The Mormon Land newsletter is The Salt Lake Tribune’s weekly highlight reel of news in and about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Join us on Patreon and receive the full newsletter, podcast transcripts and access to all of our religion content.
‘Is this heaven? No, it’s Iowa’
So it’s not the Hill Cumorah or the Sacred Grove or Carthage Jail, but the newly improved and rededicated Kanesville Memorial Historic Site tells the story of three major — though often overlooked — events in the church’s still-unfolding story.
Established as a way station in Council Bluffs, Iowa, for thousands of Latter-day Saints trekking west to the Salt Lake Valley, Kanesville is the place where:
• Brigham Young, more than three years after the assassination of church founder Joseph Smith, officially became the faith’s second president as the governing First Presidency was reorganized in December 1847.
• In July 1846, the U.S. Army amassed the Mormon Battalion, a fighting force of nearly 500 Latter-day Saint men (and dozens of women and children) who would become famous not for military triumphs (the soldiers never fired a shot against the enemy) but for a historic march of nearly 2,000 miles. Learn more about this ragtag band of reluctant riflemen in this on-location “Mormon Land” podcast from a historic church site in San Diego.
• Oliver Cowdery, one of the faith’s first leaders and a confidant of Joseph Smith, returned to the fold after his 1838 excommunication. He was rebaptized, reconfirmed and reordained in Kanesville. “His meek return here … marked a joyous, historic day for the church,” general authority Seventy Kyle McKay, church historian and recorder, said at Saturday’s site rededication, “and is a tender example to all who have felt alienated through the wrongdoing of self or others.”
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) A marker quoting early church leader Oliver Cowdery as part of the newly dedicated Kanesville Memorial Historic Site in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Oliver Cowdery separated from the church and then rejoined in 1848 in Kanesville, Iowa. The memorial site was dedicated Sept. 28, 2024.
Kanesville is named after Thomas Kane, a church ally and advocate who defended the Latter-day Saints against their 19th-century foes.
“Today we honor Thomas Kane and people like him, then and now,” church History Department Managing Director Matthew Grow said at Saturday’s ceremony. “These are individuals who see suffering and cannot stand by idle. Individuals who recognize bigotry and cannot stand by silent. Individuals who befriend the friendless, who stand up for those on the margins of society, who minister to others as Jesus Christ would.”
McKay echoed those sentiments. “In memory and honor of Thomas Kane, I invite each of you to go forth and care for the downtrodden and oppressed,” he said, “to take the time to recognize beauty and worth in those who are overlooked or pushed aside by society, and to actively believe the truth that every child of God is worthy of love.”
According to a news release, the memorial site features native landscaping, historical waysides, bronze sculptures and new monuments created by an artist from nearby Omaha, Nebraska.
Conference specials
Check out these stories and commentaries from our pre-General Conference special section:
• World of difference: Would more young members stick with the faith if the church went all-in against climate change?
(Illustration by Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)
• Upping the ante: The church is betting billions, argues scholar Benjamin Park, that expansive and expensive temple-building will pay off by keeping members in the fold.
• Snow’s job: He’s a Democrat and an environmentalist. How did Steve Snow end up a general authority?
(Rick Bowmer | AP) Steven E. Snow displays a volume of the Joseph Smith Papers in 2015. The project was one of the major accomplishments during his time as historian of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
• Not out of the question: Thus saith this apostle — Latter-day Saints have a right, says guest columnist Ardis Parshall, to question their leaders.
• A marvelous work: Missionaries are “far from perfect,” but guest columnist Rebbie Brassfield “can’t help but feel like there is nothing braver” these young people could be doing.
• Little flash, lots of cash: The church’s investment approach largely mirrors the S&P 500.
• Families can be together forever: The popular phrase isn’t always comforting, guest columnist Natalie Brown notes, because it may be too conditional for an ever-understanding, ever-forgiving, ever-loving God.
• The dream tour guide: She was funny, frank, welcoming and “real,” the kind of missionary and member the church should model, recalls guest columnist Eli McCann.
The latest ‘Mormon Land’ podcast: Tithing on trial
Learn everything you need to know about all those tithing lawsuits targeting the church in this special “Mormon Land” podcast with Tribune reporter Tony Semerad.
Listen to the podcast.
