RootsTech Registration

RootsTech is open for Registration, and so I am going to start posting more about it. Today, because registration is open I thought it would be good to look at the Why Attend section on the RootsTech website.

Why Attend?

RootsTech is the largest family history conference in the world! The upcoming sixth annual global conference “Celebrates Families Across Generations" and has seen tremendous growth and momentum across the globe. This annual event has become the largest of its kind in the world, attracting tens of thousands of participants. RootsTech is the perfect place to discover and share your family’s stories and connections, regardless of knowledge or experience level.

I have gone for two years and each time people of different experience levels have come will me, and each time we found the perfect classes

Be Inspired: World Class Speakers

Each day at RootsTech, the conference begins with an inspiring general session with world-famous speakers. In past years, keynote speakers have included former first lady Laura Bush and daughter Jenna Hager, entertainer Donny Osmond, blogger and author Ree Drummond, and more.

I attended all of those keynotes, and they were amazing, and as it says inspiring. I can't wait until they announce this years keynotes! On the RootsTech Website the speakers for the classes are announced already.

Have Fun: Enjoy Exciting Entertainment

RootsTech provides an opportunity to relax and enjoy some time to let your brain unwind. We have big plans for the entertainment this year and are excited to make that announcement shortly. For now, anticipate a high-energy and fun act on Thursday at the annual Opening Night Social, February 4 at 6:00 pm. Additionally, there will be a closing event on Saturday, February 6 at 5:00 pm with entertainment you won’t want to miss!

My favorite entertainment night last year was on Saturday, it was Studio C and David Archaleta (I hope I spelled that right!) It was awesome, I got some extra tickets for that night and my friend came, we had so much fun, you won't want to miss these events!

Learn Something: Over 200 Engaging Classes

How can Pinterest and Facebook help with family history? How can you use your smartphone or tablet to preserve and share family memories? How can DNA help you discover your family? More than 200 different classes with experts from all over the world will teach the latest tricks and techniques on how to track down ancestors and preserve your family stories.

Just like I said before, there are classes for everybody. Beginners and the most experienced!

Try It Out: Hands-on Exploration

The RootsTech Expo Hall is packed with interactive experiences to put all that learning into practice. The biggest companies in family history, including Ancestry.com, MyHeritage, and findmypast will be on hand to walk guests through exactly how to find, preserve, and share their family histories. Attendees can record stories, scan photos, and receive personal advice and training in using the latest tools.

I had a problem with my family tree where my great grandmothers line would disappear after her, I kept filling it in and when I logged back on another day it was gone! My mom and I got some help in the expo hall and now it is fixed.

My grandma liked the free sodas, she called it the mormon bar. There was even a guy in a tux handing out the drinks she said. She also appreciated the help that she received by learning how to index. She spent probably a hour indexing until it was time for our next class. 

World Wide Indexing Event

We've got two more days until the world wide indexing event to reach the goal of 100,000! I am so excited and I hope that we reach this goal! In my Sunday school class on Sunday we had a family history lesson, and the spirit was strong. Family history is a very tender experience and I felt my testimony grow. Just listening to other youth talk about it. Indexing is serving such a great purpose. We need these records to connect our family trees. There are some really good quotes from David A Bednar.

An Apostolic Invitation: Elder David A. Bednar                                                                                    “I now invite the attention of the young women, young men, and children of the rising generation as I emphasize the importance of the Spirit of Elijah in your lives today. …

“Many of you may think family history work is to be performed primarily by older people. But I know of no age limit described in the scriptures or guidelines announced by Church leaders restricting this important service to mature adults. …

“It is no coincidence that FamilySearch and other tools have come forth at a time when young people are so familiar with a wide range of information and communication technologies. Your fingers have been trained to text and tweet to accelerate and advance the work of the Lord—not just to communicate quickly with your friends. The skills and aptitude evident among many young people today are a preparation to contribute to the work of salvation.

