J. Mark Hiatt and Dr. Richard D. Draper, History
After the Saints were forced out of Nauvoo, angry vandals, fearing the Saints would return, destroyed the magnificent temple left behind. The temple the mobsters destroyed took five years to build and every sacrifice imaginable for the Saints to complete. Since the temple does not exist today, a noble effort is being made to resurrect the structure using modern technology. My job was to acquire and transfer all necessary data to Andrew Teasdale, who would create a computer generated virtual reconstruction of the Nauvoo Temple.
As a researcher, I developed and followed an organized plan to gain as much data as possible. I used the Special Collections of both the Harold B. Lee Library and the Historical Archives of the Church. I made numerous photocopies of pertinent magazine, book, and journal articles. Many of the experts in this field of study became acquainted with me, helping me in any way they could. To store the great amount of data acquired in the research, I purchased a small, all-purpose filer. The filer will be passed on to Professor Draper to continue the project.
There were many successes in the research I engaged in. I achieved all of the goals and objectives that I set in the proposal last fall. The research is eighty percent completed. The majority of the remaining twenty percent must be done outside the confines of Utah. With a trip to historic Nauvoo and some universities in Illinois, I could more fully provide all remaining, known resources to the project. One of the greatest successes of the project was acquiring a huge resource of information for the Special Collections here at BYU. There is an amazing unpublished manuscript, written by Joseph Earl Arrington in the 1950s, that added much vital information needed to produce an accurate reconstruction. The manuscript, titled The Construction of the Nauvoo Temple, contains 2000 pages of astonishingly detailed data collected from nineteenth-century contemporary newspapers and magazines. It was only housed at the Church Historical Archives in Salt Lake City, but through petitions from myself and Professor Draper, a second microfilm copy was given to BYU’s Special Collections library. Now that the manuscript is in BYU’s possession, it will be used in future research. I hand copied the most pertinent information regarding the temple’s construction.
There were also failures in the project. The largest one was the lack of funding. Professor Draper and Andrew were continually searching for anyone interested to donate money. No one donated, leaving Andrew in a tough position financially. Because he was not being paid monetarily, he could not afford to focus on the project. Instead, he worked on completing his Master’s in Near Eastern Studies. He then moved in the Spring to Utah State for a second Master’s in Instructional Technology. The main project of inputting the data into the computer did not get started.
The scholarship money allotted to me helped tremendously. The religious education department had funds sufficient to pay me only ten hours a week. I needed at least twenty hours of work to assist me in paying the normal expenses of a college student. I could not have even completed my part of the project without the scholarship.
The experience of working with Professor Draper on this project has helped me greatly. I had hands on research experience that many history students never have. My confidence in research and analyzing data has improved significantly. One day I hope to continue graduate studies in Instructional Technology or History. I appreciate the great opportunity given me to add to my experience here at BYU. I want to thank the Office of Research & Creative Activities for the scholarship to continue a project of great interest and benefit to many people.