Image Credit: amazon.com. Disclosure: that link and all those below are affiliate links. I receive a small commission if you buy this or any of the books below through that link. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!
In anticipation of Holy Week that culminates in Easter Sunday next week, today I’m reviewing the above book, Celebrating A Christ-Centered EasterChildren’s Edition. The “Children’s Edition” part means it’s a picture book. It’s by Emily Belle Freeman and David Butler. Shown at the bottom of this post is a companion book by the same authors, for adults.
I love that this book has so many layers. By layers, I mean levels of interaction. You’ll see what I mean in a second here.
This book uses the same traditions that Sister/President Freeman (she’s currently the president of the Young Women organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and Brother Butler share in their countdown to Easter/Holy Week Daily Traditions over here.
It starts with Palm Sunday, but then it doesn’t follow the rest of the days of the Holy Week with events from each day. It does mention events during Holy Week, but it doesn’t mention them in order. It focuses more on the eyewitnesses of Jesus during Holy Week instead of what Jesus did each day, similar to the companion book for adults.
Each section of the book tells a portion of the Easter story, something good that someone or one of the people involved in that part did, two questions to ponder, a suggested activity, a symbol, and the actual scriptural passage from the Bible that tells the story.
That’s where the layers or levels of the book come in. If reading this to very young children, you could just focus on the storyline, and omit the questions and activities. You might even skip reading all the words and talk about what the pictures are showing. I would definitely read the whole book on your own ahead of time if you were going to do this so you are familiar with the story. If reading this to older children, you could add in the first question. If you want to create more thoughtfulness and actual discussion, add in the second question. Then do the suggested activity if you want to make this book interactive.
We’re so blessed to have a bush in the front yard with these lovely blossoms we use for the branch activity on Day #1.
Activity #1 involves Palm Sunday and a branch. This is similar to the Palm Sunday tradition over here.
Activity #2 involves Simon who helped the Savior carry the cross on Good Friday. This is similar to the Day #2 tradition over here.
Activity #3 involves a testimony tree. This is similar to Day #3 over here.
Activity #4 involves Mary Magdalene as a witness of Christ. The activity is dyeing Easter eggs red while sharing testimonies of Christ. This is similar to Day #4 over here.
Activity #5 involves the two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus. It involves writing down favorite scriptures. This corresponds with Day #5 over here.
Activity #6 involves Thomas and Easter lilies. It goes with Day #6 here.
Activity #7 involves the people of Jerusalem and choosing your own individual way to celebrate Easter Sunday. Watch the video here.
This is a lovely book. The illustrations by Ryan Jeppesen are sweet and simple, and the way the authors connect what happened involving people during Holy Week to our lives today is so thoughtful. Then to add a symbol involving a physical activity is so ingenious. This book definitely deserves a place on every Christian family’s bookshelf, and more importantly, a place in every family’s collection of annual Christ-centered traditions. I just wish it had been around when I had all my children at home. I take heart in knowing I can share these traditions with my grandchildren.
Of course, you can read this book anytime of the year. To make it as part of your Easter celebration, you could just read this aloud as a family in one sitting, anytime around or on Easter Sunday, or you could do each section, one a day starting with Palm Sunday. Or you could spread out the reading even more to be once a week, every Sunday before and even after Easter. So many LDS books are out now to highlight Holy Week that I’m actually thinking of using each one separately, devoting each book, one a week, to the weeks before and after Easter. Then, however often you read from the book, you could just discuss the questions as a family and leave it that, or you could actually do the activity. I love that the adaptation can be so flexible, and that the activities involve simple things. If you don’t have the money to buy Easter lilies you can make some out of paper like I did in the photo above.
If you go here you can get the ornaments involving the symbols from the book. How fun to print them out, make ornaments out of them with tape and string, and then put each one in an Easter egg, then put them in a basket for a table centerpiece. Then pull out one each day to open, in order. Then read the corresponding section in the book for morning or evening devotional, Morning Basket, or dinner time. If you do that, you will either have to get large Easter eggs or reduce them in size to 50 or 33% to fit regular sized Easter eggs. Or you could put them in Easter eggs and put them in your hunt, then go through the story and questions for each after the hunt as you eat the treats.
I am so grateful that President Freeman and Brother Butler wrote this book. Thank you! It is a companion book to the adult book above. Then these two books pair up with their two Christmas counterparts shown below to make a harmonious quartet. Involving these four books in your family’s Easter and Christmas traditions will add much enrichment and joy for decades. They will definitely help in fulfilling this ideal from Elder Gary E. Stevenson, quoting N.T. Wright:
“We should be taking steps to celebrate Easter in creative new ways: in art, literature, children’s games, poetry, music, dance, festivals, bells, special concerts. … This is our greatest festival. Take Christmas away, and in biblical terms you lose two chapters at the front of Matthew and Luke, nothing else. Take Easter away, and you don’t have a New Testament; you don’t have a Christianity.” Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Liahona, May 2023
Today, 196 years ago, for the first time ever, the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ was made available to the public, so happy birthday to the Book of Mormon!
I am so blessed to have read this book many times. It is my favorite book.
Did you know that the Book of Mormon is the most Christ-centered book on the earth, as far as I know? It mentions a name of Christ on average every 1.7 pages. It also has over 100 names for Jesus Christ. Go here to learn more about that.
Here are some fun facts about the Book of Mormon.
The publisher, E.B. Grandin, started selling the Book of Mormon at his bookstore for $1.75, in Palmyra, New York, on March 26, 1830.
You can learn more about the print shop here and take a virtual tour.
Watch the video below done by my husband’s cousin Lynne Hilton Wilson to learn of the history of the publication of this book, which is sacred scripture to millions of people.
Below the video you will find some interesting screenshots from the video.
It’s published in 97 languages in the complete format, with excerpts in 20 languages.
The timeline below shows some interesting events that led up to is printing.
The publication of this book was a huge project! Joseph Smith placed an order for 5000 copies, when the usual order at the Grandin print shop was around 600 copies. It took 12 men working 11 hours a day, 6 days a week, for several months, from the fall of 1829, until March 26 1830, when it first went on sale.
What’s more important than the facts surrounding its publication is how it has borne witness of Jesus Christ and changed people’s lives. I have read it, love it, and prayed about it to God, asking to know if it’s true. The Holy Ghost has borne witness to me that it’s true.
