For the second year in a row, I had the incredible opportunity to attend the world’s largest annual family history conference—RootsTech. Hosted by FamilySearch International, this year’s event took place from March 6–8 and once again proved to be an unforgettable experience.
My good friend Sandy from Georgia flew into Dallas to join me on the flight to Salt Lake City. Her company made the journey fly by, and before I knew it, we had arrived. Once there, we teamed up with our fellow WikiTree volunteers to set up this year’s WikiTree booth. For those unfamiliar, I am a volunteer leader with WikiTree, an online genealogy platform that brings family historians together to build a single, collaborative family tree.
RootsTech 2025 achieved an astonishing global reach, with over 5 million online participants from virtually every corner of the globe. This overwhelming response underscores the desire we universally share to connect with our heritage. This year’s event featured inspiring keynote speakers, including Ndaba Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela, who shared profound lessons on leadership and the importance of preserving family legacies; a selection of more than 200 engaging educational sessions taught by the field's foremost experts; an impressive expo hall filled with vendors showcasing their latest family history offerings; and some intriguing announcements from the major genealogy companies involving the continued expansion of Family Serach's AI tools, some DNA innovations at MyHeritage, and a new photo recognition tool at Ancestry.com.
After the conference wrapped up, I took advantage of my time in Salt Lake City to research, explore, and unwind before heading home. The FamilySearch Library, the world’s foremost genealogical library, was just a short walk from my hotel. Although it snowed during RootsTech, by the time the event ended, the weather had swung dramatically—jumping to nearly 80 degrees. The snow melted quickly, leaving the roads and sidewalks clear for walking.
Since the library was closed on Sunday, I spent the afternoon touring Temple Square, including a visit to the historic Mormon Tabernacle, where I was lucky enough to hear the organists rehearsing. On Monday, a kind library volunteer introduced me to ArkivDigital, a fantastic resource for researching Swedish records. Thanks to that tutorial, I was able to add several more ancestors to my family tree!
By Tuesday, it was time to head home. With clear skies and no flight delays, my return trip was as smooth as I could have hoped for. And just when I thought my adventure was over, my sister Kindra took me on a 2 hour tour of DFW trying to find her way back from the airport to my house!
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