| Anthon
H. Lund's summary |
|
Conference Reports, October
1917, 10–12. |
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THE
CHURCH HISTORIANS |
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Oliver
Cowdery
John Whitmer |
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Oliver Cowdery was the first historian
of the Church. Afterwards the Lord, in revelation, appointed John
Whitmer as the historian. John [11] Whitmer was one of the eight witnesses
of the Book of Mormon. He was very zealous in helping the prophet. In the
later days of the translation of the Book of Mormon he acted as scribe,
and afterwards he helped the prophet in preparing the revelations to be
printed, and he went to Missouri for that purpose. … |
|
D&C 47 |
| Whitmer,
Cowdery, Robinson, Corrill, Higbee |
|
John Whitmer was released to go to
Missouri, in 1835, and we have Oliver Cowdery again as the Church historian,
and in a short time afterwards George W. Robinson, John
Corrill and Elias Higbee became Church historians. |
|
John Corrill and Elias
Higbee were named Church historians. George W. Robinson was named general
church recorder and clerk to the First Presidency. Minutes
of April 6, 1838 |
| Robert
B. Thompson |
|
In
1841 Robert B. Thompson was appointed
Church historian, and he did faithful work in the office, but his life was
cut short. He died ten months after his appointment. |
|
HC,
4:204. |
James
Sloan
Willard Richards |
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Brother James Sloan then
took the place of historian, but he was called to go to Scotland, and Willard
Richards (h) became the General Recorder
of the Church, in 1843; and in 1845 he became both the historian and general
recorder, and kept this position until his death, in 1854. |
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| George
A. Smith |
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George A. Smith then
became the General Church Historian and General Church Recorder, and ably
conducted the affairs of these offices during a longer period of time than
any other incumbent up to that time or since. |
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| Albert
Carrington |
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In 1871, owing to his
duties as one of the counselors of President Young and the Trustee of the
Church, he was released from his position as Historian and Albert Carrington
took his place. |
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Orson
Pratt
Wilford Woodruff |
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Three years afterwards
Orson Pratt (h1)
became the Historian, and kept the office until his death in 1881, after
which Brother Wilford Woodruff (h1)
was sustained as Church Historian until 1889, when he was chosen President
of the Church. |
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| Franklin
D. Richards |
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Franklin D. Richards
(h) then became the Church Historian
and remained in that position until his death, which occurred December 6,
1899. The double office of historian and general Church recorder was first
bestowed upon Willard Richards, and the double office has been kept ever
since by the one that has been sustained as historian. |
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| Assistant
historians |
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There have been several
brethren sustained as assistant historians in the Church. The first one
[12] was Wilford Woodruff; others were Albert Carrington, Franklin D. Richards,
John Jacques, Amos Milton Musser, Charles W. Penrose, Andrew Jenson, Brigham
H. Roberts, Orson F. Whitney, Joseph F. Smith, Jr., and A. William Lund.
President Joseph F. Smith also devoted much time in the Historian's office
and did a splendid work. |
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| Andrew
Jenson on John Whitmer's history |
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| John
Whitmer kept records |
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Even John
Whitmer, the first Church historian, was not faithful in his special
calling very long. He apostatized and when he left the Church he refused
to give up the records he had kept to the proper Church authorities; hence
for a number of years we did not have the full records concerning the days
of Kirtland and Missouri. |
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| Andrew
Jenson discovered manuscript |
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On one of my special
missions to the East I was prompted to go to a certain place in Missouri,
where I found the old Whitmer record. I succeeded in obtaining a complete
copy of the same which contains some important data in addition to that
which the Church already had. The Whitmer record is not very lengthy, but
it covers a period of Church history of which we cannot learn too much.
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Scribes
History of Joseph Smith: Introduction
Sources
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