Church Historian and Recorder (usually shortened to Church Historian) is a priesthood calling in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The role of the Church Historian and Recorder is to keep an accurate and comprehensive record of the church and its activities. His office gathers history sources and preserves records, ordinances, minutes, revelations, procedures, and other documents. The Church Historian and Recorder also chairs the Historic Sites Committee and Records Management Committee, and may act as an authoritative voice of the church in historical matters.[1]
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This office is based on revelations to Joseph Smith, Jr. calling for keeping records and preparing a church history.[2] Oliver Cowdery, the first in this position, originally recorded meeting minutes, patriarchal blessings, membership information, priesthood ordinations, and a kind of narrative church history.[1] For a time, the callings of Church Historian and Church Recorder were separate, but in 1842 these callings were merged and now the Church Historian also acts as the Church Recorder.
In 1972, the Church Historian's Office was renamed to become the Historical Department.[3] In 2000, this department was merged with the Family History Department to become the Family and Church History Department.[4] On March 12, 2008, the Church Historian separated again from the Family History Department to become the Church History Department.[5]
While the majority of Church Historians and Recorders have been general authorities of the church, there have been some exceptions to the practice.
Church Historians and Recorders have often been assisted by individuals called to the position of Assistant Church Historian. Research assistants and other personnel are also usually employed within the Church Historian's Office, but the Church Historian and Assistant Church Historian(s) are the only ones to hold priesthood callings.
In the following tables, general authorities are listed in bold.
| No. | Dates | Church Historian | Recorder | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1830–1831 | Oliver Cowdery (Acting) | office held by Church Historian | Although Cowdery did not receive an official call to be Church Historian, he was Joseph Smith, Jr.'s scribe and is therefore widely regarded as the first unofficial Church Historian and Recorder. | |
| 1 | 1831–1835 | John Whitmer | office held by Church Historian | Whitmer was called to be the Church Historian by a revelation to Smith, which is now Doctrine and Covenants section 47. He was the first official historian of the Latter Day Saint church. |
| 2 | 1835–1837 | Oliver Cowdery | George W. Robinson (1837) | Beginning in 1837, the callings of Church Historian and Church Recorder were separated |
| 3 | 1838 | John Corrill | George W. Robinson | Corrill and Higbee were both called to this position at the same time.[6] Corrill apostatized from the church later that year. |
| 4 | 1838–1840 | Elias Higbee | George W. Robinson | |
| 5 | 1840–1841 | Robert B. Thompson | Elias Higbee | |
| 6 | 1841–1842 | James Sloan | Elias Higbee |
In 1842, the callings of Church Historian and Church Recorder were merged.
| No. | Dates | Church Historian and Recorder | Assistant | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1842–1854 | Willard Richards | office not yet created | Thomas Bullock was Richards' assistant (as was Charles Wesley Wandell[7]), but the Assistant Church Historian priesthood calling wasn't given until Wilford Woodruff.[8] |
| 8 | 1854–1871 | George A. Smith | Wilford Woodruff (1856–1871) | Woodruff was the first Assistant Church Historian.[8] |
| 9 | 1871–1874 | Albert Carrington | Wilford Woodruff | |
| 10 | 1874–1881 | Orson Pratt | Wilford Woodruff | |
| 1881–1883 | Wilford Woodruff (Acting) | After Pratt's death in 1881, no official Church Historian was chosen, but Pratt's assistant Woodruff acted as Church Historian until he was formally selected as such. | ||
| 11 | 1883–1889 | Wilford Woodruff | Franklin D. Richards (1884–1889)[9] | |
| 12 | 1889–1899 | Franklin D. Richards | John Jaques (1889–1900)[9][10] Charles W. Penrose (1896–1904)[9][10] Andrew Jenson (1897–1941)[11] |
Penrose became a general authority when released as an Assistant. |
| 1899–1900 | Andrew Jenson and John Jaques (Acting) | After Richards's death on December 9, 1899, no Church Historian was chosen until July 26, 1900.[10] | ||
| 13 | 1900–1921 | Anthon H. Lund | Charles W. Penrose (until 1904) Andrew Jenson Orson F. Whitney (1902–1906)[10] A. Milton Musser (1902–1909) B. H. Roberts (1902–1933)[11] Joseph Fielding Smith (1906–1921) A. William Lund (1911–1971)[10][12] |
Whitney became a general authority when released as an Assistant. Smith became a general authority in 1910, during Lund's tenure. |
| 14 | 1921–1970 | Joseph Fielding Smith | Andrew Jenson (until 1941) B. H. Roberts (until 1933) A. William Lund Junius F. Wells (1921–1930)[11] Preston Nibley (1957–1963)[11] E. Earl Olson (1965–1972)[11][13] |
Smith's tenure as Church Historian is by far the longest in church history. |
| 15 | 1970–1972 | Howard W. Hunter | A. William Lund (until 1971) E. Earl Olson |
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| 16 | 1972–1982[14] | Leonard J. Arrington | Davis Bitton[15] James B. Allen (1972–1979)[16] |
Arrington was the first non-general authority Church Historian since 1842, and the first to also be a professional historian. Arrington is reported to have lost the title of Church Historian in 1978,[17] though he was formally released in 1982.[14] |
| 17 | 1982–1985[18] | G. Homer Durham | Durham became Church Historian without formal public pronouncement by the church nor sustaining by the general church membership.[14] Some claim his tenure as Historian began when Arrington lost the title in 1978, or when Durham became Managing Director of the church Historical Department.[19] | |
| 18 | 1985[20]–1997[21] | Dean L. Larsen | Larsen was also the first Executive Director of the Historical Department, in which he was replaced by John K. Carmack in 1989. Larsen then moved on to other assignments, such as serving in the Temple Department[22] and Area Presidencies[23][24] and was not active in any historical role, though technically he was still the Church Historian until his release in 1997.[25] | |
| 1989–2005 | Executive Directors of the Historical Department (acting) | While Larsen was still technically Church Historian, and afterward, others succeeded him as Executive Director of the Historical Department,[19] and those men were sometimes referred to as Church Historians.[26][27] This includes John K. Carmack (1989–1991), Loren C. Dunn (1991–1993), Stephen D. Nadauld (1993–1996), Marlin K. Jensen (1996–1998), John K. Carmack (1998–1999), Loren C. Dunn (1999–2000), D. Todd Christofferson (2000–2004), Marlin K. Jensen (2004–present).[19] | ||
| 19 | 2005[28]– | Marlin K. Jensen | Richard E. Turley Jr. (2008–)[29] | In 2005, Jensen officially became the first Church Historian since 1997. He had been made Executive Director of the Historical Department the previous year, a position he also held in 1997 when Dean Larsen was released. Jensen later said he "really [didn't] know why the office went unfilled for a few years."[30] Some of his accomplishments in this position are chronicled at Marlin K. Jensen - Church Historian. |
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