Mormonism and history/Gospel Topics essays

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The Church's Gospel Topics essays on LDS.org

"The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve both have been very supportive of this process....I think they sense the need to provide accurate information to our members to counter a lot of sensationalism that tends to come about online or on the Internet over some of these historical topics. We want them to be able to go to a place where they can read accurate information and be able to seek to understand those historical chapters in the context of time and place and understand these answers have been approved by the presiding Brethren of the church. I think that will give many of our members confidence that they can rely on those answers.
—Elder Steven E. Snow, Church Historian, quoted in "LDS Church enhances web pages on its history, doctrine," Deseret News (9 December 2013) off-site

Questions

What has the Church done to help members learn about historical issues?

Answer

The Church has posted a series of essays on LDS.org in the Gospel Topics section. These essays have been written by historians and reviewed and approved by the First Presidency. In addition, material on these topics has been incorporated into new Seminary manuals.

CHURCH ESSAYS

• First Vision Accounts—
  Brief Excerpt: Joseph Smith published two accounts of the First Vision during his lifetime. The first of these, known today as Joseph Smith—History, was canonized in the Pearl of Great Price and thus became the best known account. The two unpublished accounts, recorded in Joseph Smith’s earliest autobiography and a later journal, were generally forgotten until historians working for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rediscovered and published them in the 1960s. Since that time, these documents have been discussed repeatedly in Church magazines, in works printed by Church-owned and Church-affiliated presses, and by Latter-day Saint scholars in other venues.1 In addition to the firsthand accounts, there are also five descriptions of Joseph Smith’s vision recorded by his contemporaries. (Click here for full article)
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• Book of Mormon Translation—
  Brief Excerpt: Some accounts indicate that Joseph studied the characters on the plates. Most of the accounts speak of Joseph’s use of the Urim and Thummim (either the interpreters or the seer stone), and many accounts refer to his use of a single stone. According to these accounts, Joseph placed either the interpreters or the seer stone in a hat, pressed his face into the hat to block out extraneous light, and read aloud the English words that appeared on the instrument.26 The process as described brings to mind a passage from the Book of Mormon that speaks of God preparing “a stone, which shall shine forth in darkness unto light.” (Click here for full article)
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• Race and the Priesthood (Click here for full article)
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• Plural Marriage and Families in Early Utah (Click here for full article)
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• Are Mormons Christian? (Click here for full article)
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• Book of Mormon and DNA studies (Click here for full article)
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• Becoming like God (Click here for full article)
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