“I invite the young people of the Church to learn about and experience the Spirit of Elijah. I encourage you to study, to search out your ancestors, and to prepare yourselves to perform proxy baptisms in the house of the Lord for your kindred dead (see D&C 124:28–36). And I urge you to help other people identify their family histories.

“As you respond in faith to this invitation, your hearts shall turn to the fathers. The promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be implanted in your hearts. Your patriarchal blessing, with its declaration of lineage, will link you to these fathers and be more meaningful to you. Your love and gratitude for your ancestors will increase. Your testimony of and conversion to the Savior will become deep and abiding. And I promise you will be protected against the intensifying influence of the adversary. As you participate in and love this holy work, you will be safeguarded in your youth and throughout your lives."

What David A. Bednar said is true. Family history is an amazing work. I hope that every one will participate in the World Wide Indexing event, there are few things better that you could do with your time.  So take 10 minutes and do an indexing batch. 

Share this all over social media to get everyone involved in the Worldwide indexing event!!

Fuel the Find

The World Wide indexing event is happening again! The indexing event will take place August 7-14. The theme this year is Fuel the Find.

Last year the world wide indexing event was a great success. The results were as follows.

Indexed: 4,682,746
Arbitrated: 941,932
Total Records Processed: 5.7 million

And if you participated you got this badge:


This year it's happening again! I would like to encourage everyone, young and old, beginner and advanced to participate. Coming soon I will post step by step instructions with pictures on how to index and download the indexing program. If anybody wants I can email my word doc with the instructions, comment your email if so.


This is the email from FamilySearch.

One Week. One Hundred Thousand Volunteers. Come Help "Fuel the Find*" Around the World!

The Worldwide Indexing Event is now one week long! Join volunteers from around the world to help “Fuel the Find” August 7-14, 2015. You have one week to participate by indexing at least one batch in the language of your choice. If you are fluent in French, Italian, Portuguese, or Spanish-our focus languages for 2015-please help index records in one of those languages.Special training is available to help you prepare!

This year we’re going for a record 100,000 volunteers (current one-week record: 91,721) but big numbers mean more when we’re helping meet the greatest need. English speakers have billions of records to search-20 times more than all other languages combined! Let’s help our friends in other countries to find their ancestors too! All it takes is one batch indexed sometime during the week to be counted.

RootsTech is calling for proposals for 2016

Now Accepting Presentation Proposals for RootsTech 2016 The RootsTech planning committee is calling for dynamic presentations for the RootsTech and Innovator Summit 2016 events that will be held February 3–6, 2016. The purpose of these presentations is to inform, instruct, and inspire attendees to discover, preserve, and share their family history through technology. If you have a desire to help define, shape, and influence the family history industry with an innovative and interesting presentation idea, we invite you to download and review the RootsTech and Innovator Summit Call for Presentation guidelines by clicking HERE. Presentation submissions are now being accepted through June 30, 2015. To submit your presentation proposal, visit the Call for Presentations page on RootsTech.org. Presentation Categories We are seeking presentation proposals for RootsTech and Innovator Summit 2016 events in the following categories: RootsTech Categories: Discover Finding and Organizing: Search strategies, resources, specialized tools and technologies, data mining, information recall, record sourcing, military and time-period research, record types Research and Methodology: Land records and surveys, DNA and genetic science, migration patterns, geographical research, ethnic and cultural studies, surname research, beyond basic skills and resources Preserve Preserving Your Work and Legacy: Family trees, digital migration, audio and video solutions, metadata, artifact preservation, digital file formats, legalities and research ownership Family Traditions and Lifestyle: Cultural arts, food, influential historical events, social customs, pastimes Share Sharing: Social media, tools for collaboration, wikis, crowdsourcing, community building, blogs Stories and Photos: Storytelling and oral histories, interviewing tools and technologies, preserving stories, photography, photo restoration, movies and presentations, photo editing, facial recognition tools Innovator Summit Categories: Developer: Standards and APIs; mobile app development; social applications; record imaging and visualizations; apps for youth; tools that enable family history and adjacent industries such as DNA, publishing, photography, data organization, and so on Business: Funding and investment, start-up success stories and tips, opportunities and market trends, networking and partnerships, entrepreneurship Do you know a great presenter? Do you know someone who would be a great presenter for RootsTech or Innovator Summit 2016? If so, we invite you to share this email with him or her. Contact Information If you have questions regarding the submission process or speaking at RootsTech 2016, please contact us at info@rootstech.org. Credit: RootsTech, this is an email sent to me from them.

