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Saints #4
Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days: Volume 4, Sounded in Every Ear, 1955–2020
The first three volumes of Saints tell the story of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Joseph Smith’s First Vision to the dedication of the first temple outside North America. Now, the fourth volume carries the story to the present day, recounting the Church’s astounding growth and inspired development since 1955. As the book opens, the Church has nine temples and more than one million members. Thousands of missionaries are preaching the restored gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world. And for the first time in history, sacred saving ordinances are available in multiple languages.
But the work of the Lord is not yet done. While many nations, kindreds, tongues, and people thirst for restored truth, the world is troubled by war, civil unrest, sickness, hunger, and prejudice. The Latter-day Saints, too, have much to learn about each other as the Church spreads far and wide, welcoming people from many cultures and traditions. The Lord’s command to “be one” has never been more vital—or more challenging—for His people to follow.
Sounded in Every Ear is the final book in Saints, a new, four-volume narrative history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Fast-paced, meticulously researched, and written under the direction of the First Presidency, Saints recounts true stories of Latter-day Saints across the globe and answers the Lord’s call to write a history “for the good of the church, and for the rising generations” (Doctrine and Covenants 69:8).
But the work of the Lord is not yet done. While many nations, kindreds, tongues, and people thirst for restored truth, the world is troubled by war, civil unrest, sickness, hunger, and prejudice. The Latter-day Saints, too, have much to learn about each other as the Church spreads far and wide, welcoming people from many cultures and traditions. The Lord’s command to “be one” has never been more vital—or more challenging—for His people to follow.
Sounded in Every Ear is the final book in Saints, a new, four-volume narrative history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Fast-paced, meticulously researched, and written under the direction of the First Presidency, Saints recounts true stories of Latter-day Saints across the globe and answers the Lord’s call to write a history “for the good of the church, and for the rising generations” (Doctrine and Covenants 69:8).
831 pages, Paperback
Published November 2, 2024
373 people are currently reading
666 people want to read
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December 23, 2024
Probably my least favorite of the series.
For starters, half of this massive volume covers only the first 20 years of the volume’s 70 year scope. And almost all of that was devoted almost exclusively to the priesthood policy on black members with some digressive coverage of correlation, missionary growth, and a couple new temples.
I felt this section underserved all of the rich Cold War era drama in the church as it really struggled to expand its sights past the United States members. Rightly some of that was discussed but so much more was glossed over. The emotional impact of the black priesthood policy is huge, but the cultural impact of global correlation (especially regarding the missionary program), meetinghouse and temple building and the church’s political and theological philosophy at the time (think John Birch Society and Mormon Doctrine/Answers to Gospel Questions) needed to be significantly better explored. Writing off the ideas of baseball baptisms, the building program and its financial struggles, the growth of BYU, and the vocal politics of Ezra Benson and their impacts on global church perception were all each discussed in 5 sentences or less when they sh/could have been their own chapters.
*insert rant*
(and if you know me, you know I feel the lack of discussion on Benson’s politics is grossly irresponsible…the man single handedly evolved the entire political culture of the modern American church membership. This wasn’t insignificant. The man later became prophet and all this book mentions is “people were worried because he was previously very active in government” (which is the wildest understatement and misrepresentation of the situation!) and then literally never mentions any of it every again. It’s critical history for the church and the same coverage of Smith’s and Young’s political and social ideologies garnered double digit chapter counts in the first two volumes…. But NOTHING here. Sheesh!)
*rant complete*
It really felt that at least the first half if not the entirety of this volume was primarily to address the priesthood ban and everything else was auxiliary.
The second half of the book covers the following 50 years of its scope glossing over massive swaths of church culture and member growth. Each prophet post-Kimball gets very few words beyond establishing some sort of “theme” for each president’s time in charge with little content on the broader or minute impacts on culture. No or limited discussion of more detailed ideas like food storage, dress and grooming standards, for the strength of youth, preach my gospel, lowering the missionary age, or even the recent children and youth program…which admittedly aren’t super sexy but had unbelievably influential cultural and structural impacts for the church membership.
The volume also does an exceedly poor job at covering the more controversial events of the time period. With two or three exceptions, huge things are shushed away and pushed aside or just wholly unexplained despite their profound influence on people’s faith. Unlike volume two and three which seemed to treat controversial/problematic ideas and events with respect, historical exploration and accuracy, with a little biased justification, this volume only relied on a VERY brief biased justification that extended very little past the average conference talk on almost every questionable idea. Rather than give a metered voice to and debunking of common anti-LDS rhetoric, it’s given no consideration to or total dismissal of without discussion everywhere throughout this. Even the easy and slam dunk opportunities for the church to “set the record straight” were utterly fumbled or ignored.
Other recent, hugely influential counter-church/doctrinal movements like those of the CES Letter or Ordain Women got absolutely zero mention at all despite completely evolving the discourse on church apologetics and doctrine in the last 15 years. And don’t even get me started on the discussion of global politics during the period of the clearly American-written descriptions of wars, communism, and economic and educational opportunity. There was some respect given to other perspectives (as there had to be to avoid offending others) but it was all so clearly tongue-in-cheek.
