Happy All Hallow’s Eve everybody! It was 500 years ago today that Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church. So happy Martin Luther Day! We learned about Martin Luther as a Quest LEMI Scholar Project class a few months ago. What a great, bold man! As a Latter-day Saint Christian, I honor his integrity and courage as a Reformer. He helped pave the way for the Bible to be widely read and interpreted by the common man. This in turn led to the latter-day restoration of Christ’s church through the prophet Joseph Smith. Joseph read the Bible in English as a simple farm boy with little formal education. His reading of the Bible, specifically James 1:5,  prompted him to ask in prayer which church to join, and this allowed him to see God the Father and His Son. I know and testify this to be true! We had the sister missionaries over for dinner a few months ago. They quoted from Joseph Smith History 1:5-20, retelling that event. I felt the Holy Spirit once again witness to me that this sacred event really did happen. You can read Joseph Smith’s testimony here.

Here are some great articles about Luther and other reformers from lds.org:

• Martin Luther: Defender of Justice and Seeker of Truth from October 1984 
• Lutheranism from the October 1971 Ensign
• Preparing for the Restoration in the June 1999 Ensign
• Images of an Era Preparing for the Restoration in the June 1999 Ensign

BYUTV has a great series about Martin Luther and other reformers, along with the coming forth of the King James Version of the Bible here. We will watch some of this tonight!

I also plan on watching with my kids this Torchlighters version of Martin Luther’s story, animated and aimed at children. It’s free to stream with Amazon Prime!

Lastly, here’s a great speech by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland about the power of religion, including Martin Luther’s role in helping religious freedom flourish.  This is great to listen to while you do chores.

Happy All Hallow’s Eve and may we remember all saints tomorrow on All Saints’ Day!