It has been 90 years since the last detailed text of the Church was published. Elder Steven E. Snow, General Authority Seventy, says “Obviously much has happened since 1930. We have a team in our department working very hard to complete a four-volume history of the Church entitled Saints. It will be written in a style similar to James Michener or David McCullough” (Church Historian Announces New 4-Volume History of the Church, R. Scott Lloyd).

The first chapter of this book is available online in the February issue of the Ensign and Liahona magazines. The chapters and topics will be released every month in the magazines until it is published. It is also available in the Gospel Library app in 47 languages and as an audiobook in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Art of Nauvoo by Greg Newbold will be featured on the cover of Volume 1.

Here is a quick summary of what each volume of the books cover:

• Volume 1 covers the history of the Church to the dedication of the Nauvoo Temple
• Volume 2 covers the western exodus of the Latter-day Saints to the Salt Lake Temple dedication
• Volume 3 covers the first half of the 20^th century to the dedication of the Swiss Temple
• Volume 4 covers today and some of the temples around the world

So far, the plan is to publish the volumes of one per year from 2018-2021. “At the same time these volumes are released in print they will be available online at no cost. . . They will be published in an inexpensive paperback format, as we are desirous that as many Church members as possible read them. They have been carefully researched and contain many stories of faith previously unknown to most Latter-day Saints” (R. Scott Lloyd).

“They are written at a 9^th or 10^th grade level and the volumes will be published in all 13 languages that Church-published content is available on the internet. Endnotes and references, especially in the online version, will take interested readers to additional information, videos, articles, etc., in which they may have additional interest” (Elder Steven E. Snow).

I am interested in the new volumes coming out. I think that the narrative style is a fantastic way to learn about the history of the Church. It makes the history fun to learn when you get to read stories about the people that are in the books.

Historian Steven C. Harper shares an insider’s peek into the groundbreaking new series. Saints 1815-1846: The Standard of Truth.

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“13 We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”

Helmuth Hübener, the youngest opponent to the Third Reich, died living these principles.

A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he was raised by his adoptive father Hugo, who was a Nazi sympathizer. Like all youth at the time, he joined the Hitler Youth when he came of age and had no problems with the Nazi regime.

This changed for him after Kristallnacht.

Many of his friends and classmates participated in persecuting the Jews and destroying their homes and businesses. This did not settle well with young Helmuth, and from that night of broken glass and the screams of the terrified, he placed himself in opposition to the Third Reich.

He participated in debates at the local LDS church, where his bishop (a member of the Nazi party) had banned Jews from attending religious meetings. His resistance against this principle of discrimination was such that the bishop, without consulting higher members of the Church, excommunicated him from the Church.

If that was meant to discourage Helmuth, it didn’t work. Determined to pursue virtue and with a hope to endure all things, Helmuth began a vigorous campaign against the Third Reich. He and his friends listened to BBC radio, even though it was treasonous to do so. Inspired by the ideas that he heard, they started to write leaflets dedicated to opposing the Nazi movement.

This opposition did not go unnoticed.

On February 5th, 1942, Helmuth and his friends were turned in to the Gestapo by his employer, who had caught them trying to distribute their pamphlets to French prisoners of war. On August 11, 1942, Helmuth Hübener, age 17, was sentenced to death by the Volksgerichtshof. 

It isn’t hard to picture a youth of 17 trembling and afraid in the face of death, but Helmuth defied the expectations of his age till his end. Standing tall in the court, he made a prophecy that was eventually fulfilled only a few years later:

“Now I must die, even though I have committed no crime. So now it’s my turn, but your turn will come.”

Helmuth was executed two months later by guillotine at Plötzensee Prison. His friends were also sentenced, but only given 10 years apiece.

Helmuth Hübener’s sacrifice did not go unnoticed. Four years after his death, he was posthumously reinstated into the Church after his story reached the ears of Max Zimmer, a new mission president at the time. He was given the office of an elder, as well as rebaptized and endowed. His life has been the subject of several media adaptions, including novels, plays and movies.

