Category: Features
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Classic President Holland Talks
There are a handful of general authorities whose way with words guaranteed them a certain this-world immortality that goes beyond Wikipedia lists or early childhood memories of General Conference. Elder Maxwell was one, and I think President Holland is another. I’ve been seeing various people post some of their favorite or most impactful President Holland…
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CFM 1/5-1/11: Poetry for “This Is My Work and My Glory”
I’ve left off any image to represent Gods “work and glory”; since we teach that His work is “to bring to pass the Immortality and Eternal Life of Man,” I am not at all sure how to represent that. Images of what ‘heaven’ looks like all seem to me to be either unlikely or based…
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A Review: Latter-day Saint Theology among Christian Theologies
In his landmark 1993 work The Millenarian World of Early Mormonism, Grant Underwood established himself as a scholar of high caliber, capable of articulating the complex historical and theological developments of the Restoration with remarkable clarity. His newest offering, Latter-day Saint Theology among Christian Theologies (published by Eerdmans), represents the culmination of decades of ecumenical…
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From “Sunflower” to “Oak”: Mark Grover on the First Century of the Church in South America
This Christmas Day marks exactly 100 years since the continent of South America was dedicated for the preaching of the gospel. Today, with millions of members and dozens of temples from Colombia to Tierra del Fuego, it is easy to view this growth as inevitable. But in 1925, when three General Authorities arrived in Buenos…
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A Review: Seven Songs: Signs of Christ in the Old Testament
Seven Songs: Signs of Christ in the Old Testament, by Adam S. Miller and Rosalynde F. Welch, is a significant and rewarding addition to their thematic series. Having appreciated previous contributions like Seven Gospels and Seven Visions, this volume immediately captured attention for its focused engagement at the intersection of theology and ancient song. Structured…
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CFM 12/22-12/28: Poetry for “The Matchless Gift of God’s Divine Son”
One advantage to providing the poetry for these lessons early is that it allows teachers and others a little time to adjust the timing of lessons. For example, this coming week’s lesson in Sunday School should be on the Family (see last week’s post), but given that the coming lesson is on the Sunday before…
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Snorkeling in Scripture: Joshua Sears on Why Latter-day Saints Need Study Bibles
For many Latter-day Saints, the idea of using a “Study Bible”—often written by non-LDS scholars and using modern translations—can feel like stepping onto shaky ground. We love the King James Version; it’s the language of the Restoration, the Book of Mormon, and our temple liturgy. Yet, most of us have also experienced the “hypnotizing monotony”…
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Latter-day Saint Book Review: The Doors of Perception, by Aldous Huxley
Psychedelics are having quite the moment right now, with many people claiming, or at least implying that they can provide a chemical shortcut to the kind of numinous affect that has traditionally been the purview of conventional religious practice, whether it’s praying in the celestial room while fasting, focusing on the Eucharist in a perpetual…
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The Evolution of a Ban: Paul Reeve on Brigham Young and the Curse of Cain
Most Latter-day Saints know that for over a century, the Church restricted men of black African descent from holding the priesthood and black members from temple ordinances, but the specific origins of this ban—and specifically how Brigham Young’s teachings on the “curse of Cain” hardened into policy—remain a source of confusion and pain for many.…
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CFM 12/15-12/21(The Family): Poetry for “The Family Is Central to the Creator’s Plan”
The LDS focus on the family is one of our best-known doctrines—an idea largely based on our belief that we are children of heavenly parents. As a result of these beliefs, we consistently worry about how well we are doing as parents, and about the strength of our family relationships. I often wonder if we…
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CFM 12/8-12/14 (OD 1 &2, Articles of Faith): Poetry for “We Believe”
When I think about the phrase “We Believe”, I lean to thinking that the more important word is “We” instead of the traditional focus on “Believe”. And I think the history of the early Church in the 1830s supports this focus. Many members of the Church were decidedly anti-creedal; i.e., they were against having a…
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The Watch, the Bullet, and the Windowsill: Examining John Taylor’s Carthage Miracle
For generations of Latter-day Saints, the story of John Taylor’s pocket watch stopping a bullet at Carthage Jail has been a defining symbol of the Martyrdom, seemingly frozen in time at 5:16 p.m. However, for nearly as long as the watch has been displayed at the Church History Museum, questions have persisted: did a bullet…
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CFM 12/1-12/7 (D&C 137-138): Poetry for “The Vision of the Redemption of the Dead”
A less-discussed principle of the gospel is the idea that it is universal—i.e, that the gospel and its blessings are available to all of God’s children, including those who are dead. The application of this belief leads to performing ordinances for the dead, a practice that is unique, as far as I know, among Christian…
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A Review: Pearl of Great Price: A Study Edition for Latter-day Saints
Stephen O. Smoot’s Pearl of Great Price: A Study Edition for Latter-day Saints, Revised Edition is a timely and useful resource that synthesizes academic rigor with devotional utility. Published in partnership with Scripture Central and Interpreter Foundation, this work succeeds in its mission to bring crucial historical and linguistic context directly into the hands of…
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An Inside Look at the Bells at Temple Square
For many, the Bells at Temple Square are a familiar and joyful sight, especially at the Tabernacle Choir’s annual Christmas concerts or broadcasts of Music and the Spoken Word. It’s easy to appreciate the beautiful music, but what’s the story behind this world-class ensemble? How did it start, and what is its unique role within…
