SALT LAKE CITY — Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints met with 12 governors on Thursday, July 11, at the Grand America Hotel. The meeting with Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Elder Paul V. Johnson of the Quorum of the Seventy followed an invitation by the National Governors Association.
During his remarks, Elder Stevenson underscored the importance of community service, of families and of family history.
The Church leaders then presented the 12 governors — including the chair of the National Governors Association, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, and vice-chair, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis — with individual family pedigree charts.
Elder Stevenson said, “Family history and genealogy and the ability to be able to find our roots… strengthens communities and societies and states in a nation.”
Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, and Elder Paul V. Johnson of the Presidency of the Seventy during the National Governors Association meeting in which 12 governors received a pedigree chart in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Thursday, July 11, 2024.
Elder Johnson gave an overview of the family history documents and invited the governors to explore their family histories and utilize resources available to everyone, including local family history libraries’ online tools.
At the conclusion of the presentation, Delaware Gov. John Carney thanked the Church leaders for the gift. He said that he’d received some extraordinary gifts while attending the conference each year, but this is really special.