Ancestry Deals

Ancestry membership can be expensive. But, there are three helpful tips that can help bring that cost down.

Tip number one: I noticed that if you create a free ancestry account you get deals on membership. (20% percent, free searching for one week, 20% off DNA kit, etc) Holidays are the best time for these deals, at Christmas I think Ancestry DNA was 30% off. 

Tip number two: There is free membership for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

Tip number three: If you aren't a member of the Church your local family history center should have free access. 

Saturday RootsTech: Family Discovery Day

The first keynote today was A.J. Jacobs. He takes is projects pretty seriously:

Pretty awesome right?  I didn't expect it to be this entertaining

We welcomed him to the stage using these signs:

He took a selfie with us. He is another one of my favorite keynote speakers.

Donny Osmond was next:

"The bottom line about all this family history stuff is that its all about stories" -Donny Osmond

This is Donny Osmond singing Moon River for us.

Friday RootsTech

Joshua D Taylor spoke first, he spoke about the future of FindMyPast, and shared his cheese story: As a child he would steal cheese and the cheese grater from the kitchen, as he researched his family he discovered that an ancestor got thrown in jail for stealing seven pieces of cheese. Genes run deep apparently. FindMyPast has three goals, Data, Accessibility, and partnerships. Laura Bush (Former first lady) talked about her family, experience in the white house, and 9-11, followed by her daughter Jenna Hager for a Q&A session. Her keynote was one of my favorite. Friday night there was  a wonderful cultural event followed by the passport drawing. The innovators showdown happened at 10:30 in the morning. The winners are as follows:

1st: StoryWorth

2nd: Planet

3rd: GenMarketplace

4th: Lucid press

Peoples Choice was also StoryWorth

Evening event

The one voice childrens choir kicked off the Thursdays evening event.

They were joined onstage by Alex Boye

And his band

The choir, Alex, and his band preformed the final song "happy"

They did an amazing job.

RootsTech, Day One

The first keynote today was Dennis Brimhall, CEO of FamilySearch. He introduced family discovery centers, and partnerships. He also mentioned the FamilySearch app gallery. The URL is https://familysearch.org/apps/ . The second keynote was Mike Mallin the chief product officer of MyHeritage. He talked about his personal experiences in Genealogy. My favorite quote from him is: "Any sufficiently advances technology is indistinguishable from magic".  The final keynote speaker was Tan Le. She is a refugee from Vietnam with an amazing story. Her mother, grandmother, and sister fled the war shaken country together. They lived in fear of being caught by pirates, drowning, etc. Years later Tan Le founded emotiv. An amazing very techie company. I also went to a consultant class today and it was awesome! Check out a video from the class at FamilySearch.org/findnames. On that page click on grow your tree. I went to a genetic class followed by APIs 101. After that my dad and I wandered through the expo hall till dinner. In the expo hall we discovered the family discovery center put on by familysearch. We loved it! I discoverd the meaning of my name and looked at famous reletives. The story part would not load but I inteand to go back tomarrow and record my great great grandmothers story in their recording booth.


Tip: When we got here we went to the keynote right away because there was an hour long line to pick up our stuff. It most likely won't be as long as a line Friday and Saturday but its still nice to get here early. If you want a good seat when you come to the keynote get here early, with FGS and RootsTech it is crazy full!

Connect, Explore, Refresh

I did this last year to Roots Tech's theme and so I figured I may as well do it again:

Connect: To unite or bind
Explore: To range over an area for the purpose of discovery
Refresh: To provide new vigor and energy

So the the theme is: To unite or bind, To range over an area for the purpose of discovery, and, to provide new vigor and energy.

