Latter-day Saint Life

100 Changes in the Church in the Last 100 Years

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Inside the rich history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, changes in policy, practice, and place are not unfamiliar. Updates from the First Presidency and other Church executives, through both revelation and evaluation, are frequently made, and while some changes are more impactful than others, all adjustments are felt by the members involved. Listed below are 100 changes the Church has made over the last 100 years. This list does not include every change the Church has made since 1919, nor does the list act as a ranking system in any way.

Temple Changes

1. At the end of 1919, there were five operating temples. At the time of this article, 166 temples are operating around the world.

2. The language of the endowment has changed over time. Significant changes took place between 1919 to 1927, in 1936, throughout the 1960s, the 1970s, and in 1990 and 2019.

3. The endowment session was presented in a language other than English for the first time—it was presented in Spanish in Arizona. (1945)

4. Divorced, endowed members, and single men over 30 were given an opportunity to serve as temple ordinance workers. (2017)

5. Garments with sleeves extending to the elbow and knees, rather than the wrist and ankles, became available for everyday use. (1923)

6. Full-body garments were no longer required for temple worship. (1975)

7. Two-piece garments became available during the 1970s. Later adjustments were made to temple garment styles, the most recent in 2019.

8. Automated temple recording systems were first introduced in the Salt Lake Temple. Prior to this technology, temple workers had to type, proofread, check, file, and report each name, shipping them and storing them as well. (1981)

9. Priests could now baptize and witness baptisms in the temple. (2017)

10. Endowed members of the Church, including women, could now serve as a witness to sealing ordinances, living and proxy. (2019)

11. Proxy baptisms for deceased persons could now be witnessed by anyone holding a current temple recommend, including a limited-use temple recommend. (2019)

12. A civil marriage no longer necessitated a year-long waiting period for a couple to be sealed in a temple. (2019)

13. The first temple was dedicated outside the United States, the Cardston Alberta Temple. (1923)

14. The first temple in Europe was dedicated, the Bern Switzerland Temple. (1955)

15. The Hamilton New Zealand Temple became the first temple dedicated in the Pacific area and the Southern Hemisphere. (1955)

16. The São Paulo Brazil Temple became the first temple built and dedicated in South America. (1975)

17. The Tokyo Japan Temple became the first temple built and dedicated in Asia. (1975)

18. The Johannesburg South Africa Temple became the first temple built and dedicated in Africa. (1981)

19. President Gordon B. Hinckley announced the building of smaller temples to help spread temples throughout the world. (1997)

Missionary Changes

20. The mission length for elders changed from 24 months to 18 months. (1982)

21. After considering feedback, the First Presidency announced that elders would serve for 24 months once again.  (1985)

22. The missionary age changed for both elders and sisters, with elders being able to serve at 18 and sisters at 19. (2013)

23. The role of Sister Training Leaders was created. (2013)

24. The first scripted missionary lessons were introduced and were called “A Systematic Program for Teaching the Gospel.” (1953)

25. These scripted missionary lessons were later revised as “A Uniform System for Teaching Investigators” in 1961. They were revised again in 1973 and 1986.

26. New missionary lessons and Preach My Gospel were released, with any new updates available online. (2004, 2019)

27. The Salt Lake Missionary Home was created in 1925 and was subsequently shut down in 1978.

28. The Provo Missionary Training Center was built and replaced the operations of the Salt Lake Mission Home in 1978.

29. Mission calls began to be delivered electronically. (2018)

30. Missionaries were allowed to speak to family members every preparation day over the phone or video chat instead of just twice a year. (2019)

31. It was announced that elders don’t have to wear a suit at all times. (2013)

32. Some hats and sunglasses were permitted for missionaries. (2016)

33. Sisters could now wear slacks. (2018)

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Sunday Changes

34. A Sabbath day schedule was announced that had up to two hours of Sunday School, which included scriptural and hymnal recitations, with sacrament meeting later in the day. (1980)

35. Non-student single adult wards were created. (1982)

36. Elders quorum presidencies were created in every ward, no matter the number of elders. (1974)

37. Stake presidents were given authority to ordain and set apart seventies within their stakes, after First Council of the Seventy approval. (1974)

38. Due to increased meeting attendance seen in a number of pilot programs, a church-wide adoption of the three-hour block was made. (1980)

39. Primary and Relief Society were now held on Sundays instead of during the weekday. (1980)

40. Ward and stake prayer circles were eliminated. (1978)

41. High priests began meeting in elder quorums on Sundays instead of separate high priest groups. (2018)

42. The three-hour church block was changed to two hours. (2018)

43. The Church began incorporating individual sacrament cups for members to drink from instead of one communal cup. (1919)

Name Changes

44. The name Sunday School became official. Before then, it was called the Deseret Sunday School Union. (1971)

45. The Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Association and Young Women’s Mutual Improvement Association went from two organizations to one, called Aaronic Priesthood MIA Young Women (APMIAYW). (1972)

46. The APMIAWM was short-lived, splitting again into two organizations, this time called Young Men and Young Women. (1974)

47. Home, family, and personal enrichment meetings were renamed Relief Society meetings.  (2009)

48. The Language Training Mission complex in Provo, Utah, was renamed the Missionary Training Center after changes incorporated English-speaking missionaries. (1978)

