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Show Doctrine & Covenants Commentary, Section 47, General Notes, pp. 352-53: Previous to this time Oliver Cowdery had been the historian and recorder of the Church. When the suggestion was made that John Whitmer be appointed to do this important work, he expressed the wish that the Lord would make His will manifest through the Prophet Joseph. Then this Revelation was received. John Whitmer was now appointed custodian of the records of the Church. When he was excommunicated, March 10, 1838, at Far West, he refused to deliver up the documents in his possession, and at his death they were taken charge of by his nephew, John C. Whitmer, of Richmond, Mo. The position of the Church Historian is one of great importance.... But without a specially-appointed recorder, the organization of the Church would have passed almost unnoticed, or it would have been described from the viewpoint of enemies. The development of the Church would have had no proper place in the annals of man but for a truthful historian, well acquainted with and instructed in that part of human history. The Prophet began his history on May 2nd, 1831, "to disabuse the public mind, and put all inquiries after the truth into possession of the facts, as they have transpired, in relation to both myself and the Church, so far as I have such facts in my possession" (History of the Church, Vol. I, p. 1), and that is the great reason for the existence of the office of the Historian of the Church. E. Cecil McGavin, Historical Background of the Doctrine and Covenants (1949), p. 78: Though Joseph and his assistants were untrained for the important labor they were to perform, it is amazing what a vast array of early documents and historical material has been preserved. As soon as the Church was organized they were instructed to "keep a record" of all their proceedings. John Whitmer was soon appointed the historian. The humble historical accounts he preserved were retained by him a few years later when he apostatized. His history fell into the hands of the Reorganized Church. In the archives in Salt Lake City, Utah, however, a typed copy of this first historical document is preserved. The position of Church Historian was established in 1838. Since the Nauvoo period the two positions have been combined under the title Church Historian and General Church Recorder. This responsibility has usually been assigned to a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. Since 1856 the work has been shared by one or more Assistant Church Historians, and these officers have had the further assistance of thousands of clerks and secretaries who keep the i n |