Rachel's Latter-day Saints Blog

Who was Joseph Smith? Why was he confused about religion? Learn how Joseph Smith sought truth by praying to God, had a vision and received an answer, was later called as a prophet, and eventually martyred for God.

Continue learning the truth about Joseph Smith and other Mormon prophets and LDS Church leaders.

Have you heard that some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints practice polygamy or that polygamist groups are affiliated with the LDS Church? If so please read the truth in this FAQ and how anyone in the LDS Church who is found practicing polygamy or is affiliated with polygamous groups is excommunicated.

July 24th is Pioneer Day, the day we celebrate the heritage of our early fore-fathers. Most Mormon pioneers were baptized members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Over 70,000 saints traveled west to avoid terrible persecution, many of which were led by President Brigham Young and other LDS Church leaders. The pioneers followed a trail from Nauvoo, Illinois to the Great Salt Lake Valley of Utah- about 1,300 miles!

You can follow the trail of the Mormon Pioneers and read personal accounts from some of the saints who made this difficult journey, or view other Mormon Pioneer resources.

For years leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have counseled members to have a year's supply of food and other essentials, but why? What should we store? How can you afford to? If I do, should I share with others during an emergency? Find the answers to these, and many other questions, in these food storage articles.

You can also browse through many other resources in the Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness category.

The Encyclopedia of Mormonism is now available as a searchable set of pages instead of just a PDF file. The Encyclopedia of Mormonism is a large resource full of links and references to LDS Church doctrine. Although there's a lot of useful information, the LDS Church has stated that "the Encyclopedia of Mormonism... does not necessarily represent the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

Some of the many topics you can read about include:

• cross
• hell
• New Testament
• raising the dead, and
• wrath of God

According to LDS Media Talk "it contains one million words in about 1,500 articles in four volumes." Wow!

Most members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint are baptized in fonts, but sometimes (usually depending on location) they are baptized in another body of water. How about you? Share your baptismal location with us in the comments or LDS Community Forum.


Previous poll: How Old Were You When You Were Baptized?

Writing a personal family history can be daunting, but it doesn't have to be if you take it a step at a time. This 12 chapter course, submitted by Lorraine Behunin, comes with questions for each category. You can view the course on line or sign up to receive an email once a week. This is a great way to help you with writing your personal family history. If you subscribe you will receive one chapter a week for 12 weeks. The course includes directions, helpful ideas, additional resources, and an entire list of categories and questions.

Many thanks to Sister Behunin for sharing her idea with us! See the Family History category for additional resources.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has updated its LDS Gems email subscription with a new website and added a new RSS feed. All LDS Gems subscribers will need to resubscribe by the end of July 2008 as by August the old subscriptions will be terminated. There are several different LDS Gems to choose from including:

• Church History Gems
• Daily Gems
• Family Gems
• Young Single Adult Gems
• Youth Gems

You can also browse through the archives by topic or by date.

One of the LDS Gems I've been subscribed to is the Daily Gems. These daily quotes are often thought provoking which I sometimes blog about, such as, "Touch Not the Evil and Unclean Thing" or this one about patience.

This poll is for those who've been baptized as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.


As many members of the LDS Church are converts (not raised by Latter-day Saint parents) I thought this would be a fun poll to run. Share your baptismal and/or conversion experiences with us in the comments or LDS Community Forum.

Next poll: Where Were You Baptized?
Previous poll: Have you read the Book of Mormon?

I've added a new menu and meal planning chart to the ones already listed. This one is a full page chart with larger boxes and more room for filling in your meal ideas. The chart also comes with a second page full of menu ideas that you can print on the back of your chart. My family and I have used this chart for years. Not only has it been a huge time saver but it has also lowered my stress. Instead of being hungry and cranky while trying to come up with a meal idea right before dinner time, I already know what I'm going to make, I have the ingredients in the house, and I've made any necessary preparation, like thawing frozen meat.

What menu planning tips have helped you?