Church History

"Rise Up and Speak" features 52 of Eliza R. Snow’s most powerful and timeless discourses.
1 Min Read
October 22, 2025 06:00 AM MDT
“Here are three things I’ve personally found helpful.”
3 Min Read
September 26, 2025 09:10 AM MDT
“I wondered why such bad things happened to the very people restoring the gospel. And then I stepped outside the jail.”
3 Min Read
September 24, 2025 01:38 PM MDT
“We thank Thee for this occasion and all it signifies and symbolizes,” the Apostle said in the dedicatory prayer.
1 Min Read
August 11, 2025 01:21 PM MDT
She joins the Church, gives a large donation, and is promised great blessings she sees fulfilled only after a long journey.
1 Min Read
It is one of the first buildings in the western United States constructed for the deaf community.
1 Min Read
July 23, 2025 03:40 PM MDT
This week marks 50 years since the building was dedicated.
1 Min Read
July 09, 2025 03:12 PM MDT
FamilySearch is collaborating on an epic journey across the Atlantic Ocean.
1 Min Read
April 02, 2025 05:00 AM MDT
Do you know there are 1,300 parking stalls in the underground parking of the Conference Center? Or that there are 50,000 miles of electrical wiring?
7 Min Read
March 31, 2025 10:41 AM MDT
“My conviction that the Savior’s church is true does not mean that I assume it is perfect.”
5 Min Read
December 13, 2024 02:07 PM MST
She was a suffragist, physician, and the first female state senator.
1 Min Read
October 30, 2024 12:42 PM MDT
The fourth and final volume of “Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days” was published today in 14 languages.
1 Min Read
October 14, 2024 05:27 PM MDT
Joseph came to Katherine “panting for breath, … and in a gasping voice whispered hoarsely, ‘take these quickly and hide them.’”
5 Min Read
October 01, 2024 02:08 PM MDT
The gallery features the famous painting “The Second Coming,” which the Church commissioned in the 1970s.
1 Min Read
September 26, 2024 02:10 PM MDT
Volume 4 will be titled, “Saints: Sounded in Every Ear, 1955–2020.”
1 Min Read
July 22, 2024 03:00 PM MDT
The complete history of the pioneers turns out to be far richer and far more interesting than we may realize.
3 Min Read
May 14, 2024 10:44 AM MDT
Did you know St. George was likely named after Apostle George A. Smith (sometimes called the “potato saint”)? Learn why in this article.
6 Min Read
April 19, 2024 06:48 AM MDT
Read four takeaways from the Legal Records series on Joseph Smith, including when he broke tradition to let a woman testify.
3 Min Read
March 29, 2024 01:37 PM MDT
The historic purchase led many Church members to wonder if the temple would be renovated and dedicated. Read why it will stay open to the public.
2 Min Read
March 12, 2024 02:29 PM MDT
With all the buzz about the Kirtland Temple, here are the newly acquired fascinating artifacts you might have missed.
11 Min Read
March 05, 2024 03:58 PM MST
An FAQ page from the Church answers and lists other significant items in the transfer, including the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.
1 Min Read
August 21, 2023 07:15 AM MDT
As we celebrate the 145th anniversary of the Primary organization, here are some purposes of the original Primary program that are still relevant today.
8 Min Read
August 11, 2023 05:35 AM MDT
Acting on revelation doesn’t mean we will feel inspired all the time. The experiences of two women foundational to the history of the Church teach us this in a profound way.
6 Min Read
July 24, 2023 06:06 AM MDT
The Church’s official guidelines mention two specific contexts in which it’s appropriate to use the term “Mormon.”
2 Min Read
July 22, 2023 07:55 AM MDT
The “Father of Modern Rodeo” was also known as the “Cowboy of Cowboy Artists,” “Lord Bascom—King of the Canadian Cowboys,” and “rodeo’s first collegiate cowboy.” And even those titles don’t quite capture all of Earl Bascom’s achievements.
