The Papers of Jay Jensen and the Japan First Mission

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  • Academic objectives of our research project have been extremely successful. Several of our students produced papers from our research and presented them at a regional conference of the Association for Asian Studies. One of our students published her essay in the Religious Education student journal and won an award for her contribution.

    We have produced a whole transcript of the journal of Jay Clair Jensen, including translations and reproduction of thousands photographs. We also produced annotation of the whole journal, which will be submitted for publication at the Religious Studies Center, to add to literature about the worldwide church.

    • Accomplished:

    1. Transcribed 800 pages journal of Jay Clair Jensen
    2. Transcribed 1040 pages of H. Grant Ivins journals
    3. Scanned Edna Thomas’s journals
    4. Scanned E. D. Thomas’s journals (400 pages)
    5. Digitally scanned 4,500 original documents
    6. Digitally photographed 2,100 original photographs of the first Japan mission
    7. Of the 2,100 photos, we transcribed a sentence or two describing the context of the photo
    8. Digitally scanned all of the mission minutes, totaling around 2,500 pages of official records
  • Evaluation of the mentoring environment
    • Jack Koch (January 2014 to present) MEG Research Assistant—Jack’s employment included weekly visits and conversations about our research project, including teaching him to handle historical artifacts, paleographic methods, understanding the philosophical method of documentary editing, and basic historical methodologies.
      • Digitized over 1,000 photographs of the First Japanese mission and pre-World War I Japan.
      • Transcribed around 500 descriptions of photographs.
      • Authored a research paper about Jay Jensen and his photograph collection that included his own analysis of the collection and its potential value.
      • Presented his research at the 2014 and 2015 Western Conferences of the Association for Asian Studies (Tempe, Arizona and Salt Lake City, Utah)
    • Louisa Nuffer (Summer 2014 to present) MEG Research Assistant—Louisa has been a major investment in my MEG project. Her education of the topic and skills required to transcribe three missionary journals has been ongoing since the summer of 2014.
      • Transcribed 3 missionary journals.
      • Authored a research paper about Edna Thomas, the first woman to serve with her husband in the Japan mission.
      • Published his paper in the Department’s student journal.
      • Her paper won an award from the student symposium.
      • She submitted her research for the 2016 Church History Symposium.
      • Received an ORCA in 2015.
      • Presented research on Edna Thomas and the First Japan Mission at the 2015 Western Conference of the Association for Asian Studies (Salt Lake City, Utah).
    • Kaity Jensen Hemmert – (Winter 2014- Fall 2015)MEG Research Assistant
      • Transcribed, annotated and verified Jay Jensen’s Journal and other documents.
      • Scanned volumes of the First Japan Mission Minutes
      • Developed two papers on the Mormon missiology in early 20th century Japan.
      • Presented papers at the 2014 and 2015 Western Conference of the Association for Asian Studies (Tempe, Arizona and Salt Lake City, Utah).
      • Edited papers for submission to the Religious Education Student Symposium.
    • Lisa Hoffman – (2014) MEG Research Assistant
      • Transcribed, annotated and verified Jay Jensen’s Journal and other documents.
      • Scanned volumes of the First Japan Mission Minutes
    • Rabia Mohammad Cheema (2014) – MEG Research Assistant
      • Researched Christian missiology in early 20th century Asia
      • Transcribed H. Grant Ivins missionary journals and other documents.
      • Presented at the 2014 Western Conference of the Association for Asian Studies (Tempe, Arizona)

  • Results/Findings – the primary documents analyzed for the project reveals much about the challenges of the first LDS mission in Japan. Access to these documents provide much needed information about LDS history in Asia as well as the Church’s international missionary program in the early 20th century. Research on these sources also reveals additional information on the struggles of Christian missiology in early 20th century Japan. Research into how and why Christian missiology in Japan was distinct in method and results from similar campaigns in continental Asia will be greatly assisted by these new primary sources. Future publications from those who participated in this MEG project will focus on how these sources reveal a unique evangelical environment in Japan and how this environment curbed growth for the LDS Church and other protestant denominations when compared to missiology in Korea, China, and South Asia.

  • Description of how the budget was spent

    • Student Wages: $13,000 (student wages)

    Equipment: $2,500 (computers, cameras, camera equipment, copies, archival materials)

    Travel and Conference Fees: $3,500 (Travel to Association of Asian Studies, Arizona, travel to Salt Lake City archives, state, church, and U of U, research travel to Japan)