Revisionist history project to be launched by LDS Corporatio

[_Blixa]

What would really be nice is if the LDS archives were digitized and available online for scholarly research. The archives are chock full of fascinating historical documents and materials and while the archivists and other staff are extraordinarily kind and helpful it does inhibit access to have them still bound by geographical location.

[_Mercury]

What would really be nice is if the LDS archives were digitized and available online for scholarly research. The archives are chock full of fascinating historical documents and materials and while the archivists and other staff are extraordinarily kind and helpful it does inhibit access to have them still bound by geographical location.

Blixa, in your experience what other organizations are analogous to the LDS archival methods?

Also, is there a sense of hiding or restricting access, document destruction, etc?

[_Blixa]

What would really be nice is if the LDS archives were digitized and available online for scholarly research. The archives are chock full of fascinating historical documents and materials and while the archivists and other staff are extraordinarily kind and helpful it does inhibit access to have them still bound by geographical location.

Blixa, in your experience what other organizations are analogous to the LDS archival methods?

Also, is there a sense of hiding or restricting access, document destruction, etc?

The indexing is a bit different, but the biggest difference is that the indexes are not online. Most libraries, archives etc., now have indexes online, even if you can't necessarily access the complete holdings digitally.

Some documents are marked "restricted access" but some documents are restricted in any library/archive/museum owing to their physical fragility: usually the original is restricted and micro-filmed copies are available. I did not perform an exhaustive survey of restricted documents during the time I spent in the archives last fall: I was busy with other things. My guess is that for the most part such a note in the index just means what it means anywhere else. I expect that if I needed help with such an item one of the archivists would help me view it in some form. There may indeed be items that hard to get at or restricted for some other reasons, but I have no idea at this point.

I am interested in some documents that look to have been available at one time, but are not found in the index now. I would need more time onsite to determine if this is indeed the case. I was only able to make a preliminary survey for my own needs of what was available and was very happy with what I was able to turn up. But I need to go back and do more work.

If there are "hidden" documents I don't think they're hidden in the archives: these are very available to the public and as I said the staff is very easy to work with. As for evidence of destruction, again I would need to look at specific items beyond what I accessed. I wasn't looking at anything I had reason to believe had been tampered with. As you know Kate Carter, a former President of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, was very public about tearing out pages and otherwise censoring the pioneer journals she was collecting under the auspices of the DUP if she thought they reflected badly on the church. I may very well end up looking at some the journals that passed through her hands when I'm next in Utah and I'm curious what I will find.

[_Yoda]

As you know Kate Carter, a former President of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, was very public about tearing out pages and otherwise censoring the pioneer journals she was collecting under the auspices of the DUP if she thought they reflected badly on the church. I may very well end up looking at some the journals that passed through her hands when I'm next in Utah and I'm curious what I will find.

That's fascinating. I wonder if there is any way to get a hold of the missing pages.

[_Blixa]

Not from anything Ms. Carter ripped up/burned. I don't have the means now, but I can outline the dispute between her and Juanita Brooks on this issue later if there's interest.

[_Some Schmo]

Church elder Marlin K. Jensen says the establishment of the Church Historian's Press underscores the value church leaders place on history.

LOL!

I just about fell out of my chair laughing at that one too.

Oh, they place value on it alright; so much so that they don't want their members to know any of it.

[_Yoda]

Not from anything Ms. Carter ripped up/burned. I don't have the means now, but I can outline the dispute between her and Juanita Brooks on this issue later if there's interest.

There's interest!

;)

[_guy sajer]

OK. So the unanimous opinion from this Board is that the Church should not publish its history.

Gee, I've been following this Board for over a year now and all I read is demands that the Church publish its history. You guys are really twits. Posting anonymously, I guess you can say whatever you want.

rcrocket

Actually, Bob, I think that the near unanimous opionion from this board is that the Church should publish "honest" history.

[_Inconceivable]

OK. So the unanimous opinion from this Board is that the Church should not publish its history.

rcrocket

Actually, Bob, I think that the near unanimous opionion from this board is that the Church should publish "honest" history.

I think in many ways, it's too late. I'm not coming back even if they flipped character and told the truth. It's a mess now - a do-over.

I see damage control written all over this.


In my line of work we have a mantra:

If you don't know how to do it right the first time, why in the world would I ask you to fix it?

[_Jason Bourne]

http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=7920147&nav=menu554_2_3

This project smacks of revisionism. It appears as if they are trying to strengthen the skewed Mormon view of history by instituting a "scholarly" historical program.

Your thoughts?

How do you get that out of this?