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Early Scenes in Church History, is the eighth in a series of 17 books called The Faith-Promoting Series. Published between 1879 and 1915, this series of books was published by the Juvenile Instructors Office for the Instruction and Encouragement of Young Latter-day Saints. It was George Q. Cannon's inspiration that produced the series, however. In 1866, Cannon, then a member of the Quorum of the 12, began publication of a magazine for youth and young adults called The Juvenile Instructor, which he owned and published until his death in 1901, when his family sold the magazine to the LDS Church's Sunday School organization. Thus, in 1882 when the present work, Early Scenes in Church History, was published, it was a work undertaken under the direction of Cannon, with the blessing of the Church's governing leadership.

On April 7, 1844, Joseph Smith gave a sermon in Nauvoo, Illinois, to nearly 20,000 church members. A few weeks earlier, a church member and close friend of Joseph named King Follett was killed in an accident. This well-known event in Nauvoo led Joseph Smith to comment specifically on Follett’s death and to address what Joseph called “[T]he subject of the dead”.

Parley P. Pratt wrote A Voice of Warning over a two-month period while on a mission to New York. The economy in Kirtland was collapsing, and dissension was rife among Church members. Even Parley became caught up in the dissension and was for a time estranged to Joseph Smith. In an act of renewal, Parley went to New York to preach the gospel and purify himself. With few doors open to him, Parley focused himself on writing, producing A Voice of Warning.

Parley P. Pratt began to work on The Key to the Science of Theology in San Francisco in August 1851, just before leaving for his mission to Chile. He continued writing it while in Chile. He finished the manuscript upon his return to Utah in 1853. The manuscript remained unpublished, however, until 1855 when Parley found a publisher in England. Parley's book represented a lifetime of thought and built on ideas first propounded in Pratt's earlier writings, especially missionary tracts stemming from his years in England. The impact of The Key to the Science of Theology was unparalleled. One Latter-day Saint diarist of the 19th century observed: "We had every encouragement to read the Church publications: The Voice of Warning; the Pearl of Great Price; and Key to Theology."

Biography of Joseph Smith as written by his mother, Lucy Mack Smith. Shortly following the death of Joseph Smith in 1844, and into 1845, Lucy Mack Smith dictated her recollections and family story to Nauvoo schoolteacher Martha Jane Coray. Coray worked with her husband to compile these books of notes and other sources into a manuscript, which was then copied. Although surrounded by a great deal of controversy when first published by Orson Pratt in 1853, it was later published by the Church under the direction of Joseph F. Smith. It has been called "one of the essential sources for Mormon origins" by Richard L. Anderson, and in the words of Leonard Arrington it "perhaps tells more about Mormon origins than any other single source."

A discourse given by Elder B. H. Roberts at the tabernacle in Salt Lake City on Sunday, December 22, 1907, at a memorial service in honor of the 102nd anniversary of Joseph Smith's birth. This powerful discourse treats not the events of Joseph's life but his fulfillment of the role of master teacher. His correction of sectarian doctrine, doctrinal teachings, and role as prophet of the restoration are all examined and reinforced, leaving the listener with an even greater testimony of the seer chosen to restore Christ's church in the latter days.