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CFM 11/24-11/30 (D&C 135-136): Poetry for “ He “Has Sealed His Mission and His Works with His Own Blood”
Our feelings about Joseph Smith can often be conflicted. On one hand we revere him as the prophet of the restoration, who has “has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived.” But need to the use of the phrase “save Jesus only”…
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How and Why: Matthew Godfrey Explains the 2025 Scripture Updates
The recent 2025 updates to Latter-day Saint scriptures have raised important questions for many members. While we know the changes are minor (applying primarily to the study helps rather than the scriptures themselves) and stem from the monumental Joseph Smith Papers Project, official announcements often lack the full context for how and why these adjustments…
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Redeeming the Dead: More Than Just “Doing Names”
While many Latter-day Saints are familiar with the mechanics of redeeming the dead through family history and temple work, the theology behind it—whether it’s just a “fix” or something more fundamental to God’s plan—is a deeper question. As we study the scriptural foundations for this work in the Doctrine and Covenants (especially D&C 124, 127,…
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Chad Nielsen’s Favorite Reads, 2025 edition
As with previous years (e.g., the 2024 edition), I’ve prepared a list of my top 10 books that I’ve read this year. (That can include books that were not published within the last year, though the majority of them were published in 2024 or 2025). Also, since I have published 30 book reviews so far…
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CFM 11/17-11/23 (D&C 133-134): Poetry for “Prepare Ye for the Coming of the Bridegroom”
It’s difficult to overestimate the importance of the second coming in the restoration. Early members of the Church thought it would come quickly, in just a few years. And they wrote and taught about that expectation. While it seems like the focus on the second coming has diminished over time, we still regularly preach and…
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Building a Global Zion: The Life and Vision of David O. McKay: A Review
Brian Q. Cannon’s Building a Global Zion: The Life and Vision of David O. McKay is a significant and welcome addition to the biographical literature on the ninth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Despite its accessible length of just over 250 pages, the work is substantive, providing a comprehensive overview…
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What Conditions Might Generate a Social Preference for Polygamy?
Guest post by Paul Burnham What Conditions Might Generate a Social Preference for Polygyny? Introduction During the occasional discussions of polygyny in Church literature and on the Bloggernacle, I see two competing narratives—a religious narrative and a romantic narrative. In the religious narrative, God’s will must always prevail and on occasion His will has…
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Wakara’s America: A Book Review
In the grand narrative of the Latter-day Saint settlement of the West, certain figures loom large: Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, and the thousands of Mormon pioneers who made the desert blossom as a rose. Native figures in this story often appear as either obstacles to be overcome or as Lamanite brethren waiting for redemption.…
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CFM 11/10-11/16(D&C 129-132): Poetry for “I Have Seen Your Sacrifices in Obedience”
This lesson can be both difficult and exulting. Our LDS understanding of the next life both inspires because of the idea that our relations have an eternal permanence, and troubles many of us because of what we don’t understand about polygamy and the details of how the multiple relationships we begin on earth translate into…
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The Three Nephites
I love studying folklore and stories, particularly among Latter-day Saints. One reason for doing so is that they reveal information about the core beliefs, cultural values, and lived religious experiences of the communities that share them. Perhaps no folklore cycle illustrates this better than the persistent legends of The Three Nephites, and a fantastic new…
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Of Hurdles and Covenants: A Review of Joshua M. Sears’s A Modern Guide to an Old Testament
For many Latter-day Saints, the annual Come, Follow Me journey through the Old Testament can feel like a daunting pilgrimage. It is a vast and often alien landscape, filled with archaic language, bewildering poetry, and troubling cultural norms that can create a significant chasm between the modern reader and the ancient text. While numerous commentaries…
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Chief Wakara in Utah History
A recent interview with historian Max Perry Mueller over at the Latter-day Saint history blog, From the Desk, does the hard work of re-centering a figure many of us know only by name, if at all: the Ute war leader Wakara. Mueller argues compellingly that Wakara was not just a side character in the pioneer…
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CFM 11/3-11/9(D&C 125-128): Poetry for “A Voice of Gladness for the Living and the Dead”
Baptism for the Dead is one of the beliefs that make the LDS Church distinctive among religions today. Frequently discussions with non-Mormons focus on what Paul meant in 1 Cor. 15:29 while ignoring the broader question that our doctrine addresses with proxy ordinances: If baptism is required for everyone, then what about those who passed…
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Three Generations of Kimballs
How do we measure the full legacy of a figure like Heber C. Kimball? We often focus on the man himself—his loyalty to Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, his mission to England, or his role as First Counselor. But a fascinating new interview at From the Desk with biographer Andrew Kimball argues for a much…
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The Handcart Tragedy
The 1856 handcart tragedy remains a defining, painful moment in Latter-day Saint history, and the question of “who is responsible?” has echoed for generations. We often settle for simple answers or familiar myths. However, a recent interview at the Latter-day Saint history blog, From the Desk, with Don H. Smith and Mark C. Austin, authors…