Latter-day Saints unite families by first making covenants themselves and then performing temple ordinances for their ancestors. Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

ABSTRACT: In the following interview, Steve Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch International, explains how family history and temple work can play a meaningful role in gospel classrooms and homes throughout the world.

KEYWORDS: temple work, family history, family discovery, genealogy, teaching, seminary, institute, FamilySearch, Spirit of Elijah

Steve Rockwood, the CEO of FamilySearch International, sat down with Ken Alford at Brigham Young University to share his thoughts on some of the possible ways gospel teachers and families can share and enjoy the Spirit of Elijah in their classrooms and homes.

Ken Alford. As we begin this interview, what thoughts are on your mind?

Steve Rockwood. I love the fact that we are talking about uniting families for eternity. The Church’s General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is so clear and beautiful. It says we unite families by first making covenants ourselves. That’s how we bind ourselves to the Savior and participate in this work with him. Second, we discover our ancestors and perform ordinances for them so that they, too, can make covenants with Heavenly Father. And third, we can do this in perpetuity. We serve in the temple over and over—as much as our circumstances allow—so that we can worship our Heavenly Father in the house of the Lord to perform ordinances for our ancestors.

Alford. What’s your perspective on how family history helps us keep the Savior first in our lives?

Rockwood. The nice thing is that when you talk about God’s promises, the Savior has always been in his proper place. I love the fact that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us so much he gave us a plan. I love that the plan of salvation and exaltation is called the “plan of happiness” (Alma 42:8), and I love that the center of that plan is God’s Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. He simplifies things so much for us. The Father just asks us to come unto his Son—come unto Christ.

I love the fact that the single largest religious belief in the world is Christianity. There are over two billion people in the world who declare that Jesus is our Savior. The restored gospel of Jesus Christ has the restored priesthood keys and ordinances. We go beyond just declaring Jesus as our Savior, but we can actually bind ourselves to the Savior through authorized covenants and ordinances. We always start with the Savior. Then, in his incredibly loving plan, he says, “Now go share this with others.” I love Ephesians 1:10 (“That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him”). I would suggest that Ephesians 1:10 is a scripture that addresses uniting families for eternity and family history and temple work, as much as Malachi 4:5–6 or Doctrine and Covenants 2 does. It says that in this, the last dispensation of time—our time—all people will be gathered unto God. I love the fact that we can share this idea of receiving covenants and ordinances with people on both sides of the veil, which makes this all one work, and Jesus Christ is the center of all that.

Now, culturally, we have had a tendency to crescendo to Christ. I think we should crescendo to Christ, but we should also start with Christ. One of the titles of Jesus Christ is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. One of the key opportunities we have, especially as we’re trying to introduce the Spirit of Elijah to our students and young people, is to always, always, always start with the Savior and end with the Savior, and keep the Savior in the center throughout the whole journey.

Alford. Participating in family history work is often referred to as experiencing the Spirit of Elijah. What is the Spirit of Elijah?

Rockwood. President Russell M. Nelson taught that the Spirit of Elijah is simply “a manifestation of the Holy Ghost bearing witness of the divine nature of the family.”[1] People can feel the Holy Ghost when they simply talk about their family.

Alford. How does FamilySearch differ from the traditional view of “doing family history”?

Rockwood. We have often followed the tradition that if you want to unite families for eternity, you start with genealogy. That’s been a wonderful sequence that served us extremely well for many years, but how wonderful it is that we can now start with the Savior instead of genealogy. At FamilySearch, our job is to give you experiences and journeys that allow you to act in doctrine. So, one thing we created for young people and their families is Ordinances Ready, which puts things in the right sequence. When you click on Ordinances Ready in the FamilySearch Family Tree app or on FamilySearch.org, the first thing you will see is the Savior, and you are asked what ordinances you would like to do. Then FamilySearch does what FamilySearch is supposed to do. We search for your family internationally. Is there someone in your family who needs the ordinance you chose? If not, is there someone in your ward or stake family? If not, is there someone in the global Church family? The point is that 100 percent of the time, since you decided to act in faith and you wanted to unite families for eternity, you’re going to have success when you use Ordinances Ready. Now you can perform the ordinance in the temple. I love the connection that can happen between you, the Savior, and the person for whom you’re performing the ordinance. You can make an appointment to go to the temple and perform the ordinance. But it all started with the Savior.

