My understanding is that as the Members began to go West, Brigham put an all-out call to collect personal journals.

I assume that this was an effort to begin to control and craft the sanitized faith-promoting history for which LDS HQ is now reaping a whirlwind.

Anyone have any info on this?

I'd love to see what is in those journals.


Neo-Galileo

true..

I don't think it was Brigham. Many of my deeply devout ancestors kept and passed on journals.

I believe the call to turn in journals was the 70s. The lie told was ths the journals would be scanned and preserved. Families would have copies of them.

None of that happened and many families turned in the journals with out making copies.

As far as what was in them

A record of plural wives, including Joseph's
I know when one ancestor received the second annointing
thoughts and struggles of plural wives
records of anti mormon tales at the time
lots of mundane genealogy
lots of day to day activities
lists of deeds and business dealings
Some interesting stories of tithing settlement
records of miracles. Healings. Rain. Etc.

Many journals are free online.

Look up names. Perrigin Sessions and Ira Hatch could get you started.

Others are at the Daughters of Utah Pioneers.

Some can be found in book form.

Mormon midwife: Patty Bartlett Sessions is an example.

When I grew up in the church someone told me that the real evidence that the church is true is in the vault.

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/granite-mountain-records-vault

But we were not allowed to go into the vault so that we can use our own faith. She was my seminary teacher and said that the vault has many diaries of the pioneers in it.

Back then I believed it now my guess is that is it probably not true, just another faith promoting feel good story.