Church History Department offers advice for donations

Latter-day Saints are reminded to \"remember.\"

From the Book of Mormon as a written history to the counsel to keep our own journals, records of the past are important in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

But what should be shared? And how?

Church history isn't just found in museum-worthy Mormon pioneer artifacts. It's also made up of personal conversion stories, experiences of missionaries serving in new areas or even the meeting minutes taken by a ward clerk in Italy.

Latter-day Saints are making church history daily just by living the gospel.

\"Just about every family will find something in their home with historic value,\" said Brad Westwood, manager of acquisitions for the Church History Department. \"Members who donate historical items are the backbone of our acquisitions.\"

But the Church History Department can't accept everything. There is so much history out there, and \"Mormonism is an international experience now,\" Westwood said.

In effort to help direct potential donors, Westwood offers a few areas of history in which the department has particular interest.

1. Church-owned records:

These are records created under the auspices of the church, or items that belong to the church. They include church correspondence (on letterhead), meeting agendas and minutes kept by a mission, ward, branch, Relief Society, Primary or Sunday School clerk or secretaries.

2. History of new church pioneers:

When Mormons and the general public think of LDS history, they mostly focus on the 19th century and the Western United States. Today, the Church History Department tries to focus equally on history made around the globe — collecting materials about new areas of church growth, recent coverts, the first decades of church history in a given area, second- and third-generation LDS families, documentation regarding new church buildings, and historic sites \"near and dear\" to members in all continents and in all countries. International materials are highly sought after, such as church-related regional published materials in native languages. Are you a first-generation member? Did you live in an area where a temple was built? Were you one of the first missionaries to serve in a new mission or area? These personal histories from all over the world are being sought after.

3. Documents about the everyday life of a Latter-day Saint: