Dallin H. Oaks is expected to become the 18th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints following the passing of Russell M. Nelson. Oaks taught at the University of Chicago, became president of Brigham Young University, and served on the State of Utah Supreme Court prior to being called as an Apostle. In this interview, biographer Richard E. Turley discusses the life and personality of the 93-year-old President Oaks.
The Nauvoo Bell’s story is more complicated than many realize. Long thought to be the bell that once rang from the Nauvoo Temple tower, the artifact displayed for decades on Salt Lake City’s Temple Square was actually the Hummer Bell, a Meneely bell with roots in an Iowa Presbyterian church and a colorful history of theft, recovery, and mistaken identity. The true Nauvoo Temple bell cracked in the 1840s and disappeared. In this interview, historian Ronald G. Watt and archivist Brian Warburton trace the bells’ intertwined histories and explain the Hummer Bell’s recent return to Iowa City.
The Book of Mormon teaches that race is not fixed, but tied to stories of lineage, faith, and covenant. Early Latter-day Saints used these narratives to explain human differences, sometimes in ways that reinforced exclusion and other times in ways that promised transformation. Jane Manning James’s remarkable life—captured in her statement, “I am white except for the color of my skin”—shows both the possibilities and the painful contradictions of this theology. Remembering how racial origins were narrated, forgotten, and internalized sheds light on the legacy of whiteness in Mormon thought. In this interview, Max Perry Mueller discusses themes from his book, Race and the Making of the Mormon People.
Temple worship has changed in important ways since the 1830s. In Kirtland, Joseph Smith promised the Saints power from on high to preach the gospel and revealed washing and anointing rituals. By Nauvoo, his vision had grown, resulting in a temple endowment that constructed heaven on earth—ritually declaring men and women the celestial kings and queens from John’s vision in Revelation. Later leaders followed Joseph’s precedent of change, from Brigham Young’s adjustments to President Russell M. Nelson’s focus on Christ-centered covenants. In this interview, historian Jonathan Stapley discusses his book, Holiness to the Lord: Latter-day Saint Temple Worship.
B H. Roberts was a Latter-day Saint intellectual, politician, and historian whose influence stretched from the pulpit to the halls of Congress. Best known for works on theology and Church history, like the Comprehensive History of the Church, he also drew national attention for defending his contested seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and for navigating tensions between his Democratic politics and Church leadership. His missionary service, oratorical brilliance, and controversial stance on plural marriage continue to spark interest nearly a century after his death. In this interview, biographer John Sillito explores Roberts’s remarkable life in the public arena.
The Three Nephites are disciples in the Book of Mormon who Jesus Christ granted the gift of remaining on earth until His Second Coming. Many Latter-day Saints believe these translated beings continue to minister quietly among people today, offering both miraculous assistance and simple acts of service. Stories of Three Nephite sightings range from pioneer rescues to modern-day experiences in hospitals, parks, and city streets. Though their physical descriptions vary, people consistently describe feelings of peace and trust in their presence. In this interview, folklorist Julie Swallow shares insights from her new book, The Three Nephites: Saints, Service, and Supernatural Legend.
Twenty years after writing Rough Stone Rolling, Richard Bushman says his biography of Joseph Smith met a pressing need and still largely stands, though he would now give far more space to plural marriage, especially Sarah Ann Whitney. He recalls the book’s unexpected reception, marvels at Joseph’s reinvisioning of heaven and reinstatement of temple worship, and concedes he missed later allegations like attempted murder. In this interview, Richard Bushman looks back on Rough Stone Rolling, now seeing Joseph as even more inventive than he thought—and more revolutionary than we recognize.
Global Mormonism tells the story of how a faith born with Joseph Smith in 19th-century America became a worldwide religion. From Native American missions and Polynesian conversions to Mexico’s Third Convention and the rapid growth of Latter-day Saints in Africa and Brazil, the church’s expansion has been shaped by migration, translation, and local leadership. Along the way, members have endured upheaval—from the Armenian Saints’ exodus out of Aintab to a temple in Manila safeguarded during a coup—while building a global community of faith. This article explores the milestones, tensions, and resilience that define Mormonism’s worldwide journey.
When I first set out to learn what I could of the Book of Mormon‘s lost pages, I had no idea how deeply the complexity of the text would require me to keep going, or for how long—thus far for a decade and a half—and how completely that search would turn my life and view of the world upside down.
Many Russell M. Nelson Quotes focus on the temple. Since becoming the prophet in January 2018, President Nelson has repeatedly emphasized the importance of gathering Israel, spending more time in the House of the Lord, and gaining a deeper understanding of the temple endowment. This post compiles President Nelson’s general conference quotes about the temple from April 2018 to April 2025.