Category: 20th Century

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20th Century International

How Did David O. McKay Transform the Church Into a Global Faith?

A historical illustration in a 1920s photographic style, showing David O. McKay and his travel companion, Hugh J. Cannon, on the deck of a steamship. Both men wear suits and fedora hats as they lean over a table, intently examining a large map labeled "PACIFIC OCEAN." McKay points to a group of islands on the map. Vintage leather luggage and a folding camera sit beside them, with a busy port city visible in the background.

David O. McKay’s missionary experiences, apostolic assignments, and prophetic initiatives helped transform the Latter-day Saint faith into a global religion. Known for his warmth, charisma, and attentiveness to people, McKay combined personal ministry with a visionary approach to leadership. He traveled the world as an Apostle to meet members, assess local needs, and expand missionary work. As the prophet, President McKay also created new missions, adapted racial policies in response to local conditions, and established the first temples outside the United States and Canada. In this interview, biographer Brian Q. Cannon traces the lasting impact of David O. McKay on the international Church.

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19th Century 20th Century Latter-day Saint History

How Did Tracy Y. Cannon Shape Latter-day Saint Hymnbooks?

Painting of Tracy Y. Cannon playing the Salt Lake Tabernacle organ, featuring the 1927 and 1948 Latter-day Saint hymnbooks he helped produce.

Tracy Y. Cannon influenced Latter-day Saint hymnbook history by steering away from the pioneer folk tunes of his grandfather, Brigham Young, toward a refined, European-influenced aesthetic. As chairman of the General Music Committee, Cannon professionalized the Church’s musical identity, famously pivoting the 1948 hymnal to mirror the harmonic elegance of Lutheran and Anglican traditions. This strategic move established the solemn, organ-centric sound that defined worship for the rest of the 20th century. In this interview, biographer Shelby Fisher discusses Tracy Y. Cannon’s training as a Mormon organist and explains how he modernized the Church’s musical tradition in a way that can still be seen today.

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20th Century International

When Did Latter-day Saints Establish the Church in South America?

Melvin J. Ballard’s tombstone in Salt Lake City referencing his 1925 dedicatory prayer for the LDS Church in South America, marking the establishment of the South American Mission.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints firmly established itself in South America in 1925, when three General Authorities arrived in Buenos Aires to open the South American Mission. The continent was dedicated for the preaching of the gospel by Elder Melvin J. Ballard on Christmas Day in 1925. Early subsequent efforts focused on German immigrants, but missionaries soon discovered that Spanish- and Italian-speaking communities were more receptive. Visionary leaders like David O. McKay and Reinhold Stoof laid the foundations that would later support thriving congregations in Argentina and Brazil. In this interview, historian Mark Grover explores the challenges and milestones in South America that have contributed to today’s global Mormonism.

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20th Century Latter-day Saint History

Who Was Ernest L. Wilkinson?

A black-and-white headshot of Ernest L. Wilkinson in 1951, the year he became BYU president.

Ernest L. Wilkinson served as BYU’s president from 1951 to 1971. The influential leader developed a complicated bond with the student body, driving unprecedented growth while also stirring controversy. His autocratic personality, political views, and aggressive enforcement of orthodoxy were responsible for both success and scandal. For example, his cultivation of a “special arrangement” with David O. McKay created friction with Church leaders, a 1966 “Spy Ring” heightened tensions with faculty, and an enhanced Honor Code sparked a paternalistic shift in his relationship with students. In this interview, editor Gary J. Bergera shares insights from Wilkinson’s diaries, recently published by Signature Books.

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20th Century Latter-day Saint History

What Happened to the Nauvoo Bell?

A historical photo of a woman viewing the bell long believed to be the Nauvoo Bell on Temple Square, later identified as the Hummer Bell.

The Nauvoo Bell’s story is more complicated than many realize. Long thought to be the bell that once rang from the Nauvoo Temple tower, the artifact displayed for decades on Salt Lake City’s Temple Square was actually the Hummer Bell, a Meneely bell with roots in an Iowa Presbyterian church and a colorful history of theft, recovery, and mistaken identity. The true Nauvoo Temple bell cracked in the 1840s and disappeared. In this interview, historian Ronald G. Watt and archivist Brian Warburton trace the bells’ intertwined histories and explain the Hummer Bell’s recent return to Iowa City.

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19th Century 20th Century Latter-day Saint History Scriptures

What Did “Shake the Dust Off Your Feet” Mean to Early Latter-day Saints?

Oil painting of early 1830s Latter-day Saint missionaries shaking dust from their feet, symbolizing rejection and divine judgment in the New Testament and Doctrine and Covenants.

Early Latter-day Saints understood “shaking the dust off your feet” as a ritual curse adapted from Jesus’s New Testament command to His disciples. Joseph Smith revealed the practice as a form of priesthood cursing in several revelations, now canonized in the Doctrine and Covenants (sections 24, 60, 75, 84, and 99). Missionaries most often performed the rite after rejection or persecution. While rarely expected to bring immediate consequences, it symbolized divine judgment reserved for Christ’s Second Coming. In this interview, historian Samuel R. Weber explains how the practice largely disappeared by the early 1900s.

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20th Century International Latter-day Saint History

Did the Nazis Spy on the Church?

A Latter-day Saint family prays by candlelight in a modest German home, unaware of a Nazi officer watching through a frosted window.

The government of Adolf Hitler spied on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during World War II. Recently uncovered documents offer an unprecedented glimpse into how the Third Reich monitored the Church and subjected its membership to systematic surveillance, censorship, and intimidation. A 1937 report even details notes made about President Heber J. Grant during a series of sermons. This interview with Stephen O. Smoot explores key insights into Church-state tensions, missionary activity, and the persecution of individual members, including resistance figures like Helmuth Hübener as part of the story of Mormonism around the world in the time leading up to World War II.

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20th Century Latter-day Saint History

Who Was Marion D. Hanks?

A headshot of Marion D. Hanks, a Latter-day Saint general authority.

Marion D. Hanks was called as a general authority in 1953 at the age of 31. During his 40 years of service, he cleaned up the mess of “baseball baptisms,” worked with the youth, and trained general authorities like Russell M. Nelson and Jeffrey R. Holland. Hanks also developed a reputation as someone who advocated for Christlike service over institutional statistics. His son, Richard D. Hanks, talks about the first biography of his father in this interview.

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20th Century Latter-day Saint History

What Were Baseball Baptisms?

An AI-generated image of Latter-day Saint missionaries preparing to conduct baseball baptisms.

For a short period of time beginning in the late 1950s, Latter-day Saint missionaries in certain parts of the world required youth to be baptized as a prerequisite for learning how to play baseball. Missionaries had initially used baseball as a tool to befriend the community, but overzealous mission leaders soon took the initiative in a new direction. For a time, it also received the support of general authorities like Alvin R. Dyer and Henry D. Moyle before President David O. McKay dispatched Marion D. Hanks to “clean up the mess.” In this interview, Greg Prince explains the history of baseball baptisms.

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20th Century Latter-day Saint History

What Was Bruce R. McConkie’s ‘Sound Doctrine’?

Bruce R. McConkie planned to release an abbreviated version of the Journal of Discourses in a series named Sound Doctrine. The volumes were to feature selected sermons that Elder McConkie felt best showcased Latter-day Saint doctrine, excluding controversial topics like Brigham Young’s Adam-God theory. However, the First Presidency advised against publishing it. Biographer Devery S. Anderson tells the story of Elder McConkie’s unpublished book in this interview.

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