According to Joseph Smith, in September of 1823, an angel appeared to him and directed him to a hill near his home. Buried there, Smith found a box containing a stack of thin metal sheets, gold in color and covered with what appeared to be ancient engravings. Exactly four years later, the angel instructed Smith to translate the plates into English. When the text was published, a new religion was born.

On June 9, 1978, the phones at the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) were ringing nonstop. On that historic day, LDS church president Spencer W. Kimball announced a revelation lifting the church's 126-year-old ban barring Black people from the priesthood and Mormon temples. It was the most significant change in LDS doctrine since the end of polygamy almost 100 years earlier. Drawing on never-before-seen private papers of LDS apostles and church presidents, Harris probes the plot twists and turns, the near-misses and paths not taken, of this incredible story.

From being raised in a home without the foundation of the gospel to the early days of his marriage and the stress of medical school to his last open-heart surgery in China, President Russell M. Nelson took advantage of every opportunity to learn and become more.

In our rapidly changing world, our need for spiritual guidance has never been greater. As we seek to discern truth amidst the clamor of dissenting voiced in order to worship, minister, and lead our families effectively, we rely on the Spirit's help every day.

It is a rare opportunity to learn from the wisdom of one who has witnessed a century of life, including all of its joys, sorrows, changes, and unchanging truths. It is even rarer to have such a witness from a prophet of God. Having been first called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1984, President Russell M. Nelson has viewed much of the world’s modern history through the lens of a special witness of Christ.

Have you noticed that President Russell M. Nelson keeps reminding us that the modern temple endowment has “ancient” roots? If you do not know what this means—if you do not have a solid understanding of what was done in the temples of ancient Israel—then you are missing many of the most basic and important aspects of your temple experience. Unfortunately, it is very common for someone to enter the temple for the first time with little to no understanding of what to expect.

Ezra Taft Benson is perhaps the most controversial apostle-president in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For nearly 50 years, he delivered impassioned sermons in Utah and elsewhere, mixing religion with ultraconservative right-wing political views and conspiracy theories. His teachings inspired Mormon extremists to stockpile weapons, predict the end of the world, and commit acts of violence against their government.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded by Joseph Smith in 1830 in the so-called "burned-over district" of upstate New York, which was producing seers and prophets daily. Most of the new creeds flamed out; Smith's would endure, becoming the most significant homegrown religion in American history. In American Zion Benjamin E. Park presents a fresh, sweeping account of the Latter-day Saints.

Moroni's America is a must-read for anyone interested in the historicity and geography of the Book of Mormon. The book focuses on the North American setting based on the hill Cumorah/Ramah in western New York. The book-by-book approach to the geography passages incorporates extrinsic evidence including geography, geology, and archaeology, illustrating the points with numerous maps and diagrams. This Second Edition incorporates new discoveries and insights that have come to light since the first edition was published. It also includes QR codes for bonus material, including interviews with ...

In his decades as a teacher and an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has often shared remarkable insights gleaned from his study of the New Testament. Our Day Star Rising compiles these insights: those about the history and context of the New Testament as well as teachings from the New Testament, wherein he uses its verses to cast new light on various doctrinal themes.

Nephi puts us on notice in his very first sentence that The Book of Mormon was written by temple worshippers and for temple worshippers. He and the other prophets of The Book of Mormon, who called themselves the visionary men and the peaceable followers of Christ, knew and practiced a mystery, an ordinance by which they ascended through the temple and entered into the presence of God. This ordinance was embodied in a dramatic representation of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden and their return to it, in which initiates played the roles of Adam and Eve or their descendants.

Joseph Smith Jr. (1805–1844) was one of the most successful and controversial religious leaders of nineteenth-century America, publishing the Book of Mormon and starting what would become the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He built temples, founded a city-state in Illinois, ran for president, and married more than thirty women. This self-made prophet thrilled his followers with his grand vision of peace and unity, but his increasingly grandiose plans tested and sometimes shattered their faith.

In the single month of September 1993, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints excommunicated or disciplined six of its members. These six individuals–some of them intellectuals, some activists, and some both–were soon dubbed the “September Six.” In The September Six and the Struggle for the Soul of Mormonism, Sara M. Patterson challenges listeners to think more deeply about the events of that month and the era in which they unfolded.

On September 11, 1857, a band of Mormon militia, under a flag of truce, lured unarmed members of a party of emigrants from their fortified encampment and, with their Paiute allies, killed them. More than 120 men, women, and children perished in the slaughter.

In this book, Elder Andersen writes especially to those who are "awakening" unto God—those who are just beginning to discover or who seek the divine gifts and power of repentance and forgiveness in their lives. The Divine Gift of Forgiveness is organized in such a way that listeners can choose the section or chapter that applies most to them and study it without having to have listen to it over and over again.

According to Joseph Smith, in September of 1823, an angel appeared to him and directed him to a hill near his home. Buried there, Smith found a box containing a stack of thin metal sheets, gold in color and covered with what appeared to be ancient engravings. Exactly four years later, the angel instructed Smith to translate the plates into English. When the text was published, a new religion was born.

In the single month of September 1993, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints excommunicated or disciplined six of its members. These six individuals–some of them intellectuals, some activists, and some both–were soon dubbed the “September Six.” In The September Six and the Struggle for the Soul of Mormonism, Sara M. Patterson challenges listeners to think more deeply about the events of that month and the era in which they unfolded.

Ordained as an apostle in 1906, David O. McKay served as president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1951 until his death in 1970. Under his leadership, the church experienced unparalleled growth - nearly tripling in total membership - and becoming a significant presence throughout the world. The first book to draw upon the David O. McKay Papers at the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah, David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism focuses primarily on the years of McKay's presidency.

On June 9, 1978, the phones at the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) were ringing nonstop. On that historic day, LDS church president Spencer W. Kimball announced a revelation lifting the church's 126-year-old ban barring Black people from the priesthood and Mormon temples. It was the most significant change in LDS doctrine since the end of polygamy almost 100 years earlier. Drawing on never-before-seen private papers of LDS apostles and church presidents, Harris probes the plot twists and turns, the near-misses and paths not taken, of this incredible story.

Brigham Young was a rough-hewn craftsman from New York whose impoverished and obscure life was electrified by the Mormon faith. He trudged around the United States and England to gain converts for Mormonism, spoke in spiritual tongues, married more than 50 women, and eventually transformed a barren desert into his vision of the Kingdom of God. While previous accounts of his life have been distorted by hagiography or polemical exposé, John Turner provides a fully realized portrait of a colossal figure in American religion, politics, and westward expansion.