Alford. What benefit is there for students and children if they understand their own family history?

Rockwood. Young people can navigate through life much better if they know their own family narrative. I hope gospel teachers will recognize that they can invite the Holy Ghost by simply having students share positive stories about their immediate or extended family members. Those stories can invite the Spirit of Elijah. The Spirit of Elijah can be a powerful force for good in the conversion, retention, and activation of individuals. Every single adult in the world, for example, doesn’t need to feel alone; they can turn their heart to their extended multigenerational family. We are all part of a wonderful extended family.

Alford. What role can FamilySearch play in that process?

Rockwood. FamilySearch can provide journeys that invite the Spirit of Elijah for everyone—those who are members of the Church and also for those who are not of our faith. FamilySearch is primarily a public-facing entity of the Church. There’ll be tens of thousands of new accounts opened today on FamilySearch, and 98 percent of them will not be members of the Church. During the recent pandemic, the number of those not of our faith using FamilySearch surpassed those of our faith, and that delta continues to grow.

Alford. What are some of your thoughts regarding how teachers can include family history in their classrooms?

Rockwood. Gospel teachers have a great deal of experience helping students feel the Spirit when we read scriptures, sing sacred hymns, and say prayers. I hope teachers and members will recognize that they can also share the influence of the Holy Ghost with others as they perform sacred temple ordinances and participate in family history. The exciting thing about it is that you feel the Spirit of Elijah by doing family history. Don’t just talk about it or study it. Do it! This is very experiential. Jump right into an activity with your students or your children. We like to have experiences, and then we can teach them about what they just felt—instead of sharing information and then giving them an activity in an effort to apply it. We’re trying a somewhat opposite approach.

You can feel the Spirit of Elijah by doing things that turn your heart to the promises made to the fathers. Anytime you’re talking about the promises, covenants, ordinances, the Abrahamic covenant—any of those things that come up throughout all your curriculum—do a FamilySearch or family history activity that will personalize that relationship. Invite the manifestation of the Holy Ghost and bear witness of the divine nature of the family.

If you’re teaching the plan of salvation, personalize it by talking about your students’ grandparents, their great-grandparents, their brothers, their sisters, their parents. Don’t make it a third-party plan of salvation; make it their own. As you do that, the Spirit of Elijah will bear truth of the plan and, more importantly, their personal role in that plan. That is a wonderful way to do family history. If you want students or your children to feel the Spirit of Elijah, just ask them a wonderful, inspired question about their family.

Alford. How difficult is it to introduce family history in a gospel classroom?

Rockwood. The beauty is that you don’t have to become a genealogist to do this. The Come, Follow Me curriculum is an incredible unifier throughout the Church. Every year, regardless of the book of scripture we are studying, there’s a lot of scriptural text pertaining to uniting families. This is a gold mine subject for the Old Testament. It’s incredible for the Book of Mormon—just look at the first five chapters of 1 Nephi. It’s a marvelous family history story—Nephi and his brothers going back to get the brass plates, and Lehi being filled with the Spirit and prophesying as he discovered his genealogy in the brass plates (1 Nephi 5:16–17). During the Doctrine and Covenants and Church history year, look at sections 2, 127, 128, and 138 for starters. Comparing Doctrine and Covenants 2 with Malachi 4 can be an exciting classroom activity. There are so many opportunities. Infusing family history has not sunk deep into our teaching culture yet, but it will get there with the help of good teachers and parents.

Alford. How can gospel teachers or parents help the rising generation catch the Spirit of Elijah and feel the blessings that come from this?

