The fourth and final volume of “Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days” (English only link) has been published in 14 languages.
The newest book of the Church’s four-part official history, titled “Sounded in Every Ear,” tells the story of the Latter-day Saints from 1955 to 2020 — a period of accelerated worldwide Church growth and temple building.
Joseph William Billy Johnson ca. 1974. Introduced to the gospel by his friend, Frank Mensah, Johnson organized unofficial congregations and longed for the day the Church would send missionaries. He rejoiced in 1978 when he learned of the revelation on priesthood and realized that the Church would soon come to Ghana. (See Saints 4:174, 218, 311.)
Kazuhiko and Tazuko Yamashita, 2001. After visiting the Church’s pavilion at Expo ’70 in Osaka Japan, Kazuhiko Yamashita responded to the missionaries’ message and was baptized. See Saints 4:192, 208, 547; Credit: Church History Library, Salt Lake City. Photograph by Richard Turley.
Members in Luputa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, worked under the direction of district president Willy Binene and in partnership with Latter-day Saint Charities and humanitarian organization ADIR to pipe clean water to the village in 2010. (See Saints 4:606, 627, 629.)
Colonia Juárez Chihuahua Temple. The temple follows the pattern for small temples sketched by President Gordon B. Hinckley on a visit there in 1997. He returned in March 1999, to dedicate the temple. (See Saints 4:545.)
Marco and Claudia Villavicencio and their son Sair in 2011. Like many Saints around the world, they found themselves worshipping with and building a small branch of the Church when Marco took a job in a remote village in Ecuador. (See Saints 4:614, 621, 623, 631.)
Spencer W. Kimball, president of the Church from 1973–1985, spent many hours pondering and praying for revelation on the priesthood restriction. On May 30, 1978, he received revelation during a meeting of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve that extended priesthood and temple blessings to all worthy members. (See Saints 4:306, 625.)
Victor Solari, president, and members of the Colonia Suiza, Uruguay branch, ca. 1961. Following Elder Spencer W. Kimball’s counsel to call local leaders rather than relying on American missionaries, he called 13-year-old Delia Rochon to serve as Primary president.
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir on Red Square in Moscow, 2001. The choir performed a concert in Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater as part of its tour of Eastern Europe that year. At a reception after the concert, Alexander Rutskoi, Vice President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, announced formal recognition of the Church. (See Saints 4:446.)
The four-volume “Saints” history is the third multivolume official history produced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Elder Hugo E. Martinez, a General Authority Seventy who serves as assistant executive director of the Church History Department expressed, “Volume 4 is filled with individual stories, faith-promoting stories, inspiring stories. ... So, our invitation today is for you to have ‘Saints’ and study and find what we have found there — stories of people who follow Jesus Christ and find Him. We will find our Savior, Jesus Christ in the pages and the devotion and the lives that are there.”
One of the Saints featured in volume 4 is Olga Kovářová, a university student in Brno, Czechoslovakia. She discovered joy and purpose through yoga and spirituality. Guided by Otakar Vojkůvka, she explored Christianity and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, finding faith and community despite growing up in an atheistic society. Inspired by the words, “Men are that they might have joy,” she felt a profound connection to God and a newfound sense of purpose.
'An Increasingly Global Story'
When volume 4 opens in 1955, the Church is only in a few countries, but by the book’s conclusion, the Church has spread to 150 countries. Still, every country where the Church is present could not be included in the book. Instead, the editors tried to include story lines and countries that could be representative for broader audiences.
“This volume 4 tells an increasingly global story,” said Matt Grow, managing director of the Church History Department. “It’s the story of continuing revelation that helps the Church offer the full blessings of the gospel, including temple covenants to millions of people around the globe. It is our deepest hope that Latter-day Saints around the world will be able to see themselves in the story and ponder how they can carry on the legacy of faith and serve as exemplified in our history.”
The first two volumes of “Saints” focus on the early Restoration as the Latter-day Saints gathered to build temples in Kirtland, Nauvoo, and Utah. In volume 3, readers followed stories of Saints from around the globe as they encountered the excitement of modernization and the devastation of war, a pandemic and economic hardship. The story of the global Church continues in volume 4, with stories about how the Church and its members utilize new technologies, additional opportunities in Church education, innovative changes in Church organization and leadership, and widespread temple construction to aid in spreading the message of the restored gospel and in covenant making.
