Research Guide
General Church History
Overview
The General Church History Research Guide is designed to help you find and access resources about the history of the Church through different eras of its movement and growth. It is organized into a list of general resources and six historical periods. This guide is not intended to be comprehensive but will point to collections and published works that provide a starting point for researching different eras of Church history.
Each section contains online and textual resources. Online resources are digitized content that you can access from your computer by clicking on the title. Textual resources can be viewed at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. You can access the item or collection information in the
General Resources
This four-volume series is a narrative history telling the stories of the women and men who dedicated their lives to establishing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the globe.
Published to accompany Saints, these articles focus on specific aspects of Church history and Latter-day Saint beliefs and practices.
These brief videos address some of the most common questions about Church history.
This online database contains information about the lives of early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, their contributions to building the kingdom of God, and the records they left behind. It includes the information from the old Pioneer and Missionary Databases.
The website for official publications of the Church History Department. Transcribed journals, discourses, letters, and other materials from the early years of the Church can be viewed online. Additional resources to provide context to the documents and stories are also provided. Notable collections include
Revelations in Context
A collection of essays providing context to the sections of the Doctrine and Covenants.
This online timeline provides an overview of several important events in the history of the Church. It is not comprehensive and only covers the Church’s history up to 2012.
Maps provided on ChurchofJesusChrist.org show major locations important in early Church history.
An extensive list of newspapers and magazines officially and semi-officially published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that have been digitized and made available online. They are in a variety of languages and cover a wide range of years.
This is a daily, scrapbook-style history of the Church from 1830 to 2008. It was compiled mostly from newspaper clippings, but information was also gleaned from Church minutes and individuals’ diary entries.
Includes accounts of Church activities in various areas in the United States during the 19th century. These were compiled in the Historian’s Office under Andrew Jenson’s direction, primarily during the 1920s and 1930s.
This collection of missionary diaries spans from 1832 to the 1960s. The digitized collection is hosted online by the Brigham Young University Harold B. Lee Library and can be searched by name, geographic location, and mission.
This collection is comprised of early Mormon publications, including books, hymnals, periodicals, newspapers, and published discourses of doctrinal and historical significance. The digitized collection is hosted online by Brigham Young University’s Harold B. Lee Library.
The BYU Religious Studies Center has provided online access to numerous books addressing topics in Church history.
New York and New England Era
Online Resources:
A collection of essays examining the history of the Church in New England and the context of the Restoration. The online version is provided by the BYU Religious Studies Center.
A collection of essays examining the history of the Church in the states of New York and Pennsylvania. The online version is available in the BYU Library digital collections.
Textual Resources (Available at the Library):
Old Mormon Palmyra and New England: Historic Photographs and GuideThe Old Mormon series comprises several books on pre-Utah periods of Church history. These books provide a discussion about general Church history during specific periods as well as a series of related historical photographs (
Record of the Joseph Smith and Isaac Hale Farms
This is a collection of deeds, wills, maps, and photographs related to the Joseph Smith and Isaac Hale homesteads in Harmony, Pennsylvania. Additional documents (postcards and news clippings) demonstrate local perceptions of Joseph Smith and the Church (
Susquehanna County Historical Society Collection
This is a collection of newspaper clippings about Joseph Smith and the Church in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, and surrounding areas (
Sacred Places: New England and Eastern Canada
This book is an extensive guide to sites relevant to Church history in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Ontario, Quebec, and the Atlantic Provinces of Canada (
Sacred Places: New York and Pennsylvania
Church historic sites in New York and Pennsylvania are highlighted in this volume (
Kirtland and Missouri Era
Online Resources:
The newspaper published issues in October and November 1837, which were printed at Kirtland, Ohio, and July and August 1838, which were printed at Far West, Missouri. The Elders’ Journal included Church news, meeting minutes, doctrinal essays, and similar content. The digital version is hosted by the
This was the first semi-official newspaper published by the Church and is notable for including many of the revelations given to Joseph Smith that would later become sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. The Evening and the Morning Star began in June 1832 in Independence, Missouri, before a brief hiatus in 1833 and a move to Kirtland, Ohio, where it resumed printing in December 1833. It ceased publication in September 1834 but was later reprinted, with many editorial and content changes, as Evening and Morning Star from 1835 to 1836.
This resource is an index of elders’ (and some other priesthood offices) certificates issued by Church conferences that were recorded in Far West, Missouri, and Nauvoo, Illinois.
Printed from October 1834 to September 1837 at Kirtland, Ohio, the Messenger and Advocate succeeded The Evening and the Morning Star as the Church’s newspaper. It carried Church news, doctrinal essays, official statements from Church leaders, and other content related to the restored Church.
Commonly called the “Far West Record,” this volume contains the minutes of meetings and conferences of priesthood leadership held in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois from 1830 to 1839 (and two entries from 1844). The digitized document is available through
This informational website focuses on the Missouri Mormon War, the conflict in Missouri in the late 1830s that stemmed from the Latter-day Saint presence in the state. This website is hosted by the Missouri State Archives with links to important archival documents.