To its credit, this does a great job at telling individual stories of small groups of believers struggling to grow and organize in distant parts of the world ultimately finding peace in an eventually more mature global church. For this, the volume should be lauded. It weaves individual and impactful stories so much better than the other volumes telling “pioneer stories” from so many perspectives. This is a cool history the growth of the church in different corners of the world in a key time of development but completely missing in any nuanced discussion of the complexity that church had to grown through.
But this distilled down to little more than a deep dive on the lived experiences of people suffering under the priesthood ban coupled with a bunch of heartwarming Liahona-level stories and an extremely truncated and whitewashed executive summary of the last 70 years of the church. It was such a missed opportunity to discuss key aspects of the modern church that really rub many people wrong. And I’d not complain if they had treated the events and topics of volume two and three the same…but those had so much more rigor and explanation.
I get that it’s much easier to tell a comprehensive story of a few thousand people in one geography vs. millions all over the world, but I wanted so much more from this and had such higher hopes for what this would be. I guess I’m ultimately just mad they didn’t split this into two full volumes with enough space to cover it all with the same consistency and tone/style as volumes two and three.
TLDR; I’m ultimately left very disappointed and a little worried this will ultimately serve as a potentially irresponsible and tauntingly dismissible “official” telling (similar to how I felt about the first volume) rather than a useful, insightful, and edifying one (similar to how I felt about volumes 2 and 3).
For starters, half of this massive volume covers only the first 20 years of the volume’s 70 year scope. And almost all of that was devoted almost exclusively to the priesthood policy on black members with some digressive coverage of correlation, missionary growth, and a couple new temples.
I felt this section underserved all of the rich Cold War era drama in the church as it really struggled to expand its sights past the United States members. Rightly some of that was discussed but so much more was glossed over. The emotional impact of the black priesthood policy is huge, but the cultural impact of global correlation (especially regarding the missionary program), meetinghouse and temple building and the church’s political and theological philosophy at the time (think John Birch Society and Mormon Doctrine/Answers to Gospel Questions) needed to be significantly better explored. Writing off the ideas of baseball baptisms, the building program and its financial struggles, the growth of BYU, and the vocal politics of Ezra Benson and their impacts on global church perception were all each discussed in 5 sentences or less when they sh/could have been their own chapters.
*insert rant*
(and if you know me, you know I feel the lack of discussion on Benson’s politics is grossly irresponsible…the man single handedly evolved the entire political culture of the modern American church membership. This wasn’t insignificant. The man later became prophet and all this book mentions is “people were worried because he was previously very active in government” (which is the wildest understatement and misrepresentation of the situation!) and then literally never mentions any of it every again. It’s critical history for the church and the same coverage of Smith’s and Young’s political and social ideologies garnered double digit chapter counts in the first two volumes…. But NOTHING here. Sheesh!)
*rant complete*
It really felt that at least the first half if not the entirety of this volume was primarily to address the priesthood ban and everything else was auxiliary.
The second half of the book covers the following 50 years of its scope glossing over massive swaths of church culture and member growth. Each prophet post-Kimball gets very few words beyond establishing some sort of “theme” for each president’s time in charge with little content on the broader or minute impacts on culture. No or limited discussion of more detailed ideas like food storage, dress and grooming standards, for the strength of youth, preach my gospel, lowering the missionary age, or even the recent children and youth program…which admittedly aren’t super sexy but had unbelievably influential cultural and structural impacts for the church membership.
The volume also does an exceedly poor job at covering the more controversial events of the time period. With two or three exceptions, huge things are shushed away and pushed aside or just wholly unexplained despite their profound influence on people’s faith. Unlike volume two and three which seemed to treat controversial/problematic ideas and events with respect, historical exploration and accuracy, with a little biased justification, this volume only relied on a VERY brief biased justification that extended very little past the average conference talk on almost every questionable idea. Rather than give a metered voice to and debunking of common anti-LDS rhetoric, it’s given no consideration to or total dismissal of without discussion everywhere throughout this. Even the easy and slam dunk opportunities for the church to “set the record straight” were utterly fumbled or ignored.
Other recent, hugely influential counter-church/doctrinal movements like those of the CES Letter or Ordain Women got absolutely zero mention at all despite completely evolving the discourse on church apologetics and doctrine in the last 15 years. And don’t even get me started on the discussion of global politics during the period of the clearly American-written descriptions of wars, communism, and economic and educational opportunity. There was some respect given to other perspectives (as there had to be to avoid offending others) but it was all so clearly tongue-in-cheek.
To its credit, this does a great job at telling individual stories of small groups of believers struggling to grow and organize in distant parts of the world ultimately finding peace in an eventually more mature global church. For this, the volume should be lauded. It weaves individual and impactful stories so much better than the other volumes telling “pioneer stories” from so many perspectives. This is a cool history the growth of the church in different corners of the world in a key time of development but completely missing in any nuanced discussion of the complexity that church had to grown through.
But this distilled down to little more than a deep dive on the lived experiences of people suffering under the priesthood ban coupled with a bunch of heartwarming Liahona-level stories and an extremely truncated and whitewashed executive summary of the last 70 years of the church. It was such a missed opportunity to discuss key aspects of the modern church that really rub many people wrong. And I’d not complain if they had treated the events and topics of volume two and three the same…but those had so much more rigor and explanation.
