Doctrines of Salvation, Volumes 1-3 by Joseph Fielding Smith

Author:Joseph Fielding Smith [Smith, Joseph Fielding]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Publisher: Deseret Book Company
Published: 1954-03-06T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

The Divine Law of Record Keeping

Place of History in Plan of Salvation

HISTORY: A GUIDE TO PROGRESS. History is the record of human progress and the accumulation of the experiences of the past. This may apply to every fact in life, whether it is the history of nations or individuals, the history of the earth, or the history of scientific research. Of course, in speaking of history we usually confine our thoughts to the annals of the human race.

History is obtained through written records and through tradition. All records are history, no matter what they are. All that deals with science, literature, art, or anything that pertains to the actions or welfare of man, his research, his study, his actions-all is circumscribed by history. However, we are dealing with the activities of men and nations.

The importance of written records of the lives of men and the activities of nations is apparent to everyone, because through them we have advanced in knowledge and power. We profit by the thoughts and actions of those who have gone before, because their experiences become ours as we put them into action. We profit by their mistakes and by their successful achievements. We accept the actions of the ages past, and thus, using our judgment, we gather out from that which has been recorded that which will be of benefit to us, and so we incorporate it in our lives.

HISTORY: AN AID TO CIVILIZATION. Without history and our knowledge of lands and peoples, we would be no better than the savage, or in an uncivilized condition. This is very clearly shown in the Book of Mormon by Nephi in his writings. He tells the story of how the Lord gave commandment to his father to send him and his brothers back to Jerusalem that they might bring the brass plates with them from Jerusalem to the land of promise. That record contained the genealogy of Lehi's family; it contained the five books of Moses and the prophecies of the prophets of old down to Isaiah and even some of the words of Jeremiah. This record was obtained under difficulties, and it was the foundation for the Nephite civilization in this new world. 1

On the other hand we have the experiences of the Mulekites, who also came from Jerusalem, but without any record, instead of increasing in knowledge and wisdom the opposite was the case, and when they were discovered by the Nephites, they were found in a semi-civilized condition. They had to be taken by the Nephites and taught in knowledge and wisdom. The Nephite people were outnumbered by their Mulekite relatives, but being wiser and having more knowledge they absorbed the less fortunate nation. 2

FALSE SLANTING OF HISTORY. In regard to the recording of history, the thing that is most important is accuracy. If history is not accurate, it is harmful. It has been said that history is what historians declare it shall be, and many historians write with that thought in mind. Of course this is a deplorable situation, which we cannot help.

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