Church History

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
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