If you want a list of amazingly beautiful plain and precious truths in the Book of Mormon go here, then scroll down about 2/3 of the page to the heading that says “Book of Mormon Times at a Glance: Some Statements of Gospel Principles.” The first principle on the list is “All good things come from Jesus Christ and persuade us to do good,” from Ether 4:11-12.
Go here to read the story of an Italian man, a Protestant minister, who found a copy of the book with the cover missing, read it, and started preaching from it, even though he didn’t know the name of the book. He eventually got baptized by missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If you go to that link at the start of this paragraph, you can also watch a mini movie about him that the Church made, at the end of that blog post.
Here’s the story of a man who read the book as a Jewish teenager when he was preparing to be a rabbi, got converted to Jesus Christ, got baptized, and served a mission for the Church. Now he is a chaplain for the U.S. military.
Over here we have a story of a man who asked, “Isn’t the Bible enough?”
Then this video below shows a woman, wife of an Air Force man, mother of 4, and native of the former Soviet Union. She was 18 when the USSR broke up. She tells her story of finding the Book of Mormon in Ukraine and becoming a believer of it, after she failed to prove it wrong. Amazing!
My Family Devotionals Ebook has more stories about the power of the Book of Mormon changing people’s lives, in the March section. Go here to get the ebook.
Want to play a Book of Mormon-themed Wits and Wagers game? Go here!
Go here to get your own copy of the Book of Mormon. Read it online here. It’s true and it will change your life infinitely for the better if you let it!
I had so much fun sharing ideas for thrifting for Christmas gifts last year (here, here, and here), I decided it would be fun to talk about thrifting for Easter gifts. I’ve never done it before but might just try it this year. I might get one non-edible surprise (from a thrift store most likely, although sometimes you can find great stuff at inexpensive prices at non thrift stores) for my children and grandchildren. I might get one each for them to find in the Easter egg hunt. I’ve always just had some health food store candy, and truth be told, some cheap grocery store jelly beans (gasp!) in the plastic Easter eggs. But I might make it more fun this year with directions inside the egg to find the wrapped gift somewhere else.
Our Easter egg hunt last year.
True confession time: I am a mom who hasn’t played the Easter Bunny, that is, I haven’t filled Easter baskets, for decades. I did fill Easter baskets when the oldest 2 of the 7 were 4 and under, and then I stopped. I stopped for a variety of reasons, including my resistance to junky, garish, neon bright toys and commercialism, and the fact that we went through some very lean financial years.
From one of our egg hunts when we lived in AZ.
During those years I was doing well just to buy some edible goodies to put in plastic eggs for a family Easter egg hunt. So they did grow up with Easter baskets, but these baskets were ones they filled themselves with plastic eggs during our family egg hunt. We usually did it Easter Sunday after church and dinner. Then we’d gather in the house and either watch Christ-centered Easter videos or tell the story of Easter with Resurrection Eggs, while they ate the candy.
But now I’m rethinking the whole Easter basket idea. I’m thinking it’s time for a change. Not that I’m going to play the Easter Bunny and get gobs of trinkets and candy to fill baskets, but maybe I’ll start doing what I described in the first paragraph above.
I’m thinking of doing this to make Easter feel even more festive. As Elder Gary Stevenson said, quoting, N.T. Wright:
“We should be taking steps to celebrate Easter in creative new ways: in art, literature, children’s games, poetry, music, dance, festivals, bells, special concerts. … This is our greatest festival. Take Christmas away, and in biblical terms you lose two chapters at the front of Matthew and Luke, nothing else. Take Easter away, and you don’t have a New Testament; you don’t have a Christianity.” Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Liahona, May 2023)
Note the word “festival.” Some kind of surprise gift for each person, beyond treats, at Eastertime could definitely add to the festival feeling. The surprise can symbolize the surprise and joy that the family and friends of Jesus had when they discovered that He had risen again.
Jesus appeared again in his material body. so maybe it is OK that I make Easter a bit more material. I never thought I’d say this but I guess I’m just rethinking the whole Easter basket thing. I’m realizing maybe I erred too much on the side of no material gifts at Easter when I could have been having a lot more fun finding and giving even just one thoughtful and useful gift at Easter, even if I had to buy it at a thrift store, with my limited amount of money. You can find perfectly clean decent beautiful things at thrift stores, as I’ve witnessed many times myself.
I don’t want to turn prepping for Easter as burdensome as prepping for Christmas. I watch young moms in YouTube talking about filling Easter baskets. Some of them look like they spend as much on Easter as they do on Christmas.
I guess if you can afford it, and it’s not stressful to do so, go for it, but I do wonder two things:
1. Is giving so much stuff at Easter making your children feel entitled and greedy, taking the focus off of Jesus Christ? and
2. What if we took that money and created gift baskets for the people in our neighborhood who are feeling poor or just poor in spirit because they are sad and lonely. Then left them anonymously on doorsteps. Baskets full of useful things like socks, hand lotion, books that promote faith in Jesus Christ, lip balm, as well as some treats, tailored to the person. Like find out if they are gluten free, low carb, or sugar free and give accordingly.
Just some thoughts. Anyway, here’s what I would look for if I could rewind the decades to fill my children’s Easter baskets over again with affordable, non-junky, non-edible Easter stuff. I would take the approach of finding stuff that stirs up the wonder of Jesus, the wonder of the covenant path of a Saint and the Hero’s Quest of human life, and the wonder of spring/summer/warmer weather, including some practical things that I would be buying anyway. I would find what I could at thrift stores by looking year-round. Ideally, I would do one practical thing besides PJs, one book, one wondrous/fun thing, and one religious item. If I found most if not all the stuff from thrift stores, I’d be OK with finding different things according to what was available. Part of the fun would be seeing the random variety. One child might get a T-shirt, another might get sandals, another rainboots, one a swimsuit, etc.
-first, some non-Easter Bunny/Jesus themed picture books, see my list over here
-picture books and chapter books that promote faith in God and faith in going on a quest/Hero’s Journey. See Sarah Mackenzie’s list here and listen to the podcast below. This includes books with Christian symbolism, like Narnia
-religious-themed jewelry and tie tacks, including cross necklaces
-religious-themed T-shirts, including Narnia ones
-spring/summer weight PJs
-hair bows and barrettes for girls, neckties for boys
-comfy summer-weight socks
-bubble-making toys. I especially like the spill-proof bubble tumblers.
-water play toys
-umbrellas
-raincoats
-rainboots
-sandals
-swimsuits
-swim goggles
-swim shoes
-actually functioning garden tools, not just cheap plastic shovels or buckets that break easily. The set above is around $20 so I wouldn’t give it to just one child. If I had all girls I’d give it as a family gift. It’s just so pretty I had to include it.
