iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

When you're a genealogist... at Rootstech... and LDS leaders say it's unrealistic to expect members to do their own family history research, but it's okay, because we can use AI to scrape info from compiled genealogies and have it put together the tree for us.

media.tenor.com

a man is covering his face with his hand and saying `` seriously '' .

Alt: a man is covering his face with his hand and saying "seriously."

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Joseph Stuart @jstuart.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

There’s a gofundme to help pay for funeral and headstone costs, keeping her blog alive and functional, and to support the Ardis E. Parshall Award at the Mormon History Association. Consider donating? www.gofundme.com/f/honor-ardi...

gofundme.com

Donate to Honor Ardis Parshall by Preserving Her Life’s Work, organized by Joseph Stuart

Ardis E. Parshall spent her life lifting people whose stories had bee… Joseph Stuart needs your support for Honor Ardis Parshall by Preserving Her Life’s Work

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

I don't understand how historians keep cool discoveries under wraps. A couple days ago I found out that the real death date for Maria Lawrence (an important figure in Mormon history) was November 1849 instead of the long-believed 1847! It was mentioned in an 1850 letter.

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

I'm 80 miles away from Evanston, WY, and I felt this. 😳

Earthquake map showing 4.7 magnitude earthquake occurred in Evanston, WY, on 22 Jan 2026.

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

Pleasant surprises from LDS #generalconference : -Oaks stating which parts were planned prior to Nelson's passing vs which were changed (takes out guess work). -Three African-*American* speakers. Traci Browning is always good, but she talked about something I love (primary songs). 1/

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

Sunstone trivia night fun at the Gilgal Gardens. 😁

Sunstone trivia team standing by the Joseph Smith sphinx at Gilgal Gardens.

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

I'm giving a presentation on LDS polygamy truther claims in two days. I'm excited about new developments, but I *really* need the breaking news on the subject to stop so I can finish this thing before Friday morning. newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/book...

newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org

Learn More About Book of Mormon Translation, Joseph Smith and Plural Marriage

The latest round of simple answers to important questions about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is now available.

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🐝🐍The Grand Scoobah🔮🧙‍♀️ @tokensandsigns.org · 30/07/2025

Come to #Sunstone and learn from some of the brightest our community has to offer, such as @maclements.bsky.social in her presentation on responsible engagement with polygamy truther arguments. Then stay for our 50th anniversary closing banquet. It's going to be a blast!

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

My brain when I'm investigating Mormon history rabbit holes, and the author admits we don't have many biographical details about an individual: "Challenge accepted!"

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

Nothing like finishing up a conference with a session devoted to my twin interests of genealogy and Mormon history. Thanks to @ccjones.bsky.social and @jstuart.bsky.social for a fantastic MHA session with many members of the BYU family history program yesterday!

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

I saw this while googling the other day. @hendrixkomoto.bsky.social - a new data point for your research on Ina Coolbrith.

AI overview incorrectly answering the question "Did Joseph Smith marry a mother and daughter?" Response states erroneously that (1) Ina Coolbrith was a daughter of Patty Sessions, (2) Ina Coolbrith married Joseph Smith, and (3) Ina Coolbrith was the mother of Ina Coolbrith.

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Got questions about Mormon History? Go check out 4 awesome historians (also 4 awesome people!) doing an AMA on the r/askhistorians subreddit on Tuesday, May 13th! @benjaminepark.bsky.social @lhp.bsky.social

Advertisement for AMA on r/askhistorians with 4 Mormon Historians on May 13th: Ben Park, Bryan Buchanan, Lindsay Hansen-Park, and Todd Compton.

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

Had a positive experience at the inaugural Journal of Mormon Polygamy conference this weekend. I used a fun research project as a case study to present techniques for historical (& genealogical) research. Also got to geek out with Mormon history & blogging friends, like @gospeltangents.bsky.social

Photo of four individuals at Journal of Mormon Polygamy conference.

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Dan Lamothe @danlamothe.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

NEW: Among the work jammed up by the Trump administration's freeze on government purchase cards is genealogy research that the Army sees as essential to identify the remains of soldiers who went missing in combat. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

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Jan Murphy @packrat74.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

#genealogy Image alt-text: screenhot of a post by Rachel Maddow Their job is to identify American soldiers killed in combat and Trump has told them to stand down and stop their work. "Forensic genealogists who help identify US soldiers killed in combat were told to pause their efforts ..."

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

This is my first time at the BYU Family History Technology Workshop. (Here to watch my son give a short presentation). Lots of geeking out about family history, which is awesome, but have to admit that a lot of the tech-speak is over my head.

