What were the three witnesses promised and what did they claim to experience? The basics of answering this question seems obvious—they saw the gold plates and other artifacts related to them. What is less apparent is how the Three Witnesses…
Category: Church History
“The keys of the ministering of angels”
One of the persistent questions from Doctrine and Covenants, Section 13 is what is meant by the statement that the Priesthood of Aaron “holds the keys of the ministering of angels.” Answers from general authorities in recent years have varied,…
“You have another gift”
In a land of myth and a time of magic, the destiny of a great kingdom[1] rests on the shoulders of a young man. His name … Joseph. If you couldn’t tell from the text above, my wife and I…
“A man may have many revelations”
“A messenger sent from the presence of God”
Keith Erekson and the Scholars of Pajamalot
In a recent interview with Keith Erekson (the director of the Church History Library and a member of the editorial board of the Church Historian’s Press), Kurt Manwaring discussed a variety of topics, including the forthcoming publication of the William…
“Or, are they all wrong together?”
“By mine own voice or by the voice of my servants”
Doctrine and Covenants section 1 is a fascinating document. Written in late 1831, it would chronologically fall in place right around section 67, but was intended as a preface for the compilation of Joseph Smith’s revelations known as the Book…
The Most Significant General Conference Addresses of the 2010s: A Tentative List
With the 2010s a year behind us now, I thought it might be a good time to look back at general conference in the 2010s and consider which of the talks were some of the most significant addresses given during…
How the Book of Mormon was translated: a proposal
Learning from Kinderhook
John Turner on Brigham Young
John Turner’s well-known biography Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet (Harvard University Press, 2012) provides one of the most well-rounded and in-depth look at the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It remains today one of the…
Reconsidering the Curse of Ham
“Come, Follow Me” and The Family: A Proclamation to the World
Calls to the Quorum of the Twelve: An Analysis
For something relatively out of the blue, I want to take a moment to consider potential future candidates for the Quorum of the Twelve. The Quorum of the Twelve and the First Presidency are the highest in authority in the…