It would have been easy for Helmuth to remain cowed in the midst of so many people, including members of his own faith, who were too afraid to fight for the things which were “virtuous, lovely and of good report or praiseworthy.” Helmuth’s sacrifice deserves recognition for not only what he did to stand up and speak out, but for the example he set to seek the good things in all circumstances in his life.

Elder Joseph Brackenbury is one of them. An emigrant from England, he joined the then newly christened Church of Christ in April 10th of 1831. He was immediately called as an elder on April 11th of 1831 and left for a mission in August of 1831. He was a man of enormous faith who performed several miracles, one of which was told by John Whitmer:

“August 1831 [after Joseph and company return to Ohio] many mighty miracles were wrought by the Elders—one in particular which I shall here notice—which was wrought by Elders Emer Harris Joseph Brackenbury and Wheeler Baldwin. Is [about] an infirmity in an old lady who had been helpless for the space of eight years confined to her bed. She did not belong to this church but sent her request to the Elders who immediately attended to her call, and after their arrival prayed for her and laid their hands on her, and she was immediately made whole and magnified and praised God. and is now enjoying perfect health”.

Elder Brackenbury’s faith was so strong that he was determined to serve his God until the end. He told his friends that he had “consecrated all to God before he was baptized, he was also determined to go on to the end of his life.”

He fulfilled this vow not long after.

In December of 1831, he was called to serve a mission east. In Pomfret, New York, he was secretly administered poison by anti-Mormons led by the devil and boasting that a missionary’s faith was insufficient to save him from death. He suffered horrifically, and “remained in great distress, which he bore with [the] fortitude of a saint for one week and expired with an unshaken confidence in the fullness of the gospel which he had preached, and a firm hope of a glorious resurrection among the just.”

Elder Brackenbury’s mission on this Earth was short, but his legacy can live on in the way we conduct our lives. His standard of serving till our last breathe is a standard we can hold high and proud, and if we do so, we too can have a “firm hope of a glorious resurrection among the just.”

Even though he and his family were well-off in their home country, persecution mounted against them for their new conversion to the strange new faith called “Mormonism”. This type of persecution was common at the time, even though the country had just recently signed a constitution guaranteeing religious liberty, among other rights. Clergy in other churches convinced authorities that “Mormons” were not Christians, which meant that missionaries could be arrested and jailed for preaching, baptizing, and even administering the sacrament. Many instances of harassment and vandalism were recorded toward church members, usually from people with whom they were close before their conversion!

Hans Lars Nielsen was one of over 27,000 LDS emigrants to brave a month on a cramped ship from Scandinavia between 1850-1950 . It is estimated that half of all emigrants from the region came from Denmark. He and his wife sacrificed much for what they believed to be true. Besides giving their very lives, I know of no greater sacrifice than the one they were about to make.

This excerpt is from a history that was written years later by his granddaughter and her husband, Charley Christensen.

Yes, the spirit of Satan reigned against them. Though their relatives… threatened in every way possible, but to no avail, to Zion they must go. Then came the day when they were to sail from their native land. It was a day never to be forgotten.

They boarded the ship the day before sailing, along with other emigrants. They took with them a few belongings such as clothing and a few necessities to make the journey.

One of the Grandparents said “why don’t you let Mary stay with us tonight?, “We will bring her to the ship in the morning in plenty of time before the ship is to sail.”

Can you imagine the anxiety the next morning when it was time for the ship to sail and they were waiting for their child in the huge crowd on board, perhaps 2000 people – all strangers?

Where, where is Mary? Aren’t they going to bring her? What in the world shall we do? There were but a few minutes before sailing time. I can hear Grandpa say “Don’t get excited. They’ll come. They will be here in time. “No, no if they don’t come we can’t go”, was Granda’s reply.

But go they must. The big ship began moving. “oh, Hans, we can’t we can’t leave Mary.” Now they were facing a reality. They ware leaving their 14 year-old daughter, perhaps never to see her again.

“Sell all thou hast and come and follow me” was easy compared to leaving their own flesh who they knew would be equally lonesome for them.”

Yes, Satan reigned in the hearts of men and these grandparents to the extent of stealing the daughter for revenge.

