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Special Collections Receives Gift of Signed Papers from Early Church Leaders

Brigham_Young_Signature

Brigham Young, Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith: these are three of the most highly recognized names in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These names, and many others, are part of a significant collection of original manuscripts recently donated to The University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library.

Valued at more than $3 million, the collection resides in the Marriott Library’s Special Collections and marks the single-most valuable collection ever contributed to the U’s library. The gift contains original documents that are handwritten and signed by numerous early church leaders dating from 1839 through the end of the 19th century. The papers document activities and events having occurred in Nauvoo, IL as well as the settling of what we now know today as the state of Utah.

“This collection of unusual documents representing early church leaders provides new teaching opportunities that we haven’t had before,” comments Gregory Thompson, associate dean for Special Collections. “To hold in your hands a letter signed by Joseph Smith or Brigham Young is quite remarkable. The writings provide a window into the leaders’ experiences, personalities and their writing styles.”

Nearly all of the thirteen archival documents are in perfect condition. The earliest example includes an autographed paper by Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum in 1839 that notes the sale of a property for a home in Nauvoo, Illinois. This paper has the distinct rarity of having both Joseph Smith’s and Hyrum Smith’s signatures.

A second example, dated 1859, is a four-page letter to early church officials in Missouri and New York from Brigham Young. The letter details instructions for bringing 100,000 members of the LDS Church residing in England and Europe to the United States and the logistics of their westward migration.

“We are indebted to the donors for their generosity,” explains Alberta Comer, dean of the Marriott Library and university librarian. “These papers add a new dimension to our Mormon history archives – one that provides breadth and depth and that supports our students’ and faculty, as well as that of the wider community.”

Check out the University of Utah’s news page for more detail.

2 Comments
  • Mario S. De Pillis, Sr.
    Posted at 00:44h, 01 December Reply

    Mike, thanks for sending ion the good news. Congratulations to all

  • Stanley A. Fishler
    Posted at 18:54h, 08 February Reply

    I am a Jewish/Mormon. My father’s heritage were Sephardic Jews living in Spain for over 1600 years. They left Spain in the 1780’s with the Inquisitions after them.. They stayed in Lithuania for 100 years and then moved into America in the 1880’s. My mother was a Mabey, related to the Tolman’s, Holbrook’s, Calls, Truman Angel, Mary Ann Angel, etc. (I have Joseph Tolman,s Journal who was the cousin Truman Angel and I have done geneaology on my father’s line obtaining stories about their families. My nephew is Anthony Christensen, Anthony’s Antiques, and his two daughters have written a great Journal about the family. I guess I write this because of my connection to Brigham through Mary Ann Angel.

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