John Milton Bernhisel had an outsized influence on the early history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a loyal friend to Joseph Smith, negotiated with the federal government on behalf of the Latter-day Saints, and had a hot-and-cold relationship with Brigham Young. In this interview, biographer Bruce W. Worthen tells the story of John Bernhisel and the Latter-day Saints.
The Church Historian’s Press has published Eliza R. Snow’s discourses online, including her teachings on overcoming trials. Historians identified nearly 1,300 discourses that mention the pioneer Latter-day Saint leader, including talks that demonstrate her humor, testify of Jesus Christ, and reminisce about Joseph Smith. In this interview, historian Jennifer Reeder explains more about the Eliza R. Snow discourses.
Robert Alter recently completed a translation of the Hebrew Bible. The Old Testament work is widely respected by scholars, including some who think it’s the most accurate Bible translation in English. Alter’s attention to the literary form of Hebrew helps bridge the gap between contemporary readers and ancient writers. In this interview, he talks about his multi-decade translation of the Hebrew Bible.
Billions of people read the Christmas story in the Bible each year. The Gospel of Luke in particular tells the oft-repeated story of Joseph, Mary, and the nativity. In this New Testament interview, S. Kent Brown discusses the events leading up to the Christmas story in Luke.
Emmeline B. Wells was one of the most important Latter-day Saint women in Utah’s early history. She knew the prophet Joseph Smith, served with Eliza R. Snow, and was friends with Susan B. Anthony. In this interview, Cherry Silver and Sheree Bench talk about their work on the Diaries of Emmeline B. Wells, and share insights from the pioneer suffragist’s life.
The plural wives of Joseph Smith are the focus of Todd Compton’s book, In Sacred Loneliness: The Documents. As a sequel to his 1997 volume, The Documents provides the primary sources Compton used in his book about Joseph Smith’s polygamous marriages. In this interview, Todd Compton discusses his new publication, shares thoughts about reactions to his research, and provides highlights from his book.
Nineteenth century Latter-day Saint missionaries preached to many different cultures, including Europeans, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders. At the same time, their home lives were complicated by the practice of polygamy and the long absences of the men as they served missions abroad. In this interview, Imperial Zions author Amanda Hendrix-Komoto discusses the complicated intersections of race, family, respectability, and settlement that Latter-day Saints experienced in Utah and abroad in service of their religion.
After attending a Relief Society meeting in 1857, Wilford Woodruff recorded in his journal that “the house was full of females.” As someone who practiced plural marriage instituted by the Prophet Joseph Smith, the comment could have applied to Woodruff’s home life. In this interview, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich discusses how early Latter-day Saint sources shed light on female authority and plural marriage.
Susa Young Gates was one of the first members of the church to learn about the vision of the redemption of the dead. Joseph F. Smith told her about his revelatory experience before it was publicly known. In this interview, historian Lisa Olsen Tait tralks about the relationship between Susa Young Gates and the prophet—and what happened the night she learned about the vision.
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.