Robert J. Schoonmaker and Dr. Ronald W. Walker, History
Ronald W. Walker and James B. Allen of the BYU History Department and David J. Whittaker of the Library Archives are currently collaborating on a project to compile for publication a comprehensive bibliography of secondary sources, published previous to 1996, dealing with Mormon History. This grant enabled me to contribute over 150 hours toward identifying and classifying source material for this bibliography.
This project has been in process for twelve years. Over fifty students have contributed time in varying degrees toward the completion of the bibliography. Over 12,000 entries have been compiled. The bibliography is tentatively scheduled to be completed this year and published in 1997. The bibliography is important because it will bring a comprehensive listing of the scholarly work on over 5,000 subjects into one place. This will be the most extensive work of its kind.
My role in the project was to review books and periodicals looking for articles that had substantive information on any Mormon History subject. I reviewed an assortment of books and articles, but the majority of my work was from three sources—The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Journal of History, This People magazine, and the Improvement Era. In the Journal of History and Improvement Era, I was provided with a tentative listing of the articles within the journal that were useful for the bibliography. I reviewed those articles for accuracy of bibliographical information, and for content. I would suggest revisions in what the article was to be indexed under, or suggest that it should not be included due to insufficient information of impertinent content. In addition, I reviewed all of the other articles contained in the journals, seeking those that should be included. In This People magazine, my research was the first time through the magazine, and I therefore only looked for new articles to be included.
I reviewed the entire Journal of History, which ran for about twenty years. I was able to identify and classify about 150 articles from the Journal. The majority of these articles deal with the Mormon Church prior to the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, at a period when the Reorganized and LDS Church’s history runs parallel. There are also a few articles now included in the bibliography that deal with prominent members of the RLDS church that were previously members of the LDS church.
This was an interesting journal to review because it is not an LDS source. It provides a somewhat different viewpoint on some of the early events in the Church’s history. It is an important source because it shows how a non-LDS historian with some of the same beliefs as an LDS historian interprets some of the same sources as an LDS historian.
I reviewed This People magazine from its first issue in 1980 through the end of 1995. I identified and classified over 60 articles from this periodical. The focus of This People magazine through most of these years was to show prominent or otherwise notable LDS people at a personal level. Almost all of the subjects of the articles are currently alive and still contributing to the history of the Church.
The articles that were selected for the bibliography are not autobiographical, but they do employ many stories and thoughts related by the subject of the article, or by the subject’s family and close friends. These articles will be especially helpful in the future, as a researcher looks back and sees how the subject was viewed by his peers before his life’s work was complete. I enjoyed reviewing This People because I learned some interesting stories and insights about the current Church leaders.
My research through the Improvement Era took the largest portion of my time, although I did not review the entire journal. I did review over fifty years of the publication, from 1919 through the Era’s conclusion in 1970. Approximately 600-650 articles from this time period will be included in the bibliography. The Era’s articles were of all sorts, dealing with people, groups of people, events, places, and all other aspects of Mormon history.
My research for the bibliography was both challenging and interesting. The biggest challenge that I faced was remaining gaining an understanding of the types of articles that were to be included in the bibliography, and remaining consistent in choosing which articles contained substantive information on which topics. I required repeated visits with James Allen and review of my work to effectively choose the proper sources and topics. It was very interesting for me to get a better idea of what sources were available for a researcher, and to learn new information from those sources. I was introduced to many people and events in Mormon history that I was not previously aware were of importance. I was able to contribute significantly to the bibliography, and enjoyed my opportunity to research.