‘You Can Help God Unite Families,’ General Officers Tell Youth During RootsTech

When Primary General President Susan H. Porter was just 11 years old, she posed for a photo with her beloved 94-year-old great-grandmother, Oma. Sadly, her great-grandmother died two years later, during a period when President Porter lived over 2,000 miles from the closest temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

President Porter’s first opportunity to perform baptisms for the dead in a house of the Lord didn’t come until years later when she attended college in Utah. Fittingly, the first person she was baptized for was her great-grandmother.

“Heavenly Father and Jesus trusted me, a young girl, to offer her the very sacred gift of baptism. If she accepted that gift, it would open the gate for her to obtain eternal life. Heavenly Father has invited each of you to help in His great work of opening that gate for your family members,” President Porter said.

“Think for a moment — is there someone in your family who has died without receiving baptism that you would like to be baptized for?"

President Porter shared the tender experience with more than 4,600 people at the first Global Youth Activity, an event for youth ages 11 and 12 who are newly attending the temple and their leaders, held at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, March 5.

The event was organized as part of RootsTech 2025, an online global family history gathering with an in-person experience in Salt Lake City, Utah, March 6-8.

President Porter was joined by Brother Bradley R. Wilcox, First Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency.

The Global Youth Activity was recorded and made available for on-demand viewing starting March 6. Youth groups are invited to watch the program as part of their weekly Young Women and Aaronic Priesthood activities.

The program featured entertainment by singer and Strive to Be artist Ysabelle Cuevas and The Sandou Family, a trio that performed a Russian bar act and featured 11-year-old Kaylie Sandou demonstrating her contortionist skills.

‘Help God Unite Families’

For several minutes, the audience was mesmerized as Cassie Sandou, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, performed multiple acrobatic flips, always landing gracefully on a narrow pole held by her husband, Konstantin Sandou, and brother-in-law, Sergei Sandou. The trio was followed by Konstantin and Cassie’s 11-year-old daughter, Kaylie Sandou, who wowed the crowd with her ability to bend her body in various ways.

Afterward, Brother Wilcox asked Kaylie Sandou how she felt after performing baptisms and confirmations in the temple for her paternal grandmother.

“I felt really peaceful,” she said.

Turning back to the audience, Brother Wilcox said: “Now you may not be able to twist and turn like that young lady ... but she went to the temple, and that is something you can do. She felt peaceful and happy, and that is something you can feel as well.”

Brother Wilcox said that all houses of the Lord are a blessing, but the experience becomes more special when individuals take the name of an ancestor to baptisms and confirmations.

“Baptism is entering a covenant relationship with God and Jesus Christ. When you get baptized in the temple for your ancestors, you are not only giving those people a chance to repent and be cleansed but also a chance to have a special covenant relationship with God and Jesus Christ,” he said.

When the ancestor chooses to accept the ordinance, Brother Wilcox said they welcome more of God and Jesus Christ’s influence, grace and power into their lives.

“When that happens, your ancestors will be changed forever,” he said. “You can help that happen. You can make a difference. You can help God unite families — past, present and future — forever.”

Pretending to be a sixth-grade school teacher, Brother Wilcox tested the youth with three questions — after giving them the answers.

• “Why should we do family history? Temples.
• “What can we do in temples? Baptisms for our ancestors.
• “What is so important about baptism? Covenants.
  “I testify that temples matter. Baptisms for our ancestors matter. Covenants matter. Most of all, Jesus Christ matters, and you matter.” —Brother Bradley R. Wilcox

“You passed the test,” he said. “I testify that temples matter. Baptisms for our ancestors matter. Covenants matter. Most of all, Jesus Christ matters, and you matter.”

‘The World Needs Your Light’

After telling about her first temple experience, President Porter invited the youth to create an account on FamilySearch.org, the Church’s website for temple and family history, and explained Ordinances Ready, a FamilySearch tool that quickly searches a member’s family tree and to find an ancestor for whom ordinance work can be performed.

“It’s an easy way to put you on your way to the temple,” she said.

Attendees found tiny flashlights on their seats as they arrived. President Porter invited everyone to turn them on, filling the room with light. She said one tiny light cuts through the darkness, but all the lights together are “spectacular.”

“Each of you has a light inside of you — the light of Christ. Your light matters,” President Porter said. “You can bring the Savior’s light to your family and friends as you live the covenants you made when you were baptized. ... When we put all of our lights together, it’s like a ray of sunshine that leads others to Christ.”

“Brothers and sisters, friends, this world needs your light. The people who have already lived and died — your ancestors — need you to hold up the Savior’s light. As you perform sacred ordinances for them, you are offering them the opportunity to have more of the light of Christ."