Rockwood. A wonderful thing about family history is that it’s not something we really need to talk a lot about; it’s something that we do. We love doing family history. For example, if you’ve heard of RootsTech, you don’t just attend RootsTech, you do RootsTech. Students crave experiential learning, and religious educators know that interactively doing things inspires and invigorates their students. Take your students to FamilySearch and show them how to do a few easy, engaging heart-turning experiences. In a few short minutes, students can have a profound experience that connects them to their ancestors and draws them closer to the Savior.

Alford. Would you please share some classroom examples?

Rockwood. Because of the culture within the Church, we sometimes tend to leap to technology too quickly. It can be as simple as a conversation. You can invite the Spirit of Elijah through some simple inspired questions and listen to your students’ responses. Then, if you feel it’s appropriate, you can turn to technology—inviting students to visit FamilySearch, for example, and checking to see what information is available about their grandparents. FamilySearch can play an important supportive role in your classroom.

Start with your students’ names. Invite students to tell you a story about their names. And if they don’t know the story about their own names, that’s an even larger opportunity. You can invite them to go home and ask their parents. Sometimes the answer may be silly, such as “It’s a name my parents really liked in a TV show.” But it’s still that student’s family narrative. I love to hear people say, “I got my name from my grandfather.” Then ask, “Did you know your grandfather?” Sometimes they do; sometimes they don’t. Or ask, “What’s one of your sweetest memories or stories about your grandfather that was a positive influence for you?” If they knew their grandfather as a child, they’ll tell you, “Oh, Grandpa used to give me green pineapple ice cream. And every time I saw him, he always had ice cream.” If they only know their grandfather through stories, they’ll still be able to say, “My mom told me that her dad, my grandfather, was the first person to join the Church in our family, and she told me his conversion story.” Those stories or photos can invite the Spirit of Elijah.

There are two types of people in the world—“Here I am” or “There you are.” We all should be a “There You Are” person. And while we’re doing that, we’re inviting the Spirit of Elijah to bear testimony regarding eternal families. And you don’t need to use any technology to do that. It’s much easier to do than you might think. If we could all learn how to invite and recognize that manifestation of the Holy Ghost, that would make us the most conversational, outward-facing, meek people in the world.

Alford. What would you tell a gospel teacher or a parent who knows this is something they want to do, but they’re hesitant or feel like it’s outside their comfort zone?

Rockwood. If I’m a seminary teacher, for example, and I’m asked to teach Alma 24–26, I begin by reading those chapters. If I’m asked to facilitate an activity for family history or teach about uniting families for eternity, the first thing I’m going to do is try it for myself. I would suggest that the best thing we could do is begin a journey of discovery on FamilySearch and start with the Savior by doing four simple things:

1. Use Ordinances Ready. Whether you live next door to or a thousand miles from the nearest temple, even if you don’t have a temple recommend right now, start with Ordinances Ready. See the sequence, feel what you feel, and recognize that you can share that feeling with others.

2. Add what you know. Whether it is the name of an ancestor or a record, a photo, a story or your own thoughts, everyone can add something they know in FamilySearch.

3. Act on the discoveries that FamilySearch and other providers serve up to you. When you opt in for messaging and notifications, FamilySearch can take you on a journey—a step-by-step, line-upon-line, precept-upon-precept journey. When you receive an invitation from FamilySearch in a text or an email, try it. Download the FamilySearch Family Tree app to have discoveries served up to you on demand.

If you take these first three small steps that don’t require any family history research, you will gain personal experience so you can bear personal testimony. You’ll be able to share what you have done. It truly is a “Love, Share, Invite” experience. But you can’t love it until you do it.

If all you accomplish is that every member of your class shares a personal story about their name or their family, or knows how to use Ordinances Ready, you will be 100 percent successful. You can help each member of your class start on a journey they can continue at their own pace and in their own way.

4. Pursue family history or genealogical research. Those first three non-research steps will inspire some students to continue. They will choose, if they want, to try this fourth step, and FamilySearch is there to help introduce them to a world of resources. In that case, research is in its appropriate sequence and is available for those who choose to pursue it. But everyone can do the first three steps.

Alford. What are some of your favorite quotations that relate to the Spirit of Elijah and family history?