I get that it’s much easier to tell a comprehensive story of a few thousand people in one geography vs. millions all over the world, but I wanted so much more from this and had such higher hopes for what this would be. I guess I’m ultimately just mad they didn’t split this into two full volumes with enough space to cover it all with the same consistency and tone/style as volumes two and three.
TLDR; I’m ultimately left very disappointed and a little worried this will ultimately serve as a potentially irresponsible and tauntingly dismissible “official” telling (similar to how I felt about the first volume) rather than a useful, insightful, and edifying one (similar to how I felt about volumes 2 and 3).
March 24, 2025
From the get-go, let me say that this was engaging, informative, and faith-promoting. The historians deserve all the praise for this great series. I loved learning about members' experiences from around the world and found it difficult to put down. I'm better for having read this history.
That said, I feel like this could have been so much more. It felt like the writer's hands were tied from church correlation and in the end it felt more like an extended Liahona magazine than a history book. I also felt like there were many significant things that have happened in the church's recent history that were brushed aside or ignored altogether (e.g., the missionary age change, the many changes that prepared us for the COVID-19 shutdowns, etc.). I also found it difficult to follow all the stories - when the narrative switches so often (and you never know if a story is going to continue or if you've read the last of it), I could never keep straight who was who and if I had already been introduced to them.
All that said, I still recommend this series and hope this project can expand into more detailed or focused histories, perhaps by region of the globe. With all the constraints I'm sure the writers had they did a fantastic job - I'll round up for a 4 on this one.
That said, I feel like this could have been so much more. It felt like the writer's hands were tied from church correlation and in the end it felt more like an extended Liahona magazine than a history book. I also felt like there were many significant things that have happened in the church's recent history that were brushed aside or ignored altogether (e.g., the missionary age change, the many changes that prepared us for the COVID-19 shutdowns, etc.). I also found it difficult to follow all the stories - when the narrative switches so often (and you never know if a story is going to continue or if you've read the last of it), I could never keep straight who was who and if I had already been introduced to them.
All that said, I still recommend this series and hope this project can expand into more detailed or focused histories, perhaps by region of the globe. With all the constraints I'm sure the writers had they did a fantastic job - I'll round up for a 4 on this one.
November 18, 2024
The church history department has released yet another wonderful history. I am continually astonished at the painstaking work that has been done to highlight experiences of saints all over the world. This is an inspiring read that makes me want to be a better disciple of Jesus Christ.
March 20, 2025
What a glorious conclusion to the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It's such a blessing to know that Jesus Christ restored His ancient church on the earth again. I highly recommend reading all of these books.
March 24, 2025
It was an overwhelming assignment. Especially at this point.
I often couldn't put it down. The accounts were compelling and well- written.
I had 3 minor quibbles:
1- The ending, as aptly planned as it seemed, also seemed rushed.
2- The closer it got to the end, the more I felt that the compilers were... hampered, to put it diplomatically, by the need to maintain international and political relationships.
3- There were 2 or 3 times when word choices gave me pause, especially in the pre-SWK years, and I thought that there may have been a more faith full way to express that situation. There also didn't seem to be a textual reason for that specific wording.
I did wish that I could have followed more of the stories that seemed to just get dropped. With the others, there was a certain amount of research I could do(given the age of the subjects). With these, information isn't as easily found.
Highly recommend it, though. It's an ambitious task and a huge tribute to the rank and file members that, to me, was fairly successful. I also appreciated the oral histories that don't exist anywhere else.
Also can the covers be combined into a puzzle...🙏
2025 edit: randomly discovered a supporting documents section in the app with photos. If you haven't read it yet, do yourself a favor and check out supplementary folders in the app.
I often couldn't put it down. The accounts were compelling and well- written.
I had 3 minor quibbles:
1- The ending, as aptly planned as it seemed, also seemed rushed.
2- The closer it got to the end, the more I felt that the compilers were... hampered, to put it diplomatically, by the need to maintain international and political relationships.
3- There were 2 or 3 times when word choices gave me pause, especially in the pre-SWK years, and I thought that there may have been a more faith full way to express that situation. There also didn't seem to be a textual reason for that specific wording.
I did wish that I could have followed more of the stories that seemed to just get dropped. With the others, there was a certain amount of research I could do(given the age of the subjects). With these, information isn't as easily found.
Highly recommend it, though. It's an ambitious task and a huge tribute to the rank and file members that, to me, was fairly successful. I also appreciated the oral histories that don't exist anywhere else.
Also can the covers be combined into a puzzle...🙏
2025 edit: randomly discovered a supporting documents section in the app with photos. If you haven't read it yet, do yourself a favor and check out supplementary folders in the app.
November 28, 2024
I’ve really loved all 4 of these Saints books. I appreciate that it’s not just a boring textbook, but the church’s history is told through real life personal stories. I can’t even begin to imagine how much work it was to weave all of these stories/timelines together.
I think it’s wonderful that they don’t shy away from the tough topics. They acknowledge the hard history and how it’s affected people. They create more understanding. The experiences and thoughts shared are relatable. The miracles are incredible to read about. The growth of The Church is amazing!!
I wish more people would read these.
I think it’s wonderful that they don’t shy away from the tough topics. They acknowledge the hard history and how it’s affected people. They create more understanding. The experiences and thoughts shared are relatable. The miracles are incredible to read about. The growth of The Church is amazing!!
