Category: 19th Century

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19th Century

What is the Deseret Alphabet?

Examples of the Deseret Alphabet form nineteenth-century Utah, including a coin, Book of Mormon, key, and Wilford Woodruff journal excerpt

The Deseret Alphabet was an experimental phonetic writing system created by 19th-century Latter-day Saint settlers to simplify English spelling, expand literacy, and express spiritual ideals. Developed collaboratively by Brigham Young, George D. Watt, and university regents using Isaac Pitman’s shorthand framework, its unconventional characters unexpectedly preserved a phonetic time capsule—capturing original Utah accents and period pronunciations. Although official publishing stalled after just four books, the script endures today through Unicode and artistic revival. In this interview, Ryan K. Shosted and N. E. Davis explore the history, dialect preservation, and modern resurgence of this unique script.

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19th Century American West

Who Was the Latter-day Saint Pioneer, John Steele?

A portrait of John Steele, an Irish-born Latter-day Saint pioneer, Mormon Battalion veteran, and frontier explorer who helped settle Southern Utah.

John Steele was an Irish-born Mormon Battalion member, pioneer physician, and influential militia leader who helped settle the high deserts of Southern Utah. Raised by a Waterloo veteran, Steele navigated the frontier with a rigid military discipline that often blurred the lines between civic duty and religious enforcement. Whether practicing folk magic and herbal medicine or commanding southern Utah troops during the Utah War or the Black Hawk War, Steele’s life reveals the gritty complexities of building a self-sufficient “Mormon Kingdom” through absolute obedience. In this interview, Kerry William Bate explores the irascible spirit of a man who was as much a dedicated explorer as he was a “thrasher” of dissent.

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19th Century Latter-day Saint Arts Latter-day Saint History

Who Was C. C. A. Christensen?

A photograph of CCA Christensen, one of the most influential pioneer artists in Latter-day Saint history.

Carl Christian Anton Christensen (1831-1912) was one of the most influential artists in Latter-day Saint history. Famous for paintings such as his 23-scene Mormon Panorama, Christensen’s work was influenced by his faith, including immigrating to the United States, travelling to Utah by handcart, serving three missions, and participating in plural marriage. European painters such as Carl Bloch also influenced Christensen’s style. In this interview, biographer Jennifer Champoux discusses Christensen’s background, shares some of his paintings, and explores how his religious art helped shape Latter-day Saint beliefs and culture.

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19th Century Latter-day Saint History

What Was It Like to Be a Missionary’s Wife in Pioneer Utah?

Sanie Peterson Lund standing in front of a red brick home with six children while her husband is overseas on one of his many multi-year missions that left her alone.

The lives of missionary wives in pioneer Utah were often filled with financial difficulty, childhood illness, and social isolation. Church leaders intended these struggles to be a holy sacrifice, but the lived reality was rarely thought of as religious devotion. Additionally, many women constantly worried that their husbands would marry other wives. Despite their critical role in populating the 19th-century American West, few records of their experiences survive. In this interview, Jennifer Lund and Elizabeth Oberdick Anderson highlight the rare letters of Sarah “Sanie” Peterson Lund, a Scandinavian immigrant whose weekly correspondence to her missionary husband has been preserved.

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19th Century Latter-day Saint Arts

What Music Did Utah Pioneers Perform?

The Salt Lake Theatre Orchestra in 1880, which performed 19th-century Utah pioneer music.

Utah pioneer music was a sophisticated and cosmopolitan blend of European tradition and local ingenuity that went far beyond simple folk tunes or choral hymns. While early settlers are often associated with rustic campfire songs, archival discoveries demonstrate a thriving culture of brass bands, theatrical orchestras, and virtuosic instrumental performances. From the recovery of a lost march once thought to be buried in the Salt Lake Temple capstone to the complex arrangements used in the Salt Lake Theatre, these scores demonstrate the high technical standards maintained in Latter-day Saint settlements. In this interview, BYU trumpet professor Randy Lee explains how he is reviving these forgotten 19th-century manuscripts through his Legends of Deseret project.

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19th Century American West Latter-day Saint History

What Was the Juvenile Instructor Office?