This volume is a comprehensive typescript collection of all known federal redress petitions submitted by Latter-day Saints regarding the conflict in Missouri. Online access is available through the BYU Religious Studies Center.
This book is a compilation of resources for researching the Kirtland era of Church history. It contains a chronology of important events, maps, photographs, and a bibliography of significant sources. The online version is hosted by the BYU Religious Studies Center.
A collection of essays examining the history of the Church in Ohio and Canada. The online version is provided by the BYU Religious Studies Center.
Textual Resources (Available at the Library):
A Profile of Latter-day Saints of Kirtland, Ohio, and Members of Zion’s Camp, 1830–1839: Vital Statistics and Sources
A compilation of demographic information on individuals who lived in Kirtland or participated in Zion’s Camp (An Index to Early Caldwell County, Missouri, Land Records
This reference book provides information on individuals who purchased land in Caldwell County in the early to mid-19th century. It contains maps and diagrams (Old Mormon Kirtland and Missouri: Historic Photographs and Guide
The Old Mormon series comprises several books on pre-Utah periods of Church history. These books provide a discussion about general Church history during specific periods as well as a series of related historical photographs (Sacred Places: Ohio and Illinois
This book provides information on historic sites in the state of Ohio relevant to Church history (Sacred Places: Missouri
A guide to Church historic sites in Missouri (Nauvoo Era
Online Resources:
An index of elders’ (and other priesthood offices) certificates issued by Church conferences that were recorded in Far West, Missouri, and Nauvoo, Illinois.
An index to several Nauvoo and early Salt Lake high priest quorum records. It includes quorum members’ biographical data.
Includes entries from the Nauvoo Mayor’s Court and City Court from October 1841 to February 1843.
An index of members of 23 branches of the Church in Iowa during the Nauvoo era and the trek west between 1839 and 1859.
This collection contains actual marriage certificates recorded by James Sloan and Willard Richards.
This record book lists marriages recorded by Nauvoo city recorders James Sloan and Willard Richards. It also includes some records of marriages performed by Joseph Smith.
This record book lists Nauvoo land deeds beginning in 1841 and continuing to 1846 after the death of Joseph Smith and the dissolution of Nauvoo as a corporation.
A collection of council proceedings, elections, revenue, treasury, taxation, and judicial records for the city of Nauvoo.
This website provides information and maps of the Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds Cemetery. The Early Latter-day Saint database is a project of the Nauvoo Land and Records Office and the Historical Pioneer Research Group of the Winter Quarters, Nebraska, area.
A seven-volume publication listing land transactions that took place in Nauvoo and surrounding areas from 1839 to 1859. The volumes are available online through FamilySearch (see the Notes field in the catalog record linked above), and hard copies of the volumes are available at the library under the call number
A list of bonds and deeds recorded in the Nauvoo Register of Deeds from 1842 to 1846.
A record of the proceedings of the municipal court relative to public revenue (as well as a list of pioneer emigrants of 1847–1848) recorded by Thomas Bullock for the Church Historian’s Office.
This newspaper was published in Nauvoo from 1839 to 1846. It carried news; Church minutes; and important documents, such as the Wentworth letter and the Book of Abraham translation and facsimiles.
A general interest newspaper with a focus on current progress, events, and happenings in Nauvoo and the surrounding area. It was printed from 1842 to 1843.
A successor to The Wasp, this newspaper was printed in Nauvoo from 1843 to 1845. It included information on day-to-day events in Nauvoo as well as national and global headlines.
This journal, recorded by William Clayton, is an extensive discussion on the construction of the Nauvoo Temple in the 1840s. It contains a list of temple workmen and autographs of officers of the Church.
Contains records made by William D. Huntington when he was the city sexton from 1839 to 1845. The Nauvoo Death Record contains name, cause of death, age at death, and grave location. It also includes an incomplete plot map of the cemetery.
A three-volume resource on members of Quorums of the Seventy who were called or ordained from 1835 to 1850. It contains biographical information. Online access requires login.
A compilation of brief autobiographies written by Nauvoo-era members of Quorums of the Seventy. Online access requires login. It is also located at the help desk at the library—ask a staff member for assistance.
This collection lists most of the members of the Church who were baptized between 1830 and 1848, with an emphasis on Church members in Nauvoo. The online version is available through FamilySearch. Ask a staff member for assistance in using the copies at the Church History Library (
A database created to identify and document the residents of Nauvoo, Illinois, from 1839 to 1846.
Textual Resources (Available at the Library):
Annotated Record of Baptisms for the Dead, 1840–1845: Nauvoo, Hancock County, IllinoisA seven-volume compilation of individuals who performed proxy baptisms for the dead from 1840 to 1845 in Nauvoo. It contains biographical information for the proxies and the deceased and proxy relationships to the deceased (
Nauvooiana
This is a collection of original sources on Nauvoo and Latter-day Saints. There are two volumes available at the library (
Old Mormon Nauvoo and Southwestern Iowa: Historic Photographs and Guide
The Old Mormon series comprises several books on pre-Utah periods of Church history. These books provide a discussion about general Church history during specific periods as well as a series of related historical photographs (
Sacred Places: Ohio and Illinois
This book provides information on historic sites in the state of Illinois relevant to Church history (
Nauvoo History Section in the Library
This section of the library is dedicated to books on Nauvoo history (call numbers beginning with M277.73 in the open stacks).