I wish more people would read these.
April 28, 2025
4.5 ⭐
This has been such a great series. I particularly enjoyed vol. 3 and 4. These last two move so fast that I found myself wishing we had a few more volumes to get into these stories a bit more. I've learned so much about the challenges global saints have faced and I feel very inspired by the pace of continuing revelation.
This was a fantastic project to make the history of the church accessible and digestible. I wish this wasn't the last one!
This has been such a great series. I particularly enjoyed vol. 3 and 4. These last two move so fast that I found myself wishing we had a few more volumes to get into these stories a bit more. I've learned so much about the challenges global saints have faced and I feel very inspired by the pace of continuing revelation.
This was a fantastic project to make the history of the church accessible and digestible. I wish this wasn't the last one!
March 25, 2025
This volume was especially interesting for me because it covers history that overlaps with my own life or the lives of people I know. Reading about Gordon B. Hinckley felt personal. He’s someone I remember clearly. I recall when the Conference Center was built, and I even have a memory of attending General Conference there. I also remember hearing about the Church during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. That entire era felt familiar, and it was fascinating to see it told through a historical lens.
I appreciated reading about the changes that began in the 1980s, especially how they connect to more recent developments in the Church. For example, the shift from a three-hour Sunday block to two hours reminded me of earlier changes in Sunday School. How the Church continues to adapt and focus on home-centered, Church-supported learning. The restructuring of the high priests and elders quorums also echoed those same themes of simplification and unity. Seeing how these evolutions were part of a longer journey gave me a new appreciation for them.
Another part I found fascinating was the emphasis on humanitarian aid and how the world started to see the Church more clearly during this period. That global perspective was powerful and inspiring.
Overall, this was a great read for anyone who wants to understand how the Church got to where it is today. It’s both personal and historical, and I came away with a deeper appreciation for the journey we’ve all been on together.
I appreciated reading about the changes that began in the 1980s, especially how they connect to more recent developments in the Church. For example, the shift from a three-hour Sunday block to two hours reminded me of earlier changes in Sunday School. How the Church continues to adapt and focus on home-centered, Church-supported learning. The restructuring of the high priests and elders quorums also echoed those same themes of simplification and unity. Seeing how these evolutions were part of a longer journey gave me a new appreciation for them.
Another part I found fascinating was the emphasis on humanitarian aid and how the world started to see the Church more clearly during this period. That global perspective was powerful and inspiring.
Overall, this was a great read for anyone who wants to understand how the Church got to where it is today. It’s both personal and historical, and I came away with a deeper appreciation for the journey we’ve all been on together.
June 18, 2025
While this book is pretty big the stories of faith inside are well worth it. I love the honest look at different events in church history especially some controversial ones.
July 14, 2025
I finished the series!!! This might have been my favorite one yet, because it covered my own lifetime. It was fun to get a deeper look at what was going on behind the scenes during events that I remember. Or to learn about events that I wasn't aware of. Because I read this one chapter at a time each Sunday, I often forgot who and what was going on each week, but I'm still glad I read them and grateful for the wisdom and knowledge I gained.
November 1, 2024
The fourth and final volume of Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days was published today. This newest book, Sounded in Every Ear, tells the story of the Latter-day Saints from 1955 to 2020, bringing the history up nearly to the present day. It discusses an era in which conversion rates exploded in South America, the Pacific islands, eastern Asia, and Africa. The 1978 revelation that ended the priesthood and temple ban was an important event enabling that growth. Temple construction to support membership across the world became a big deal, with the number of temples jumping from 9 functioning temples in 3 countries in 1955 to 197 dedicated temples in scores of countries today.
As with previous entries in the series, Saints 4 has a lot of different goals, sources, and subjects to juggle. As an institutional history, it needs to inspire faithfulness and belief in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
First, this includes a focus on Jesus Christ and the impact involvement in the Church has on the lives of those who embrace it as well as sustaining the positions the Church takes on hot-button social issues. It also has to work to cultivate a positive image of the Church for any non-members who happen to read the books.
Second, it is a historical work that has positioned itself as a true account of the history of the Church, with painstaking efforts to research and present that history accurately. On this account, it needs to hold up under the scrutiny of the academic fields of history and religious studies.
Third, it tries to present that historical information in an engaging, narrative format that is appealing to people across many different education levels.
Fourth, this volume is about history that people who are alive and remember experiencing the events described within (historians aren’t usually writing about subjects that can talk back at them).
Those goals don’t always fit nicely together and create some tensions in what they were aiming to achieve. But Saints 4 does a good job of balancing and compromising between them while achieving the core of each of the goals.
The history does very well at representing members of the Church around the world who go through a variety of circumstances. I was impressed to find that issues like depression, infertility, displacement as refugees during wartime, and lifechanging injuries received during missions were discussed in an authentic way that also provided good modeling on how to handle those situations. They also include a lot of very inspiring stories of faith in face of tribulation, conversion, missionary work, and service. Humanitarian efforts of the Church were an important theme throughout. These types of stories are what I think the book does best (even in comparison to other volumes in Saints, which seemed to get better at doing this with each volume) and will make it a great resource for teaching and preaching in the Church.