So in simpler terms: To unite, discover, and, to get energy (Ideas)

RootsTech is in 4 days

Sunday Quote

"Revelation comes to individual members as they are led to discover their family records in ways that are miraculous indeed."

-Elder Boyd K. Packer

RootsTech

I am in the countdown mode! RootsTech is this Thursday! I'm going to add a few tips of my own for this conference.

1st- I know everyone says to bring a different bag, and I agree with that. But I appreciated the over the shoulder strap. The first day last year, I brought a backpack, and I hated how hard it was to access. The expo hall gives you many papers and it is so much easier to put things in your bag when its over the shoulder. I think I might bring last years bag, so I can have the over the shoulder but it will look different.

2nd- You need to be able to drop off things. At either your hotel, or your car. I agree when everyone says that your bag magically gains weight throughout the day. That is why during lunch I drop my expo hall goodies in the car.

3rd- If you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, it is a great time to go visit the temple. The spirit is already strong after spending a whole day with your ancestors and going to the temple magnifies it and truly makes the trip better.

4th- Bring snacks, as a jr high student I understand how learning basically leaves you starving. By second period I always want a snack (lucky for me 2nd period is cooking class).  Food at the conferences is usually expensive and if your hungry its much easier just to pull out a bag of fruit snacks.

5th- If you are joining RootsTech over the internet, than plan a place where you can have quiet. If you tried to watch it at my house you would constantly be disturbed :)

6th-If possible plan to come next year!!

5 more days till RootsTech!!!

14 days till Roots Tech

13 till Innovators Summit

Roots Tech is filling up fast, they are not accepting some forms of registration due to so much interest!

Roots Tech email "Be Entertained"

Be Entertained at RootsTech 2015! In addition to classes, activities, and the huge expo hall, RootsTech attendees will also enjoy thrilling entertainment and events of music, comedy, culture, and technology. See below for the full listing of events happening daily. Thursday, February 12, 2015 RootsTech Opening Social Sponsored by Forever.com After more than 100 million YouTube views, musical sensation Alex Boyé is performing just for you. This evening event promises to be thrilling and energetic as Boyé kicks off RootsTech 2015. He joins up with the stars of his popular “Let It Go” cover and America’s Got Talent quarter-finalist One Voice Children’s Choir. The RootsTech opening social will be held in Hall D at 6:00 p.m. Friday, February 13, 2015 RootsTech Innovator Showdown Sponsored by MyHeritage Be sure to catch the live performance where the top minds in family history compete for your votes and a chance to win $25,000 in prizes. The finalists will unveil cutting-edge technology and their breakthrough creations before a live panel of judges and you. Your vote could determine who goes home with the big prize—guaranteed the most entertaining way to see the future of family history. The RootsTech Innovator Showdown will happen in Hall D at 10:30 a.m. Celebrate Your Heritage at Cultural Night Sponsored by Pictureline Come visit the expo hall for an exclusive world party. Sights, sounds, and dancing from around the world will be highlighted as groups of performers showcase the world’s cultures. The expo hall will have extended hours for this entertaining trip around the world. That gives you more time to roam the hall packed with hundreds of interactive booths showing the latest in discovering and connecting your family. Saturday, February 14, 2015 RootsTech Closing Event Sponsored by FamilySearch Celebrate with an exciting grand finale you’ll never forget. American Idol finalist David Archuleta and the popular sketch comedy group Studio C from BYUtv team up for comedy and music. This will be a “never before seen” event as Studio C unveils a new sketch and David unveils a new, original song. The closing event will commence at 5:15 p.m. in Hall D. Innovator Summit Wednesday, February 11, 2015 Sponsored by Ancestry If you want to change the future of family history, or have an idea that can transform how we celebrate and honor our family, then the innovator summit is for you. Developers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs from around the country will come together on Wednesday, February 11, to collaborate and share insight. It’s a unique one-day chance to help dreams become reality. Nathan Furr, Ph.D., an expert in innovation and entrepreneurship, will keynote the day and will be joined by Eric Shoup, Chief Product Officer of Ancestry. Innovator Summit will also include a full day of classes on Wednesday with additional classes on Thursday and Friday, the Innovator Summit social (sponsored by Ancestry), and a hack-a-thon challenge event at the end of the day. An innovator summit pass is required to attend. For event information and registration, visit RootsTech.org/InnovatorSummit. Thank you to our platinum sponsors.

