During the pandemic, I’ve often thought of people in past generations who have gone through difficult, long-lasting trials and journeys. The “Mormon pioneers” have been among the people who have come to mind. Cast out from place to place, they were compelled to walk across the barren plains of then unsettled territory in the United States to find a new place to settle. July 24, 1847 was the day that the main company arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. In Utah, Pioneer Day is celebrated every year to mark this day. But members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints all over the world celebrate Pioneer Day in different ways, and also sometimes celebrate their own pioneers in their respective lands, areas, or families.

COVID-19 has changed a lot of things, but it has also allowed for resources to reach across the globe. For example, BYU Women’s Conference this year was all virtual, and you can get access to 35 different presentations for six months. And there are free presentations available as well at the following links.

• The Church News 
• BYU Women’s Conference YouTube channel 
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints YouTube channel
• sesiones complementarias (en español)
• sessões gratuitas (em português)

RootsTech (the “world’s largest celebration of family” [genealogy, family history, family connection] even before 2021) reached 1.5 million people in 240 countries. Because of this impact, the 2022 conference will all be virtual.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can find online resources to celebrate Pioneer Day no matter where they are in the world. For example, an Evening from the Pioneer Museum will be held this week on July 22 from the Museum on Facebook Live: By Trail, Sail, and Rail: Pioneer Journeys to Zion.

You can also find links to many Pioneer Day Concerts from past years here.

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I recently received an advanced copy of the first volume of Saints. The four-volume series will represent the new and official history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This publication is significant for many reasons.

• We haven’t had an official Church history published since 1930.
• This history represents years of extensive, collaborative work by historians and other experts. (Search a catalog of resources at http://churchhistorycatalog.lds.org/)
• It is written in a simple-but-thorough and accessible narrative form that can appeal to people of all ages. It reads more like a novel (you’ll probably hear people saying things like, “When will more be available?” “I can’t put it down.”) — but everything is historically accurate.
• The series takes advantage of the internet age in which we live. At history.lds.org, readers can currently find chapters from volume one with hyperlinks to each reference. Each volume will be available in print form (available for pre-order via various booksellers and at store.lds.org, in various languages); online at saints.lds.org (free); via the Gospel Library app (free — including audio book formats in English, Spanish and Portuguese); in eBook format (on Amazon Kindle, Apple iBook, and Kobo); and in English and Spanish on Audible. From saints.lds.org, you can access companion videos to enhance learning experiences.
• The history will be available to read in multiple languages: Cebuano, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Samoan, Spanish, Tagalog, and Tongan.
• These books can be used for home and personal study, and also in Sunday classes and youth Seminary classes.

There are currently seven chapters available, but Volume 1, The Standard of Truth, will be available in its entirety on September 4, 2018.

With the start of school, a sick child, and the craziness of helping a daughter get ready to move away to college, I’m only just beginning the journey of exploring this book. But I can tell you already that besides being an accessible, engaging read, I’ve already received impressions that have been important for me. I can tell that reading this series will be more than just an experience in learning history. It will be a personal spiritual experience. God has things to teach me about Him and His plan and His Son. One such impression came so strongly reading one of the chapters that I didn’t even finish the chapter in that sitting. I just sat in what God had taught me.

Elder Steven E. Snow said,

Saints is not just about imperfect people in the past who became better with the help of the Lord. It is also for imperfect people now who want to always remember Him. It will help you remember how merciful the Savior has been to His people, how He has made weak people strong, and how Saints around the globe have joined together to further God’s work.

Take a look at saints.lds.org and tell me what catches your attention. I’m sure there are more layers to the richness of this effort that I haven’t yet learned about. I’m grateful for all those who have put so much into creating these resources for us.

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Today is Pioneer Day. July 24, 1847 was the day that Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley (Utah, USA) after being persecuted and pushed west of the boundaries of what was then the United States of America. (Utah didn’t become a state until 1897.)

But celebrating Mormon pioneers doesn’t just look back at this one story of early pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley. There are Mormon pioneer stories from around the globe, some of which are gathered at history.lds.org in the Pioneers in Every Land. (You can also see Pioneers in Every Land videos in the LDS Media Library.) The Church has also organized content to feature stories of Mormon women. Of course, there are thousands, millions more stories that could be shared.

If you are a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, what Mormon pioneer stories inspire you (both early LDS pioneer stories, family stories, or stories from pioneers of other countries)?

If you are not a Mormon, and are curious about Mormon pioneer stories, you can search on LDS.org or on history.lds.org for pioneer stories.

I love the stories from Mormon pioneers in various nations that were captured for a film called “Ensign to the Nations” many years ago. This still remains one of my favorite LDS Church videos.

The post Mormon Pioneers Around the Globe appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

From the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s website:

“The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square will present their annual concert held in conjunction with community-wide Pioneer Day celebrations. This year’s concert will feature up-and-coming Latter-day Saint artists Lindsey Stirling and Nathan Pacheco.”

You can watch the Pioneer Day concert live on the internet on Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. MDT.

The post Mormon Tabernacle Choir 2013 Pioneer Day Concert appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced a new digital release of an updated version of its scriptures and study aids (in English).

The last update to the Church’s English scriptures—the Holy Bible, theBook of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price—was completed in 1981. The improvements made for that edition, including the addition of extensive study helps in each book of scripture, were significant and crowned 10 years of work.

The 2013 edition includes revisions to study aids, new photos, updated maps, and adjustments to chapter and section headings.
 

The print edition of this updated version will be available in August of this year.

Read more about this updated edition of the LDS scriptures can be found here.

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Yes, you’ve probably heard about the more recent Book of Mormon Broadway musical, but this one took place in 1912!

It started with a novel, Corianton, (by B.H. Roberts), then a stage play that was created combining Roberts’ book and another book called A Ship of Hagoth. (If you haven’t yet read the Book of Mormon, these names will not be familiar at all, but both people are part of the narrative, if only for a few paragraphs.)

Years later, the play’s creator brought this Book of Mormon musical to Broadway (he financed the project himself). Even as the Broadway musical was short-lived, the story had yet another life through a movie.

It’s a little-known story that Mormon historian Ardis Parshall has shared in detail here. (Ardis is a master at bringing little-known Mormon stories to light.) Middle-Aged Mormon Man is the blog where we first found the story.

We hope our readers enjoy reading more about the real first Book of Mormon musical on Broadway. Thanks to Ardis for her work in researching this, and to MMM for sharing about it as well.

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