SKU: 621816 Preserving The History Of The Latter-Day Saints
Description
Several Latter-day revelations speak to the subject of church history. In them the Lord clearly says that he wants "a record kept" (D&C 21:1) and that the record is to be kept "continually" (D&C 47:3). The record is to include "all things that transpire in Zion" (D&C 85:1) and is to chronicle the "manner of life" and the faith and works of the Latter-day Saints (D&C 85:2).
These carefully revealed details of the Lord's program for preserving church history show the importance he places on this history. So does the timing of the command to keep a record: it was given even before the Lord began to reveal the essential details of church organization, procedure, and doctrine.
The Latter-day Saints continue to be a record-keeping people. In fact, there may be no other people on earth of comparable size who have a richer record-keeping tradition than the people nicknamed Mormons. It is part of the church's administrative system, reaching from small committees to the church's general conferences and from new members to the most senior leaders. Because of this tradition, scholars can readily evaluate Latter-day Saint history from a wealth of primary documents.
This book is a compilation of presentations selected from the annual BYU Church History Symposium hosted by BYU Religious Education. This symposium brought together historians, scholars, educators, and authors to discuss the importance of record keeping and preserving the history of the Latter-day Saints.
Marlin K. Jensen, church historian and recorder, delivered the symposium's keynote address. Assistant church historian and recorder Richard E. Turley Jr. spoke on the significance of his predecessors in that office. Other scholars addressed relevant topics that ranged from the church's earliest efforts at record keeping to the challenging task of preserving its complex and increasingly global history.
Readers will find these papers filled with the experiences and adventures of many who have taken seriously the commission to preserve the history of the Latter-day Saints.
Richard E. Turley Jr. was appointed assistant Church historian and recorder in March 2008. Prior to that, he served for eight years as managing director of the Family and Church History Department, overseeing the Church Archives, the Church History Library, and the Museum of Church History and Art. He also oversaw the Family History Library.
Steven C. Harper is an associate professor of Church history and doctrine at BYU. He earned his B.A. in history from BYU, an M.A. in American history from Utah State University in 1996, and a Ph.D. in early American history from Lehigh University in 2001. He currently works as an editor on the Joseph Smith Papers Project.