The sacrifices that early converts to the gospel made are incredible to me. As a new father of a little girl, I don’t know if I could ever imagine a circumstance that would be worth abandoning her. But the gospel was worth it to them – it was a treasure beyond worldly wealth, which sacrifice in part gave me the chance to be born into the gospel and enjoy the blessings therein. I hope that this story will inspire you in a way that it has motivated me to become a better person and sacrifice anything and everything for the cause of truth.

Author Bio

This post was written/submitted by Daniel Christensen, an ameteur family historian and cinnamon roll lover. He lives near Boise, ID with his wife and baby daughter.

David W. Patten was the first apostolic martyr of the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, marking in blood a legacy that defined what it means to give all for the faith.  At his funeral, Joseph Smith remarked that “There lies a man that has done just as he said he would—he has laid down his life for his friends.” His entire life was dedicated to mankind, up until and including his martyrdom.

Image via mormonnewsroom.org

Conversion And Missions

David W. Patten was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1832. In 1830, after hearing of the publication of the Book of Mormon, he read only the preface and the testimony of the Three Witnesses before he was convinced that the book was true. Two years later, he heard that his brother John Patten had joined the Church, and he rode three hundred miles to Fairplay, Indiana, and was baptized by his brother.

David hit the ground running. Two days after he was baptized, he was made an elder and sent on a mission to the Michigan Territory. He had hardly any money or food, instead relying on the hospitality of those he found on his way. He was joined by another recent convert named Joseph Wood, and the two of them took the territory by storm.

David immediately set himself apart as a man of great faith and empathy towards others. He was known on his mission for his healing abilities; many would come to him seeking a blessing, and through their faith and his faith in his Heavenly Father, he laid his hands on their heads and cured them of their illnesses. Such were the miracles of his blessings that Abraham O. Smoot said, “he never knew an instance in which David’s petition for the sick was not answered.”

In total, David W. Patten served twelve missions for the Church. He was ordained a member of the first Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1835, only three years after his baptism. He was known for his resilience against the mob persecution that began in Missouri. Such was his dedication and fearlessness in defending and preaching the gospel that other members of the Church began to refer to him as Captain Fear-Not.

He would seal this title with his death.

Image via lds.org

Martyrdom

On October 24th, 1838, a Missourian mob kidnapped three Saints and planned to kill them that night. At midnight, 75 members of the Church, led by Captain Fear-Not, armed themselves and prepared a daring rescue mission against the mob to rescue their brethren.

David wanted to surprise the mob and take back the prisoners through intimidation alone, but when they came near Crooked River, a mob member standing guard fired a shot and hit Patrick O’Banion, who fell. Captain Patten, leading a separate group of about 15 men away to flank the mob, heard the shot and came to the rescue.

The Battle of Crooked River commenced. Several men were wounded, and Gideon Carter was killed instantly. The Missourians were situated behind a riverbank, holding a tactical position that allowed them to fire into the Mormon army.

Patten, seeing the hearts of his men falter in the face of terrific gunfire, led a charge against the mob position, taking his sword and leading with the battle cry of “GOD AND LIBERTY!!!” The Missourian line broke, but not before Patten was shot and mortally wounded.

He died several hours after the battle. On his deathbed, he quoted Paul in saying that, “I feel that I have kept the faith, I have finished my course, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown, which the Lord will give me.” Moments later, he died.

Unbeknownst to most, David W. Patten died exactly the way he wanted to. He had once remarked to the Prophet that he had a great desire to die the death of a martyr. Joseph was sorry when he heard this, and he told David that,  “when a man of your faith asks the Lord for anything, he generally gets it.”

Image via lds.org

Fear Not And Serve

Captain Fear-Not was a man of great faith, but he wielded that faith in the service of others.

In these last days, it’s not enough to have faith in the gospel. Faith isn’t an endgame, it’s a step towards fulfilling our destiny in life, which is to serve our fellow man to the best of our ability. We may not have to die for one another, but we should certainly be prepared to, and this kind of valor is only attained along the path that David W. Patten paved: a lifetime of service and sacrifice.

If we can walk that path, maybe one day we can earn a title as cool as Captain Fear-Not.

