General Conference Guide - Spring 2021
March 27-28, 2021 | A27
GATHERING ISRAEL THROUGH TEMPLE WORK
Veiled optimism alive in temple, family history work BY SARAH HARRIS Herald Correspondent
Hundreds of thousands of family history enthusiasts, many for the very first time, participated in RootsTech Connect 2021 making it the largest gathering in the event’s 10-year history. COURTESY INTELLECTUAL RESERVE
Family history and missionary work are the same work. This is something most members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints never quite figure out, according to Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “There’s only one work,” Elder Bednar said in the “Temple and Family History Leadership Instruction” session of RootsTech Connect 2021, a virtual family history conference in February. That work is the gathering of Israel on both sides of the veil, Elder Bednar told a youth panel during the session. “The ancestors in the spirit world have a keen interest in their ancestors being taught the gospel by members of the church and missionaries because those living ancestors hold the key to open the door to the ordinances of salvation for those who are in the spirit world receiving the message of the gospel,” Elder Bednar said. The church’s President Russell M. Nelson has said gathering Israel on both sides of the veil refers to missionary, temple and family history work, as well as “building faith and testimony in the hearts of those with whom we live, work and serve.” “Anytime we do anything that helps anyone — on either side of the veil — to make and keep their covenants with God, we are helping to gather Israel,” President Nelson said in his October 2020 general conference address “Let God Prevail.” Please SEE HISTORY, PAGE A28