An illustrated cover of a 1910 edition of the Juvenile Instructor, featuring the imprint and an illustration of young children playing.

The Juvenile Instructor Office was a printing press established by George Q. Cannon in 1866. At the time, the Apostle and private secretary to Brigham Young was concerned that Utah Territory was being flooded with “Gentile” materials from the East that didn’t align with Latter-day Saint values. To address the issue, he created the press to produce “home literature” specifically for children and emigrant converts. Cannon funded the venture on his own, publishing works such as the Faith Promoting Series, the Juvenile Instructor, and the biography, “Life of Joseph Smith.” The printing office heightened Cannon’s influence, broke the Deseret News‘s monopoly, and was ultimately purchased by the Church, paving the way for pioneer faith-promoting publications and the modern Deseret Book Company.

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19th Century Latter-day Saint History Temples

Who Was Wilford Woodruff?

Portrait of Wilford Woodruff circa 1888, fourth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and author of the 1890 Manifesto and daily journals.

Wilford Woodruff served as the fourth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, navigating the faith through its most turbulent transitions. Best known for issuing the 1890 Manifesto that ended the public practice of plural marriage, Woodruff’s legacy extends far beyond his complex family life and wives. He was a remarkably successful missionary, an avid outdoorsman who survived twenty-seven life-threatening accidents, and a temple pioneer who recorded a profound vision of the Founding Fathers. Today, his meticulously kept sixty-year daily journal—complete with a unique visual “emoji” indexing system—remains the most vital primary source for understanding nineteenth-century Latter-day Saint history.

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19th Century Devotional Latter-day Saint History

The Cost of Eternal Glory: Eliza R. Snow’s Counsel About Overcoming Trials

A soulful 1875 portrait of Eliza R. Snow, Latter-day Saint poet and leader. Her steady, weathered gaze and firm expression capture the resilience she preached in her discourses on overcoming trials. She is wearing a dark ruffled dress with a white collar and an ornate brooch.

There are nearly 1,300 Eliza R. Snow discourses on record. After spending decades privately lifting others through poetry, Snow shifted to a more public ministry when Brigham Young asked her to help rebuild Relief Societies in Territorial Utah. Terrified of public speaking, Eliza nonetheless accepted the prophet’s call. Several themes appear in the speeches she would later give, including charity, unity, and ministering as the Savior did. In this interview, editor Sharalyn Howcroft discusses Eliza’s teachings about overcoming trials as found in the newly-published book, “Rise Up and Speak: Selected Discourses of Eliza R. Snow.”

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19th Century Devotional Latter-day Saint History

Imagining the Restoration Through the Eyes of Emma Smith

An Anthony Sweat painting of profiles of Emma Smith and Joseph Smith looking into each other's eyes.
"Harmony Joseph and Emma" by Anthony Sweat.

Emma Smith, the “First Lady of the Restoration,” is something of an enigma. It is surprising, in light of history, biography, legend, and folktale, how little we really know of her as a person, as Joseph’s closest companion, from almost the beginning of his calling to its tragic end. Fortunately, what history does not provide, our creative faculties can furnish by imagining her presence and personality. The poem I introduce here is an example of what life might have been like for this remarkable woman, who was ever more central to the restoration than all but her prophet-husband.

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19th Century 20th Century Latter-day Saint History

How Did Tracy Y. Cannon Shape Latter-day Saint Hymnbooks?

Painting of Tracy Y. Cannon playing the Salt Lake Tabernacle organ, featuring the 1927 and 1948 Latter-day Saint hymnbooks he helped produce.

Tracy Y. Cannon influenced Latter-day Saint hymnbook history by steering away from the pioneer folk tunes of his grandfather, Brigham Young, toward a refined, European-influenced aesthetic. As chairman of the General Music Committee, Cannon professionalized the Church’s musical identity, famously pivoting the 1948 hymnal to mirror the harmonic elegance of Lutheran and Anglican traditions. This strategic move established the solemn, organ-centric sound that defined worship for the rest of the 20th century. In this interview, biographer Shelby Fisher discusses Tracy Y. Cannon’s training as a Mormon organist and explains how he modernized the Church’s musical tradition in a way that can still be seen today.

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