March 8th, 2025, 3:34pm
When it comes to managing a family of nine, working on family history jobs rarely reaches the top of the “to-do list,” especially when it comes to easily replacing it with “Doomscrolling” on social media.
Since 2011, Rootstech’s debut was inspired by Shelly Bowers, a Latter-day Saint from Queen Creek, Arizona, to find ways to value family history in her life despite her busy lifestyle.
“I love family ideas and I’m really excited to find someone that has something to do with me, so I had a really cool temple experience,” she said.
The first RootStech conference forced Bowers to give back to her ancestors, and she quickly found a more orthodox and time-efficient way.
She downloaded the family tree app over the phone. If you want to click on social media, open the app, click on “Tasks” to see if you need to attach the record to your ancestor’s name. If she doesn’t know or doesn’t know, she simply skips the task.
“You’ll be surprised at how quickly you can get through it. There’s a lot of information out there.”
This feature allows users like Bowers to see family tree people in just a few seconds.
“Someone else is already doing really hard work. I just compare,” she explained.
Joe Price, a professor of economics at Brigham Young University and director of the BYU Record Linking Lab, explained in his Roostech 2025 class, “using microtasks that include all ages in family history.”
“For beginners, PowerLinker is the best. These are very simple tips. We light it with color and see what you should focus on, and we also do that for the three people trying the tips, reducing the chances of you doing some damage to the tree.”
Price also suggested another feature, Geo gives a hint.
“What I like about it is the ability to get customized tips based on your last name or location. And for people, I think it’s really cool to see every dot on a map. So, when you enter your last name, you might be surprised that some of the dots in other countries weren’t thinking about it.”
As some voices compete for attention in the modern world, family history provides a quiet and powerful spiritual experience for those seeking it.
“It’s the easiest way to bring spirits to the moment, along with prayer and reading the Bible,” Price said. “I love the fact that every time I do family history I feel the spirit of Elijah, the Holy Spirit, and I love using it as a form of temptation and protection in my life against depression.”
For Bowers, replacing social media with family history work helped her feel more connected to her ancestors. “For me, the gospel is all about family, and when I’m doing something that makes me feel like I’m loving and serving my family, what I’m doing is important to our family, and that can give me a purpose,” she said. “It makes me feel like I’m in this place.
“Even this little thing gives me the opportunity to serve, so I feel more of God’s love for me.”