49. The international magazine of the Church was first released and named the Liahona. (1995)

50. The names of Primary classes are updated, with ages 18 months to 3 years being called Sunbeams, ages 4 to 7 being called CTR, and ages 8 to 11 being called Valiant. Previously, various ages in the Primary were known as everything from Rainbows, Stars, and Moonbeams to Bluebirds, Targeteers, and Merrihands (1995)

51. Ricks College was renamed BYU-Idaho. (2001)

52. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir changed its name to The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.(2018)

53. The Church instituted the new program home teaching, which replaced ward teaching. (1964)

54. Ministering replaced home and visiting teaching. (2018)

55. It was announced that members and nonmembers should drop the Mormon moniker and stress the complete name of the Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where possible. (2018)

56. LDS.org changed to ChurchOfJesusChrist.org. (2019)

57. Mormon Channel changed its name to Latter-day Saints Channel. (2019)

58. Mormon.org changed to ComeUntoChrist.organd LDS Charities changed its name to Latter-day Saint Charities.(2019)

59. The Deseret Book Company was created in 1919 from a merger of the Deseret News Bookstore and the Deseret Sunday School Union Bookstore.

Technology and Building Changes

60. LDS.org was created. (1996)

61. General conference was broadcast by radio for the first time. (1924)

62. General conference was first broadcast on TV. (1949)

63. General conference was broadcast on the internet for the first time. (1999)

64. The priesthood session of general conference was televised and became available online. (2013)

65. The Granite Mountain Records Vault was completed. (1963)

66. The Church Office Building was completed. (1972)

67. General conference began being held in the Conference Center. (2000)

68. The Church History Library was completed. (2009)

69. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir started a weekly network radio broadcast, Music and the Spoken Word, that has become the longest continuing network radio broadcast in history. (1929)

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Literature Updates

70. Grammatical adjustments were made to the Book of Mormon, the titles of the books of Nephi were standardized to remove ambiguity, and the text was put in a double-column format to match the presentation of the Bible. Chapter summaries were also created for every chapter, a guide for pronouncing names in the Book of Mormon was added along with a table of contents, and the footnotes and the index were revised. (1921) 

71. “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” from the First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles was first read at the General Relief Society Meeting. (1995)

72. The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve issued the document “The Living Christ.” (2000)

73. The Young Woman’s Journal, a magazine for young women, was discontinued, and The Juvenile Instructor, a periodical aimed toward Latter-day Saint children and youth, was discontinued. (1929)

74. After 130 years of printing, the Church-owned British periodical The Millennial Star was discontinued, along with The Instructor, a periodical written to assist Sunday School, and The Relief Society Magazine, which had been published for 55 years. (1970)

75. The Friend became the standard children's magazine of the Church, the New Era became the standard youth magazine of the Church, and the Ensign became the standard Church periodical. (1971)

76. The international magazine of the Church was introduced, with the English version being named the Tambuli. (1977)

77. The Church published its own version of The King James Version of the Bible. (1979)

78. Two sections were added to the Doctrine and Covenants (sections 137 and 138). (1981)

79. A Bible dictionary, a topical guide, and an index integrating the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price were created. Maps and gazetteers along with select passages from Joseph Smith's translation of the Bible were also made available. (1981)

80. The subtitle “Another Testament of Jesus Christ” was added to the Book of Mormon. (1982)

81. The first edition of For the Strength of Youth was released in 1965. Nine editions of For the Strength of Youth followed, with the most recent in 2011.

82. The current hymnbook was released. (1985)

83. The creation of a new hymnbook was announced. (2018)

84. The Church announced a new curriculum, Come, Follow Me, that takes a home-centered, Church-supported approach to gospel living, learning, and teaching. (2018)

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Additional Changes

85. Priesthood and temple blessings were extended to black members of the Church. (1978)

86. As printed in the November 1978 issue of the Ensign, President Spencer W. Kimball announced at a conference earlier that September that, “The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve have determined that there is no scriptural prohibition against sisters offering prayers in sacrament meetings. It was therefore decided that it is permissible for sisters to offer prayers in any meetings they attend, including sacrament meetings, Sunday School meetings, and stake conferences." (1978)

87. Priesthood and general women’s sessions of general conference became annual events instead of semiannual.(2017)

88. The position of presiding patriarch was discontinued. (1979)

89. Area Authorities became ordained as Seventies and a third, fourth, and fifth Quorum of the Seventy was announced. (1997)

90. A sixth Quorum of the Seventy was organized. (2004)

91. It was announced that 11-year-olds could go to the temple and that youth advance in Young Women and the priesthood the year they turn 12, 14, and 16 instead of waiting until their actual birthday. (2018)

92. All Latter-day Saint women became automatically enrolled in Relief Society and the dues were eliminated. (1971)

93. The early-morning seminary program began, in southern California. (1950)

94. Monday nights were designated as family home evening nights. (1970)

95. The current logo of the Church was released, placing greater emphasis on the name of Jesus Christ. (1995)

96. The First Presidency announced that any baptized member of the Church, including women and children, could serve as a witness of a baptism outside the temple. (2019)

97. The three-fold mission of the Church was outlined: to proclaim the gospel, perfect the Saints, and redeem the dead. (1981)

98. FamilySearch.org is first launched. (1999)

99. The Church announced the end of the Scouting program and the discontinuation of Personal Progress and Duty to God beginning in 2020.

100. The Church announced the creation of the new Children and Youth Program to begin in 2020.

Lead image features the Cardston Alberta Temple, completed in 1923. Image courtesy of ComeUntoChrist.org.
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