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Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History

 Organization

Dates

  • Existence: 1999 - 2005

Administrative History

The Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History was a research institute at Brigham Young University responsible for facilitating the scholarly study of Mormon history campus-wide.

In 1999 the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History was renamed the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History. The purpose of the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History was to pursue the scholarly study of the history, people, institutions, and culture of the Latter-day Saints. Faculty members taught courses in history, church history, and other disciplines related to their fields of expertise. The institute also provided limited support for research and publication to faculty. The Joseph Smith Papers Project was among the many research ventures undertaken by this institute. Institute directors included Ronald K. Esplin (2000-2003) and Jill Mulvay Derr (2003-2005). In 2005 most of the scholars employed by the institute were transferred to the Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah to continue work on the Joseph Smith Papers Project Project. With their departure, the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History was abolished.

Citation:
BYU organizational history project, Mar. 8, 2012: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History, 1999-2005; facilitate scholarly study of Mormon history; 1999 renamed from Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History; teaches courses in history, other disciplines of expertise, limited support for research and publication; initially developed the Joseph Smith Papers Project; research venture; directors, Ronald K. Esplin (2000-2003) and Jill Mulvay Derr (2003-2005); under direction of FHSS; 2005 transferred to LDS Church Headquarters in Salt Lake City, institute abolished)

Found in 17 Collections and/or Records:

Jill Mulvay Derr papers

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 8009
Scope and Contents

Contains Derr's teaching files and course materials as well as correspondence, administrative records, and other materials related to Derr's work as managing director of the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute.

Dates: 1977-2007

Jill Mulvay Derr course materials, 1978-2004

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 8009 Series 1
Scope and Contents Contains materials relating to the courses that Derr taught or had a role in developing including History 206 R Utah Women's History, History 390 R Mormon Heritage, and History 390 R/ Honors 322 R Mormon History and Culture. Includes course descriptions and outlines, syllabi and class calendars, reading lists, course suggestions and proposals, course development materials, class rolls, exams, and scholarly articles. Also contains notes and comments from students, student-submitted discussion...
Dates: 1978-2004

Joseph Field Smith Institute administrative records, 1984-2005

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: UA 1214 Series 1
Scope and Contents

Contains corporate minutes, reports, schedules, agendas, photographs, letters, memoranda, suget forms, programs and clippings concerning the administrative files of the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History. These administrative files deal with faculty reports, symposiums, lectures, grants, and projects of the various programs and researches of the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History, 1984-2005.

Dates: 1984-2005

Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History administrative records, 1989-2007

 Sub-Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 8009 Series 2 Sub-Series 1
Scope and Contents Contains administrative records for the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute, including financial records, governance records, and strategy records. Financial records include budget records, a 2004 audit, information on the Mormon History Trust Fund, and fundraising records. Governance records include records from the College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences conference, minutes from meetings with the college dean, correspondence with the dean and assistant deans, especially with Dean David...
Dates: 1989-2007

Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History correspondence, 1992-2005

 Sub-Series — Carton 2: Series 1; Series 2 [Barcode: 31197233286472], Folder: 46-52
Identifier: MSS 8009 Series 2 Sub-Series 6
Scope and Contents Contains both internal and external correspondence of the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute on topics including publications, symposia, BYU Studies, the Eliza R. Snow project, outreach plans, and Executive Committee correspondence. Also includes Richard Bushman correspondence, chair of the Advisory Committee, relating to symposia and faculty, as well as Derr's correspondence relating to paper publications, symposia, copyrights, personal correspondence, and the transition following the...
Dates: 1992-2005

Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History digital media, 2004

 Sub-Series — Carton 3: Series 1; Series 2 [Barcode: 31197233286498], Folder: 60
Identifier: MSS 8009 Series 2 Sub-Series 8
Scope and Contents

Contains four DVDs of lectures that were part of a 2004 lecture series entitled To Tell the Tale: Preserving the Lives of Mormon Women. Includes lectures on Relief Society, Mormon women's history, and women newspaper editors.

Dates: 2004

Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History faculty files, 1987-2005

 Sub-Series — Carton 1: Series 2 [Barcode: 31197233286480], Folder: 6-46
Identifier: MSS 8009 Series 2 Sub-Series 2
Scope and Contents

Contains files for the faculty of the Joseph Smith Fielding Institute, including meeting minutes and memos, newsletters and handouts, and correspondence. Materials cover faculty retreats, productivity reports, lists of books and publications made by the faculty, and staffing and hiring records, 1987-2005.

Dates: 1987-2005

Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History manuscripts on Latter-day Saint women, 1921-1986

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: UA 1214 Series 3
Scope and Contents Contains records from publications concerning Latter-day Saint Women. Includes materials for Women of the Covenant and Within the Households of Faith: Selected Writings of Latter-day Saint Women, 1830-1900. It deals with the beginnings of the Relief Society Organization, the women who organized it and what type of women made up this establishment. It outlines the beginnings of the group in Nauvoo, Illinois, with Joseph Smith presiding and Emma Smith becoming the first General President of...
Dates: 1921-1986

Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History manuscripts on Social Services, 1949-1984

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: UA 1214 Series 4
Scope and Contents

Contains oral histories and manuscripts for a book on the history of social services in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1949-1984.

Dates: 1949-1984

Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History records, 1977-2008

 Series
Identifier: MSS 8009 Series 2
Scope and Contents

Contains records of the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute collected by Derr, including administrative records and faculty files. Also includes records on symposia, funding, and grants, and materials for various special projects carried out by the institute. Also contains correspondence, records on BYU Studies and Women's History Inititative Team. Includes four DVDs from a lecture series in 2004, 1977-2008.

Dates: 1977-2008

Additional filters:

Type
Archival Object 15
Collection 2
 
Subject
Letters 8
Research institutes -- Utah -- Provo 7
Minutes (Records) 6
Manuscripts 4
Memorandums 4