Iowa and Winter Quarters Era
Online Resources:
This collection contains several lists of Latter-day Saints buried after 1848 in Cutler’s Park and Winter Quarters. It contains Saints’ age at death and death or burial date.
The Church History Biographical Database includes the most complete listing of individuals and companies that traveled west to Utah from 1847 through 1868. It lists approximately 60,000 of the estimated 70,000-75,000 individuals who crossed the plains. It contains biographical information, dates, and personal accounts when available, and new data is being added daily.
The Trek West
This interactive series follows the trail from Nauvoo, Illinois, to the Salt Lake Valley with the estimated 70,000 pioneers who made the journey. It features infographics, timelines, personal accounts, maps of key locations, and original artwork. The website is hosted by the Church History Department.
An index of members of 23 branches of the Church in Iowa during the Nauvoo era and the trek west between 1839 and 1859.
This is a website dedicated to gathering information on the Saints who lived and died in Winter Quarters. It contains biographical information and details about cause of death, charts and graphs, and maps. The website is hosted by the Early Latter-day Saints database and includes information originally gathered by students and faculty of BYU.
This resource is a compilation of death, marriage, and birth notices published in the Frontier Guardian, a small newspaper edited by Orson Hyde while the Saints were in Iowa. The online version is available with login at FamilySearch, while a physical copy can be viewed at the Church History Library (
This is an index to the wards in Winter Quarters during the exodus and westward movement. It lists basic information about household composition gleaned from bishop’s reports, high council meeting minutes, tithing records, and census reports.
Textual Resources (Available at the Library):
Mormons at the Missouri: Winter Quarters, 1846–1852This book, written by Richard E. Bennett, focuses specifically on the time period between the Saints leaving Nauvoo and starting the trek west (
Remembering Winter Quarters/Council Bluffs: Writings of the Mormon Pioneers at the Missouri River
This resource, updated from the 1998 edition, is a compilation of transcribed journals and firsthand accounts of life in Winter Quarters and Council Bluffs, Nebraska (
Sacred Places: Iowa and Nebraska
This book provides information on historic sites in the states of Iowa and Nebraska relevant to Church history (
Utah and the North American West Era
Online Resources:
A digital collection of many Utah newspapers since the mid-19th century. This searchable database is hosted by the University of Utah and the Mountain West Digital Library.
This encyclopedia gives brief explanations of several Utah history topics, including people, places, events, and economics. This digital version is hosted by the University of Utah.
A compilation of essays on the Church’s growth in Canada. Available online through the BYU Religious Studies Center.
This volume explores the history of the Church in California from the first arrival of Latter-day Saints in 1846 to its publication in 1996. It is available online through the BYU Religious Studies Center.
A collection of sketches telling the stories of Latter-day Saint women who migrated to and settled in Arizona. The online version is available through the BYU Religious Studies Center.
A collection of essays examining the history of the Church in the California. The online version is available in the BYU Library digital collections.
A collection of essays examining the history of the Church in the states of New York and Pennsylvania. The online version is available in the BYU Library digital collections.
Textual Resources (Available at the Library):
Deseret NewsThis microfilm collection of the Deseret News dating from 1850 contains information about Utah through the decades. It is located in cabinets 5 and 6 in the main library area. Ask a staff member for assistance.
Rebaptisms in Great Salt Lake Valley: 1847–1854
This index to portions of the
Utah and the Mormons Collection
This large collection on microfilm includes autobiographies and biographies of prominent Latter-day Saints, correspondence, bibliographies, government records, and county records and histories (
Utah Counties Section in the Library
This group of resources comprises a section of the library dedicated to books on Utah counties and their histories (call number range 979.208 to 979.259 in the open stacks).
Utah History Section in the Library
This section of the library is dedicated to books on Utah history (call number range 979.2 to 979.2032 in the open stacks).
Global Era
Online Resources:
Each of these histories documents the establishment and progress of the Church in countries throughout the world through the efforts of Latter-day Saints in their homelands.
A list of missions of the Church. Each page includes information on missionaries, mission presidents, and links to sources and records that discuss the Church throughout the world.
This online series shares stories of modern Latter-day Saint pioneers all over the world. It contains videos, narratives, and essays. It is available on the Church history website.
This website contains updated statistical information of the Church, news releases, and other general information about the Church worldwide.
Textual Resources (Available at the Library):
Deseret News Church AlmanacThe Church Almanac was published regularly beginning in 1974 before it was discontinued after the 2013 volume. It contains historical and statistical information on temples, local units, the worldwide Church, and the leaders of the Church. Physical copies are available in the library (
Unto Every Nation: Gospel Light Reaches Every Land
This book describes the growth and history of the Church throughout the world. It has five sections that cover different areas of the globe (Europe, Pacific, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and other areas) (
Worldwide Church Section of the Library
This section of the library is dedicated to books on the worldwide Church. It includes works on the growth and history of the Church in individual countries and continents (call numbers starting with M274, M275, M276, M278, and M279 in the open stacks).