After taking a visible household historical past journey from Hawaii to Eire, these watching the RootsTech Household Discovery Day keynote of Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his spouse, Sister Susan Gong, had been handled to a surprising music video.
Within the video, Irish singer Alex Sharpe of the group Celtic Lady sings the hymn “Religion of Our Fathers” in each Irish Gaelic and English whereas strolling via citadel ruins set within the inexperienced Eire panorama.
The four-minute video flashed to scenes of Hawaii, locations the place Elder and Sister Gong visited, with FamilySearch’s inventive director Jonathan Wing taking part in a piano and Emily Olsen Rust taking part in violin on a seashore.
Sharpe mentioned she was excited and delighted to be concerned within the music video, which was filmed on a windy day final October.
“I felt an actual sense of gratitude for many who have gone on earlier than, and likewise these right here in Eire who could also be not members of the Church however who all have a good looking religion in Christ,” she mentioned in an interview with the Church Information.
The lyrics had been translated into Irish Gaelic by native Latter-day Saint Coleman Curran and his daughter, who attend an area department and research the language. Sharpe had discovered some Gaelic in class however mentioned she isn’t fluent. She did her greatest to honor the language.
“It was particular; notably I favored that it was within the first verse as a result of I believe it’s actually type of grounded in that deep historical past,” Sharpe mentioned. “It honored the Irish individuals. … It felt like a stunning tribute to those that fought for the liberty of nation as properly and for his or her religion and to protect the language.”
Singer Alex Sharpe sings at an occasion in 2022.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Sharpe hopes the video will encourage individuals to need to know extra about their household heritage.
“I hope that it awakens a need in individuals to attach with household current and previous,” she mentioned. “I believe all of us have a longing to attach with the place we got here from. It fills in lacking items typically and helps us make sense of ‘Oh, that’s why I’d do that or that’s the place I bought that.’ I believe we are able to acquire power and a stronger connection to all of our story, not simply right here and now however with the story that has been earlier than.”
