The RootsTech Connect 2021 conference held over 1,500 sessions covering different categories and cultures; and a BYUH alumna speaker at the event said family history can help people find meaning in life and improved well-being.
According to Church Newsroom, FamilySearch hosts the conference every year. More than 1 million family history enthusiasts attended this year's RootsTech Connect, which made this the largest gathering in the conference’s 10-year history. Participants from more than 235 countries attended the event held from Feb. 25 to 27.
The event was the largest “celebration of family” and the sessions of the conference covered nine different categories including topics such as traditions and heritage, DNA, finding ancestors, records and tools, according to its website. Some sessions were about general family history topics, while others are focused on specific cultures and genealogy and were found in 39 different languages.
Banjoe Calma, a senior from the Philippines studying psychology and business management human resources, said he watched three different sessions from RootsTech. He said he had never watched it before, but he loved the flexibility of how people can watch the events at any time. “It is more like a podcast now. The guests and stories are fascinating.”
He said he enjoyed seeing events related to his culture. He especially loved one of the keynote speaker's session, from Dr. Astrid Tuminez, a Filipina who is the current president of the Utah Valley University.
He said, she “reconnected to her own origin. She narrated the great contributions of women warriors in her life. From her grandmother to her mother and to other women warriors. As a son of a woman warrior, I reflected on the contribution of my mother too. She made me who I am today. I owe her those values and my life.”
He said, “Recognizing that our forefathers and foremothers have a great contribution to who we are today is priceless.”
Benefits of family history work
Shenley Puterbaugh, a BYU–Hawaii alumna who graduated in 2010, announced on her Inspire Family History Facebook page she was chosen to speak at the RootsTech Connect 2021 conference.
She said, “I am humbled to have been chosen as a speaker for RootsTech Connect 2021. RootsTech is the biggest family history conference in the world, and this year it was virtual. Over 1 million people from all over the world participated in the conference.”
The topic of Puterbaugh’s speech was “Studies that prove the benefits of family history.” She said when people work on their family history, it gives them many benefits, such as improved psychological well-being by reducing feelings of loneliness and depression. She also said family history work can help people find meaning in life, improve their mood and life satisfaction, increase self-esteem, and enhance feelings of control and mastery over life’s challenges.
Munkhzul Galbadrakh, a senior from Mongolia majoring in hospitality and tourism management, said she learned a lot from Puterbaugh’s speech. “Knowing one’s family stories creates meaning that goes beyond the individual to provide a sense of self through time and in relation to family,” Galbadrakh explained.
She said she also learned this expanded sense of self is referred to as an individual's intergenerational self, which not only grounds a person, but also provides a larger context for understanding and dealing with life’s experiences and challenges. This connection across generations appears to contribute to resilience at all stages of life, Galbadrakh added.
In her speech, Puterbaugh said, “Adolescents who report knowing more stories about their familial past, showed higher levels of emotional well-being and also higher levels of identity achievement, even when controlling for general level of family functioning.”
Puterbaugh shared it is important to understand your ancestors and posterity and learn the stories of your ancestors, then family history will come alive to you in an even greater and deeper way, and you will experience the proven benefits of family history.
Recognizing blessings
Munkhtaivan Javzandulam, a junior from Mongolia majoring in supply chain operations, said she has enjoyed family history work ever since she joined the Church. She shared she has seen blessings come from doing family history and can testify to the truths of Puterbaugh’s speech.
While listening to Puterbaugh’s speech, Javzandulam said she came to realize blessings that come from family history work she didn’t distinctly recognize before. Doing family history is a tough job, but the satisfaction that comes from it is irreplaceable, Javzandulam said.
“Doing family history work really helps with my feelings of loneliness and reminds me of my family members who are on the other side of the veil and makes my life more meaningful,” Javzandulam added. “I learned many life lessons from my ancestors while doing my family history.”
Javzandulam said it is important to record her own life story as well and keeps journals and adds photos on familysearch.org. “I learn from my own past when I read them back and see how God blessed my life overtime.”
Javzandulam also testified doing family history work helped improve her self-worth. “When I do family history, I can clearly see I was born to do great things, and God and my ancestors look at me with great hope.”
A passion that blesses others
Puterbaugh said she is a passionate family history researcher and has her own business that inspires others to do family history. She has a website called Inspire Family History, as well as a presence on Facebook and Instagram.
Puterbaugh’s friend and coworker, Heidi Campbell, shared, “I met Shenley in person for the first time at RootsTech 2020. I have had the pleasure of working with her overtime. Shenley is such an excellent friend and mentor. She is so down to earth and easy to collaborate with. I feel like all of my small contributions are not only welcome, but appreciated.”
Campbell added, “Shenley and I work together and brainstorm how my skills can be put to best use, and she genuinely wants me to be happy and excited about the projects that I help her with. Her quiet passion is contagious.”
Shenley’s husband, Brett Puterbaugh, who is also an alumnus of BYUH, shared, “Shenley has always been helpful to me with family history research. She has inspired a passion in me for it and has greatly blessed our family with her knowledge.
“It took some years, but over time she has helped me more and more, one on one, and showed me how to do my research. She knows more about my ancestors than I do. She gives me the confidence to try, knowing I can always get her help when I need it.”
Click here to visit the RootsTech 2021 conference page to find sessions. If you want to see Puterbaugh’s session, see here.