Bookcraft was a major publisher of books and products for members of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church).

History

In 1940, LDS Church

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Heber J. Grant Heber Jeddy Grant (November 22, 1856 – May 14, 1945) was an American religious leader who served as the seventh president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Grant worked as a bookkeeper and a cashier, then wa ...

asked the church's ''

Improvement Era The ''Improvement Era'' (often shortened to ''The Era'') was an official magazine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) between 1897 and 1970. History The ''Improvement Era'' was first published in 1897 as a replacement t ...

'' magazine to compile his sermons into a book called ''Gospel Standards''. Compiler G. Homer Durham published it in 1941 as "An Improvement Era Publication", rather than through

Deseret Book Deseret Book () is an American publishing company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, that also operates a chain of bookstores throughout the western United States. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation (DMC), th ...

, the church's official book publisher. During production, Grant suggested that the magazine's staff should start a new LDS publishing company, separate from Deseret Book. In 1942, the ''Eras business manager, John Kenneth Orton, started Bookcraft as a private publishing house in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

. When Durham presented a later manuscript to the ''Era'', church leadership restricted book publishing to Deseret Book. John A. Widtsoe and

Richard L. Evans Richard Louis Evans (March 23, 1906 – November 1, 1971) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) (1953–71); the president of Rotary International (1966–67); and the wr ...

, staff members of the ''Era'' and early supporters of Bookcraft, referred Durham to Orton's new publishing house. ''The Gospel Kingdom'', Durham's compilation of John Taylor's teachings, was Bookcraft's first major venture in 1943. Bookcraft remained an Orton family business. When John K. Orton retired to Arizona in 1946, Marvin Wallin became the company's general manager. When Orton died in 1959, ownership passed to his wife. When she died in 1980, the Ortons' son Russell took over with his sister-in-law, Diane Orton.

Growth

With growth, Bookcraft relocated to new facilities in 1947. In 1969, it moved again to a West Valley City location between Mountain States Bindery and Publisher's Press, the businesses that actually printed and produced Bookcraft's publications. Bookcraft expanded again into new facilities in 1977. Though independent, Bookcraft established itself as a quasi-official publisher of conservative, faith-promoting works, and was very careful to follow church leadership. Bookcraft eventually became large enough to compete with Deseret Book's lower publishing costs, and become the second largest LDS publisher. Over the years, Bookcraft innovated and tried new approaches to LDS publishing. In the 1960s, the company experimented with developing LDS

young adult fiction Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

. In 1968, Bookcraft hired George Bickerstaff as its first full-time publishing editor. In the early 1970s, it began the Parliament Press imprint for authors to

self-publish Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pri ...

their books. In 1992, Bookcraft began work with The Beehive Shuppan to translate some titles into Japanese. In 1995, Bookcraft produced ''The Book of Mormon Studybase'', a

digital library A digital library, also called an online library, an internet library, a digital repository, or a digital collection is an online database of digital objects that can include text, still images, audio, video, digital documents, or other digital ...

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both com ...

of books about ''

The Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude dat ...

'', and contributed to

Infobases Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018 ...

' ''LDS Collectors Library'' CD-ROM. Because Deseret Book was the largest LDS publisher and bookseller, independents like Bookcraft also distributed to national retailers like B. Dalton,

Media Play Media Play was a chain of retail stores founded in 1992 by Musicland that sold VHS, DVDs, music, electronics, toys, video games, anime, books, and board games similar to Hastings Entertainment, 2nd and Charles, and Half Price Books. Each st ...

, and

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 ...

. For a time, Bookcraft even planned to create its own chain of retail bookstores.

Infobases acquisition

In 1997, Russell Orton sold Bookcraft to

, makers of the popular ''LDS Collectors Library''

since the early 1990s. Infobases

and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Brad Pelo Brad Pelo (born February 6, 1963) is an American businessman, entrepreneur, and co-founder and chief executive officer of i.TV, the company behind tvtag, a second screen app for iOS. Backed by Union Square Ventures, RRE Ventures, Rho Ventures, ...

