The 2.0 release is the most significant enhancement of the Biographical Database to date. Since its 2020 launch, the database has been used by hundreds of thousands of users who have been able to find valuable information about Pioneers, Missionaries, and Mormon Battalion members. The data was structured to specifically provide information about those who participated in these three groups.
With the release of the Church History Biographical Database 2.0, the database has been restructured to take a more holistic approach to providing information about specific people, organizations, and positions and how they interact with each other as well as the Church. This approach lays the foundation to provide more information at a faster pace, while still including all the same information that users are used to expecting in the database.
For example, the same information on pioneer companies, missions, and Mormon Battalion companies can now be found when searching for organizations and on the individual organization pages. Additionally, information about those who held specific positions in these organizations has now been expanded and made available when searching for positions and on the individual position pages.
Specific enhancements to support this new structure are noted below.
Learn about the following updates
General Updates
Enhanced Search to provide the ability to prefilter searches (replacing list page functionality)
Removed pioneer company list pages
Removed mission list pages
Removed battalion company list pages
Search bar prefilter dropdown
Changed options from database-centric to object-centric (people, organizations, positions, sources)
Removed the functionality to search across all types of objects, so searches are specific to People, Organizations, Positions, and Sources
Enhanced all timelines with the following:
Adjusted sources to appear next to every data point when available
Removed dataset tabs and replaced with a “Filter Activities” multi-select dropdown
Modified timeline filters to only show items that are filtered on (removed details about vital information unless selected as a filter option)
Moved “Date Details” immediately below the title
Reduced duplication of dates unless a qualifier other than “On” is added
Added “Additional Information” section to all timeline activities
Added Custom Data fields
Added “Notes” field
Added “Media” section to all timeline activities
Added Custom Activities to all timelines
Simplified the sources section on all pages to display all sources in a single list
Removed drawers
Sources used elsewhere on the page are also displayed here
Search Results Page Updates
General
Added a new tab for positions
Removed double-stacked tabs by removing dataset tabs and adding them to a dropdown labelled “Categories” in the filters box
People Filter Changes
Adjusted the following:
Removed “Results for” section
Added “Clear All” button to clear all filters
Replaced “Search all Fields” and “Sounds Like” checkboxes with:
“Exact Match” (checkbox)
“Search Names Only” (checkbox)
Add “Categories” dropdown
Removed “Mission,” “Pioneer,” and “Mormon Battalion” filters and filter categories
Added the following filter categories and filters:
Added “Birthdate” and “Death Date” to the card at the top of the page
Timeline changes:
Replaced Pioneer activities with Organization Association activities
Replaced Missionary activities with Organization Association activities
Replaced Mormon Battalion Activities with Organization Association activities
Added Organization Association activities
Title (linked to organization)
Date (Age is calculated)
Start Date Details
End Date Details
Additional Dates
Subgroups added to “Additional Information” section
Added Position Association activities
Title (linked to position)
Organization name (linked to Organization)
Date (Age is calculated)
Link to see others who concurrently held positions in this organization
Start Date Details
End Date Details
Additional Dates
Marital Status at Start of Position added to “Additional Information” section
Organization Page Updates
Added card at the top of the page with:
Background Featured Image
Primary Name
Additional Names
Formed Date
Location Formed
Ended Date
Location Ended
Organization Participants in Database
Added Overview
Added Parent Organization(s)
Added Vehicle Type
Added links to:
See All Participants in Organization
See All Positions in Organization
See All Child Organizations
See All Organizations in dataset
Added Timeline
Added Vital Activities Title
Date
Date Details
Related Organizations
Additional Information
Media
Added Change in Head Position Activity
Title (linked to person and position)
Link to See others who concurrently held positions in this organization
Start Date Details
End Date Details
Additional Information
Media
Added Media section to display images and other multimedia about the organization
Added Sources section
Position Page Updates
Added card at the top of the page with:
Background Featured Image
Primary Name
Additional Names
Created Date
Location Created
Discontinued Date
Location Discontinued
Those Who Held the Position in Database
Added Overview
Added links to:
See All Who Held Position
See All Positions in dataset
Added Timeline
Added Vital activities
Title
Date
Date Details
Additional Information
Media
Added Media section to display images and other multimedia about the position
Added Sources section
What’s Next?
The next major release of the Biographical Database is 2.1, which will introduce Ordinances as the next core structural element of the database, among other interface enhancements. While a release date has not been determined, you can learn more about these upcoming features here.