-gardening seeds and other supplies
-beach/sand toys
-yo-yos
-other outdoor toys like jump ropes, Frisbees, balls, jacks, sidewalk chalk, toss and catch games, Koosh ball toys, etc.
-nature journals
-water color paints and/or colored pencils for using in nature journals
-other art supplies
-something to help them stay quiet in church, like quiet books for younger children and notebooks/journals and pens for older children, and fidget toys for all
-nature-themed kits, like butterfly gardens and ant farms
-nature microscopes
If I wasn’t able to find that kind of stuff thrifting maybe I’d just do a family Easter basket like this mom shows below, but I’d do more spring-themed games, books, and puzzles that I found thrifting
Here are some ideas I’d do for family Easter gifts.
-a sturdy kite to take turns flying as a family on a picnic, or a pack of kites if you have older children you can trust to fly them without running them into each other.
Some board games that remind me of the culture of Easter and Christianity and religion such as the following:
– Jerusalem board game to play with teens and young adults, which simulates Holy Week in Jerusualem, the spring of 33 AD.
–Sagrada, about stained glass windows. I love the chunky colorful bright dice in this game!
-a saucer swing to hang from a tree limb outside
-a birdfeeder with outdoor camera
-spring and nature themed board games like the following:
I know Wingspan seems complicated at first but once you get the hang of it, it is super fun!
Just for fun, here are a few videos involving Waldorf and Montessori inspired Easter baskets that just make me happy. I wish I could make an Easter basket like one of these for every child, adding in a few Christ-promoting items as well, as mentioned above.
Image Credit: Maria Eckersley YouTube Channel. Credit for all images below except the photos of the two temples also go to the same channel.
Here are some new-to-me Christ-centered Easter traditions, from Maria Eckersley. She’s a mom of 6 who has a gift for teaching the restored gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She has a YouTube channel here where she shares ideas for making scriptural truths come alive using object lessons. She’s so craftsy and creative. With her object lessons involving science tricks and fun crafts, I feel like I’m watching a mashup where Mr. Wizard meets the Martha Stewart of Mormondom.
Today I’ve rounded up some of her videos that showcase some wonderful Christ-centered Easter crafts and activities.
Disclaimer: This is not a checklist of things to do. She doesn’t expect any family to do all of these. She says she doesn’t even do all of them. This a beautiful buffet of ideas. Take what works for your family without making you feel like you are running faster than you have strength. (How’s that for mixing a statement from my days of leading La Leche meetings with a phrase from the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ?, LOL.)
The first three of these ideas come from the video above.
Joy of Jesus Coming Out of the Tomb Craft. This involves making a paper tomb and filling it with a surprise. Sister Eckersley encourages us to talk with our children about how that surprise represents the joyful surprise that the followers of Jesus discovered when they saw the empty tomb and then the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.
2. String Eggs
Sister E explains that we didn’t get to see the Savior and His life firsthand. We do have His form, though, or His example and His words, in the scriptures. This is just like with these string eggs. After the balloons are gone, we don’t see them. But we have the form, made after the real thing. She says you take embroidery floss and separate it into strings, coat the strings with a glue/water mixture, and wrap it around the water balloon. Then you let the eggs dry overnight. You then pop the water balloon inside and take it out. What you have left is an amazing, perfect egg made out of string.
3. Sharpie Egg Dyeing Trick
Out of all the ideas she suggests, this one looks the simplest. Instead of dyeing hard-boiled eggs, you mark them up with Sharpie markers. She says these marks are to represent what happens to us in mortality, the bad things that happen to us. So don’t bother to make the marks pretty. Then you pour rubbing alcohol on them, and it transforms the designs into a thing of beauty. She says this represents the idea that things that have been broken become beautiful and whole, through the power of Jesus Christ.
The next seven ideas come from the video above, which Maria released two years ago on her YouTube channel, when members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were studying the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ for our Sunday School curriculum. She says she took seven Christmas traditions and turned them into Easter traditions.
4. Christ-centered Easter decorations, like a Hallelujah banner (seen at the top of this post), or these Easter lilies, with scriptures about Jesus printed on the inside of the petals. Maria suggests setting apart a day to this, and playing Easter music as you decorate, similar to when you set aside a day and decorate for Christmas.
5. Drop off a surprise Easter egg hunt for someone else, someone who you think will love hunting for eggs in their yard. (Young children and the young at heart.) This is egging your neighbor in a nice way!
(I’m adding in my own suggestion here. If you know of elderly people who are sick and or lonely, and not easily agile and therefore probably not interested in an egg hunt, maybe give them an Easter basket full of thoughtful and useful items like socks, lip balm, hand lotion, a pictures of the Savior, and a book or DVD that promotes faith in Christ.)
6. Have a family Easter breakfast. Or do whatever meal works for you. She says she does challah bread French toast. She says she makes challah bread for Christmas. Then for Easter she uses the same recipe to make French toast.
7. Serve others in the temple. She points out that the sealing power used in the temples was restored on a Passover Easter Sunday, in the Kirtland Temple. It was April 3 1836, when Elijah of the Bible appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. As part of your Easter celebration/temple anniversary, she suggests creating a temple experience for your family. This could involve baptisms for your teens, other ordinance work for older family members, or, if you can’t get to the temple, doing family history research.
8. Draw names and do an egg exchange in your family. This is less stressful than a gift exchange at Christmas but still involves a little bit of anticipation like Christmas does. She says she does this instead of Easter baskets. She has two ways to do this:
a. Decorate an egg in a way that reminds you of that person. So after they draw names she gives them each an egg to decorate. Then they set it on the mantel the morning of Easter Sunday. They have fun guessing whose egg belongs who. I started thinking about this and thought, how fun it would be to use wooden eggs that last forever. If you did this often starting when your children were young they could leave the home at 18 with a carton of decorated eggs that would bring back memories of home as they decorated for Easter wherever they go.
b. Give a plastic egg that separates in half to each family member. After they draw names tell them to fill up the egg with something that the intended recipient will enjoy, to give to that person on Easter Sunday.
This sounds so fun to me!!! I am hoping I can enroll my family into doing this. I’m thinking of how fun it would be to alternate between the two ideas every year.