, assumed these same roles in the new Bookcraft, Inc., and WordPerfect founder Alan C. Ashton became chairman. With Bookcraft's licenses, the company released the ''Infobases PocketLibrary'' for

PalmPilot The PalmPilot Personal and PalmPilot Professional are the second generation of Palm PDA devices produced by Palm Inc (then a subsidiary of U.S. Robotics, later 3Com). These devices were launched on March 10, 1997. Accessories and pricing Pa ...

in 1997, an electronic 25-book collection. To counter Deseret Book's ''GospeLink'' CD-ROM and website, Bookcraft released an expanded ''Infobases Collectors Library'' in 1998 on CD-ROM and on the new LDSWorld.com. Bookcraft then created

online stores Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of ...

for its network of resellers, to counter Deseret Book's web sales. By 1999, Bookcraft was adding about 100 products annually to its catalog, including general authority titles, an important market shared only with Deseret Book. Bookcraft also had strong sales with titles by BYU professors, titles on church history and doctrine, and the best-selling ''

The Work and the Glory ''The Work and the Glory'' is a 2004 historical fiction drama film directed by Russell Holt and starring Sam Hennings, Brenda Strong, Eric Johnson, Alexander Carroll, Tiffany Dupont, and Jonathan Scarfe Jonathan Scarfe (born December 16, ...

'' series by Gerald N. Lund, which sold millions of copies.

Deseret Book merger

In early 1999, Bookcraft was acquired by

Deseret Management Corporation The Deseret Management Corporation (DMC) () is a global operating company, managing for-profit entities affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was established in 1966 by church president David O. McKay to ...

(DMC), the parent company of the LDS Church's for-profit businesses. This allowed the church to expand in the larger "values-oriented" publishing market, and reduce translation costs of titles for international sale. The merger also brought more writings by general authorities under the church's ownership, allowing for electronic and print collaborations with other DMC entities (such as Deseret Book, the

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

, and

Bonneville International Bonneville International Corporation is a media and broadcasting company, wholly owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) through its for-profit arm, Deseret Management Corporation. It began as a radio and TV networ ...

) and church entities (such as

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

and other entities within the

Church Educational System The Church Educational System (CES) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) consists of several institutions that provide religious and secular education for both Latter-day Saint and non–Latter-day Saint elementary, se ...

). The Bookcraft brand name continued as an imprint for inspirational, self-help, youth and fiction titles, while doctrinal, historical and biographical works would be under the Deseret Book brand. Shadow Mountain was also created as a new imprint for "values-oriented" books in the national market, and Eagle Gate Press was created for specialty items such as library editions, art books and non-book products such as bookmarks and jewelry. DMC then formed World Media Inc. to oversee Bookcraft's electronic projects, and decide fate of Infobase products and GospeLink. A new ''Infobases Library'' was released in 1999, before merging into ''GospeLink'', to become ''GospeLink 2001''. The expanded collection was also at LDSWorld.com, along with new General Conference

audio streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

, and was hosted by Millennial Star (MStar.net), the church's new

ISP An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...

. The merger created a publisher with a dominant position in the LDS market. Over next few years, Deseret Book would also acquire Excel Entertainment Group (an LDS-oriented film and music company), Seagull Book & Tape (the next largest LDS-oriented bookstore chain), and

Covenant Communications Deseret Book () is an American publishing company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, that also operates a chain of bookstores throughout the western United States. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation (DMC), the ...

(the next largest LDS-oriented publisher). The Bookcraft imprint was eventually discontinued by Deseret Book Publishing and currently its only imprints in use are Deseret Book, Shadow Mountain, and Ensign Peak.

Notable work

Books

Before becoming an imprint of Deseret Book, Bookcraft made many notable contributions to LDS literature, including: * John A. Widtsoe, ''

Evidences and Reconciliations ''Evidences and Reconciliations: Aids to Faith in a Modern Day'' is a Mormon apologetic book by John A. Widtsoe. Originally published in 1943 by Bookcraft, the book was a reprint of Widtsoe's column of the same name, which regularly appeared in ' ...

'' (1943, 3 volumes) * Hugh Nibley, '' No, Ma'am, That's Not History'' (1946) * Hugh Nibley, ''Lehi in the Desert and the World of the Jaredites'' (1952) * W. Cleon Skousen, the Thousand Years Series (1953–66, 3 volumes) * Joseph Fielding Smith, ''Doctrines of Salvation'' (1954–56, 3 volumes) *

Bruce R. McConkie Bruce Redd McConkie (July 29, 1915 – April 19, 1985) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1972 until his death. McConkie was a member of the First Council o ...

, '' Mormon Doctrine'' (1958) * Duane Crowther, ''Prophecy: Key to the Future'' (1962) *

, ''Doctrinal New Testament Commentary'' (1965–73, 3 volumes) * James R. Clark, ''Messages of the First Presidency'' (1965–75, 6 volumes) * Duane Crowther, ''Life Everlasting'' (1967) *

Spencer W. Kimball Spencer Woolley Kimball (March 28, 1895 – November 5, 1985) was an American business, civic, and religious leader who was the twelfth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The grandson of early Latter-day ...