7 Min Read
July 11, 2023 07:10 AM MDT
Starting July 6, 45 original Minerva Teichert paintings will be on display and open to the public at the Church History Museum.
1 Min Read
July 10, 2023 06:00 AM 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
Fun
July 01, 2023 04:30 AM MDT
July 1st is Canada Day—a celebration of the Constitution act and Canada’s equivalent to America’s Independence Day. To celebrate, here are a few facts you might not have known about this important country in Church history.
5 Min Read
June 30, 2023 12:30 PM MDT
Read about more little-known stories and miracles behind the creation of the Church’s first temple endowment film.
6 Min Read
June 27, 2023 06:00 AM MDT
The final print volume of the Joseph Smith Papers hits the shelves today. Here are 12 eye-opening things that the project brought to light over the last 20-plus years.
11 Min Read
June 26, 2023 01:06 PM MDT
Editor's note: This article was originally published in 2019.
3 Min Read
June 26, 2023 07:00 AM MDT
Here are some details leading up to Joseph Smith’s martyrdom that aren’t widely known.
6 Min Read
June 09, 2023 12:00 PM MDT
On June 9, 1848, one pioneer wrote to Brigham Young, “The seagulls have come in large flocks from the lake and sweep the crickets as they go. It seems the hand of the Lord is in our favor.”
6 Min Read
June 06, 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
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
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
January 26, 2017 09:43 AM MST
The following is an excerpt from the book The Witness of Women: Firsthand Experiences and Testimonies from the Restoration, by Janiece Johnson and Jennifer Reeder:
14 Min Read
January 23, 2017 03:59 PM MST
A friend once commented that whoever said the Sabbath was a day of rest was not a Mormon. His tongue was firmly in his cheek when he said it, but he was not wide of the mark by very much. We who have the placed the Gospel of Christ at the center of our lives know that completing Sabbath assignments and duties can be labor—work—of the most demanding kind. But when the Lord set apart a day of the week as a day of rest, he seems to have done so with the intent that we should rest from all our weekly labors (D&C 59:10), and from the work that demands our attention on the non-Sabbath days.
9 Min Read
January 19, 2017 04:45 PM MST
A small tent, held in place by a tent peg (or stake) on each corner could be easily flattened or remodeled. But if the tent were larger and secured with almost 3,200 stakes (as of the end of 2015), it would be almost impossible to move. This is the image Isaiah used to describe the Church and Kingdom in the last days.
10 Min Read
January 18, 2017 08:21 PM MST
Part of the information sent to prospective missionaries is a list of needed clothing, supplies, and incidentals. The Missionary Department is appropriately concerned that missionaries arrive in the field properly equipped for the service they are expected to render. I remember receiving my list in 1965 and I have been with my eight missionary children as they received theirs. My children have generally requested a new suitcase, although we have convinced most of them that such an expenditure is not necessary. We have a nice selection available. Then the shopping begins, as they scour the city for the things they will require for the time of their service in Santiago or New York or Las Palmas or San Salvador or Salvador or Carlsbad or Añasco or White River. My bank account has ached with the abuse it has taken. My Mastercard has been swiped so many times it nearly set my pants on fire.
14 Min Read
January 18, 2017 02:14 PM MST
There is an economy in revelation. The Lord does not seem to waste anything, including His words, and expects that His disciples will be of the same inclination. Thus we need not expect that He will reveal things to us personally that He has already revealed to others and that are available in the standard works or the words of the living prophets.
16 Min Read
January 11, 2017 08:55 PM MST
Close behind the organization of the Church in the meridian of time came the apostasy, accompanied by a diversification of beliefs that would lead ultimately to thousands of different Christian denominations. Every doctrinal disagreement seemed to be a cause for reorganization: perhaps the only cause. In any religious organization where doctrine does not matter, or where there is unity of opinion about the doctrine, splinter groups are not likely to break off from the main body. But thousands had broken off and now, on the 6th of April of 1830, the time had finally come for the Lord to put things right and to restore “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth . . .” (D&C 1:30).
13 Min Read