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Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History

 Organization

Dates

  • Existence: 1980 - 1999

Administrative History

The Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History was a research institute at Brigham Young University established to encourage the study and publishing of Mormon historical material.

The Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History (JFSI) was created in 1980 upon the closure of the Historical Division of the Historical Department of the Church and subsequent transfer of its director and staff to Brigham Young University. In 1982 the institute was physically relocated from Salt Lake City, Utah to the Brigham Young University campus, and was under the direction of the College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences. The staff of the institute worked to write and publish for a professional and church audience, teach courses in history, and facilitate research networks. Directors included Leonard J. Arrington (1980-1986) and Ronald K. Esplin (1986-1999). In 1999 the institute was reorganized as the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History.

Citation:
BYU organizational history project, Mar. 8, 2012: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute of Church History (existed 1980-1999; under College of FHSS; study and publishing of LDS material; est. following closure of Historical Division; relocated to BYU, 1982; write and publish, teach history, facilitate research; directors, Leonard J. Arrington (1980-1986), Ronald K. Esplin (1986-1999); 1999 reorganized as Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History)

Found in 7 Collections and/or Records:

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 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 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

Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History records on Women History Initiative Team, 1977-2008

 Sub-Series — Carton 3: Series 1; Series 2 [Barcode: 31197233286498], Folder: 6-59
Identifier: MSS 8009 Series 2 Sub-Series 7
Scope and Contents Contains materials related to the Women's History Initiative Team (WIT) of the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute. Includes meeting minutes, strategy notes, correspondence and memorandums, programs and schedules for seminars and symposia, faculty retreat records, published articles, poetry, information on summer fellowships and photographs from a reunion, records on the Mormon Women's History Course 390 R, records from the Eliza R. Snow film project, and lists of dissertations and published...
Dates: 1977-2008

Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History special project records, 1995-2005

 Sub-Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 8009 Series 2 Sub-Series 4
Scope and Contents Contains records for special projects carried out by the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute, including records on an Eliza R. Snow documentary, Mormon Studies leadership awards and symposia, a Yale Conference entitled God, Humanity and Revelation: Perspectives from Mormon Philosophy and History, international outreach efforts, agendas and proposals of the Council on Religious Endeavors (CORE), coordination with the Brigham Young University Special Collections and church archives, Mormon...
Dates: 1995-2005

Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History symposia records, 1987-2005

 Sub-Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 8009 Series 2 Sub-Series 3
Scope and Contents Contains records for various symposia hosted by the Joseph Smith Fielding Institute, including brochures and fliers, programs and schedules, correspondence and memorandums, symposia proposals, calls for papers, and speaker biographies. Seminars cover topics including Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, the Restoration, and Latter-day Women. Also includes applications for faculty fellowships as well as summer fellows biographies. In addition, contains records for the National Endowment for the...
Dates: 1987-2005

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  • Subject: Research institutes -- Utah -- Provo X

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Subject
Letters 5
Memorandums 3
Minutes (Records) 3
Publications 3
Financial records 2