, ''

The Miracle of Forgiveness ''The Miracle of Forgiveness'' is a book written by Spencer W. Kimball while he was a member of Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He later became the church's president. Content Origi ...

'' (1969) * Edward L. Kimball, ''Spencer W. Kimball'' (1977) *

Boyd K. Packer Boyd Kenneth Packer (September 10, 1924 – July 3, 2015) was an American religious leader and educator who served as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 2008 until h ...

, ''

The Holy Temple ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1980) *

Stephen Covey Stephen Richards Covey (October 24, 1932 – July 16, 2012) was an American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker. His most popular book is '' of Highly Effective People''. His other books include '' First Things First'', ''P ...

, ''The Divine Center'' (1982) *

Eugene England George Eugene England, Jr. (22 July 1933 – 17 August 2001), usually credited as Eugene England, was a Mormon writer, teacher, and scholar. He founded '' Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'', the oldest independent journal in Mormon Studi ...

, ''Why the Church is as True as the Gospel'' (1986) * Bruce C. Hafen, ''The Believing Heart'' (1986) *

Leonard J. Arrington Leonard James Arrington (July 2, 1917 – February 11, 1999) was an American author, academic and the founder of the Mormon History Association. He is known as the "Dean of Mormon History" and "the Father of Mormon History" because of his man ...

, ''Mothers of the Prophets'' (1987) * Truman G. Madsen, ''Joseph Smith, the Prophet'' (1989) * Gerald N. Lund, ''

'' series (1990–98) * ''The Neal A. Maxwell Quote Book'' (1997) The ''Teachings of the Latter-day Prophets'' series, compilations of teachings of LDS Church presidents, which included ''The Gospel Kingdom: Selections from the Writings and Discourses of John Taylor'', ''Discourses of Wilford Woodruff'', ''Teachings of Lorenzo Snow'', ''Teachings of George Albert Smith'', ''Teachings of Harold B. Lee'', ''Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball'', ''Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson'', and ''Teachings of Howard W. Hunter''. Bookcraft also published some works for

BYU Press Brigham Young University Press (BYU Press) is the university press of Brigham Young University (BYU). History Brigham Young University Press was formed in 1967 through the consolidation of BYU's various publishing activities into one central or ...

, the BYU

Religious Studies Center The Religious Studies Center (RSC) is the research and publishing arm of BYU Religious Education, Religious Education at Brigham Young University (BYU), sponsoring scholarship on the Culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, cul ...

, and the LDS Church.

Authors

During its years as an independent company, Bookcraft published books by many notable LDS figures, including: * LDS Church presidents and apostles: Ezra Taft Benson, Hugh B. Brown,

J. Reuben Clark Joshua Reuben Clark Jr. (September 1, 1871 – October 6, 1961) was an American attorney, civil servant, and a prominent leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Born in Grantsville, Utah Territory, Clark was a ...

Henry B. Eyring Henry Bennion Eyring (born May 31, 1933) is an American educational administrator, author, and religious leader. Eyring has been the Second Counselor to Russell M. Nelson in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( ...

Gordon B. Hinckley Gordon Bitner Hinckley (June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008) was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from March 1995 until his death in January 200 ...

, Howard W. Hunter,

, Harold B. Lee, Neal A. Maxwell,

David O. McKay David Oman McKay (September 8, 1873 – January 18, 1970) was an American religious leader and educator who served as the ninth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1951 until his death in 1970. Ordain ...

, Dallin H. Oaks,

Mark E. Petersen Mark Edward Petersen (November 7, 1900 – January 11, 1984) was an American news editor and religious leader who served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1944 un ...

LeGrand Richards LeGrand Richards (February 6, 1886 – January 11, 1983) was a prominent missionary and leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He served as the seventh presiding bishop of the LDS Church from 1938 to 1952, and ...

, Joseph Fielding Smith, John A. Widtsoe * Fiction & literature: Gordon T. Allred, Susan Evans McCloud,

Carol Lynn Pearson Carol Lynn Wright Pearson (born December 1, 1939) is an American poet, author, screenwriter, and playwright. A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), Pearson is best known for her book ''Goodbye, I Love You'', a ...

Jack Weyland Jack Arnold Weyland (born 1940) is a retired professor of physics at Brigham Young University–Idaho (BYU–Idaho) and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a prolific and well-known author of fiction for LDS audie ...