Let the Games buildup begin
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Thomas Bach, left, president of the International Olympic Committee, shares a laugh with apostles Jeffrey R. Holland, middles, and Dieter F. Uchtdorf on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in the Church Administration Building in Salt Lake City.
Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, huddled last week with apostles Jeffrey Holland and Dieter Uchtdorf as Salt Lake City prepares to host the 2034 Winter Games.
“No one will be more supportive of these Olympics than we will,” Holland said in a news release. “We’re thrilled to contribute in any way we can. We want you to feel that there’s no more hospitable place in the United States — or on this planet — than you have here.”
The church won widespread praise for its efforts when Utah staged the 2002 Olympics.
Emeritus G.A. dies
Emeritus general authority H. Ross Workman, who built an intellectual property law firm in Utah before overseeing the church’s Honolulu Mission and joining the Quorum of the Seventy, has died at age 83.
His family obituary notes Workman, who lived for a while in Ghana while shepherding the church in West Africa, “had an ability to make everyone feel loved, important and valued… within a few short minutes.”
Helping after the hurricane
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Latter-day Saint volunteers from the Ocala, Florida, area clean homes Sept. 28, 2024, in Yankeetown, Florida, after Hurricane Helene.
The church is rushing water, food, hygiene kits and other supplies to multiple Southeastern states hit by Hurricane Helene.
Thousands of Latter-day Saint volunteers, according to a news release, also will be spending their weekends “mucking out flooded homes, clearing debris, removing downed trees and tarping roofs” in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee.
While some meetinghouses were damaged, the church reports, the new Tallahassee Temple wasn’t. It will open its doors to the public Nov. 4 in advance of a scheduled Dec. 8 dedication.
Centenarian club grows
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; The New York Times) Russell M. Nelson in 2024, left, and Jimmy Carter in 2021, who both turned 100 years old in recent weeks.
A fellow president has joined church President Russell Nelson in the centenarian club.
Jimmy Carter turned 100 on Tuesday to become the longest-living former U.S. president.
Large art show opens
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) A sculptural frieze by Avard Fairbanks created for the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago has been restored and fully assembled for the first time since then as part of the new exhibition, “Work and Wonder: 200 Years of Latter-day Saint Art” at the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City. The exhibition runs through March 1, 2025.
The “most comprehensive” exhibit ever of Latter-day Saint art is now on display through March 1 at the Church History Museum in downtown Salt Lake City.
Titled “Work and Wonder: 200 Years of Latter-day Saint Art,” the show features paintings, sculptures and prints from around the world, along with pieces never before displayed.
A sculptural frieze by Avard Fairbanks, a news release pointed out, has been restored and fully assembled for the first time since its 1933 premiere at the World’s Fair in Chicago.
“The fact that this is coming together for the first time in almost a hundred years is really thrilling,” said curator Heather Belnap, who is excited for visitors to “see the diverse, rich and profound [art] heritage that we have as a people.”
From The Tribune
• The biblical Adam and Eve story might not be about marriage or gender at all, Latter-day Saint scholar Taylor Petrey argues in his new book, “Queering Kinship in the Mormon Cosmos.”
• A British YouTuber and activist, known as “Nemo the Mormon,” says he has been ousted from the church.
(Screen capture) Douglas Stilgoe, a British YouTuber known as "Nemo the Mormon" who has criticized Latter-day Saint leaders, announced Tuesday that he received a notice that the church had withdrawn his membership.
• Former Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona, has become perhaps the most prominent Latter-day Saint politician to publicly endorse Democrat Kamala Harris for president.
• How does Utah’s religious divide impact dating? We want to hear from you.
Cody Temple gets off the ground
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) With Heart Mountain as a backdrop, general authority Seventy Kevin R. Duncan, executive director of the Temple Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speaks during the Cody Wyoming Temple groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024.
In a rare Friday groundbreaking, the church officially launched construction of Wyoming’s Cody Temple.
The single-spired, single-story, 9,950-square-foot temple became the subject of community controversy when a number of residents objected to its size, especially the height of its steeple.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) This artist's rendering shows the temple that's planned for Cody, Wyoming.
In dedicating the site, a news release stated, general authority Seventy Steven Bangerter prayed that residents would “feel a spirit of peace wash over them, granting them comfort and assurance that the presence of this temple will bring added joy, prosperity, beauty and unity to their lives and their community.”
The Cowboy State already is home to the Star Valley Temple, with dedication of the Casper Temple set for Nov. 24.