9. Act out the journey of the women who went to the tomb and have it be a part of a sunrise hike. As an alternative to the hike, she suggests memorizing The Living Christ before Easter. Then recite it together and record yourself reciting it together. (Hint: you can get free sheet music of words of The Living Christ document set to music over here.)
10. Fly kites on Easter Sunday. She says in other Christian faiths you see people flying kites representing Jesus’ resurrection. She loves that kites symbolize Christ’s ascension. She also loves that just as kites stay tethered to the earth after they arise, Jesus Christ has chosen to stay tethered to the earth by communicating with us.
Wow, what an amazing list! If you feel overwhelmed by it, remember, don’t feel like you have to do all or any of them. Maybe just pick one and incorporate it this year, then add a new idea next year, another one next year, and so forth.
This video below comes from last year when members of The Church studied the Doctrine and Covenants. It has more 8 more ideas!
If you want even MORE ideas, check out Maria’s NEW book below. The only thing from above that is repeated in the book is the making paper lilies activity and the oil lamp craft. I’ll be poring over the book and the ideas above to see how we are going to fit a few of these activities in over the next two weeks, along with the ones from Emily Belle Freeman over here. I want to do the Easter lily activity on Emily’s Day #5, Good Friday, since she mentions using lilies on that day.
Image Credit: amazon.com (that is an affiliate link, if you by the book through that link, I get a small commission)
Want more Christ-centered Easter resources? Go here to get a PDF of Easter picture books.
Go here to get a PDF of songs, stories, and poetry to share with your family, one of each, each day as we countdown to Easter!
Happy Easter! Remember, He is Risen, and He loves you!
Image Credit: amazon.com (Disclosure: that is an affiliate link, as are all the amazon links below. I receive a small commission if you buy through any of these links.)
Easter comes rather early this year, on Sunday April 5. It’s less than three weeks away! Every year I aspire to make Easter more Christ-centered and more festive at the same time. I’ve felt a call to do this for decades, since my oldest children were little. What I mean by that is to focus on Jesus Christ’s atonement and resurrection, and not on the Easter Bunny. Now I feel the call even more since one of the modern-day apostles of Jesus Christ, Elder Gary E. Stevenson, quoted N.T. Wright as saying:
“We should be taking steps to celebrate Easter in creative new ways: in art, literature, children’s games, poetry, music, dance, festivals, bells, special concerts. … This is our greatest festival. Take Christmas away, and in biblical terms you lose two chapters at the front of Matthew and Luke, nothing else. Take Easter away, and you don’t have a New Testament; you don’t have a Christianity.” Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Liahona, May 2023:
If you want to watch the whole of this talk, the video is below.
In honor of this call I’ve noticed people in my church publishing more Easter resources. Some of them are shown below. So I’ll be highlighting some of them in the next while to help you decide what resources you want to use for Easter. So many wonderful resources abound! I’ll also be sharing Easter stories and picture books as well. There’s no way one family could include/do all these suggested things, so just see what appeals to you the most and incorporate what works best for your time and energy, even if it’s just one new thing. Don’t get overwhelmed. Every year just add one or two more of these resources.
Today’s resource is the book Sacred Days, Sacred Songs by Michael D. Young. This book is full of suggested songs to play and learn about during Holy Week. So if you are into Easter-themed music and singing, read on.
For each day, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, the author suggests the following for that day:
– a quality that comes from the Savior Jesus Christ (like deliverance, hope, grace, etc.)
-a story of the Savior from the New Testament
-two songs that go with that quality, with a QR code for each song that take you to a video of a group performing the song, on the author’s website. Mostly it’s The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, of which the author is a member of. The author gives the backstory of the composer and the song.
Click here to go to the author’s website where you can see the list of the songs and the videos.
This is a great resource for adults and people with long-listening attention spans ages 12 and up to use during Holy Week. You could even start using it now, if you plan on doing more than one set of Holy Week activities, like I do. It’s hart to fit all these great ideas in one week, so I’m spreading them out by starting now. This definitely makes Eastertime into a season, about a month-long, instead of just a day or week.
This book doesn’t have any pictures or simplified language, or child-tailored activities so it’s not ideal for families with young children or older people who have a hard time just sitting and listening. If you want a great Holy Week guide for families with young children and short attention spans, use the book below. My review of it is over here.
This book my husband’s cousin wrote below is also wonderful. It has a lot fewer pictures than the one above and the format is different. The one above is simpler/more accessible to use if you have very young children.
Now, back to Sacred Days, Sacred Songs. I’m thinking of using it right now during dinner or either in the morning after prayer or after scripture study before we do our family prayer at night, for our family of 3 currently at home (DH, my 16-year-old son, and I).
Here’s an excerpt from the audiobook format of the book. Then a summary of the book from amazon is below that.
Celebrate Easter with a joyful, soulful, and inspiring collection of songs about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.Most people don’t often associate Easter with music, but author Michael D. Young has collected a variety of inspirational hymns and songs–some solemn, some jubilant–and his commentary on their meaning can enhance our holiday. Each chapter focuses on the rich history of two songs that relate to the events of Holy Week, including the Triumphal Entry, the Last Supper, the crucifixion, and the resurrection. The complete lyrics for each song are provided, along with fascinating facts and stories behind each one. Also included are relevant scripture passages that illuminate the themes and events that inspired the songs, as well as a daily devotional of a Christlike attribute: deliverance, compassion, grace, hope, love, sacrifice, obedience, and renewal. Readers can also experience the beauty and power of the songs in an immersive way through the inclusion of QR codes that link to YouTube videos of a variety of choirs, including the famous Tabernacle Choir, singing the songs being discussed, including such favorites as “All Glory, Laud, and Honor,” “Amazing Grace,” “It Is Well with My Soul,” and “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” as well as lesser-known songs “The King of Love My Shepherd Is” and “Drop, Drop Slow Tears.” Whether you are a seasoned churchgoer or simply someone who loves music, this gift book can help provide a deeper understanding and appreciation of the significance of Easter, as well as the role that music has played in honoring and celebrating that Holy Week.
Want a huge free list of songs, poetry, scriptures, and poetry to celebrate Easter? Go here.
In my church we are currently studying the story of Joseph of Egypt, for our Come Follow Christ scripture study. Here are some fun resources to go with that.
First, my dear friend Patti, The Rock Lady, has a video about Joseph, telling the story in rocks. Watch below.
2. Next, Patti has a printable about Joseph here. Scroll down to where it says “Make a Camel and Joseph With Rocks and Pebbles,” and go underneath the thumbnail image that matches the video above, then click on the phrase that says, “Click here for the printable.”
