The following is excerpted from the Church News. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
In June 2023, then 95-year-old President M. Russell Ballard climbed the stairs of Carthage Jail, in Carthage, Illinois, and sat in the room where his great-great grandfather Hyrum Smith, and great-great-granduncle Joseph Smith, were martyred in 1844.
“This is a very tender place to be,” he said on that summer afternoon. “For me, and for all who have the privilege of coming and visiting this place where two of the greatest men that ever lived lost their lives. When you are in this room, in a lot of ways, I think we are on sacred ground.”
The meaningful visit to Carthage Jail was shown as part of a never-before-seen video presentation featuring the late President Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at RootsTech’s Family Discovery Day on Saturday, March 2. The film was recorded at various Church history sites, including Kirtland, Ohio, and Nauvoo and Carthage, Illinois, prior to his death on Nov. 12, 2023.
Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles introduced the Family Discovery Day video.
President Ballard and Family Discovery Day
Over the last several years, President Ballard — as acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles — had assigned an Apostle to present at Family Discovery Day.
As President Ballard considered the request for RootsTech 2024, Jen Allen, director of RootsTech, said she was surprised when President Ballard asked if he could do it.
“We thought, ‘Oh, well, we didn’t even know that was an option. Yes, of course, we would love to film you and capture your story,’” she told the Church News.
To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