Shadrach Roundy was a bodyguard for Joseph Smith during the Prophet’s tumultuous final years. He was described as being “fully six feet tall, raw-boned and muscular, weighing slightly less than two hundred pounds.” He was known for being “positively fearless and full of integrity…Such was his character that he would rather have died than fail to do his duty” He didn’t wear a cape, but it wasn’t hard to imagine Shadrach Roundy as a pioneer Superman, a defender of faith in the face of great evil.

This Superman was put to the test when he faced down an angry mob consisting of 40 men roaring for the Prophet’s head.

Image via brittanica.com

Standing Against Evil

On June 7, 1844, William Law published a slanderous newspaper labeled The Nauvoo Expositor that claimed to be an exposé on the Church and its teachings. Citing the paper and press as a public nuisance and within their rights of the Nauvoo Charter, Joseph Smith ordered that the press be destroyed. This destruction of the press led to Joseph’s eventual arrest and imprisonment in Carthage Jail.

Carthage was not the only place his life was threatened during this time. On the night Joseph was indicted for “inciting riot”, William Law and forty armed citizens marched to Joseph’s home, and there was blood in their hearts.

The only one between them and the end of Joseph Smith was one Shadrach Roundy.

Joseph Smith had warned his faithful Superman that there would be an attempt to kidnap him that night. Shadrach was sent to guard the Prophet’s house with explicit instructions that no one was to be allowed in. He had been told they would be coming up the river, and so he was patrolling the river near the Prophet’s home when he heard voices at the gate. He hurried to the source of the voices to find William Law and forty other mobbers trying to get in.

As a bodyguard and member of the police force of Nauvoo, it’s expected that Shadrach would have some kind of weapon on him to defend both himself and the Prophet. Following the Expositor destruction, however, his weapons had been turned over to the government militia. Shadrach was only armed with his wits, his courage, and a hickory walking stick.

Speaking for myself, if I were suddenly facing down forty men with only a walking stick and a prayer, William Law would’ve gotten a nice view of my coattails as I either beat it or at least gone to get help. Luckily for Joseph, he had Superman instead of me guarding his house that fateful night.

Shadrach, using his hickory cane like a sword, forced the men back out of the gate. He then gripped the cane and laid it across the gate to keep the intruders out while he reasonably asked them what their business was for the night. William Law replied that they were “gentlemen merchants” who had come to see the mummies that Joseph Smith had in his possession. Shadrach retorted that “if they were gentlemen, they should come at gentlemen’s hours”.

Shadrach was joined by his companion Josiah Arnold, who was also on Joseph’s detail. He too was determined to keep back the mob that would’ve taken the Prophet away. Seeing the resolution in their eyes, the mob stopped trying to push their way through. William Law “asked if they knew who they were talking to.” This name dropping meant little to the two men of God, who replied that “yes, they knew him too well.”

William and his men still insisted on getting through, but Shadrach and Josiah would not move. In a final act of courage that delved deep into their faith in the Prophet and their Heavenly Father, they stated to the mob that “if they gained admission, it would be over their dead bodies.”

Such words you might expect to find in final showdowns between superheroes as they flex gigantic muscles, but the power in this quiet sentence was matchless when it came from humble men willing to fight to the death for a Prophet they loved. William Law saw it too; he and his band of criminals left soon after with their tails tucked between their legs.

Image via www.willisorchards.com

Finding Our Hickory Stick

We can achieve this kind of personal valor in our own lives.

Shadrach wasn’t born a Superman. He built his courage as he learned to be obedient. Over his lifetime, he made hundreds of small and large sacrifices for the gospel that forged an iron spirit. When the opportunity came to stand up for righteousness, he was able to do so because he had taken the time to create that resolve. His hickory stick was not only a weapon to use against evil; it was an extension of his faith. 

There will come a time when we will need hickory sticks of our own.

In the last days, the Lord has promised that even some of the elect will fall as doubt creeps into our ranks and trials sunder our testimonies. Our prophets, our families, even our very identities will be challenged by the hordes of Satan. It will feel at times as though we are defending ourselves with only a hickory stick against an onslaught that should surely overcome us. However, if that stick is an extension of our faith, we will be able to turn the tides with the strength of our courage and the might of our God.

Find your hickory stick, and if you wield it with faith, you too can become a Hickory Stick Superman.

