Plus, at least 11 members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have thrown out the first pitch before a Major League Baseball game.
The managing historian of “Saints” preempted that question Tuesday during a presentation at BYU Education Week.
When will ‘Saints’ Volume 4 be released?
“When are we going to see Volume 4?” he said. “I have an answer for you: Halloween this year. The book is at press now.”
Volume 4 will be titled, “Saints: Sounded in Every Ear, 1955–2020.” It will narrate the church’s globalization since the dedication of the Bern Switzerland Temple in 1955 and show how temples now dot the earth.
Woodworth also shared the new cover art for Volume 4, an update of the initial concept released in 2018. The changes are the result of committee work, including counseling with the First Presidency of the church.
The Volume 4 cover features temples in Accra, Ghana; Hong Kong; Mexico City; Nuku’alofa, Tonga; and São Paulo, Brazil.
Previous volume covers featured the Nauvoo Temple in Illinois, the Salt Lake Temple and the Bern temple.
“I believe revelation was at work,” Woodworth said. “Where we ended up was (across the four volumes), we have two North American temples, a European temple, a Central American temple, Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands and South America. In other words, we ended up with every region of the world save the Middle East, because we don’t have a temple there.”
Woodworth’s presentation also focused on the way the history’s writers used temples and temple covenants as tent poles for the arc and structure of the four volumes, which the Deseret News will cover in another story.
Will there be a ‘Saints’ Volume 5?
Despite preempting and answering the Volume 4 question, Woodworth wound up answering a new one: Will there be a Volume 5?
“Well,” he said, “Saints 4 ends in 2020, so we’re at 2024, and you have to have at least 20 years of history to be made before you can have a Volume 5.”
Woodworth’s hope is that future Latter-day Saint leaders and historians will decide to add to “Saints,” but they may find it necessary to change direction.
“Writing styles change over time,” Woodworth said. “Historians can clearly see this. So it could be that by 2040 or 2045, a different style will resonate (with readers). So ‘Saints’ may have to be shelved. I hope not.”
The Engelstad Theatre is closing soon, with its last performance on Sept 7. Don’t miss your chance to experience Shakespeare under the stars with The Taming of the Shrew, The Winter's Tale, and Henry VIII. Limited performances left! Use code DesNews24 for $10 off. Visit bard.org or call 800-PLAYTIX today!
Win $50 + Help improve the Deseret News!
Please take this brief reader survey. Your opinion could help the Deseret News become an even better source of news, information and inspiration.
Everyone who completes the survey will be entered into a drawing for the chance to win one of five $50 gift cards.
The cover art for "Saints Volume 4" is seen in a slide shown during a BYU Education Week presentation on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Provo, Utah. (Tad Walch, Deseret News)
Jed Woodworth, managing historian of "Saints," a history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speaks at BYU Education Week in Provo, Utah, on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. (Tad Walch, Deseret News)
%20(1).png?width=1040&upscale=true&name=A%20scene%20from%20The%20Winters%20Tale_%202024.%20Photo%20by%20Karl%20Hugh.%20(1)%20(1).png)
