Historic Mormon Diaries Made Available Online

PROVO, Utah (AP) – When Hyrum Smith scribbled down his feelings about

proselyting for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 175

years ago, the Web was something a spider spun, not somewhere millions

of people looked for information. He certainly never dreamed anyone would use such an invention to search for his diary. But

the early church leader’s writings, along with the musings of 114 other

LDS missionaries who served from the 1830s to the 1960s, are now posted

online. The journals – 376 in all – are part of a larger

collection housed in Brigham Young University’s Harold B. Lee Library.

BYU’s set is second only in size to that of the Family Church History

Archives in Salt Lake City. “The vast majority of church

members and the world will never be here at BYU to see the diaries,”

said Susan L. Fales, curator for BYU’s digital historical collections.

“It’s exciting to be able to pull in people worldwide through the

Internet.” Transcribing the diaries and making digital copies

of each hand-penned page was a five-year project powered by both

students and faculty. Posting the diaries online is a step

toward closing what Fales calls a “gap in understanding” of the

evolution of missionary work. She hopes the journals will facilitate a

more widespread study of how missionary work has matured over the years

and how it changes those who proselyte. Reading the journals

can also be a fun game of “who knows who,” said Roger Layton, the

library’s communication manager. Web site patrons can search for