Church History

June 02, 2023 07:00 AM MDT
Latter-day Saint writer-historians Richard Turley and Barbara Jones Brown spent 14 years researching everything they could about the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
1 Min Read
Fun
June 02, 2023 07:00 AM MDT
Is your family road tripping this summer? Some of the Church’s historic sites are just a stone's throw away from popular tourist attractions!
7 Min Read
Read about more little-known stories and miracles behind the creation of the Church’s first temple endowment film.
6 Min Read
May 09, 2023 04:45 PM MDT
Read the stories of two faithful Latter-day Saint women, including a convert from Guatemala who inspired the Gospel Principles class and the consolidated Sunday meeting block.
6 Min Read
May 01, 2023 07:00 AM MDT
Many of the stories about this beloved temple are familiar, but here are some lesser-known but just as inspiring stories about the original and present-day Nauvoo temples.
11 Min Read
April 19, 2023 12:00 PM MDT
The poem was signed with a rhyme: “And so forthwith, remember Joseph Smith.”
6 Min Read
April 11, 2023 01:29 PM MDT
Helen Dowawisnima Sekaquaptewa’s determined to integrate the very best of the two worlds into her life.
9 Min Read
April 05, 2023 07:33 AM MDT
Why does the sixth of April hold such importance in the Church?
4 Min Read
March 29, 2023 05:00 AM MDT
“I have loved researching and writing about my ladies—Lucy Mack Smith, Emma Smith, Eliza R. Snow, Zina D. H. Young, and Emmeline B. Wells. But these women are just five of so many more. I invite you to learn about some whose names you may have never heard. They are worth it—you want these ladies on your team.”
7 Min Read
March 27, 2023 12:00 AM MDT
The Kirtland Temple endowment was central to the Lord’s purpose for bringing His Saints to Kirtland. Understanding varies, however, regarding what the Lord meant when He promised such a blessing.
7 Min Read
March 16, 2023 06:00 AM MDT
Hamilton, Missouri, was once in serious financial trouble. But in a matter of a few years, Jenny Doan and her family transformed the sleepy town into a magical destination. How did the Doans do it? By the power of faith—and quilts.
16 Min Read
March 09, 2023 04:37 PM MST
I’ve been a fan of the Joseph Smith Papers Podcasts since the release of ‘The First Vision’ podcast in 2020 and the latest in the series, ‘Kirtland, City of Revelation,’ is no exception.
7 Min Read
February 22, 2023 10:38 AM MST
This remarkable event is free, but space is limited. Find out how to attend either in person or virtually:
1 Min Read
November 16, 2022 11:01 AM MST
When the first company of Saints arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, it was uncertain if crops could be grown in the high, dry climate.
2 Min Read
November 15, 2022 11:16 AM MST
“O brethren, let us be thankful that it is as well with us as it is, and we are yet alive and peradventure, God hath laid up in store great good for us in this generation, and may grant that we may yet glorify his name,”
3 Min Read
October 14, 2022 11:00 AM MDT
In February 1846, Patty Sessions left her home in Nauvoo along with her fellow Latter-day Saints. Today, she still inspires her posterity.
5 Min Read
October 12, 2022 12:59 PM MDT
Joseph Smith and others once visited Salem, Massachusetts, and took interest in the Salem witch trials. Here’s what they had to say about it.
1 Min Read
October 08, 2022 02:58 PM MDT
“Although we may never fully understand the principle, the nineteenth-century practice of plural marriage is a legacy of faith to honor.”
10 Min Read
September 20, 2022 05:00 AM MDT
“It’s overly simplistic to say that the Presbyterian God abhorred people and the Methodist God didn’t, but the contrast helps us see a difference that meant a lot to Joseph.”
4 Min Read
September 15, 2022 01:18 PM MDT
During a worldwide devotional for young adults, Elder and Sister Renlund spoke about the newest volume of Saints and had some special artifacts with them to help share their message.
4 Min Read
September 13, 2022 12:00 PM MDT
“This history is our shared heritage, whether we descend from early pioneers, later pioneers, or if we are pioneers in the faith.”
1 Min Read
September 06, 2022 04:00 AM MDT
Among the revelators who experienced assurance that restoration was on the way, were women including Sarah Pierrepont Edwards and Lucy Mack Smith.
6 Min Read
August 23, 2022 05:00 AM MDT
How did classical theism’s assumption that God is immaterial obtain its hold on Christianity, and how did the radical, restored truth, revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith, challenge this theism?
7 Min Read
August 22, 2022 10:49 AM MDT
Like David in the Old Testament, I want to say to the world as it moves on with its new work week as if all is well, “Know ye not that there is a prince[ss] and a great [wo]man fallen this day in Israel?”
5 Min Read
August 08, 2022 04:22 PM MDT
Today we celebrate the life and legacy of author and historian David McCullough, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Here are four times MCullough spoke to Latter-day Saints.
