Mormon Church Publishes official History Book

Mormon Church Publishes Official History Book, The First of Its Kind in Nearly 90 Years

Mormon Church Publishes official History Book
By Famartin [CC BY-SA 4.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons
It will have a total of four volumes

The new history book of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was intentionally written in a breezy, colloquial style.[/tweetit] The book, titled Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, details its exploration of the first 30 years in the church's speckled history. The authors have clearly identified their audience: on that’s global and comprised of all ages. The focus is on the young adults in the church fold. The first volume of the tome, named The Standard of Truth, is available for free online, but the printed edition carries a price tag. Readers can also access the content through the Gospel Library app.

Mormon Church Publishes Official History Book, The First of Its Kind in Nearly 90 Years[/tweetthis]

The subsequent volumes, from two to four, will be released to the public over a span of the next few years. The first volume starts with a description of Joseph Smith, the founder of the LDS church. The timeline of the book begins in 1815 and ends in 1846. This is not the first time the church has published a multi-volume history book, however the last history book was released nearly 90 years ago in 1930. B.H. Roberts, the then LDS General Secretary, put together a six-volume chronicle that tackled the tougher components of theology, Mormon history, and doctrine. At the time, membership to the church was much less than one million, and the denomination was restricted to North America. The Utah-headquartered church now has over 16 million members throughout the world.

The book begins with Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon church, migrating from Vermont to New York with his family. It will be in New York where he will establish The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The content is an easy read, using first names to depict characters instead of the honorifics generally used in such writings. Small incidents are weaved into bigger contexts to provide a sense of inclusiveness. Surprisingly, the controversial segments of Mormonism also find mention, like seer stones, race relations, polygamy, and treasure seeking. These elements are simplified and condensed for wider acceptance. To those who follow the Mormon school of thought, the book comes after several church essays which tries to justify the controversial components of Mormon theology, history, and doctrine. Steven E. Snow, a church historian and general authority Seventy, said the writing style closely followed the advice given by President Brigham Young and what was later transmitted to the church concerning narrative style writing.