As far as narrative goes, it does okay at keeping the book engaging. One concern I have shared about these later volumes is that as the Church continues to expand, there becomes more and more threads to follow, leading to less focus in the narrative. They didn’t do quite as well in Volume 4 at this as they did in Volume 3. There were a lot of people that they followed, and it got to be too much to keep track of. They did include reminders each time someone resurfaced to help jog the memory on what they were doing last time they showed up, which helped. Some characters carried over from Volume 3, such as Henry Burkhardt in East Germany, Gordon B. Hinckley, and the Vojkuvková/Vojkuvka family in Czechoslovakia. Surprisingly, Neal A. Maxwell didn’t feature as a main character, even though he was a notable person in Volume 3. There was a new cast of families and people who did come to the fore, including the following, to name a few:
Darius Gray (African American member in Utah)
Ardeth Kapp (Utah)
Angela Peterson Fallentine (United States)
The Osmond family
Emma Acosta Hernandez (Guatemala)
Jeff and Silvia Allred (Guatemala, San Salvador)
Joseph William Billy Johnson (Ghana)
Willy Binene (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Helio de Rocha (Brazil)
Marco Villavicencio (Brazil/Ecuador)
Juliet and Iliesa Toro (Fiji)
Hwang Keun Ok (South Korea)
Nguyen Van The (Vietnam)
There were a lot of powerful and important stories, but there was also too much going on to follow easily.
The history brought up and addressed many of the controversial issues in this era of history. Here are a few of the major events from that era:
Priesthood ban / revelation: They covered the basics of the topic, discussing some of the problems it caused with establishing missions in Africa, ordination and temple work in South Africa and Brazil, etc., then discussed Spencer W. Kimball and the Twelve seeking and receiving revelation to lift the ban in 1978. This is history embraces the idea that God is real and interacts with people, so it differs from more secular histories like Second Class Saints in how it discusses the revelation occurring, since it allows the Holy Spirit to have a direct role in the process. It also differs, however, in that it avoids discussion of conflicts like Hugh B. Brown’s efforts to lift the ban in the 1960s, etc. (which Second Class Saints does a much better job at discussing). In addressing the church’s establishment in Africa following the ban, they focused on congregations of unbaptized converts led by men. In doing so, they avoided any discussion of the congregations led by women and the marginalization those women leaders experienced once missionaries and priesthood leadership arrived. So, it gets through the most important points, but doesn’t delve into the full details of this history.
ERA and Women’s Rights: The Equal Rights Amendment was a hot topic in the 1970s, with Church leaders coming out in direct opposition to the efforts to guarantee women’s rights. They only briefly discussed this as an issue, focusing on Spencer W. Kimball’s stance on the topic and the efforts of one woman in Washington D.C. to share that standpoint with some important figures. Sonia Johnson and her conflict with church leaders made no appearance at all, which is a glaring absence in any history of the church during that era. Responses to teachings about a mother in heaven in the early 1990s or the Ordain Women movement in the 2010s were completely absent, though they did discuss Rusell M. Nelson and Dallin H. Oaks’s efforts to re-expand the role of women in the church and their relationship to priesthood authority.
LGTBQ+: This an important topic during the era covered in Saints 4, with aspects of it surfacing in things like The Family Proclamation, Prop 8 in 2008 California, and the policy of exclusion that lasted from 2015–2019. They mostly discussed this issue in Saints 4 in the context of Prop 8, framing it as the church standing up for its belief in traditional families while putting emphasis on the church’s teachings about treating people respectfully and the condemnation of bullying LGTBQ+ individuals. The policy of exclusion was not mentioned, and no viewpoint characters were individuals who were navigating church membership and being part of the LGTBQ+ community. As a no-win topic, however, I think they handled it pretty well.
Ezra Taft Benson’s politics: Ezra Taft Benson is infamous for his right-wing political activity, including his open support for the John Birch Society and opposition to the Civil Rights movement. He was probably the most ignored of the presidents of the Church relative to his activities as a church leader in the book, however, with the discussion about him revolving almost completely around his emphasis on the Book of Mormon and Jesus Christ rather than politics. Which makes sense in that they were trying to make the history less U.S.-centric and putting the Church in a good light.
Leonard Arrington’s History Department: The efforts to professionalize historian’s work in the Church being first embraced and then shut down by Church leaders during Leonard Arrington’s tenure as Church Historian was a topic that wasn’t addressed beyond a passing reference to Joseph Fielding Smith professionalizing the church’s departments. The Saints series has had little focus on Latter-day Saint historiography, so this wasn’t surprising at all. Oddly, however, they did bring up historiography in the form of talking about Truman Madsen and his associates researching the First Vision in response to critical historical works on the topic (which is where the only passing reference to Arrington came up). It was an opportunity to discuss the multiple accounts of the First Vision, which is probably why they brought it up, but it felt odd since they’ve avoided historiography outside of that discussion.
Mark Hofmann: They brought this up and addressed it.
September Six: Perhaps one of the most significant moments of the Church’s history in the 1990s was the excommunication or disfellowshipment of six high-profile intellectuals within one month in 1993 and the shockwaves it sent through the intellectual Latter-day Saint community. This didn’t come up at all in Saints. Notably, that is in line with the church’s general sensitivity towards talking about disciplinary action (which could also explain Sonia Johnson’s absence in the volume).
