of the scenes benefited greatly! What a blessing it was to participate and share with everyone we could how really amazing The Family History Guide is!

Thanks to a good friend, we were able to make contact with the Cooke family who live near London. They came to Rootstech along with Chris’ Mom and we got to meet them in person. What wonderful, generous friends they now are. Caroline took us to tour London on Monday, and that was an experience of a lifetime! In addition to the Cooke family, we met so many others who are now friends to us and to The Family History Guide. Many have offered to translate parts of our site for us. Many will be sharing The Family History Guide in Sweden, Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Jamacia, Switzerland, Sierra Lione, Wales, Italy, Austria, the Channel Islands, the UK, Europe, Scotland, Canada and even more places in the United States. Onward and upward! We are grateful beyond words!