Rockwood. Here are four prophetic statements that express the ideas I want to share:

• “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.”[2]

• “You’ll find not only protection from the temptation and ills of this world, but you’ll also find personal power: power to change, power to repent, power to learn, power to be sanctified, and power to turn the hearts of your family together and heal that which needs healing.”[3]
• “Please remember that you are never and will never be alone. You’re entitled to help from the other side of the veil. The Prophet Joseph F. Smith taught that those who have passed on ‘are as deeply interested in our welfare today, if not with greater capacity, with far more interest, behind the veil, than they were in the flesh. . . . They see us, they are solicitous for our welfare, they love us now more than ever.’ And I would add that these ministering angels know who you are. They care for you. They love you. They will become a vital part of the fortification of your home.”[4]

• “Brothers and sisters, now is the time for you and for me to prepare for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Now is the time for us to make our discipleship our highest priority. In a world filled with dizzying distractions, how can we do this?

  “Regular worship in the temple will help us. In the house of the Lord, we focus on Jesus Christ. We learn of Him. We make covenants to follow Him. We come to know Him. As we keep our temple covenants, we gain greater access to the Lord’s strengthening power. In the temple, we receive protection from the buffetings of the world. We experience the pure love of Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father in great abundance! We feel peace and Spiritual reassurance, in contrast to the turbulence of the world.

  “Here is my promise to you: Every sincere seeker of Jesus Christ will find Him in the temple. You will feel His mercy. You will find answers to your most vexing questions. You will better comprehend the joy of His gospel.”[5]

Alford. What if you have nonmember students in your class?

Rockwood. I would still follow the four steps of starting with the Savior. Your students will understand why and how members of the Church pursue this work and will feel the Spirit as they add what they know, receive hints from FamilySearch, and decide if they want to pursue research. FamilySearch helps members of the Church, children of the covenant, to discover their ancestors and perform temple ordinances for them. But people who are not yet of the covenant are also feeling something wonderful. Their hearts are turning to their heritage. Their hearts are turning to their fathers. FamilySearch and our many industry friends around the world are participating in this. It’s amazing to watch all God’s children and all the nations of the world actively participating in the gathering of Israel. Whether they know the promises and the covenants or not, they’re actively participating in the gathering as their hearts turn to their fathers.

As children of the covenant, we are motivated by the beautiful doctrine of the Abrahamic covenant—beautiful promises given to our fathers and the opportunity to provide those saving ordinances so our ancestors can exercise their own moral agency to choose if they would like to make covenants with our Father in Heaven. I hope that gospel teachers and parents will help Church members recognize that they’re doing vicarious ordinances for real people.

Alford. What effect do you think artificial intelligence (AI) may have on family history in the coming years?

Rockwood. AI has already had an incredible effect on how we as an industry can organize, digitize, and index the oral and written records of the world faster and more accurately. For example, many people have helped with the indexing of records. When indexing first began, we needed you to look at a digital image of a record and do the front-end transcription of what you saw and type it into separate fields. Now we have generative AI and machine learning. Computers are now able to index in most languages and can do the frontline indexing and transcription. Then we give that index to you and ask you to curate what the computer did on its first pass. People used to do the heavy lifting of front-end indexing that now AI can do.

AI will accelerate the globalization of our efforts throughout the world at an incredible pace. The world has seen a significant increase in population growth since Elijah restored the sealing keys in 1836. That means that many of Heavenly Father’s children are within a handful of generations from us. We estimate that anywhere from 80 to 100 billion people have lived on the earth, and we further estimate that about 30 billion of them, roughly 30 percent, have some sort of documentation associated with their life. About 23 to 24 percent of those 100 billion people lived in a Chinese family. A slightly smaller percentage lived in an Indian family. That means that almost half of God’s children who have ever lived on the earth come from China and India. The Church’s genealogical society was formed 130 years ago. It’s fascinating to me that we’ve been practicing for 130 years how to do family history in the Western world—preparing ourselves for the other two-thirds of the world. And now, as temples are spreading over the earth, generative AI is accelerating how we can discover, gather, and connect that human family in all four corners of the globe.

