In 2023, President M. Russell Ballard looked at an assignment that had come before the General Authority assignment committee of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The assignment was for a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to share his family history during 2024 RootsTech Family Discovery Day.
President Ballard, who died on Nov. 12, 2023, and was then acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, volunteered for the assignment. He traveled to sites connected to the Church’s history in Nauvoo and Carthage, Illinois, and Kirtland, Ohio, in June of 2023 to film his family story.
The great-great-grandson of Hyrum Smith, President Ballard spoke tenderly about Hyrum and his brother, the Prophet Joseph Smith.
This Church News video is titled “Remember” after the theme of the 2024 RootsTech conference and features photographs taken during filming with President Ballard in Kirtland, Nauvoo and Carthage (where Joseph and Hyrum were martyred).
“Even though these are personal family history stories for President Ballard, these are Church history stories that should mean something to every member of the Church, said Jonathan H. Wing, senior product manager at FamilySearch International who participated in the filming. “It’s so remarkable to have participated in an experience that was so deeply personal for him, but so incredibly relevant for every member of the Church.”
View the complete interview with President Ballard online during RootsTech Family Discovery Day on Saturday, March 2, 2024. For more information visit RootsTech.org.