In a truly stunning video from 1948, the Clawson brothers depict prophets Joseph F. Smith and Heber J. Grant, bringing to life the valiant MEN we have read about and loved. Listed are several other faces we may not know as well, faces that are attached to legacies that have spawned generations and formed the Church into what it is today.

What is remarkable to me, however, are the smiles. Almost every picture I’ve seen of Joseph F. Smith and early leaders of the church picture them, of course, as unsmiling portrait paintings that depict the gravity of their calling. This video, however, looks beyond the portrait into the man. We see church leaders grinning as they talk with their colleagues, and even in black and white, the light shining from their eyes is palpable.

I’m grateful to have come across this video, because it’s given me the opportunity to get just a glimpse of the humanity behind some of the Church’s giants. Even if you watch only five minutes of this clipping, you’ll walk away with a lighter heart.

Who Was Matthew?

To provide context to one of the most mysterious yet famous figures in the Bible, it’s important to note the political climate. During New Testament times, the Roman government held the Jews under an iron thumb, and publicans were the tax collectors who worked for the oppressive system. As such, they were ardently despised by the Jews. Any Jew who became a publican was considered a traitor to the faith and culture. So notorious were the publicans that of the 22 times that they are mentioned in the New Testament, at least half put them in a bad light and/or group them with sinners, harlots, or heathens. They were their own category of evil.

From this hated occupation came the apostle Matthew, also called Levi. Indeed, Jesus called Matthew to follow while the latter was in the middle of doing his job. Immediately, Matthew “left all” and obeyed.

What Set Him Apart?

Christ Ordaining the Apostles (Christ Ordaining the Twelve Apostles), by Harry Anderson. Courtesy of the LDS Media Library.

As far as we know, the other apostles hailed from lowlier vocations. Peter, Andrew, James, and John, of course, were fishermen.  Matthew was likely alone in his more politically prestigious background. On top of enduring the derision of his Jewish peers, he was present for at least three instances in which the Lord Himself negatively generalized publicans. Although the Lord pointed out that some publicans may be more righteous than the Pharisees, He nevertheless implied their status as horrendous sinners by making such a comparison. In justifying His dinner with “publicans and sinners” by explaining that He was a physician for the sick, He also admitted that He considered the publicans among the most spiritually infirm.

Each of the instances in which the Lord spoke of publicans with low regard was recorded in the gospel that Matthew himself wrote. In fact, his writings rival only Luke’s regarding the number of times that publicans are brought up. On the other hand, there is no record of Matthew ever interrupting the Lord to say that not all publicans are that bad. He didn’t try to defend himself or anyone else in his line of work. There’s no evidence that his ego was wounded. Not even in Matthew’s own gospel exists a hint of his discontent.

The Life-Changing Question

When Jesus told His disciples that one of them would betray Him, they all asked, “Is it I?”—Matthew included. Surely, however, it was not the first time Matthew had to say these words. It seems we can assume that he simply nodded and accepted the Lord’s criticism of the people in his line of work, focusing less on taking personal offense and more on asking himself, “Is it I?” That is, “Am I part of the problem that the Lord is describing? How can I rise above it?”

In Remembrance of Me, by Walter Rane. Courtesy of the LDS Media Library. This painting depicts Christ’s last supper before His crucifixion, the scene in which His apostles all wondered aloud if they would be the ones to betray Him.

Later, Matthew penned the book that became the first of the four gospels included in most versions of the Bible. This man, who was rejected by his fellow Jews solely for his profession, is known for having written specifically with the Jews in mind, mentioning numerous references to Old Testament prophecies in order to convince his audience that Jesus had fulfilled them. Like his Master, Matthew was ferociously hated by his own people; however, also like his Master, Matthew’s response to such hatred was to reach out with all his power to save them.

A Leader We Should Follow

Matthew endured constant and vicious criticism for being a publican, but he used it to become one of the most influential representatives of the Lord the world has known. He should be an inspiration to everyone who has ever felt ostracized, negatively generalized, or unfairly singled out, as well as those who are quicker to defend their sins than they are to abandon them. When Matthew the publican chose time and time again to ask, “Is it I?”—that’s when he became Matthew the Apostle.