Understanding What History Can and Cannot Prove (How Can We Know) Historians can evaluate documents, determine when they were written, and understand how earlier generations interpreted them. However, they cannot prove spiritual claims, such as whether Paul truly saw Jesus or whether Joseph Smith received revelation. History can only confirm that: Paul claimed repeatedly to … Read more
From the earliest decades of the Restoration, the question of who introduced plural marriage has been contested. Latter-day Saints have consistently taught that the principle was revealed to Joseph Smith and practiced under his direction in Nauvoo. In contrast, the Reorganized Church (RLDS, now Community of Christ) spent more than a century claiming that Joseph … Read more
The Main Issue: The “Happiness Letter” The episode centers on a very well-known quote often attributed to Joseph Smith: “Happiness is the object and design of our existence, and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the … Read more
The Lectures on Faith in Early Latter-day Saint Scripture When the Doctrine and Covenants first appeared in 1835, it contained two major parts: the “Doctrine,” which consisted of the Lectures on Faith, and the “Covenants,” a collection of revelations to Joseph Smith. The volume’s title page explained that its contents were “carefully selected from the … Read more
Mercy Rachel Fielding Thompson Introduction Among the many influential women of early Latter-day Saint history, Mercy Rachel Fielding Thompson stands out as a devoted disciple whose life intersected repeatedly with pivotal events of the Restoration. Although less widely known than her sister Mary Fielding Smith, Mercy’s experiences provide firsthand insight into persecution, temple building, plural … Read more
Missouri Period and Early Persecution of the Latter-day Saints (1831–1839) Missouri became a central gathering place for early Latter-day Saints beginning in 1831, with major settlement in Jackson County by 1832–1833. Rising tensions between longtime settlers and Church members escalated rapidly. By 1833, organized mob violence erupted, resulting in the destruction of homes, physical assaults, … Read more