All credit to Rootstech

Roots Tech email

Welcome to RootsTech 2015!

Thank you for registering for RootsTech 2015. We’re excited to have you join us!
Over the next three weeks, watch for email updates with information about the conference and details to help you prepare for RootsTech, the largest family history conference in the world.
Download the RootsTech mobile app  

Find your favorite classes, create your conference schedule, and plan for each day of the conference with the RootsTech 2015 mobile app. The mobile app also includes maps of the venue and expo hall, and a full listing of conference speakers and exhibitors. Plan your RootsTech experience today by downloading the conference app. Links to download the app are available HERE.
RootsTech Schedule Page 
Another tool to help you plan ahead is the schedule page on RootsTech.org. Search for classes using either the keyword search box, or narrow your search with the filters on the left side. You can also filter by day, family history level, and technology level.
Onsite Check-in  
Conference check-in will take place at the registration area in the south lobby of the Salt Palace Convention Center. Upon check-in, you will receive your badge, any add-on tickets previously purchased, a conference guide, and other essential conference materials. A photo ID is required. To avoid the long lines, come at your earliest convenience.   
Conference registration will be open during the following times:

Tuesday:	2:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.
Wednesday:	7:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
	5:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Thursday:	7:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
Friday:	7:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
Saturday:	7:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.

For more details about RootsTech 2015, visit RootsTech.org.

All credit to Roots Tech

Sunday Quote

"Get a notebook...a journal that will last through all time, and maybe the angels may quote from it for eternity."

-President Spencer W. Kimball

Sunday Quote

And there are thousands of them, hundreds of thousands and millions of them in the spirit world who long to receive this gospel and have been waiting hundreds of years for their deliverance. They are waiting for you.

-Elder Melvin J. Ballard

Relative Finder

My dad sent me a link to this website, it is awesome for introducing new genealogist. It shows you how you are related to the prophets of the church. It also shows you what "path" to take on family search. Did I mention how easy it is? You click on the link I will provide and then it will prompt you and eventually take you to family search. You sign in with your family search account and a couple minutes later you have it all charted out. I love it! The website is: roots-fb.cs.byu.edu

Thomas S Monson is our 11th cousin 6 times removed. I just told my sister about Thomas S Monson and she said: "What does that mean" Me: I don't know how to explain it. But isn't it awesome?

DNA kit!

For Christmas I got a DNA kit! I just took my DNA and I am going to send the kit back to Ancestry today for testing! It takes a LONG time to capture 1/4 a teaspoon of spit, 6 minutes to be exact. I am super excited and hope the results will be back by Christmas.

 Christmas Morning

 Activating the test

 Getting ready to take it

 All done, ready to send in.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

1 MONTH AND 11 DAYS TILL ROOTS TECH

Roots Tech early bird pricing ends January 23rd so sign up fast!

RootsTech list

Roots Tech is coming up. I prepared a pack list today. RootsTech is always lots of fun and I get to stay at my grandparents house to! My list is very basic. I have 3 sections.

Clothes:(For staying at my grandparents house)
PJ's
2 Outfits
Jacket/gloves
2 pairs of socks

RootsTech bag:( To carry at Roots Tech)
Family history documents
Laptop
Phone
Folder for handouts
Waterbottle
USB

Other:(For when Roots Tech is not in session)
Book
Temple recomend
Family names
Scriptures
Journal
Scripture journal
Hair stuff

I am super excited I just signed up today and can't wait.