BYU professor documents Church history, community among Saints across the 50 states

Fred Woods, a religion professor at Brigham Young University, held a viewing of his newest documentary, Saints in Denver, on Thursday, March 5.

The film recounts the history and early presence of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in Colorado, from its first members, branch and stake to the temple and current worship and service.

Students and staff expressed their awe and appreciation for the influential project.

Although the project was extensive, Woods is working on more.

I am doing a website project for the bicentennial of the Church that will be released in 2030, Woods said.

Each of the 50 states will be represented, so for each of the 50 states, I am selecting bibliographies, encyclopedic entries and thousands of oral histories augmented by documentary film, by either state or region, Woods continued.

Woods film is one of many he has created.

For the past six years, he and his team of professional filmmakers, skilled editors and dedicated students have worked tirelessly to share the stories of the gathering of Saints in states outside Utah.

Woods previously worked on projects about the gathering of the scattered, focusing on early Saints who migrated across the ocean to the United States and later became some of the first pioneers.

This led to his current project, which explores the scattering of the gathered and focuses on the growth of member communities across the nation.

I am a firm believer in community, so that's really my core. I am interested in building bridges with people of different faiths and cultures, Woods said. "I teach the history of the Church, and I'm interested in not only the history, but particularly how we intersect with the larger community."

He mentioned the relationship members of the Church in the South have with their non-member neighbors and how their service with Helping Hands after events like hurricanes has paved the way for interfaith discussions in the community.

It breaks down barriers. It has a tendency to open up doors and even though it may not lead to full blown conversion, at least we can sit at the table. We can have dialogue. We can be stronger together, Woods said passionately.

Ray Robinson, a longtime friend of Woods, said service through Church opportunities is valuable.

It's interesting to look at how diverse the groups are that appreciate the Church's efforts and their (sense of) community. There's something resonating with serving people, Robinson said.

Despite the challenges of raising private funding and securing permissions during filming, his work continues.

Woods and his team filmed in Mesa, Arizona, at the end of March and will go to Houston, Texas, this spring.

He also shared that another film will soon be released on BYUtv, featuring the history of Latter-day Saint members in Northeast Texas.

It's very rewarding for people to see for the very first time on film the history of their region, of their city, of their metro area. The joy of people having pride in their own community in their Church history, Woods said.

Heather Seferovich, curator of the BYU Education in Zion gallery and sponsor of Woods documentary premieres, shared her support of his work.

I think his work is amazing because he is doing everything at a very high scholarly level, Seferovich said. The important part of what he's doing is that his medium of documentaries is going to reach a huge audience who would never pick up a journal article, who would never pick up a book on the topic.

Woods added that these documentaries will serve as examples of faith for individuals and families, extending beyond the well-known history of saints in Utah.

For me, (it will be) exciting to have this symphony across the nation in 2030, when we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Church, and we have this chorus of testimony, of education, coming from across America, Woods said.

Woods' past documentaries are available to watch through the links on his website that lead to BYUtv. A future documentary premiere is scheduled for October 8, 2026.