Gary James Bergera is the managing director of the Smith-Pettit Foundation and former managing director of Signature Books. Adept and managing and directing things, he is also the former director of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. A tireless and talented editor, Bergera edited several publications integral to the study of Mormon history, including Line Upon Line: Essays on Mormon Doctrine, On Desert Trails with Everett Ruess, The Autobiography of B.H. Roberts, Statements of the First Presidency, and companion volumes Joseph Smith’s Quorum of the Anointed, 1842-1845, and The Nauvoo Endowment Companies, 1845-1846, which he co-edited with friend and accomplice Devery S. Anderson.
When not editing, Bergera found time to write, co-authoring Brigham Young University: A House of Faith, with Ronald Priddis and contributing essays to The Prophet Puzzle: Interpretative Essays on Joseph Smith, Religion, Feminism, and Freedom of Conscience: A Mormon/Humanist Dialogue and The Search for Harmony: Essays on Science and Mormonism. He is a recipient of the prestigious Best Article Ward from the Mormon History Association, and continues to publish works pertaining to Mormon history.
Notes:
In the first block we meet Gary Bergera, editor of Confessions of a Mormon Historian. Gary gives a brief history of Leonard Arrington, who served as Church Historian beginning in 1972, serving until 1978 or 1982, depending on the source. They discuss some of the events and accomplishments during Arrington’s tenure as Church Historian, including some controversies.
The second blocks starts with a discussion about the openness of Church history, including the Gospel Topics Essays that the the Church has published over the last few years. They discuss how much people actually read what is published and what can be done to encourage the reading and use of the materials that are already published. Gary tells how Arrington tried to make Church history more available and accessible.
The third block begins with a discussion about the book Confessions of a Mormon historian, which would make a nice present for Richie. They discuss having a testimony of the Church but at the same time being able to understand and reconcile Church history. Gary tells about how the book came to be through the involvement of the Arrington family trust who made his diaries available. Arrington’s diaries actually include more material than one might consider a traditional written diary. The episode ends with the usual 3 questions.
Links:
Author profile at Signature Books
Confessions of a Mormon Historian at Signature Books
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