Our Purpose
The history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—casually dubbed Mormonism—is a modern epic. As a website, we desire to share that story with the world by sharing engaging, factual, and succinct accounts of the faith, dedication, and sacrifice of church members. We seek to be an honest resource where one can find biographies of past presidents and other influential members of the Church, personal accounts of church members, sourced articles regarding historical events, and online books on church history.
In addition to providing educational content, this website seeks to provide knowledge that may be used to satisfy one’s own curiosity, clear up confusion regarding certain historically-rooted subjects within the Church, strengthen personal testimonies, and promote open conversation between members and non-members alike. We invite you to not only read the information provided about the history of the Church, but to ponder upon the things which you learn.
Sincere questions and comments are always encouraged, as is guest content.
Luke S. Johnson: Baptism, Service, Excommunication, and Rebaptism
Luke S. Johnson was one of the first Mormon missionaries. He was born in 1807 in Vermont, but moved to Ohio in 1826. His parents, who were Methodists, were introduced to the religion of the Mormons there and began studying the new faith. They invited Joseph Smith, the...
Mormons Beef Up Their Church History Website with New Features
by Delisa Hargrove The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often inadvertently called the Mormon Church, recently packed its Church History website, www.history.lds.org, with even more features and information. Matthew McBride, the Church History Department's...
Annual Re-Enactment of the Mormon Exodus from Nauvoo
by Reasons for the Original Exodus In a bone-chilling temperature of -12°Fahrenheit, 1,000 people gathered in Nauvoo, Illinois, on February 3, 1996, to remember the original Mormon Exodus from the Saints’ beloved city. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of...
David W. Patten: Visionary, Apostle, and Martyr
David W. Patten was an early Mormon apostle who lost his life during mob violence. David was born November 19, 1799, in Theresa, New York, to Benenio or Benonio Patten and Edith (Abigail) Cole. He had a strong interest in religion and in his early years had a number...
Ziba Peterson: From Missionary to Apostate
Ziba Peterson was born about 1810 and was baptized and became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 18, 1830. He was baptized in Fayette, New York, and became an elder sometime in that year, being listed as one at the first conference of...
Isaac Morley: Faithful through Many Trials
Isaac Morley, an early member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was known by both the Mormons (a nickname for members of the Church) and by Native Americans as Father Morley. This was a title of affection, not a religious title. Morley became a...
Watch a video about the restoration of the gospel on lds.org