Blaine M. Yorgason Blaine M. Yorgason (born 1942) is a Latter-day Saint novelist who has also written biographies. Yorgason was born in Sanpete County, Utah. He graduated from Brigham Young High School and then served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ ...

, Brenton G. Yorgason * Scholars & historians: Hyrum L. Andrus,

, Milton V. Backman,

Lowell L. Bennion Lowell Lindsay Bennion (July 26, 1908 – February 21, 1996) was an American educator, sociologist, and humanitarian. He wrote extensively on religious living in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and was an advocate f ...

Susan Easton Black Susan Easton Black (born Susan Lindsay Ward in 1944) is a retired professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. She is also an author of several books related to Joseph Smith and the early history of t ...

, Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Milton R. Hunter, Arthur Henry King,

Daniel H. Ludlow Daniel Hansen Ludlow (March 17, 1924 – February 14, 2009) was a professor of religion at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. He was also the chief editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Mormonism'', published in 1992 by Macmillan. Biogr ...

, N. B. Lundwall, Truman G. Madsen, Robert J. Matthews,

Joseph Fielding McConkie Joseph Fielding McConkie (April 3, 1941 – October 10, 2013) was a professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University (BYU) and an author or co-author of over 25 books. McConkie was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latte ...

Robert L. Millet Robert L. Millet (born 30 December 1947) is a professor of ancient scripture and emeritus Dean of Religious Education at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. Millet is a Latter-day Saint author and speaker with more than 60 published wo ...

, Hugh W. Nibley, Preston Nibley,

Stephen E. Robinson Stephen Edward Robinson (May 23, 1947 – June 17, 2018) was a religious scholar and apologist, who was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Biography Stephen E. Robinson was born and raised in Southern ...

, W. Cleon Skousen, Sidney B. Sperry, John W. Welch * Popular authors: Duane S. Crowther, Paul H. Dunn, George D. Durrant, Richard M. Eyre, Vaughn J. Featherstone, Bruce C. Hafen, Bryant S. Hinckley, Oscar W. McConkie, Chieko Okazaki,

Marvin Payne Marvin may refer to: __NOTOC__ Geography ;In the United States * Marvyn, Alabama, also spelled Marvin, an unincorporated community * Marvin, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Marvin, North Carolina, a village * Marvin, South Dakota, a town * R ...

, S. Michael Wilcox * National figures:

Shawn Bradley Shawn Paul Bradley (born March 22, 1972) is a German-American former professional basketball player who played center for the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, and Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the ...

Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is the first and (as of 2022) only person to win both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for both ...

Stephen R. Covey Stephen Richards Covey (October 24, 1932 – July 16, 2012) was an American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker. His most popular book is '' of Highly Effective People''. His other books include '' First Things First'', ''Pr ...

, Henry Eyring,

Dale Murphy Dale Bryan Murphy (born March 12, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player. During an 18-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) (–), he played as an outfielder, catcher, and first baseman for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphi ...

Films

Some Bookcraft books have been adapted into movies. * ''The Christmas Wish'' (1998) —

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

made Richard M. Siddoway's novel into a

made for TV A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

holiday special. Originally a Bookcraft title, the latest edition was published by

Crown Publishers The Crown Publishing Group is a subsidiary of Penguin Random House that publishes across several fiction and non-fiction categories. Originally founded in 1933 as a remaindered books wholesaler called Outlet Book Company, the firm expanded into ...

. * ''In the Eye of the Storm'' (2001) — Director

Mitch Davis Mitch Davis is an American film director, writer, and producer noted for his 2001 film, ''The Other Side of Heaven'', about the trials and adventures of a Mormon missionary, missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Churc ...

bought the rights to John H. Groberg's 1993 memoir of his

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

and created ''

The Other Side of Heaven ''The Other Side of Heaven'' is a 2001 American adventure drama film written and directed by Mitch Davis, based on John H. Groberg's autobiography ''In the Eye of the Storm''. The film stars Christopher Gorham as John Groberg and Anne Hathaway ...

'', which was distributed by

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

. * ''

'' (2004–2006) — Gerald N. Lund's very successful

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

series about early Mormons was adapted into three movies: ''

'' (2004), '' The Work and The Glory: American Zion'' (2005), and '' The Work and The Glory: A House Divided'' (2006), distributed by Excel Entertainment Group.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Book publishing companies based in Utah Christian publishing companies Companies based in Salt Lake City Publishing companies established in 1942 Mormon literature Deseret Management Corporation 1942 establishments in Utah