Indian Placement Program: From 1954–1996, the Church developed a program that brought Native American children into Euro-American homes in an effort to convert and assimilate Native Americans, especially from among the Diné. While the general concept was well-intended, it proved controversial, since it was essentially a colonizing effort that weakened ties to their ancestral cultures. It also provided an environment wherein some of the children involved were subjected to abuse of various kinds. This was discussed, though the story shared was a best-case scenario, where the Diné woman lived with a family that supported her and set her up for success in life while also encouraging her to remain connected to her Diné roots and family. This served to bring the issue up while minimizing other stories that didn’t turn out quite as well.
These and a few other issues were brought up and addressed in a way that put the Church in the most favorable light possible while still remaining historically accurate (though the discussion was usually not as deep as, say, American Zion).
Again, the delicate dance that historians had to do while working on this institutional history made it incredibly difficult and complex to handle. I have immense respect, appreciation and sympathy for the historians involved in the project. I believe that they did an impressive job at navigating those tensions and providing a useful and inspiring history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As I said with Volume 3, I loved this volume of Saints. If I had my way, every member of the Church would familiarize themselves with this series. They provide important historical information that illuminates why the Church is the way it is today, but (more importantly) they also provide spiritual nourishment. I found that my belief in God and His influence in guiding people through the Holy Spirit was strengthened, as was my love of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by reading Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, Volume 4: Sounded in Every Ear, 1955-2020.
As with previous entries in the series, Saints 4 has a lot of different goals, sources, and subjects to juggle. As an institutional history, it needs to inspire faithfulness and belief in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
First, this includes a focus on Jesus Christ and the impact involvement in the Church has on the lives of those who embrace it as well as sustaining the positions the Church takes on hot-button social issues. It also has to work to cultivate a positive image of the Church for any non-members who happen to read the books.
Second, it is a historical work that has positioned itself as a true account of the history of the Church, with painstaking efforts to research and present that history accurately. On this account, it needs to hold up under the scrutiny of the academic fields of history and religious studies.
Third, it tries to present that historical information in an engaging, narrative format that is appealing to people across many different education levels.
Fourth, this volume is about history that people who are alive and remember experiencing the events described within (historians aren’t usually writing about subjects that can talk back at them).
Those goals don’t always fit nicely together and create some tensions in what they were aiming to achieve. But Saints 4 does a good job of balancing and compromising between them while achieving the core of each of the goals.
The history does very well at representing members of the Church around the world who go through a variety of circumstances. I was impressed to find that issues like depression, infertility, displacement as refugees during wartime, and lifechanging injuries received during missions were discussed in an authentic way that also provided good modeling on how to handle those situations. They also include a lot of very inspiring stories of faith in face of tribulation, conversion, missionary work, and service. Humanitarian efforts of the Church were an important theme throughout. These types of stories are what I think the book does best (even in comparison to other volumes in Saints, which seemed to get better at doing this with each volume) and will make it a great resource for teaching and preaching in the Church.
As far as narrative goes, it does okay at keeping the book engaging. One concern I have shared about these later volumes is that as the Church continues to expand, there becomes more and more threads to follow, leading to less focus in the narrative. They didn’t do quite as well in Volume 4 at this as they did in Volume 3. There were a lot of people that they followed, and it got to be too much to keep track of. They did include reminders each time someone resurfaced to help jog the memory on what they were doing last time they showed up, which helped. Some characters carried over from Volume 3, such as Henry Burkhardt in East Germany, Gordon B. Hinckley, and the Vojkuvková/Vojkuvka family in Czechoslovakia. Surprisingly, Neal A. Maxwell didn’t feature as a main character, even though he was a notable person in Volume 3. There was a new cast of families and people who did come to the fore, including the following, to name a few:
Darius Gray (African American member in Utah)
Ardeth Kapp (Utah)
Angela Peterson Fallentine (United States)
The Osmond family
Emma Acosta Hernandez (Guatemala)
Jeff and Silvia Allred (Guatemala, San Salvador)
Joseph William Billy Johnson (Ghana)
Willy Binene (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Helio de Rocha (Brazil)
Marco Villavicencio (Brazil/Ecuador)
Juliet and Iliesa Toro (Fiji)
Hwang Keun Ok (South Korea)
Nguyen Van The (Vietnam)
There were a lot of powerful and important stories, but there was also too much going on to follow easily.
The history brought up and addressed many of the controversial issues in this era of history. Here are a few of the major events from that era:
Priesthood ban / revelation: They covered the basics of the topic, discussing some of the problems it caused with establishing missions in Africa, ordination and temple work in South Africa and Brazil, etc., then discussed Spencer W. Kimball and the Twelve seeking and receiving revelation to lift the ban in 1978. This is history embraces the idea that God is real and interacts with people, so it differs from more secular histories like Second Class Saints in how it discusses the revelation occurring, since it allows the Holy Spirit to have a direct role in the process. It also differs, however, in that it avoids discussion of conflicts like Hugh B. Brown’s efforts to lift the ban in the 1960s, etc. (which Second Class Saints does a much better job at discussing). In addressing the church’s establishment in Africa following the ban, they focused on congregations of unbaptized converts led by men. In doing so, they avoided any discussion of the congregations led by women and the marginalization those women leaders experienced once missionaries and priesthood leadership arrived. So, it gets through the most important points, but doesn’t delve into the full details of this history.