3. If you’ve never watched Donny Osmond in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, you are missing out! I want to watch this with my children and grandchildren, namely the ones who like singing and dancing, just to hear their comments. Too bad I discovered it after most of them had moved away. Maybe we could do a watch party remotely! Four years ago when the Church studied the Old Testament I binge watched this movie. Watch the movie in YouTube by renting here. Two of the songs from the musical are below. I just love this music! Donny does such a great job in the starring role as Joseph.
Two of my favorite Come Follow Christ YouTubers interview Donny Osmond below. I’m so excited about this!
4. Flannelboard figures for the story of Joseph are here.
5. The Veggie Tales version of the Joseph story is here.
6. For adults, these two commentaries on Joseph below by Jared Halverson, BYU professor of religion, is so insightful.
7. I love that as a Latter-day Saint Christian, I know that there’s more about Joseph than we learn about him in the Bible. I believe in the Bible, as far as it is translated correctly. I’m also grateful for additional scripture to give more enlightenment. The Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ has a section where Father Lehi quotes Joseph of Egypt prophesying. He says that Joseph of Egypt prophesied of a descendant who will become a seer and will bring the word of God to Joseph of Egypt’s seed. He also said that this descendant would be named Joseph, and be named after his father. This is Joseph Smith, the latter-day prophet who restored the original church of Jesus Christ in the latter days.
“Did you know that another prophet named Joseph, who lived anciently, foresaw Joseph Smith’s mission? Read 2 Nephi 3:6–15 to learn what Joseph of Egypt prophesied about Joseph Smith and his important work.”
8. Here’s another interesting commentary on the Joseph of Egypt story, involving an LDS/BYU professor of religion discussing Joseph with a pastor from a different religion.
9. Then here’s what the Pickerings have to say about Joseph of Egypt. I always love their insights because they usually talk about chiasmus, Hebrew pictograms and other patterns.
The first video is from four years ago.
Then this video below just got released.
10. Below is what Cleon Skousen says about the Joseph story.
11. An apostle of Jesus Christ, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, shares his thoughts about Joseph of Egypt below.
12. If you want to go deep into the story of Joseph, watch below, courtesy of Robin Young, from the Sisters of Liberty.
I just love Joseph’s story because it shows how bad things happen to good people, the power of forgiveness, and how God turns sad bad things to good things when we put our trust in God.
Credit for Images Above and Below: amazon.com (that is an affiliate link, so if you buy the book through that link, I earn a small commission)
As Pi Day is tomorrow (3/14), today’s picture book of the week is a picture book about pi. See above. This is a new book and so fun!
By reading this book, you will be able to answer the following questions:
What is pi?
What’s so great about pi?
How did pi get its name?
What is pi’s history?
Who are some of the mathematicians who have discovered the digits in pi?
What does the Bible have to do with pi?
Who proved that pi is an irrational number?
Where is the Pi Room that has at least 707 of pi’s digits after the decimal point displayed?
Whose formula for calculating the pi’s decimal numbers is still used today by the algorithms used by GPSs and electromagnetic signals?
What two sets of brothers working independently of each other came up with the exact same new formula that allows for the calculation of pi to 4 billion decimal places?
Who holds the record for reciting the most digits of pi?
What is the pi paradox?
What is some fun you can have with pi?
What are some pi jokes?
If you want to get yourself and/or some youngsters excited about pi, get this book! I recommend it as a way for mathletes and non-math people alike, young and old, to learn why pi is a big deal. The fun illustrations and clear text make pi more accessible to everyone around the ages of about 12 and up.
Another review of the book is here on the Redeemed Reader’s website.
If you want a fun game to play for Pi Day, go here,
If you want some pie-themed picture books, go here. .
Finally, if you want more pi related stuff, go to piday.org.
Happy Pi Day! Eat some circle-themed foods (pies of course, sliced oranges, any fruit or veggie sliced in circles, pizza, peas, etc.) tomorrow and read a book or two about pi!
Credit for pie images above and below: Humble Pie cookbook by Ali Eisenach from amazon.com (affiliate link)
P.S. A gorgeous cookbook devoted to pies is below, written by a friend of a friend. Get it from amazon here. (affiliate link)
Did you know? On this day in 1963, the committee that chose the annual Newbery Award announced that Madeleine L’Engle had been awarded the Newbery for A Wrinkle In Time.
The New York Times published the following news about this event:
“A housewife and an artist today won the nation’s top awards for the most distinguished children’s book published in 1962.” (I’m not sure why it says awards, plural. Maybe it’s a typo. I got the quote from this book, p. 72)
Can you imagine the NYT using that word “housewife” today? Nope, neither can I, LOL.
Listen to Madeleine’s acceptance speech here on this page, scroll down to the bottom to where it says, “Madeleine’s 1963 Newbery Award Acceptance Speech ‘The Expanding Universe.’ “
I’ve been thinking of this book because last week in RootsTech, one of the keynote speakers, Tara Roberts, mentioned that A Wrinkle in Time was her favorite book as a child. She remembers reading it under the covers with a flashlight before falling asleep. See her presentation start in the video below at about the 1 hour, 55 minute mark. She said she fantasized about having Mrs. Whatsit knock on her window at night.
I would never fantasize about such a thing, it sounds downright creepy to me, but I am inspired by Tara Roberts’ passion for diving to find historical treasures, and Madeleine’s L’Engle’s persistence in getting AWIT published. She had been rejected over 20 times before finding a publisher. Now it’s a beloved children’s classic the world over. Just goes to show publishers don’t always know they are turning away a future treasured bestseller! Hmm…I wonder how that applies to each of our lives?
I much prefer Ms. L’Engle’s non-fantasy series, about the Austin family. I thought these books came out much later after AWIT. I was surprised to see on her website that she published the first book of the series, before AWIT, in 1960. I remember reading at least one of them in jr. high. Now they are all on my TBR list! I think they are loosely based on her own family life.
How fitting that that the book AWIT was mentioned last week at RootsTech, as Ms. L’Engle’s legacy has inspired her granddaughter to write a book about Ms. L’Engle’s life, as shown below.
Image Credit: amazon.com (disclaimer: I get a small commission if you purchase the book through that affiliate link)
The theatrical movie based on the book came out over 5 years ago, with Oprah as one of the eccentric old ladies. I never watched it as I heard from my friend Olivia that it’s one of the rare exceptions where the book is better than the movie. What do you think? Please comment below if you have an opinion on that.
