Learn more about the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including historical findings about Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and more.
Leonard J. Arrington is often known as the “Father of Latter-day Saint” history. In this interview, Gary J. Bergera discusses Leonard Arrington’s journals, including the historian’s encounters with Latter-day Saint leaders like Bruce R. McConkie and Ezra Taft Benson.
Dennis B. Horne is the author of several books, including a biography of Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Horne’s writing can also be found on sites such as The Interpreter Foundation, LDS Living, and FAIR.
Donald G. Godfrey shares background from his life and insights from his Brigham Young University Religious Studies book, “In Their Footsteps: Mormon Pioneers of Faith.”
SALT LAKE CITY — From the gold plates and the Book of Mormon to the Nauvoo Female Relief Society Leadership and Minute Book to several of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s journals and letters, the collection of 13 essays in “Foundational Texts of Mormonism: Examining Major Early Sources” (Oxford University Press, $74, 448 pages) utilizes insights from the Joseph Smith Papers and a focus on historical context to more fully understand foundational texts of Mormonism.
The Joseph Smith Papers recently published its 17th volume associated with the life and works of Joseph Smith. The project, which began with the work of a single individual, has grown in scope and influence over its first decade.
Along the way, the project has changed in numerous ways, overcome challenges, garnered unprecedented popularity, secured academic prestige, and set the stage for a new era of Mormon history.
The Joseph Smith Papers Project publishes documents from the life of Joseph Smith—but the team doesn’t collect them. Instead, the Joseph Smith Papers team uses archivists like Sharalyn Howcroft to scope out new manuscripts for inclusion in the groundbreaking academic papers project.
The history of Joseph Smith and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been told many times—often using the same sources. But the context of these critical documents have rarely been considered. In this interview, Latter-day Saint scholars Mark Ashurst McGee, Robin Scott Jensen, and Sharalyn D. Howcroft talk about placing important sources in their historical contexts.
Richard Lyman Bushman is a noted historian who authored “Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling,” and is the festschrift honoree of “To Be Learned is Good: Essays on Faith and Scholarship in Honor of Richard Lyman Bushman.”
I recently had the privilege to interview Sara Martin. She is Editor in Chief of the Adams Papers.
Patrick Mason is the Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University and has an essay in “To Be Learned is Good: Essays on Faith and Scholarship in Honor of Richard Lyman Bushman.”