Washington » LDS Church apostle Dallin Oaks presented first lady Michelle Obama with a copy of her family's genealogy during a short visit to the White House on Wednesday.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat and devout Mormon, arranged the meeting and accompanied Oaks and other LDS officials to a sit-down with Mrs. Obama, where she received a copy her family's ancestral history.
Reid, Oaks and LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson met with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office last July and presented him with a copy of his family's genealogy.
"This documentation of their lineage will be cherished and passed on for future generations," Reid said in a statement. "I am honored that the church can play a part in documenting the history of the first family."
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is headquartered in Salt Lake City and claims 13.5 million adherents worldwide, referred all questions to the White House, which said the meeting was a "private visit" and declined to release any more details.
LDS officials have made a tradition of presenting presidents with their genealogical breakdowns.
Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush got copies of their records from the church, which urges its members to research their ancestry as a way to ensure deceased relatives have an option to embrace the faith in the afterlife.
Oaks and Reid were joined by Elder Ralph W. Hardy Jr., of the church's Fifth Quorum of the Seventy; Kristen M. McMain Oaks, Dallin Oaks' wife; Julie B. Beck, Relief Society general president; her husband, Ramon P. Beck, and David Rencher, chief genealogical officer of the FamilySearch Department.
Oaks is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and chairman of the faith's genealogical committee.
Michelle Obama paid a courtesy visit to two LDS apostles --- M. Russell Ballard and Quentin L. Cook -- in Salt Lake City in February 2008, while she was campaigning for then-candidate Barack Obama.
