The story of the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo to a new mountain home “far away in the west” still stirs the imagination of writers, artists, historians, and musicians. Letters, diaries and other manuscript sources continue to be discovered that recount this stirring chapter in Mormon history. An entire believing people came to trust that they would find their place to worship without fear of persecution if they followed their God. This book is divided into three sections: the Mormons’ forced departure from their Nauvoo homes in 1846–47; the Mormons’ experiences along their journey to the Rocky Mountains; and what the Mormon Trail has come to mean in recent times. Even readers who have followed this history will discover new and inspiring facts about this enduring story. ISBN 978-0-8425-2969-3

Wilford Woodruff told the story of his remarkable missionary success among the United Brethren in the Three Counties of England for many years after his initial meetings with them in the mid-1800s. This book examines how this group of people, along with their friends and neighbors who were also seeking religious truth, were prepared to receive the message of the restored gospel, and how they helped the Church membership grow in the Three Counties. Readers will learn about American and British missionary exploits in this area along with converts’ stories. Finally, the book looks at how current Church members in this area have forged links with the legacy of this amazing time of harvest. ISBN 978-1-9443-9415-8

This volume offers a fresh but faithful focus on the journey of covenants and discipleship through the double lens of ancient words and medieval images. The first part of the book helps us see Christ’s identity as our Redeemer by exploring the ancient words that connect covenants, redemption, worship, the presence of the Lord, and sitting down enthroned in God’s presence as his children and heirs. The second part of the book reveals Christ as our ransom by exploring medieval images, particularly the image of Christ. With personal anecdotes, historical background, and scriptural analysis, this section uses devotional images and late medieval practices of contemplation as a strategy to come unto Christ. By using medieval images as a counterpoint to Restoration practices and ordinances, we can more fully appreciate the gift of God’s Son and see it with fresh eyes. ISBN 978-1-9443-9490-5

This book is about finding God and strengthening faith. Though some stories are about joining the LDS church, this is not a book of conversion stories. This three-year effort began as a search for interesting stories about how BYU intertwined with people’s lives and how it affected their faith. The compilers were pleased to discover experiences that were much richer in thought and detail, and far more complex than the anticipated recitations of meaningful classroom interactions and the introduction of religious values in an intellectual environment. In this thoughtful, inspriring, and sometimes humorous book, you’ll read the stories of more than twenty people and their personal interactions with BYU. You’ll read the account of Patricia Holland, who as a young teenager was deeply touched by her first contact with the University. Rabbi David Rosen shares his poignant account of traveling to Salt Lake City to meet with Church leaders about the BYU Jerusalem Center. And you’ll read about Earl Kauffman, then a non-LDS athlete who visited BYU on a recruiting visit and immediately fell in love with the University and found God in his daily interaction with teammates, students, and faculty, and later joined the Church. These essays, each a significant part of the contributors’ life histories, also serve to enrich our lives, as well as our perspectives on Finding God at BYU. ISBN 9781577349297

Who were the first Icelanders to willingly leave their beloved homeland and immigrate to the United States of America? Many people are surprised to learn these immigrants were Latter-day Saint converts eager to gather to Utah, the nineteenth-century Zion in the West. How did the message of the restored gospel come to Iceland, the land of fire and ice? What made converts adventurous enough to make this lengthy Utah journey by sail, rail, and trail, and what challenges did they encounter trying to assimilate into western American culture? These and other queries are addressed in this work, published to mark a dual sesquicentennial commemoration: the arrival of the first Icelandic Latter-day Saints in Utah, and the earliest settlement of Icelanders in the United States. ISBN 0-8425-2617-X

The 2010 BYU Church History Symposium How did a church that started with just six official members blossom into a global organization of over fourteen million members? Authors such as Richard L. Bushman, John W. Welch, and Susan Easton Black show how Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and other leaders established the foundation upon which the Church was built. According to Welch, the Book of Mormon provides the foundational administrative principles of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, “not only its doctrines and instructions for personal living but also its many administrative guidelines.” He went on to say, “The administrative character and personality of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has indeed grown directly from the genetic material found in the Book of Mormon.” This book teaches how the individuals throughout Church history were inspired to restore and establish Christ’s Church in the latter days. ISBN 978-0-8425-2785-9

The 45th Annual Brigham Young University Sidney B. Sperry Symposium This book is a compilation of essays from the 45th annual Brigham Young University Sidney B. Sperry Symposium titled Foundations of the Restoration. The keynote address by Robert L. Millet highlights the restoration of plain and precious truths. Readers will learn how we understand LDS history and doctrine, about the beliefs declared in the Articles of Faith and how we apply their truths, about the development of temples and temple ordinances, and about the restoration of true Sabbath worship. Also included are chapters on Church newspaper editor and hymn writer William W. Phelps’s contributions to our understanding of the Restoration of the gospel; the historical development of sustaining members of the First Presidency and Council of the Twelve as prophets, seers, and revelators; and the harmony and counsel needed in their declaring doctrine and making administrative decisions. ISBN 978-1-9443-9407-3

For some, the Old Testament is a difficult volume to read, much less understand. The language, symbolism, and history depicted within it can be challenging and at times frustrating. Modern biblical research and the methodologies used in that research have opened up this book of scripture to greater understanding. So too have the restoration of the priesthood and continuing revelation, which have revealed that the Old Testament patriarchs are not simply literary examples of righteous behavior in the past but living beings who have engaged with the Saints in this dispensation. This volume incorporates both academic insights and restoration revelation, thus demonstrating the way in which both can be used to gain greater insight into these pivotal narratives. ISBN 978-1-9503-0419-6

Although both members and academics alike often think of this story as well known, recent insights and discoveries associated with the efforts by the Church History Department to publish The Joseph Smith Papers have provided a fuller, richer understanding of the translation and publication of the Book of Mormon. This book was written to provide a detailed explanation of how Joseph Smith and the scribes who served with him described the process of translating the gold plates and the difficulties encountered as they sought to publish the completed book. ISBN 978-0-8425-2888-7

While recognizing the importance of that “marvelous work,” the Book of Mormon, are we content to read and reread it for its story line and its inherent spiritual power, without much more than a surface involvement? In this publication a reader can enjoy that scripture at higher levels of understanding as he brings into play Old Testament references, Book of Mormon parallels with that record, intriguing observations, and convincing inferences—all based on profound study. The result is not only a book of great interest but also a more sound and more expansive knowledge of the scripture itself. ISBN 1-5700-8650-9

The 32nd Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium The first publication of the Book of Mormon was completed only a few days before the Church was organized. The Lord revealed that it “contains a record of a fallen people, and the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Before the revelation was received on the organization of priesthood quorums, before the vision of the three degrees of glory, before knowledge of vicarious work for the dead, and before Joseph Smith was instructed to begin an inspired translation of the Bible, the Book of Mormon was received as scripture for all members of the Church. As the “keystone” containing a “fulness of the gospel,” the Book of Mormon connects, enhances, and clarifies the other standard works. This volume was published to encourage all who read it to discover and rediscover for themselves that the Book of Mormon does indeed contain the fulness of the gospel. ISBN 9781590381885