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

I'm having a really hard time being open to the idea of my college kids taking out student loans when we are still paying off my husband's student loans.

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

Fun Mormon History tangent: As a kid, I was interested in the White Horse Prophecy because it mentioned my ancestor, Theodore Turley. Supposedly, Joseph Smith gave the prophecy in early 1843 while chatting outside his house with Theodore Turley and Edwin Rushton. 1/

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

Use of AI in Genealogy vs History: The LDS Church jumped on emerging tech to help democratize genealogy in the late 20th century. Cheap genetic testing gave further advanced tools to the general populace in the early 21st century. The field of genealogy is dominated by companies hawking tech... 1/

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

Nothing fills me with more hope for the future than my Gen Z kids expressing peak teenage disdain towards older family members who are unable to determine if an image or search engine result was created by AI.

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 06/01/2025

Both my husband and I had overwhelmingly positive experiences with our undergrad at BYU. That being said, I'm glad none of my kids (high school age and up) have expressed any desire to attend BYU.

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

A couple months ago, our family organization decided to do a children's book about our common ancestor, Theodore Turley. One question arose in the meeting, "Do we mention polygamy?" Given that he had children with 4 of his 5 wives (and this is a book for his descendants), several argued, "Yes!" 1/

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Fun fact: Jell-O is such an iconic food for Utahns that we had commemorative pins depicting a bowl of green Jell-O when Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Photo of a commemorative pin produced for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake featuring a bowl of green Jell-O.

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 11/11/2024

Finished watching Marvel's Echo series. The plot in this and other shows (Coco, Black Panther, etc.) requires hard truths being discovered/acknowledged before family healing can occur. That's something a lot of Latter-day Saints miss. We use family history to push ideology and miss deeper benefits.

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 02/11/2024

When you finally determine that the 19th century handwriting says "Mrs. Nesbot" and, days later, you still have Buzz Lightyear's deranged laughter running through your head...

Scene from 1995 movie Toy Story. Buzz Lightyear talking to Woody: "Don't you get it? You see the hat? I AM MRS. NESBITT!"

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 01/11/2024

If a woman feels a need to deceive her spouse because she's afraid/unwilling to deal with the fallout of appearing "disobedient," she's got bigger problems than an election. Also, stop giving freebies to those who already want to repeal the 19th. "He'll never know" isn't as funny as you think.

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 18/10/2024

Just a friendly reminder to never blindly accept information found on FamilySearch's Family Tree. It's like Wikipedia with WAY less editorial control. It's a super helpful resource, but ALWAYS locate historical records to verify whatever data you plan to use in your projects. Happy researching!

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 01/06/2024

Chad Daybell received the death penalty today. I highly recommend listening to the victim impact statements from the sentencing phase yesterday. They are from family members of the murder victims JJ (age 7), Tylee (age 17), and Tammy (age 49). Incredibly powerful.

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 16/05/2024

My first published Mormon history essay! It's about three sisters who married one of my ancestors, exploring how individual life experiences likely factored into their perspectives on polygamy. I've been researching these ladies (Eliza Clift, Mary Clift, & Sarah E. Clift) for about 10 years.

Book titled "Secret Covenants: New Insights on Early Mormon Polygamy" edited by Cheryl L. Bruno laid over second book opened to Chapter 9.

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 23/11/2023

Happy Turkey Day! 🦃 I wrote an update to the Tim Ballard saga for your holiday pleasure. wheatandtares.org/2023/11/23/t...

wheatandtares.org

The Tim Ballard Saga: A Thanksgiving Update

It's a special Thanksgiving update to the Tim Ballard saga!

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 08/10/2023

Current events remind me of fall 2000 at the BYU Jerusalem Center shortly after the Second Intifada began. A reporter from BYU's Daily Universe called my room and interviewed us after some riots in Jerusalem. We later learned that BYU admin didn't want students giving statements to reporters. LOL.

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Mary Ann Clements @maclements.bsky.social · 26/09/2023

All of Tim Ballard's books were removed from Deseret Book's website. They've taken down his author page at Covenant Covenant Communications as well. His author page is still up at Shadow Mountain, though I anticipate that will be removed shortly. shadowmountain.com/author-book/...

shadowmountain.com

Timothy Ballard - Shadow Mountain Publishing

Timothy Ballard recieved an MA (summa cum laude) in international politics from the Monterey Institute of International studies. He has worked for the Central Intelligence Agency and as a special ag...

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