Family history research is something I embraced when I joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1965. It was tedious work at first because I had only a few family names to start, but as the years passed, technology improved, and familysearch.org helped me build my family tree into thousands of ancestors.

I believe that doing temple ordinances for these ancestors is a way to open opportunities for them to accept Jesus Christ and His gospel. Beyond that motivation, I have always been curious about my heritage, and I wanted to share that with my children, who are direct descendants of William Bradford, of the Mayflower. I didn’t discover my Mayflower grandfather, William White, until recently. Through further research, I also found that my husband and I are distant cousins.

It is exciting to find hundreds of famous relatives, and I now realize how interconnected everyone is. After all, Christians believe our first parents were Adam and Eve. We are all cousins!

Not long ago, I got a text from a close friend that said: “We are practically sisters!” She had gone online during the Roots Conference to see if she was related to any attendees. It turns out that she and I share grandparents many generations back. That was an exciting discovery! We now feel an even closer connection as family.

Another friend I’ve known for over fifty years also searched at Roots and discovered we are cousins! She was originally from Nova Scotia, Canada, and my paternal family came from Prince Edward Island, Canada, so our families intertwined at some point.

I recommend family history to anyone who wants to find wonderful ancestral surprises. A few family names, birthplaces, and dates will start the adventure. Technology has opened doors to finding ancestors easier than ever.

Roberta Blain