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13   A Mountain of Paper By this time the shocked young person would have their eyes wide open, and their jaw on the floor, as they listened to this friendly stranger accurately describe, in minute detail, their pioneer family history. Leonard often knew more about your family than you did. Don’t feel bad if this actually happened to you. It happened to almost everybody he met in the whole Great Basin Kingdom. It was actually scary how much Leonard Arrington knew. The truth is, if a fact was knowable and within fifty feet of Leonard, he knew it. Leonard’s Calling, Service, Experiences, and Accomplishments as Church Historian Carl: As mentioned previously, in 1972, Leonard was called by President Joseph Fielding Smith to be the Church Historian and Recorder. In our minds, and in the minds of many others, he became truly a model Church Historian for all to emulate. Arrington, with a crack team of professional young historians, revolutionized Mormon Studies. Wisely, the team was given full access to the vast Church Archives. Leonard also founded the Mormon History Association, and was a founding advisor for Dialogue: The Journal of Mormon Thought. The History Division of the Church was also created in 1972 with Leonard as director. The division was charged with responsibility to conduct research and writing projects on behalf of the Church. It flourished under Leonard’s leadership for a decade, from 1972 to 1982. During that time-span, members of the History Division staff published fifteen books with six others well under way; published more than four hundred articles in professional journals, Church magazines, and other article series; and recorded some fifteen hundred oral history interviews with seven hundred and fifty persons in multiple languages. All of this helped take Mormon history to a new level. Leonard’s Comments on General Conference Sessions Susan: Leonard attended General Conference for many years before, during, and after his service as Church Historian. When he received his calling, one of the advantages he enjoyed was reserved seating near the front of the congregation in the Tabernacle on Temple Square. In his diary, he regularly made interpretive comments about the people he met, the seating arrangements for Church leaders, the spirit and personal 14   Arrington Mormon History Lecture meaning of the talks given, and many other aspects of the general conference of the Church. Here is one example reflecting his strong opinion on the seating of the presidencies of the women’s auxiliaries: The women presidencies . . . sit near the front on the farthest right side facing the stand. Why couldn’t those sisters be placed in the center [section of the congregation], behind the regional representatives and in front of stake presidents? Why do they have to be shunted over to the far right? Or, why not find a place for the three presidents—Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary—on the stand or [on the] front row? Another thing that must seem peculiar to some observers is that all of the special guests on the first two rows all the way across [the congregation in] the Tabernacle, are men. Don’t we ever have any special guests who are women? If not, why not? Carl: It is no secret that Leonard had among LDS leaders friends, enemies , and even—as Perez might say—some “frenemies.” Many Church leaders did not appreciate what a valiant friend and incredible resource they had in Dad. Remember Leonard was censored, spied on, had his projects cancelled, and had Apostles who actively worked to undermine his efforts as Church Historian. What is indicative of Leonard’s generous spirit is that in his diary you will find complimentary comments about these very same men’s conference sermons. Dad appreciated gospel wisdom and insight even set forth by those very ones who’d clearly meant to do him harm. Visitors to the Church Historian’s Office with Stories to Tell Carl: People from all walks of life came to visit Leonard in his Church Historian office. Many came because they felt they had experiences or stories to tell that deserved to be preserved for the benefit of the history of the Church. These stories range from the profound to the hilarious. Here is one entitled “Rhoda Carrington’s Chair”: Davis [Bitton] was in this afternoon, and is a good friend of Myra Carrington, granddaughter of Albert Carrington. It appears that Albert’s wife, Rhoda Carrington, was very large and obese, [weighing about] 300 pounds. Albert...

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