From the beginning, the History of the Saints team, Glenn Rawson and Dennis Lyman, have worked at great sacrifice to bring Latter-day Saint Church history to life. Over the years, they helped produce hundreds of Church history documentaries for television. Now comes a new endeavor. Together, they will take you to the actual sites where that history was written and heroism was forged. 

The Pioneer Trail is one of the most revered chapters in our history and Glenn and Dennis are going to take you there—stand in the ruts of the trail (literally and figuratively) and tell you the history of what happened—the people, the places, the events that make our history sacred!

The first tour will journey from Salt Lake City to Nauvoo, by bus, stopping at all the major sites and landmarks along the trail until we reach Nauvoo. We will tour Nauvoo and Carthage, send that group flying home, and then welcome another group and retrace our steps back to Salt Lake City. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with two old hands of the trail. (Some just call them “Rut nuts”)

The entire adventure from beginning to end promises to be instructive, edifying and inspiring. Their goal is for you to come home more determined to be as true and faithful as they were. 

Join them—June and September 2024

MEET THE GUIDES

Glenn Rawson, our tour director and educator, is the writer and co-producer for the television documentary series entitled “History of The Saints”. He has also written and co-produced with Dennis Lyman and Bryant Bush, the television documentary series called “The Joseph Smith Papers”. These programs are broadcast on many TV and radio stations in the Intermountain West, including KSL-TV and worldwide on BYU-TV. He travels extensively interviewing scholars and researching the original documents that tell the story of the early history of the Latter-Day Saints. These are available on DVD at local bookstores and at historyofthesaints.org and glennrawsonstories.com. Glenn has written and told well over 500 inspirational stories, many shared
through he “Sounds of Sunday” radio programs.

Glenn is a gifted teacher and fireside speaker. He spent almost 20 years as a seminary and institute teacher. He has traveled extensively for “Especially for
Youth” and “Best of EFY” programs as a speaker and session director. He has been a presenter at BYU Education Week and Know Your Religion. Glenn joined the LDS church at age 18 and served a full-time mission to Des Moines, Iowa. Glenn has a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife and Range Science from Brigham Young University, a master’s in Educational Administration from Idaho State University and doctoral studies in Political Science and Constitutional Studies from Idaho State University.

Raised on a ranch in Leadore, Idaho, Glenn enjoys the great outdoors, early morning running, followed by pushups and calisthenics. He enjoys camping with his family, reading and researching, and cooking scones, donuts and homemade bread. He also enjoys cross-country skiing, identifying plants and animals and has a love for all people. He has served 7 years as a nursery leader, worked with the disabled for many years, and has held many other callings. Glenn and his wife Debbie are the parents of 7 children and a growing number of grandchildren.

Dennis Lyman, our tour organizer and videographer, is a native of Salt Lake City UT. He began his career in broadcasting in 1990. Dennis worked with Larry H. Miller on the production of a seven-part mini-series, “Utah Remembers.” Dennis helped produce the video “Tongue nor Pen Can Tell the Sorrow” for the Sun Ranch Visitors Center in Wyoming. Dennis has produced four 90-minute documentaries on the pioneer temples in Utah; “History at Temple Hill, The Manti Utah Temple,” “A Temple Dressed in White, The St. George Utah Temple,” “House of The Lord, The Logan Utah Temple,” and “For This People, The Salt Lake City Utah Temple.” Dennis worked as videographer for The Joseph Smith Papers television documentary series and became one of the creators and producers of “The History of The Saints” television and radio series. Dennis and his wife, Margi, have three children and six grandchildren. Dennis is a direct descendant of Elder Amasa Mason Lyman of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife Eliza Marie Partridge Smith Lyman. Eliza Partridge is the daughter of Bishop Edward Partridge, the first Bishop of the LDS church.