“‘Saints’ tells the story of what the Saints did, why they did it, and what they believed. We read about how they followed the Lord’s commandments, moving forward in faith and turning to their Savior,” said Elder Kyle S. McKay, a General Authority Seventy who serves as Church Historian and Recorder. “In the final volume of ‘Saints,’ we see historic revelation and a dramatic expansion of temple building throughout the earth, giving God’s children increased opportunities to make and keep covenants that will strengthen them against the commotion and uncertainty of the world around them.”
Much of the history covered in “Saints, Volume 4,” is history many readers lived through and remember. Readers will learn more about the beginnings of priesthood correlation and FamilySearch; the blessings of the Perpetual Education Fund; the establishment of stakes in South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific; the Church’s building program; the rapid construction of temples all over the world; and the revelation on ending race-based priesthood and temple restrictions.
“In volume 4, the Saints continue unabated in inviting others to Jesus Christ,” said James Perry, a general editor of the volume. “One of the most fulfilling aspects of ‘Saints’ is seeing how individuals from all walks of life continue to choose to serve the Lord, sometimes at considerable personal expense and inconvenience. I find it incredibly inspiring to see the great work of proclaiming the gospel taking place in Peru, Ghana, Hong Kong, Germany, and across the world.”
As the “Saints” series concludes, many nations, kindreds, tongues and people still thirst for the restored truth amidst a world troubled by war, civil unrest, sickness, hunger, and prejudice. 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.
Written for the Rising Generation
Jed Woodworth, managing historian for “Saints,” said, “We did try and write the book in such a way — and this is true of all four books — that it could be understood by people outside of our faith, but the primary audience is for the rising generation.”
The editors tried to include stories about Latter-day Saint teenagers and young adults who were seeking truth and looking for Christ. “Our kids need to be as aware of these young people as they can,” said Scott Hales, a historian and literary editor on the project. “I think that they can serve as role models for the rising generation.”
For example, volume 4 includes the story of 13-year-old Delia Rochon, who was called to serve as Primary president in Uruguay after Elder Spencer W. Kimball encouraged the calling of local leaders rather than relying on American missionaries. Latter-day Saint reality TV star Blake McKeow in Australia announced his decision to serve a mission in the Philippines on the show.
New with this book are a Saints Stories (English only link) landing page and a revamped Saints YouTube channel (English only link) that provide individual stories of the Saints who are featured in volume 4. This format may appeal to younger people or anyone who may feel daunted at reading an 800-page book.
How to Find ‘Saints, Volume 4’
“Saints, Volume 4” is now available for purchase from the Church’s online store. The digital version is available for free in Gospel Library online (English only link) and in the Church History section of the Gospel Library app.(English only link)
Volume 4 is available digitally in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Cebuano, Tagalog, Samoan, Tongan, Italian, German, and Russian. Print editions in these languages are now available.
An option to listen to the “Saints” volumes is available on Gospel Library in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese.
For readers wanting to delve even more deeply into the story of the Saints, the Church has also published dozens of new Church History Topics (English only link) in Gospel Library, providing detailed introductions to topics such as the Church’s Building Program, Church Callings, and Church Incorporation. Also available are the fourth season of the Saints podcast (English only link), which goes behind the scenes to tell more about the people and events in the books.
The ‘Saints’ Series
The Church released “Saints: The Standard of Truth, Volume 1, 1815-1846” in September 2018, and “Saints, Volume 2, No Unhallowed Hand, 1846-1893” was released in February 2020. The first two volumes of “Saints” focus on the early Restoration as the Latter-day Saints gathered to build temples in Kirtland, Nauvoo, and Utah.
“Saints, Volume 3, Boldly, Nobly, and Independent, 1893-1955” was released in April 2022. Volume 3 shares stories of Saints worldwide as they experienced the thrills of modern changes and faced the challenges of war, a pandemic, and economic hardship.
Each volume ends with a dedication of a temple. The subtitles of each book are taken from a classic 1842 quotation of the Prophet Joseph Smith. See original quote in English here:
The four-volume “Saints” history is the third multivolume official history produced by the Church. Joseph Smith commissioned and oversaw the writing of the first Church history in the 1830s, and it was published beginning in 1842. The second history was published in 1930 by Assistant Church Historian B. H. Roberts, before Church membership had reached 1 million.
The series has sold nearly 1.2 million printed volumes and another 1.5 million online readers and 500,000 audio book listeners. More than a thousand reviewers, translators, editors, historians, and writers have contributed to the work over the past decade and a half.
While there are no current plans for a fifth volume of Saints, historians hope to expand the “Saints” brand, methods, and storytelling style to other Church history projects on a regional level.