Category: 20th Century

The 1978 priesthood revelation was the culmination of a decades-long process to reverse the priesthood ban. Most scholars today agree that the policy was initiated by Brigham Young and that racism played a role in its beginnings. What is less known is that the 1978 revelation wasn’t a singular event, but rather a laborious process that took a heavy toll on participants like Spencer W. Kimball, Joseph Fielding Smith, David O. McKay, Hugh B. Brown, and Bruce R. McConkie. In this interview, Matthew L. Harris explains more about the history of the revelation on the priesthood.

D. Michael Quinn played a key role in the foundation of “New Mormon History.” He was entrenched in the church archives during the “Camelot” years, taught at BYU, and published many ideas that represent positions held by the church today. Quinn was also part of the September Six, (in association with his 1993 excommunication), wrote about controversial issues, and provoked many love-hate relationships with his voluminous footnotes. In this interview, Patrick Mason explains some of Quinn’s contributions to Latter-day Saint history.

“The Purifying Power of Gethsemane” is the general conference talk often referred to as Bruce R. McConkie’s final testimony. Elder McConkie gave the talk when sick with cancer, less than two weeks before his death. His testimony of Jesus Christ was so influential that Joseph Fielding McConkie called it “one of the most powerful talks ever given in the Tabernacle.” It has also been noted by historian John Turner in Mormon Jesus as a pivotal event that marked a change in how Latter-day Saints talk about the Savior.

Ken Cannon’s biography of George Q. Cannon is the latest in scholarly publishing about the early Latter-day Saint apostle. The work focuses on Cannon’s role as “politician, publisher, and apostle of polygamy.” It includes his role as a confidante to Brigham Young, counselor in four First Presidencies, and father to nearly forty children.

Clare Middlemiss was one of only two women to serve as secretary to a president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She sometimes went to extremes in her role as a gatekeeper to President O. McKay, but also had an active influence on the First Presidency—and Church bureaucracy as we know it today. In this interview, Greg Prince explains how Clare Middlemiss left her mark.