Rosh Hashanah. Yom Kippur. Sukkot. These don’t stand out to Latter-day Saints as significant dates in the early history of the Restoration like April 6, 1830, or “early in the spring of 1820.” They should. As we will see, the earliest events in the coming forth of the Book of Mormon occurred, not at random and sundry times, but on a sacred timetable from the Israelite calendar.
Church History


More Church History Features
How Joseph Smith was Given the Spirit and Power of all the Prophets
Joseph Smith was a unique individual, differing from every other religious leader in Christian history. Joseph’s brother, Hyrum Smith, once observed, “There were prophets before, but Joseph has the spirit and power of all the prophets”. How was this brought about? And where did he get the keys of every dispensation?
How Joseph Smith’s “Native, Cheery Temperament” Sustained Him Through Trials
If anyone had reasons to be overcome with melancholy and gloom, it was the Prophet Joseph Smith, who seemed to face opposition at every turn. But Joseph wrote that from his youth he always had a “native cheery temperament”. How can we strive for the same?
Hidden Things: Emma Smith Through the Eyes of Those Who Knew Her Best
Too often we may fall into the trap of thinking that Emma was just an extension of Joseph rather than seeing her as a person of great religious conviction, influence, and impact in her own right. We look forward to the opportunity to shed a little extra light on who she was—particularly by seeing her through the eyes of those who knew her best.
What Eliza R. Snow and Emmeline B. Wells learned about unity and persistence amid hardship in late 19th century
The latest release of Eliza’s discourses and Emmeline’s diaries provide insight into their teachings, service and personal lives as they strive for unity and to let “great things be done by the women of Zion.”
Latter-day Saint German Soldier Sees Miracle in World War ll
When World War II started, my grandfather received his German draft papers. Our family learned from his journals that many Germans, including Opi, did not support the Nazis. The SS (the elite political soldiers of the Nazi Party), requested that my grandfather do some genealogy research for the German “Motherland.” However, when Opi discovered that the research was to locate the names of people with Jewish ancestors, he quickly refused.
Hidden Things: Six Things You Might Not Know About the Golden Plates
How much do you know about the golden plates? Here are just six things about them that you may not already know that are sure to increase your appreciation for them and all that went in to the process of translation.