Holiday Greetings to everyone!

It's that time of year when we start reflecting back on the past twelve months. As a nerd's nerd, my thoughts immediately go to my favorite books. Since most of you follow me for my takes on Mormon history, I thought you'd be interested in my list of "Top Ten Favorite Books in Mormon History," which I discussed in detail in a recent YouTube video:

• Between Temple and Tax Collector: The Intersections Between Mormonism and the State (Illinois): https://amzn.to/4j6AwhF
• The Sound of Mormonism: A Media History of the Latter-day Saints (Utah State): https://amzn.to/4aisYpL
• Game Changers: AJ Dybantsa, BYU, and the Struggle for the Soul of Basketball (Signature): https://amzn.to/4j21Rl9
• Carry On: The Latter-day Saint Women’s Organization (Church Historian’s Press): https://amzn.to/459qyWP
• Latter-day Saint Theology Among Christian Theologies (Eerdmans): https://amzn.to/4s3MDzW
• Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet (Yale): https://amzn.to/3XWIyQu
• Mediated Mormonism: Shifting Religious Identities in a Digital Age (Utah): https://amzn.to/4aULUuQ
• Holiness to the Lord: Latter-day Saint Temple Worship (Oxford): https://amzn.to/4rTK7fE
• Wakara’s America: The Life & Legacy of a Native Founder of the American West (Basic): https://amzn.to/49fEPnj
• Mormon Settler Colonialism: Inventing the Lamanite (Oklahoma): https://amzn.to/4qeXsh0

And I could list many more! It truly was a great year in the field, and a wonderful era in Mormon studies scholarship. It is probably too late to get all of these for your holiday gifts, but make sure to order them so you can start 2026 right.

I'll be a bit sparse on my various platforms these next couple weeks as I enjoy time with my family. I'll only have three YouTube videos premiering between now and New Year's, and will only sporadically post on the social media accounts. But I'll be back to normal posting on January 5. I hope everyone enjoys the holiday break!

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NEWS/NOTES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Please mark your calendars for my next YouTube live discussion, which will take place on Wednesday, January 7, at 7pm MT. None other than the brilliant biblical scholar Dan McClellan will be joining me to discuss Mormonism and scripture. It will be a lot of fun, so make sure to tune in and ask questions.
• The latest volume of the journal Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought features my extended review of Matthew Harris's phenomenal Second Class Saints: Black Mormons and the Struggle for Racial Equality. (Spoiler: I loved it.) You can read the review at this link.
• If you are a PhD student, recent postdoc, or independent scholar working on a book-length project that's related to Mormon studies, please consider applying to our second annual Eugene England Summer Institute. (And please pass this along to people who do qualify.)

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YOUTUBE VIDEOS

• ​The Year 2025 in Mormon Studies (12/19): besides counting down my ten favorite books in Mormon history published in the past year, I survey the general field and highlight other great books and articles. I also feature the opinions of brilliant scholars like Paul Reeve, Patrick Mason, Matthew Bowman, Cristina Gagliano, and Joseph Stuart. The field of Mormon studies is strong!
• ​The LDS Church is Growing...So Why Are So Many Leaving? (12/17): I engage some research social science research about LDS Church growth/disaffection, and place these discussions in the broader context of Mormon history.
• ​Polygamy Almost Ended the Mormon Church (12/15): This video examined the Mormon "Underground," or the period when LDS leaders and members alike were fleeing justice. The federal government was determined to prosecute all polygamists, and church authorities preferred to live on the run than give in. So what changed?
• ​The "Walker War" Myth: Who Really Started the Conflict? (12/12): Mormons had a rocky relationship with Native Americans during the early Utah Territory period, with Latter-day Saints also the aggressors. This video provides an overview of the topic as well as engages a new biography of Wakara, the prominent Timpanogos leader. I was also privileged to interview the biography's author, Max Mueller.
• ​The 185 Year History of Mormon Garments in 30 Minutes (12/10): the world raised an eyebrow when LDS women stood in long lines for the new sleeveless garments in October. But it was just the latest in a long line of changes to the LDS "magic underwear," as it is often derisively called. This video attempts to tell the long story that brought us to this point.
• ​The Reed Smoot Hearings Changed Mormonism (12/8): there are few episodes more consequential in Mormon history than when Reed Smoot, a Mormon apostle, was elected to the US senate in 1903. The ensuing congressional hearings investigated nothing less than whether the Latter-day Saints could be accepted into the American political body. By the end, two apostles were dropped from the Quorum of the Twelve as a sacrifice for accommodation.
• ​AJ Dybantsa, BYU, & the Soul of College Hoops (12/5): How did Brigham Young University land the nation's top basketball prospect? To understand that surprising signing, we have to understand the broader story of college athletics, BYU basketball, and sports capitalism. This video discusses sports history in general and then interviews the authors of the new book on Dybantsa, BYU, and the fight for the soul of basketball.
• ​Who Was the Most Consequential President in the LDS Church? (12/3): I often get asked about which LDS president was "most consequential." This video doesn't directly answer it, but it does lay out points in favor of each of the men who have led the church.

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Social Media Videos

• Condemnations of the Week, Part 6 (12/20): TikTok and Instagram​
• The Significant & Now Available" Diaries of LDS Apostle George F. Richards (12/19): TikTok and Instagram​
• Why Doesn't LDS Church use Joseph Smith's Bible Translation? (12/17): TikTok and Instagram​
• How the KJV Became the Exclusive Bible for English-Speaking Latter-day Saints (12/16): TikTok and Instagram​
• How Wake Up Dead Man is a Brilliant Exploration of Modern American Religion (12/14): TikTok and Instagram​
• Academic Robes Remind Us Not to Take Ourselves Too Seriously (12/13): TikTok and Instagram​
• What Mormon Garments Tell Us About Tensions in Modern Religion (12/11): TikTok and Instagram​
• How the Historian Maureen Ursenbach Beecher Shaped Mormon History & LDS Employment Policies (12/8): TikTok and Instagram​
• Robert Griffin III, BYU Football, & the Christian Identity (12/3): TikTok and Instagram​
• Kalani Sitake and the Central Tension of BYU Athletics (12/1): TikTok and Instagram​

Until next time!

Benjamin Park, Historian & Nerd

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