The Joseph Smith Building (JSB) that currently resides on the south end of BYU campus is not the first building to be named after the first prophet of the LDS church. The Joseph Smith Building that preceded it was built in 1941 and served as a center…

Father Anthony Ravalli, a Jesuit missionary and architect from Italy, designed and led the construction of the Church of the Sacred Heart from 1850–53, and the Coeur D’Alene people provided much of the labor necessary to complete the project. Father…

In the early nineteenth century, the Coeur d’Alene Indians began to hear rumors of men in black robes who possessed special powers. Curiosity about these alleged powers inspired the tribe to invite the “black robes” to live amongst them. Jesuit…

Table Rock is a popular hiking destination for residents in Boise, Idaho. It is part of a diverse four-mile hiking loop that lets hikers make their own trails without the worry of motorized vehicles running into them. Atop of the hiking trail you…

During the mid-nineteenth century, missionaries set out to spread Christianity and educate Native American tribes in the Pacific Northwest. Henry and Eliza Spalding set out with Narcissa and Marcus Whitman in February 1836 from New York to preach to…

Greek Orthodoxy long served as the center of life in Greek Utah. A small church was initially built in Price, Utah in 1904 to carry out rituals of marriage, baptism, and funerals. After approximately twenty years, the Holy Trinity Cathedral was…

Perhaps the most nationally recognized organ in Utah is found at the Mormon Tabernacle on Temple Square. However, First United Methodist Church in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City, Utah is home to the oldest pipe organ in the state that features…

For the last quarter of the nineteenth century (1871-1906), Salt Lake City’s First Methodist Episcopal Church was located downtown on 300 South between Main Street and State Street. This original church structure was dedicated after its completion in…

Early American Methodism and the exploration of the American West share a common pioneering ancestor in Jedediah Smith. While many of the commonly held beliefs about Jedediah Smith’s religious background and affiliation would require the support of…

James Cash (J.C.) Penney, Jr. was born on September 16, 1875 in the small Caldwell County town of Hamilton, Missouri to James Cash Penney, Sr. and Mary Frances Paxton. His father was a notable member of the Hamilton community as a minister for the…