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Mormon historians and historiography collection, 1981-1984

Overview of the Collection

Title
Mormon historians and historiography collection
Dates
1981-1984 (inclusive)
Quantity
0.25 linear feet, (1 box)
Collection Number
ACCN 0713
Summary
The Mormon historians and historiography collection (1981-1984) consists of copies of articles written by LDS historians debating whether or not written LDS history should be "faith-promoting" or "objective."
Repository
University of Utah Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library
University of Utah
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT
84112-0860

Telephone: 8015818863
special@library.utah.edu
Access Restrictions

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Languages
English
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Content Description

In 1981, Boyd K. Packer, an official of the LDS Church, and Louis C. Midgley, a professor of history at Brigham Young University, gave separate talks in which they asserted that LDS historians should write only "faith-promoting" history. This collection contains transcripts of these talks as well as correspondence and articles by several professional historians opposing this position and declaring that it is possible to write scholarly history about the LDS Church without being "anti-LDS."

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library's Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Preferred Citation

Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Gift of various authors.

Processing Note

Processed by Dorothy Mortensen in 1997.

Addendum processed by Grant Herron in 2010.

Click here to read a statement on harmful language in library records.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

  • Description: Correspondence
    • Folder 1: Correspondence between Stanley B. Kimball and Boyd K. Packer
    • Folder 2: L. Jackson Newell's correspondence
    • Folder 3: James L. Clayton, Letter to Boyd K. Packer
    Dates: 1981-1984
    Container: Box 1, Folder 1-3
  • Description: Davis Bitton, "Mormon Historiography: Response to a Caricature"
    Dates: 1981
    Container: Box 1, Folder 4
  • Description: James L. Clayton, "Does History Undermine Faith?"
    Dates: 1982
    Container: Box 1, Folder 5
  • Description: Louis C. Midgley, "A Critique of Mormon Historians: The Question of Faith and History"
    Dates: 1981
    Container: Box 1, Folder 6
  • Description: Louis C. Midgley, Campus Memorandum: "Discussion on Mormon Historiography"
    Dates: 1981
    Container: Box 1, Folder 7
  • Description: Louis C. Midgley, "Some Challenges to the Foundations"
    Dates: 1984
    Container: Box 1, Folder 8
  • Description: L. Jackson Newell, "The Purges of September 1993: A Personal Reflection"
    Dates: 1994
    Container: Box 1, Folder 9
  • Description: Boyd K. Packer, "The Mantel is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect"
    Dates: 1981
    Container: Box 1, Folder 10
  • Description: Richard D. Poll, "Quixotic Mediator: Thomas L. Kane and the Utah War"
    Container: Box 1, Folder 11
  • Description: D. Michael Quinn, "On Being a Mormon Historian"
    Dates: 1982
    Container: Box 1, Folder 12
  • Description: Jan Shipps, "The Mormon Past: Revealed or Revisited?"
    Dates: 1981
    Container: Box 1, Folder 13
  • Description: News Clippings
    Dates: 1982
    Container: Box 1, Folder 14

Finding aid created by Dorothy Mortensen.
1997 (last modified: 2019)

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