Generative AI will prove to make expert genealogists and geneticists from all over the world faster and smarter and will significantly empower non-genealogists to engage, without having to become genealogists, as they simply prompt AI to discover and build their family story, which can then be reviewed by experts.

Alford. How can FamilySearch help students and children better understand their spiritual heritage?

Rockwood. Today’s young people have been preserved for this day. Look at what’s happening in the world. The adversary is attacking the family in ways he’s never attacked before. It’s gone beyond the redefinition of families. Satan is now attacking personal identification. So, what has the prophet done? He said, “Here’s your identity: You are a son or daughter of God; you’re a child of the covenant, and as you join in this work with Him, you become a disciple of Jesus Christ.”[6] The Spirit of Elijah, a manifestation of the Holy Ghost bearing witness to the divine nature of the family, is now becoming front and center. It’s something that we haven’t generally recognized before, but young people recognize it easily. Young people around the world want to be part of an important cause. As President Nelson challenged the rising generation, “Would you like to be a big part of the greatest challenge, the greatest cause, and the greatest work on earth today? Would you like to help gather Israel . . . on both sides of the veil[?] . . . This gathering should mean everything to you. This is the mission for which you were sent to earth.”[7]

I hope that the young men, young women, and young adults in the Church recognize that something important is going on and they can be a part of it. I love the statement from Elder David A. Bednar in which he taught the youth of the Church that “the Lord has made available in our day remarkable resources that enable you to learn about and love this work that is sparked by the Spirit of Elijah. . . . 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.” Elder Bednar then shared what I think is one of the keys to successfully incorporating FamilySearch and temple work into gospel classrooms: “Parents and leaders, please help your children and youth to learn about and experience the Spirit of Elijah. But do not overly program this endeavor or provide too much detailed information or training. Invite young people to explore, to experiment, and to learn for themselves.”[8]

Alford. What are some of your favorite resources in FamilySearch?

Rockwood. What does the Lord always do when he reveals doctrine? He gives us resources. He prepares a way that will enable us to act in that doctrine.

Everyone inside and outside of the Church has this feeling that they’d like to discover their family—discover their heritage, gather, and connect their family. As they turn to FamilySearch, it’s not just a matter of what FamilySearch has. It’s a matter of what FamilySearch can facilitate. When you come to FamilySearch, we will first ask you to tell us what you know about your family and enter it into FamilySearch. You can let FamilySearch know what you know.

The next question is: What about other members of your family? We can facilitate connecting you to other members of your family who have already joined FamilySearch. Based on what you know, we will work to connect you with others so you can discover more. That’s all within FamilySearch, but we still don’t have all the answers. FamilySearch can help you find out what the world knows about you. We scour the world to see what we can uncover and learn. We look under every rock with you and find out what we can. We are a facilitator to help you as you seek. We will do anything we can to help you find what you’re looking for. That’s the role of FamilySearch. It’s not just what we have; it’s what the entire world has.

Alford. What else does FamilySearch offer?

Rockwood. FamilySearch also offers other things because today’s youth are very now-oriented, very connection-oriented. Things from the historical past don’t always resonate well with them. They may have a challenging time visualizing something that happened 150 years ago. FamilySearch offers fun activities like Relatives Around Me and those kinds of things. There’s a wonderful feature in FamilySearch, and also a separate app, called Get Involved. Teachers can also try using the FamilySearch Memories app as an in-class activity. It’s a blast.

For Latter-day Saint students, the first thing I would do in FamilySearch is Ordinances Ready so that they start with the Savior. The second thing I’d do is ask, What do you know about your family? Whom do you want to gather to Christ? No research is required. Just tell me what you know. Do you know the names of your parents? Do you know the names of your grandparents? We’re not doing genealogy here either. We’re just trying to figure out whom you would like to gather to Christ. Let’s put what you know in FamilySearch, if it isn’t already there. Do you have any family photos or stories? Let’s take a look and see if there are photos or stories in FamilySearch. Do you want to see if you’re related to any other members of your class?

Teachers can facilitate discovery experiences, connection experiences, but with the intention to make sure students can feel the Spirit of Elijah.

