The day the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, the Saints crowded into the Whitmer home and lined out the door clear into the apple orchard, Elder Marlin K. Jensen, Church Historian for the Church, said.
“What would you say to that assembled group?” Jensen asked students, faculty, and staff assembled in the meeting the History of Church History on Nov. 13.
He responded with Doctrine and Covenants 21, saying, “Behold there shall be a record kept among you.”
Jensen explained, “Behold a record is kept is the foundational scripture for Church history. That says something to me... about the truth of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.”
“I was trained as a lawyer, and I couldn’t help but think sometimes: If Joseph Smith really intended to fraud the world, to perpetuate a fraud–for wealth, or some sensuous reason, or for fame, for control or for whatever it is that motivates despots in our world;
“If that really be his intent on the day the Church was organized, would he have really fabricated a scripture that directed him to keep a record of everything he ever did? What do crooks do? They hide evidence. They burn documents, they delete emails. They don’t want to leave a record.”
Jensen continued, “It was the first thing He decided to say among the little group of Saints, to their first elder, Joseph Smith, and to their second elder, Oliver Cowdery... and then to say to them, ‘Behold there shall be a record kept among you.’
“This direction could’ve been one of the first administrative orders of the Church as setting up a corporation of the organization and making sure that all the bases were covered,” Jensen said.
In gold letters this phrase is placed above the entrance to the Reading Room at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City. In contemplation, Elder Jensen said, “For the past seven years I walked into the Reading Room would look up and notice that command, ‘Behold there shall be a record kept.’
“And I love that about our Church. That it has the finest primary historical sources from the very day this revelation was given that have been saved and preserved and now digitized from analogue to digital, and made available to the whole world."
Jensen emphasized the importance of context and examining Church history in the full context, otherwise the information is pretext. “The broader our view, the greater our perspective, the wiser our use of agency can be.”
Edmond Saksak, a sophomore from Vanuatu majoring in political science, remarked, “It gives me the impression to study more Church history, to know more facts and truths than hearing people say their knowledge. Sometimes people want to convince you that it’s false, but when you study it out yourself, you ponder and pray about it, it makes your testimony firmer.”
Judie Welter, a freshman from Micronesia majoring in business management, responded, “We need to study more of Church history than a little. I really need to put myself into it and actually be a part.”
Seed of study
Both Saksak and Welter said they loved when Jensen advised to not study Church history too little. In comparison of the analogy of the seed in Alma 32 in The Book of Mormon, Saksak related, “It’s the enlightenment of your mind and bringing what good comes out of you from what you’ve studied.”
Motioning in circles with his palms facing downward, he demonstrated figurative planting and explained brightly, “It’s like putting yourself as a small piece of land, then the seed that grows inside of you – whether it’s good ground or not.
“If you prepare the ground more, the seed will grow up and bear fruit. And it will not only be your blessing but bless others too,” Saksak said.
He continued to motion around him as though tilling the earth, as Welter smiled and nodded in agreement. Welter concluded, “I think it depends on how much you are focusing on that seed. If you are not paying attention and focusing on that seed, then it would never get to where it’s supposed to be.”
Turning point in history
While they once drove by Hill Cumorah, Sister and Elder Jensen recalled chatting when Sister Jensen exclaimed, “We are driving by the Hill Cumorah and we are talking about groceries! What’s wrong with us?”
In that moment 20 years ago, the Jensen’s made the commitment to be dedicated and focus on historical importance. Ten years following this event, Elder Jensen became a Church historian.
“We made a deal right then,” she paused as a tear ran down her face. “We wouldn't take this for granted. We were here, and this was a really special place... and we didn’t want it to seem mundane or ordinary whatsoever.”
Low student attendance
“The turnout for students was not good. They really missed this one,” Saksak said of the lecture. He included that he loved a prior statement from Elder Jensen, “People can be no greater than their story.
“We are the youth of today. We can see professors here, but students are the new generation that will be leading their families and the Church. Their communities need to know more of the history.”
Jensen reiterated the significance of attendance, and he included there is a reason of the power of presence when attending an event. “It’s a big responsibility to meet a Church historian, it’s a big responsibly to keep the records.”
Writer: Geena DeMaio