Before that movie, a made for TV came out in 2004. It’s over here. I haven’t seen that one either. I’m wondering if this one of the times where I will just never watch a movie about it because I like the way the images in my mind are from reading the book and don’t want to mess with them with a movie.
Above is the book cover I remember from my childhood. Doesn’t it just reverberate with ’60s vibes? It brings back so many memories. I think of a cold winter in upstate New York, being in second grade, the winter of 1979, hearing my mom read the book aloud for a bedtime story, mostly to my older brother who was in fifth grade. I think I was just listening in, because he picked the book. I want to say that we were all huddled under blankets being cozy in our bedrooms upstairs in a two-story drafty house, but I actually don’t remember that part, it just sounds fun, LOL. I do remember wondering why the book had so many weird terms like tesseract and mitochondria. Maybe this book is what inspired my older brother to become a scientist? I don’t think I stuck it out listening to the whole thing, like my brother did. I much more preferred my mom’s choice of Little Women, which she read aloud in the same home, this time to my sisters and me.
I’m grateful for a mom who read to me (cue the poem “The Reading Mother”). I never read this book aloud to my children personally as I thought it was weird. We might have tried it in Audible with an Audible narrator in AZ when the movie came out, but I don’t even know if we finished it. But hey, if Sarah Mackenzie recommends it, as she does, see below, I might give it a go with the grandchildren in the next ten years. I did read the book on my own in jr. high as well as the sequel, A Swiftly Tilting Planet. I liked the battles of good vs. evil in the books, but still, I thought they were weird.
My dad reading aloud to my nieces.
Speaking of reading aloud, if there’s one easy thing you want for making memories with your children, read aloud to them. You’ll make memories, build their brains, and inspire them to want to read on their own, which is the biggest factor in creating lifelong learners and leaders. Ms. L’Engle’s books are a great choice for reading aloud, if you love fantasy. Do her AWIT series if you have fantasy lovers, and do the Austin series for the realists, or try expanding your children’s tastes by mixing it up. Reading the book in the graphic novel format might engage readers who otherwise wouldn’t be interested.
Here’s one of my favorite homeschooling podcasters, Sarah Mackenize, sharing about how to read aloud AWIT with your family.
Bonus Feature: Madeleine L’Engle delivered the commencement address at BYU Spring of 1999. You can read an excerpt from the speech here. I have a vague memory of being at this event in person. I’m thinking it must be because my youngest sister Emily graduated from BYU at that time and I attended the ceremony. I wish I could remember more about the event, like any more of the stories Ms. L’Engle shared, or what she was wearing, or did fans swarm around her afterwards asking for autographs, but sadly, I don’t. This was before the days of a camera in every pocket, and before the days where I took my commonplace book/journal with me everywhere, taking notes. I’ll just have to be comforted with reading what she shared in that link I just mentioned.
Want more about the magic of reading aloud? Go here, here, and here
Plus: my website full of read aloud suggestions according to seasons and holidays is described here, with a link.
It’s been a few weeks since I shared the hand of God in my life lately. So here is a recap of the blessings, tender mercies and mini-miracles in my life since I last shared, in February, over here. (Then some other posts about the hand of God in my life are here, here, and here.)
-I got my St. Patrick’s Day and Easter decorations up, including my Easter books. (You can see all the rest of them here, and get an Easter picture book list there as well.) These all just make me so happy! I found the St. Patty’s sign shown above, which is actually a table runner, in my thrift haul last August. I’ve been saving it to use in March, and now the time is here! I know it could use some ironing but oh well, it’s probably not going to happen, LOL.
My college-attending son made the wreath above and gave it to me. I love that he is so into crafts! This is the second wreath he has given to me. He likes to make them as part of a date with a girl.
-We fasted and prayed for snow and rain on Fast Sunday of February, after hearing one of our local church leaders in January tell us that so far, we were having the driest winter on record for Utah. Ever since then, we have had some rain, and a tiny bit of snow.
-Because of the rain, I looked for my umbrellas. I have two, and they were both lost. So I walked in the rain with a scarf wrapped around my head one rainy day. Just in the past two weeks, I found both lost umbrellas! I also found another umbrella at the Provo Deseret Industries, for only $2. I will put that one in the car and keep it there. Then the other two I will keep in the same spot with my gloves, instead of the other place where I had put one where it got buried under other stuff. That way I will never be without, even if I forget to take one to the car.
-My married daughter and her husband and three little boys moved to live within 10 minutes of me in the same city. When I think of how they lived two states away, in northern CA, over four years ago, and now they live less than 10 minutes away, I marvel at the miracle! I never thought such a thing would happen for them to live within the same city as I do, and now they do! Look at the cute fake little apple tree above that my daughter found at the Provo Deseret Industries (DI) to grace her new porch. So darling!
-My husband and I got to go see the new movie Solo Mio with Kevin James as the lead. Jonathan Roumie (Jesus in The Chosen) plays a supporting character. It is weird to see him in a comedic role. My sister-in-law gave me a Cinemark movie gift card for my birthday last fall. I’m so happy that a super romantic, clean movie came out for us to use with the gift card. It was such a fun movie with two bonus surprise cast members. I won’t say who they are. Go see it if you want a feel good, romantic movie for date night, with two cherries on top as surprises!
-I have been badly in need of a dental visit as it has been about 8 years since I last saw a dentist. Ever since we moved to Utah five years ago, we haven’t had dental insurance and can’t afford a regular visit by paying the costs of a visit out-of-pocket. I didn’t even pray about it, I just had a silent wish in my heart that somehow I could see a dentist. Then in my neighborhood/church congregation email group, one of my friends sent out a message. She said that anybody could sign up for a dental exam and cleaning for only $25 through the Utah College of Dental Hygienists. I can afford $25! The trade-off for the low cost is that it takes a long time to get this all done, as students of the UCDH have to have every step reviewed by supervisors, but I have more time than money so it was worth it. I so want to be figure out how to do dental cleaning at home beyond daily brushing and flossing. I’m hoping the above book will help. If anyone knows how it aligns with Weston A. Price teachings, please comment in the comments below.
-Elder Cook’s BYU Devotional last week. He talked about how we are entering the AI Age. Because we are entering that age, it is more important than ever to cultivate the Holy Spirit as our guide. I will be revisiting this speech. It’s so good!
