PUBLISHED BY THE BOARD OF PUBLICATION OF THE OF LATTER DAY SAINTS. 1897. Copyrighted by the BOARD OF PUBLICATION of the Reorgan- 772600. HERALD PUBLISHING HOUSE AND BOOKBINDERY, LAMONI, IOWA. OF THE THE demand for an authentic history of the church together with the remarkable events which culminated in its organization, April 6, a. D. 1830, has greatly increased with the extension of the church work, both from within and without the association, and to be able to supply this demand the Board of Publication in its report to the General Conference in 1892, presented the following statement: "It is the sense of the Board that an authentic history of the rise and progress of the church should be compiled and published, and we therefore recommend that the Conference of the church shall now take action authorizing the Board to cause such compilation and publication to be made." This was duly considered and approved by the conference and a committee of "examination and revision" was appointed consisting of Joseph Smith, W. H. Kelley, Charles Derry, and Joseph R. Lambert in connection with the Board of Publication, with power to act when the manuscript was ready. At the time it was the design of the Board to enlist the services of a number of prominent writers who were known to be conversant with the history and work of the church, and arrange among them the work of preparation in equal periods, according to time and importance of events; but the meager encouragement received by the Board under this proposition led to the determination to arrange with competent writers who could and would give close and constant attention to the work until its completion. At its regular meeting May 1, 1896, the Board selected President Joseph Smith and Apostle Heman C. Smith for the work, the latter being able to so arrange his regular missionary charge, as to devote his entire time to the prepara tion of the history till its completion; and the result has been most satisfactory. In the final examination and review, however, the Board has been deprived of the services of one of its members, President W. W. Blair, deceased, and the special committee appointed by the conference has been compelled to act in great part without the aid of Elders W. H. Kelley and Charles Derry, other work precluding the attendance of these members at the councils of the committee. But, whatever the difficulties and magnitude of the task of writing a history approximating correctness, covering a period of more than ninety years, of a work and people having part in some of the most wonderful and stirring events of the nineteenth century, the undertaking is no longer an experiment but a fact. The first volume we now place before the public and the second is ready for the printer. In the preparation it has not been the effort to exhaust the subject, but to give such clear and concise narration of the general facts touching all the principal occurrences and events as would give the candid reader a proper comprehension and understanding of the policies, doctrine, and work of the church from the beginning, and the grounds and manner of work of its opposers so far as relative to the occurring events. The Board does not claim for it in fallibility; but that it is worthy a careful and considerate reading by every lover of truth, and invites honorable and fair criticism from all without regard to fear or favor, having had from the beginning the object and purpose of discovering and revealing the truth. THE BOARD OF PUBLICATION. |