Hosted by the Church

This section lists websites and databases that are useful in researching the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the faith and lives of its members. The sites below are hosted by the Church.

Church History Catalog

The Church History Catalog enables you to find records specific to your research needs, view thousands of library items in digitized collections, and experience audiovisual material housed in Church History Department facilities such as the Church History Library and the Matthew Cowley Pacific Church History Centre. You can also find tips for using and navigating the catalog features, informative research guides and research assistance, information about visiting the library, and featured collections. Additional information on using materials in publications can be found on the Church’s main website. Permission to use images of Church-owned materials not in the public domain may be requested through the Church’s Intellectual Property Office using the form at permissions.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

The Church Historian’s Press

The press publishes works of Latter-day Saint history that meet high standards of scholarship. These works include documentary editing projects, which offer direct access to primary documents, narrative histories, and topical studies. Most projects will be published in both print and digital formats, and the site contains significant supplementary material for each project. The search function allows for searching across the entire site, including the reference materials that provide information on individuals mentioned in the records.

Gospel Library

The Gospel Library provides online access to a variety of Church publications and resources. It is also available as an app for Android and Apple devices. The Restoration and Church History section of the app and website includes access to many texts on Church history, including Saints, a narrative history of the Church; Church History Topics; Gospel Topics Essays; and Global Histories. The material here has been curated by Church historians and approved by Church leadership.

Gospel Media

This website contains images and videos, many of which depict events and locations from Church history. Much of the content may be used for personal, noncommercial purposes unless otherwise noted. Organizations and legal entities may request permission to use these materials from the Church’s Intellectual Property Office at permissions.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Joseph Smith Papers

The project is an effort to gather all extant Joseph Smith documents and to publish complete and accurate transcripts of those documents with both textual and contextual annotation. The intent is to publish, according to professionally accepted documentary editing standards, documents created by Joseph Smith or by staff whose work he directed, including journals, revelations and translations, contemporary reports of discourses, minutes, business and legal records, editorials, and notices. The website includes transcripts and images of the documents, along with additional contextual and historical information.

Church History Biographical Database

This searchable 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 data from the now-retired Missionary and Pioneer Databases, such as information about the missionary service of Latter-day Saints from 1830 to the mid-1900s and about those who immigrated to Utah between 1847 and 1868.