AJ Jacobs and the Choir Sing I Think The World Is Glorious
Imagine putting together the world’s largest family reunion in history—not for the Osmond’s or the Duggar’s, but a bigger, international family reunion. On June 6, 2015, author, journalist and founder of Global Family Reunion, A.J. Jacobs is determined to do just that. He is currently building a family tree that connects the entire world. According to globalfamilyreunion.com, the reunion will be “An event like no other. The biggest, most inclusive and most fascinating family reunion in history.” The best part is, all 7 billion members of the human family are invited to the reunion, with all proceeds going directly to benefit Alzheimer’s. Jacobs said, "Once we realize we're all related….we can solve the big problems, like Alzheimer's."
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir are the latest “Cousins” in a string of notable people to pose with the “I Am A Cousin” sign, which includes George H.W. Bush, John Legend and Daniel Radcliffe. Supersize Me filmmaker, Morgan Spurlock, will produce a documentary about the Global Family Reunion.
(The Choir and Orchestra pose with "I Am A Cousin" Signs)
Jacobs hopes that putting together a global family tree will help provide scientists with data on history and disease inheritance. He also hopes the world can become a kinder place where people will feel warmer toward each other if they knew they were related. In a recent New York Times article he wrote, “We tend to put our family’s well-being above that of society’s. Perhaps the reality of One Big Family will tip the balance toward the good.” To help discover family connections throughout the world, Jacobs has teamed up with FamilySearch.org, RootsTech and other genealogy-related organizations.
Jacobs will be a keynote speaker at the 5th annual RootsTech Conference in Salt Lake City, UT., on Saturday, February 14. Other notable speakers and guests include former first lady, Laura W. Bush and her daughter Jenna Bush Hager, as well as past Choir guest artists Donny Osmond and David Archuleta.
The video below shows the Choir and Jacobs singing, “I Think the World is Glorious," which was filmed during a Choir and Orchestra rehearsal.