Mormon history
Kirtland and Nauvoo: What happens next week, when tours begin under new LDS management?
By Jana Riess — March 22, 2024
The managing director of the Church History Department answers questions about changes to the tours and the buildings in the recently acquired historic sites.
Mormonism, as shaped by the culture wars
By Jana Riess — February 29, 2024
(RNS) — Debates over gender, race and sexuality have been part of Mormonism since Kirtland, says historian Benjamin Park.
Joseph F. Smith: A traumatized and beloved Mormon leader
By Jana Riess — August 14, 2023
(RNS) — Loving, devoted Mormon prophet or rage-prone abuser? Yes to both, says a new biography of Joseph F. Smith.
Spencer W. Kimball diaries shine a light behind the scenes of modern Mormonism
By Jana Riess — February 17, 2023
(RNS) — This week’s release of the former LDS president’s diaries offers a peek behind the curtain of the 1978 priesthood/temple revelation and Kimball’s relations with Mormon leaders.
‘Who Killed Joseph Smith?’ and other amateur-hour conspiracy theories
By Jana Riess — January 21, 2022
(RNS) — A new documentary recycles old conspiracies about the murder of Mormon prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum.
Progress for Mormon women: A historian takes the long view
By Jana Riess — December 3, 2018
(RNS) — Historian Colleen McDannell sees long-term progress for Mormon women in several key areas, including the temple endowment (no more curses for Eve!), softer rhetoric about working women, and — yes — even the Proclamation on the Family.
10 ways to imagine a New Mormonism
By Jana Riess — October 15, 2018
From dismantling patriarchy to having more potlucks, guest blogger Mette Harrison suggests 10 ways toward a kinder, gentler Mormonism.
Historians to discuss Joseph Smith’s polyandrous children, Mormons on YouTube, and Winston Churchill’s investigation of the LDS Church
By Jana Riess — May 3, 2016
Did Joseph Smith have a child with a woman who was married to another man? Why did Winston Churchill launch an investigation of the LDS Church in England? And other highlights from this year's Mormon History Association conference.
The first Mormon women: Polygamy, healings, and more
By Jana Riess — April 6, 2016
Membership in Relief Society used to be something you had to apply for, and several other surprises from the first 50 years of Mormon women's history.
More Jesus, Less Joseph: Changes in Mormon General Conference
By Jana Riess — March 4, 2016
Where Mormon leaders once spoke at length about the end of the world and being victims of persecution, sociologists say now it's all about Jesus and the nuclear family.
Mormon Kickstarter campaign places women at “center stage” in LDS history
By Jana Riess — May 28, 2015
Where are the women in LDS church history? Their achievements are recounted as the history of women in the Church, but not as the history of the Church. Ardis Parshall's project aims to change that.
Mormon “Gospel Topics” series addresses Mountain Meadows Massacre
By Jana Riess — May 13, 2014
Yesterday, the LDS Church released a "Gospel Topics" statement about violence in 19th-century Mormonism. With refreshing candor, the Church takes full responsibility for the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
President Uchtdorf urges Mormons toward “transparency and openness” in their history
By Jana Riess — March 8, 2014
President Uchtdorf's talk yesterday went a long way toward softening, if not erasing, some Mormons' decades-old fear of professional history.
Mormon Women Wear Pants to Church, Take Two
By Jana Riess — November 26, 2013
On December 15, Mormon feminists will wear pants and the color purple as signs of their commitment to the full flourishing of LDS women.
LDS Leader Dieter Uchtdorf Addresses Those Who Leave the Mormon Fold
By Jana Riess — October 5, 2013
In today's General Conference, LDS apostle Dieter Uchtdorf addressed the question of "If the gospel is so wonderful, why would anyone leave?" His compassionate approach was a breath of fresh air.
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