Alford. Do you have any favorite stories from FamilySearch?

Rockwood. This technology is amazing, but by far the most edifying and important thing is when I hear personal testimonies of individuals who are able to perform ordinances for someone they personally knew or someone they personally found. The stories we hear from around the world are truly amazing.

My favorite stories are when people say, “I knew the names of my grandparents, and I went and performed ordinances for them,” or, “I found the names of my ancestors and went and performed ordinances for them.” All temple service is worthy, but nothing compares to serving in the temple on behalf of family members. It blesses the whole family and brings us closer to the joy of families gathering families.

Give your students simple activities to do, and the Lord will take it from there.

Alford. What closing thoughts would you like to share?

Rockwood. There is a fun factor to this work. It’s a joyful factor. As Elder Patrick Kearon said, “Welcome to the Church of Joy.”[9] At FamilySearch, we seek to enable inspiring journeys that bring joy to all people as they discover, gather, and connect their families—past, present, and future. If we can facilitate that, then we’re living up to our promise and purpose to help unite families for eternity.

So, what lies ahead? First and foremost is to inspire and enable Church members to always start with the Savior on their journey of uniting families for eternity. And it’s going to be a matter of appropriately applying generative AI to hasten the work for everyone and especially in the parts of the world where the Restoration is unfolding on an accelerated basis. More people will be able to engage in this effort and do the work much quicker and more accurately thanks to artificial intelligence. We are seeing an incredible convergence taking place with the prophet announcing how the Lord wants to bring the blessings of temple covenants and ordinances closer to his people. The Spirit of Elijah is sweeping across the earth, and unprecedented digital technology is accelerating this work exponentially. All this is being placed in the hands of the rising generation, inspired digital natives. They will use this technology to enable more people to feel and act on the Spirit of Elijah so that all the families of the world can ultimately be united for eternity in the house of the Lord. We are seeing one of many manifestations of what President Nelson expressed when he said, “My dear brothers and sisters, do you see what is happening right before our eyes? I pray that we will not miss the majesty of this moment! The Lord is indeed hastening His work.”[10]

The Lord said, “This is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). Sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking that it’s a bunch of tasks to do—a checklist. But, in reality, God said his work is us. Our Heavenly Father invites us to work with him in that work. We can join Jesus Christ in his work and his glory by living the gospel of Jesus Christ, caring for those in need, inviting all to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ, and uniting families for eternity. I love that all four aspects of the work of salvation and exaltation are dependent on and complement each other. President Nelson has said, “While temple and family history work has the power to bless those beyond the veil, it has an equal power to bless the living. It has a refining influence on those who are engaged in it. They are literally helping to exalt their families.”[11]

It can all start with wonderful religious educators who give them that experience when they’re young, and that’s a marvelous thing.

Notes

[1] Russell M. Nelson, “A New Harvest Time,” Ensign, May 1998, 34.

[2] David A. Bednar, “The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn,” Ensign, November 2011, 26–27.

[3] Dale G. Renlund, “RootsTech Family Discovery Day 2016,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2016-01-0200-rootstech-family-discovery-day-opening-general-session.

[4] Gary E. Stevenson, “RootsTech Family Discovery Day 2020,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2020-02-4100-family-discovery-day.

[5] Russell M. Nelson, “The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again,” Liahona, November 2024, 121–22; emphasis in original.

[6] Russell M. Nelson, “Choices for Eternity,” worldwide devotional for young adults, May 15, 2022, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/broadcasts/worldwide-devotional-for-young-adults/2022/05/12nelson.

[7] Russell M. Nelson, “Hope of Israel,” worldwide youth devotional, June 3, 2018, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/broadcasts/worldwide-devotional-for-young-adults/2018/06/hope-of-israel.

[8] Bednar, “Hearts of the Children Shall Turn,” 26–27.

[9] Patrick Kearon, “Welcome to the Church of Joy,” Liahona, November 2024, 36.

[10] Nelson, “The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again,” 93.

[11] Russell M. Nelson, “Generations Linked in Love,” Ensign, May 2010, 93.