ERA and Women’s Rights: The Equal Rights Amendment was a hot topic in the 1970s, with Church leaders coming out in direct opposition to the efforts to guarantee women’s rights. They only briefly discussed this as an issue, focusing on Spencer W. Kimball’s stance on the topic and the efforts of one woman in Washington D.C. to share that standpoint with some important figures. Sonia Johnson and her conflict with church leaders made no appearance at all, which is a glaring absence in any history of the church during that era. Responses to teachings about a mother in heaven in the early 1990s or the Ordain Women movement in the 2010s were completely absent, though they did discuss Rusell M. Nelson and Dallin H. Oaks’s efforts to re-expand the role of women in the church and their relationship to priesthood authority.
LGTBQ+: This an important topic during the era covered in Saints 4, with aspects of it surfacing in things like The Family Proclamation, Prop 8 in 2008 California, and the policy of exclusion that lasted from 2015–2019. They mostly discussed this issue in Saints 4 in the context of Prop 8, framing it as the church standing up for its belief in traditional families while putting emphasis on the church’s teachings about treating people respectfully and the condemnation of bullying LGTBQ+ individuals. The policy of exclusion was not mentioned, and no viewpoint characters were individuals who were navigating church membership and being part of the LGTBQ+ community. As a no-win topic, however, I think they handled it pretty well.
Ezra Taft Benson’s politics: Ezra Taft Benson is infamous for his right-wing political activity, including his open support for the John Birch Society and opposition to the Civil Rights movement. He was probably the most ignored of the presidents of the Church relative to his activities as a church leader in the book, however, with the discussion about him revolving almost completely around his emphasis on the Book of Mormon and Jesus Christ rather than politics. Which makes sense in that they were trying to make the history less U.S.-centric and putting the Church in a good light.
Leonard Arrington’s History Department: The efforts to professionalize historian’s work in the Church being first embraced and then shut down by Church leaders during Leonard Arrington’s tenure as Church Historian was a topic that wasn’t addressed beyond a passing reference to Joseph Fielding Smith professionalizing the church’s departments. The Saints series has had little focus on Latter-day Saint historiography, so this wasn’t surprising at all. Oddly, however, they did bring up historiography in the form of talking about Truman Madsen and his associates researching the First Vision in response to critical historical works on the topic (which is where the only passing reference to Arrington came up). It was an opportunity to discuss the multiple accounts of the First Vision, which is probably why they brought it up, but it felt odd since they’ve avoided historiography outside of that discussion.
Mark Hofmann: They brought this up and addressed it.
September Six: Perhaps one of the most significant moments of the Church’s history in the 1990s was the excommunication or disfellowshipment of six high-profile intellectuals within one month in 1993 and the shockwaves it sent through the intellectual Latter-day Saint community. This didn’t come up at all in Saints. Notably, that is in line with the church’s general sensitivity towards talking about disciplinary action (which could also explain Sonia Johnson’s absence in the volume).
Indian Placement Program: From 1954–1996, the Church developed a program that brought Native American children into Euro-American homes in an effort to convert and assimilate Native Americans, especially from among the Diné. While the general concept was well-intended, it proved controversial, since it was essentially a colonizing effort that weakened ties to their ancestral cultures. It also provided an environment wherein some of the children involved were subjected to abuse of various kinds. This was discussed, though the story shared was a best-case scenario, where the Diné woman lived with a family that supported her and set her up for success in life while also encouraging her to remain connected to her Diné roots and family. This served to bring the issue up while minimizing other stories that didn’t turn out quite as well.
These and a few other issues were brought up and addressed in a way that put the Church in the most favorable light possible while still remaining historically accurate (though the discussion was usually not as deep as, say, American Zion).
Again, the delicate dance that historians had to do while working on this institutional history made it incredibly difficult and complex to handle. I have immense respect, appreciation and sympathy for the historians involved in the project. I believe that they did an impressive job at navigating those tensions and providing a useful and inspiring history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As I said with Volume 3, I loved this volume of Saints. If I had my way, every member of the Church would familiarize themselves with this series. They provide important historical information that illuminates why the Church is the way it is today, but (more importantly) they also provide spiritual nourishment. I found that my belief in God and His influence in guiding people through the Holy Spirit was strengthened, as was my love of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by reading Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, Volume 4: Sounded in Every Ear, 1955-2020.
November 2, 2024
I have waited for this book for years it seems. It covers most of the span of my own life! I was born in 1950, the book begins in 1955. It ends in 2020, just four years ago. I have often marveled at all that has happened in The Church of Jesus Christ during my lifetime and could not imagine how one volume could do just to all of that! In my humble opinion, the nailed it! Of course there was no way to record it all, that would fill volumes, but the hit on all the pertinent stuff while making it so intimate and personal. The writers had to be inspired because theirs was an impossible task. I came away completely satisfied and full of joy and rejoicing! It is truly a masterpiece! I couldn’t put it down!!!