-RootsTech 2026! I love watching this every year online. My preview is here, and a recap will be coming soon, after I finish watching all the 2026 online stuff. It’s so fascinating to see the good use of AI in making family history research so much easier and faster. Some of my viewing was interrupted by the next listed blessing below. So I will finish watching RT this coming week. I have watched Day 1, which is above. I so enjoyed it! It’s fun to learn about these different people from different walks of life and why their family history means so much to them.
-One of my married sons got to attend the wedding/sealing ceremony of one of his missionary companions this past week, in Mesa AZ. The same companion attended my son’s wedding four years ago. It’s wonderful to see this young man find his wife, hopefully for eternity. Even though it was out of his way, my son chose to travel through UT on his way back home to TX after the wedding. It was so wonderful to see him this past weekend. I picked him up from the airport on Friday morning. It felt like Christmas in March! We had a great time visiting for a little less than two days. My married daughter and her little family came over Saturday morning and we all gathered in my front room/dining room/library. I had my basket of little toys and games for the grandsons, almost all of all which I’ve bought at thrift stores. Usually the grandsons lose interest when we are gathered upstairs as an extended family, even with this basket, and want to go outside or play downstairs within 30 minutes. So one of us has to go off to be with them and supervise, which means missing out on the adult conversation.
I played this magnetic puzzle with my 5 year old grandson. He stayed with it through about ten of the puzzle challenges, with my coaching/asking questions. It is a fun puzzle game that teaches logic. I found it for $2 when thrifting. Image Credit: amazon.com (I receive a small commission if you buy the game through that link)
It was so amazing that this time around, these two little boys stayed upstairs for maybe two hours while we all talked. I played Slamwich with the oldest, Memory with the younger, and Logic Land with the younger. The younger one did the Swish Jr. game on his own and Geobrix. Both tried Sologic on their own and played with the star cubes and the Rubik’s cube. All that happened while my two sons, son-in-law, two daughters, and husband talked, laughed, and connected, sometimes with me. It felt like a piece of heaven. I love seeing my grandsons’ eyes light up when I play games/puzzles with them. It is so delightful! I will always cherish this memory of an ordinary Saturday morning when time stood still while we visited. I drove my son to the airport a few hours later and had a great visit on the drive there as well.
-Speaking of which, the same son and his wife are expecting a baby girl the end of April! Our first granddaughter, after four grandsons!!! I love my four grandboys, and I’m super excited about having a grandgirl! This son and I had such fun shopping for baby girl clothes at the Provo DI while he was in town. I sent him home with three cute pink things, asking him to wrap them up and not let his wife open the package until after the birth. I plan on getting more clothes to bring with me when I come to do Granny Nanny duty after the birth. My son and daughter-in-law are naming her in honor of my deceased mother-in-law, so that’s sweet. See this cute fuzzy pink bathrobe I got for the baby below. I’m squealing in delight, it’s so darling! That’s one of the things I bought for her. I know it won’t fit her for long so I hope they send me photos of her in it before she outgrows it. Totally worth it for only $2!
-My last homeschooling child in the nest and I joined a new-to-us homeschooling co-op, which started up after winter break in February. I’ve actually known about it for over two decades as some of my Utah County homeschooling friends helped start it around 20 years ago. We moved away right when it started otherwise we would have been a part of it for all these years. God had other plans for us as we moved to northern Utah and then Arizona. Then finally back to Utah. Anyway, after leaving a co-op two years ago for various reasons, we have been on the waitlist for this one for two years. At this co-op, I have enjoyed making new friends and connecting with an old one. I’ve also enjoyed that my assignment in the co-op is to be in charge of the children under 12 while their moms are teaching, for one of the class periods. I love bringing picture books, a related craft, and games to play. Over 30 years ago, I met one of the moms at this new co-op when we were young moms with just one baby boy each while we were living in the same apartment complex in Orem UT. Now 30 plus years later, we get to be in the same homeschooling co-op and connect again! Talking to her felt so natural, like we hadn’t ever been apart. I love having kindred spirits and being able to pick up where we last left off like nothing has interrupted the friendship.
-My child I just mentioned is learning to study harder and longer with the two scholar phase classes he just added to his plate. It’s amazing to watch!
-Same child took part in a science fair project. See photos above. His project relates to drumming, which is his passion. I’m mentoring Pyramid Project, which is a class that LEMI, a homeschooling curriculum company, trains parents in how to teach/mentor the class. One of the requirements for earning the PP award is to participate in a science fair. Since we only have three students in my class, including my son, I knew it wouldn’t be very fun to have a science fair with just three students. I felt so blessed that at the beginning of January, I found out about a Utah County Homeschoolers’ Science Fair. Two of the moms in our new homeschooling co-op organized it. This was positively Providential! My son didn’t really want to do the science fair at first. I kept encouraging him, and pushed him a little to do it. He stepped up to the plate and took over and finally owned it. He passed at that level/the homeschool county fair and got invited to do the Central Utah STEM Fair at BYU on March 19. I’m excited about this all because it helps opens his mind up to a whole new level of intellectual challenges. I’m excited to go see the fair as well and have both of our visions expanded as to what teenagers can do with science. Cash prizes totaling $75K will be awarded!
-I have been reading this book above, about the provenance of the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ. I am loving it so far! It is so fascinating! This is a great way to lead up to celebrating the Book of Mormon’s birthday on March 26th.
-I went to the Provo DI in hopes of finding a few things, on the trip with my son from TX, and found some of them! First, some books that are perfect for certain people who I was looking for to give as birthday gifts, and the Qwixx game, which I might give away too (still figuring that one out, as to who will appreciate it the most)
the aforementioned baby girl clothes, some Easter/Christian books
Christmas picture/chapter books,
The Christmas Chronicles chapter book, my favorite Christmas classic, which I’ve always wanted for over a decade (we’ve always only ever listened to it), for $2,
Image Credit: walmart.com
and a few more surprises! Like a knock-off Rubik’s cube for $1, some classic Little Golden Books for 75 cents each, and an aqua blue Pioneer Woman Mason jar for $1.50, to be a companion to one I already have that my daughter gave as a birthday gift years ago (I’ve kept it pristine, as it seemed too pretty to use. Now that one with the original straw and lid can strictly be for water, and this new thrifted one can be for other drinks. It’s missing the straw and lid but that’s OK. My husband drilled a hole in a regular canning lid for me and I’m just using a disposable straw)
My thrift haul from the Provo DI from Friday March 6 2026. I was disciplined and didn’t go thrifting for two months while I dejunked my game room/office and basement kitchen.
and last, but not least, a Jane Austen jigsaw puzzle! Only $2! It’s over $20 in amazon. (Please note that this an affiliate link. I receive a small commission if you buy the puzzle from that link.) I just found out that Jane Austen is my 6th cousin 8 times removed, according to FamilySearch! No wonder I feel like having a party for her, every year!