3 Min Read
July 30, 2022 01:00 PM MDT
The legacy of the Mormon crickets isn’t over yet. Watch as a road in Idaho is saved from thousands of these intruding insects.
2 Min Read
July 28, 2022 12:40 PM MDT
Lachlan Mackay was anticipating a variety of responses when he and his uncle, Daniel Larsen, released a new daguerreotype last week that they believe is Joseph Smith after keeping it a secret for two years.
1 Min Read
July 26, 2022 02:52 PM MDT
We may think we’re excused from living the law of consecration. But a former general editor of Saints doesn’t believe that’s the case.
4 Min Read
July 22, 2022 01:47 PM MDT
Joseph Smith’s great-great grandson recently found a daguerreotype inside an old family locket—and he believes it’s a photo the Prophet himself.
1 Min Read
July 19, 2022 12:00 PM MDT
When the first volume of The Work and the Glory series was published in 1990, readers instantly fell in love with the Steed family and their adventures in 1800s Palmyra.
8 Min Read
July 19, 2022 10:22 AM MDT
This Pioneer Day weekend, celebrate those who traveled with the Vanguard Company and trekked with the Mormon Battalion.
3 Min Read
July 14, 2022 10:41 AM MDT
Did you know as recently as 1997, nearly 10,000 people made the 1,000 mile journey over 93 days on foot across the pioneer trail?
1 Min Read
July 06, 2022 07:00 AM MDT
The fifth General President of the Relief Society, Emmeline B. Wells, wrote frequently about the daily affects of the pandemic in her diary, and the experiences she had might sound vaguely familiar...
1 Min Read
July 01, 2022 10:44 AM MDT
Is it true the Lord revealed but then revoked the law of consecration because the early Saints couldn’t live it?
7 Min Read
Fun
June 29, 2022 10:00 AM MDT
Latter-day Saints are familiar with the Tabernacle’s iconic domed roof. But did you know that it didn’t always look that way?
1 Min Read
June 28, 2022 12:08 PM MDT
For the month of July, the LDS Living Book Club will be reading “The Sister Preachers” by Gale Sears.
1 Min Read
June 27, 2022 07:00 AM MDT
Here are some details leading up to Joseph Smith’s martyrdom that aren’t widely known.
6 Min Read
June 26, 2022 02:04 PM MDT
Joseph and Hyrum’s martyrdom made headlines all across the country—with most sources condemned the act as murder and a scandal.
5 Min Read
June 23, 2022 07:00 AM MDT
For Latter-day Saints today, the Pittsburgh Gazette interview is most notable for providing us with a detailed account of Joseph Smith’s First Vision.
5 Min Read
June 21, 2022 10:00 AM MDT
This year marks the 110th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Here's a look at Latter-day Saint connections to that fateful voyage.
5 Min Read
June 14, 2022 01:27 PM MDT
Plan ahead, be flexible, and be mindful of the places “where people can get out and explore the site and have their own sacred experiences.”
1 Min Read
May 27, 2022 03:18 PM MDT
“This is a salvific sisterhood, and when men and women on a general and a local level understand this, we understand the role of Emma Smith in concert with her prophet husband.”
4 Min Read
May 19, 2022 07:00 AM MDT
The ‘Saints’ volumes are wonderful as an overview, but if you’re truly looking for a country-specific deep dive, here’s a Church resource you’ll want to know about.
2 Min Read
May 13, 2022 12:30 PM MDT
While the First Vision holds great significance, little would have happened had Joseph’s interactions with heavenly messengers ended there.
2 Min Read
April 27, 2022 10:23 AM MDT
As it portrays world wars, technological changes, and unprecedented Church growth, ‘Saints,’ vol. 3 highlights many Latter-day Saint women and their remarkable contributions.
1 Min Read
‘Boldly, Nobly, and Independent’ tells the story of the Latter-day Saints from 1893 to 1955—a time of unprecedented change in the Church and the wider world.
1 Min Read
April 18, 2022 07:00 AM MDT
“Saints,” vol. 3, offers new insights into Church history, and the digital version is packed with links to primary sources for readers interested in a deeper dig.
3 Min Read
April 15, 2022 08:00 AM MDT
Here is a look at some of the interesting things we have learned from "Saints, vol. 2" as we anticipate the release of the next volume.
4 Min Read
April 06, 2022 10:30 AM MDT
After learning what the first sister missionaries left behind to serve, Gale Sears knew their story needed to be told.
4 Min Read
March 29, 2022 12:27 PM MDT
To delight of many, a women’s session of general conference will be held this year. Catch up on the history of the women’s session with this timeline.
1 Min Read
March 25, 2022 07:00 AM MDT
Did you know that general conference was once held outside the US, and April 2020 was not the first time the public was not invited to attend?
11 Min Read