July 21, 2025
Listened to this one sporadically over the past several months. It was a lot like volume 3, where the stories were much less connected, reflecting the global nature of the church today. Either I was more prepared for that treatment or they did a better job of making it feel more cohesive because it didn't bother me as much this time around. I still had a hard time keeping up with everyone due to my inconsistent listening schedule, but it felt like I was still able to appreciate the episodes that were shared, and this time I liked seeing the way that individual and family lives illuminated the broader trends of church growth and development. Can't wait for volume 5 to come out, because it is sure to have some pretty amazing things in it!
October 30, 2024
I read an Advanced Copy.
I’ve loved the Saints series and I appreciate the challenge it must have been to collate the stories and experiences for this historical series about the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This volume covers 1955 to 2020 so I lived through 40+ of these years. I liked reading about events that I remember and can’t wait to revisit this Series in a few years as I have no doubt different themes will stand out.
I’ve loved the Saints series and I appreciate the challenge it must have been to collate the stories and experiences for this historical series about the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This volume covers 1955 to 2020 so I lived through 40+ of these years. I liked reading about events that I remember and can’t wait to revisit this Series in a few years as I have no doubt different themes will stand out.
November 12, 2024
This felt like the sugar coated version of church history. There were some heavy topics glossed over like race, women’s equality, and lgbtq issues. The personal stories are great but I found them hard to connect with. I
January 15, 2025
I really enjoyed learning about members of my church from all over the world along with stories of the prophets and world events happening during this time period. I love how these histories have been written!
November 13, 2024
Love💜💜💜💜💜 loved all these new stories of how the church was started in other countries than the US!
December 31, 2024
It has several wonderful stories but spends the majority of its time on the priesthood ban and doesn’t add much value to the topic and tells many negative stories about impacted members. Feels like some out of control researchers had a field day with this topic and I don’t know why it wasn’t reigned in. There is almost no defense of it or context or detail on why it happened. You have to (and should) look elsewhere for that.
February 9, 2025
Finally finished!
It was so wild to read church history that I was alive for !
I loved the narrative up until chapter 34/35 when it felt too fast and skimmed thru (what I thought) were monumental events (ex: missionary age change, President Nelson’s changes to church meetings & Come Follow Me, and if course, COVID.)
It was so wild to read church history that I was alive for !
I loved the narrative up until chapter 34/35 when it felt too fast and skimmed thru (what I thought) were monumental events (ex: missionary age change, President Nelson’s changes to church meetings & Come Follow Me, and if course, COVID.)
June 10, 2025
I have enjoyed all the books in this series. As a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there was so much I already knew, but so much more that I was not aware of - especially in this volume which covers the my generation. I love reading about other people's faith and how they deal with the challenges that arise.
July 31, 2025
I'm finished! I read all 4 books this year. I just read it daily along with my scripture reading, so it was easy to finish so soon. My goal was to read them all by the end of the year. I started reading a chapter a day, so there you go. Good stories. It brought us all the way up to CoVid and the 2 hour meeting schedule. Good stuff!
February 4, 2025
I’d also add in the 2015 LGBTQ handbook policy change and its effects on the Church, and its reversal, but overall I enjoyed this, as I have all the volumes, I only wish we could zoom in and get even more stories from saints around the globe. So many stories yet to be told!
June 14, 2025
The time period represented here was almost as charged (in many different aspects) as the days of Joseph and Brigham. I think the Church did a great job in representing as many different viewpoints and in covering what would give as complete a view of Church History as possible.
November 15, 2025
I loved this book! I especially loved hearing the beautiful stories of faith from Saints all around the world. They taught me again and again that God loves all of His children, wherever they live and whatever their background.
December 18, 2025
A: I started tearing up as I was listening to the last chapter because I was so sad to be done. I have absolutely loved reading Saints this year. At times it was very challenging to read but overall so inspiring and such a powerful testimony builder. I’m so grateful to have read this collection.
December 29, 2024
A worthy conclusion to a great series of church history books. I particularly appreciated the treatment of the end of the priesthood restriction for people of African descent.
September 30, 2025
I’m grateful for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I believe that Jesus Christ truly directs this church. I’m so grateful for the history of the church and those women and men who have sacrificed and served so much to help bring the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ to all the world. More than happy and willing to talk if anyone is interested to learn more.
January 6, 2025
Loved this book. Glad to read more contemporary Church history.
January 17, 2026
Essentially read this in two distinct chunks, each over the course of a few weeks. Really enjoyed it, but didn’t find it as gripping as the previous volumes. Two main self-reflections:
1) I generally like studying history that is 50+ years in the past
2) It seemed like there were 15+ narratives here, with no real signal which might last over multiple years / decades, so it was hard to follow different protagonists, remember their pasts, and make connections between distant and recent past
1) I generally like studying history that is 50+ years in the past
2) It seemed like there were 15+ narratives here, with no real signal which might last over multiple years / decades, so it was hard to follow different protagonists, remember their pasts, and make connections between distant and recent past
September 30, 2025
Having read all of the Saints books now, this book achieves the balance between the micro and the macro that I feel was missing a little in Vol. 3. There are still a few personal level stories that seem just a little random, but for the most part I thought this book weaves the personal level stories in with the overall narrative of the history of the Church very well.
I just hope that no matter what volume people read in this series, they can see the hand of God in every moment of the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I just hope that no matter what volume people read in this series, they can see the hand of God in every moment of the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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