I have been wanting to find a Jane puzzle at a thrift store, and it happened! Truly a magical thrifting moment with my thrifting angels helping and singing over me! The puzzle also has a seek-and-find feature to look for the characters and books shown on the side of the box.
-the next day I went thrifting at the American Fork DI and found one of my intended products, some casual shoes for my son. I noticed last week that his current pair he has are wearing out. These are great replacements. Only $4! Yay! We’ll pop them in the wash and they will be as good as new!
-Something happened in my life in one of my relationships where I felt so incredibly mad, hurt and frustrated. After it happened, I fell to my knees in anger, pain, confusion, bewilderment, frustration and sorrow. I begged God to help me with this situation. After about 20 minutes or so of prayer and meditation and my mind wandering and then going back to prayer and meditation, I felt God directing me with an immediate plan. I felt some peace. Then I acted on the plan. Then the next day, in the morning, I asked God for help again in how to navigate this issue. I wrote down a question I had for God regarding this issue, then I prayed the question, then I read the Book of Mormon with that question in mind. I then felt an answer as I read. I wrote down the answer. I prayed and asked God if that was His answer. I got a confirmation from the Holy Spirit. I then went about the day. This thorny issue came up later in the day with this person. I felt the Holy Ghost put words in my mind as to what to say exactly. I said those exact words. It completely allowed the relationship to turn two corners, and go 180 degrees from where it was going. So I’m extremely grateful for the Holy Ghost guiding me. Those were words from the Holy Ghost, ultimately from Heavenly Father, and not from my own mind. I never would have thought those words on my own. I’m so grateful to know that I can pray to God anytime, anywhere, and that I can receive inspiration from the Holy Ghost to guide me through pitfalls and trials. Life isn’t always a bowl of peaches and cream! With God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost, I am learning to get through life when it feels like rotten fruit. This was definitely a huge blessing, a tender mercy/bordering on a miracle, that I will always remember.
I am just so grateful for my Savior who truly is my rock, my solid foundation, especially when torrential chaos swirls around me, threatening to suck me up. I can always feel peace with a solid foundation under me by praying in His name to my Father in Heaven. Praise the Lord!
As it says in Helaman 5:12 from the Book of Mormon:
RootsTech 2026 starts tomorrow, Thursday 3/5/26! I’m so excited! This is an annual personal tradition for me which fills up my bucket. I always learn a lot from the different classes about family history research and the latest technology available to help me. I learn how to use technology to build my family tree. Thanks to the magic of the internet, I get to do it all from the comfort of my home. I haven’t attended in person yet, so far I’ve just watched the limited selection of classes made available online. That is enough for me for now. The online classes are free. To attend in person costs money. Someday I will attend in person, probably after my youngest has flown the nest and I’m done homeschooling. That will be in two years!
It just makes me sooooo happy as I gather virtually with other people who have gathered in person in Salt Lake City and virtually who also want to discover and honor their family roots. This year’s theme is “Together.” That’s exactly how I feel as I hear the stories of the keynote speakers, see all the cool technology unveiled, and feel that so many other people care as much about their family roots as I do.
What exactly is RootsTech? It’s the biggest annual genealogy conference in the world, showcasing family stories and the latest technology. Sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is attended by thousands of people in person at the Salt Palace Convention Center, as well as thousands of people virtually. This year it is Thursday March 5 through Saturday March 7, 2026.
Watch below to see a preview of RootsTech 2026 from the organizer, Jonathan Wing.
Here is the schedule with links to join online. See the photo below of the keynote speakers. Steve Young! He’s the only one I already know (not personally, of course) but I’m sure they will all be stupendous!
Below is another preview of RootsTech 2026.
I always love the Saturday of RootsTech because it always features an apostle of Jesus Christ with his wife sharing some of their own family history. They share inspiring material to motivate me to learn more about my own family history. It is part of the Family Discovery Day. This year we get to hear from Elder and Sister Rasband. You can watch this on-demand starting Saturday 3/7/26 in Gospel Library here, as well as watch past years, since 2017.
I especially loved the year that President Russell M. Nelson and his wife Wendy shared some family stories using the theme of Scrabble. This was in 2017. Watch below. They each share an amazing story about a deceased family member.
RootsTech content especially geared for LDS temple and family history leadership is over here, dropping at 8 AM on Thursday 3/5/26. It is designed for LDS leaders to help people get engaged in family history and temple work. You can watch past years’ content at the same link.
Here are all my posts about RootsTech from previous years.
The year that Elder Neil L. Andersen introduced the magic of the Puzzilla website has been my favorite presentation. I have relied on Puzzilla ever since to do my research. It’s fantastic! Go here to watch that.
I especially loved RootsTech 2024 that featured a descendant of Dred Scott, Lynne Jackson, as a keynote speaker. I so enjoyed her story of the healing that has taken place in her family as they have reached out to the descendants of Judge Roger Taney.
Watch below to get tips on how to prepare to watch the events online.
Check out all the cool sponsors in the online Expo Hall here. Watch below to see a sneak peek of the technology involved in RootsTech 2026. This is cutting edge stuff, including lots of AI.
You can go here to see past years videos, any time of the year!
The video below shows the global involvement of RootsTech, showing people from all over the world.
Note: actually RootsTech did some sessions today, Wednesday 3/5/26. Go here to see, click on “Full Schedule,” then “online,” and then click on “Wednesday.” RootsTech has so many videos and resources for me to learn from all year round. It’s a fabulous component of my personal mother’s curriculum. I’m being reminded as I blog this that it’s been awhile since I watched a RootsTech video from the archive. After the event, I’ll be more mindful of including RT videos in my personal mother’s curriculum, which changes by the season. (See my Christmas one here and my winter one here.)
I hope all these classes inspire you to learn your family names and stories. This knowledge arms you with love, connection, and angelic power. May you feel angel ancestors around you as you learn these stories and your ancestors’ names, and go forward doing ordinary life. Ever since 2012 when I started doing this work with focus, I have add so much angelic help. This help has brought resources, relationships, comfort, and other blessings into my life. I’m so grateful for it! I can’t imagine life without family history research and temple work. I love it so much.
Credit for Three Images Above: this video over here.
Tree of Life Mothering 