Historian’s diaries unveiled to the public
Susan Arrington Madsen and Carl Arrington, the daughter and son of the late Dr. Leonard J. Arrington, unveiled their father’s diaries Thursday night at the Logan LDS Tabernacle.
Dr. Arrington was a Utah State University professor and LDS church historian, who is now memorialized for his contributions to the university not only by a special collection at the Merrill-Cazier library, but also with a faculty position in his namesake, the Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture. Phillip Barlow currently holds the position at USU.
Thursday’s unveiling marked the 16th of the annual Arrington lectures, which feature different speakers each year on topics related to Mormon history. This year’s lecture was called “A Paper Mountain: The Extraordinary Diary of Leonard James Arrington,” marking the unveiling of Dr. Arrington’s personal diaries, which were only made public for the first time this year.
“He (Dr. Arrington) has opened up church history to scrutiny, which is important for total honesty to how the church has evolved and developed,” said Ken Wright, a Logan resident. Wright was an LDS missionary companion to Tom Alexander, Dr. Arrington’s successor in a position at Brigham Young University.
“He’s considered a ‘revisionist’ historian,” Wright said. “Certainly the church can survive the good and the bad.”
The lecture each year also opens a contest and offers an award to students for the best essay related to the lecture.
More than 500 people attended this year’s lecture, nearly filling the tabernacle. Attendees included Craig Jessop, new dean of the Caine College of the Arts.
Mark McKell, 36, of River Heights, said he was impressed with how the diaries show that Dr. Arrington knew what his purpose was from an early age. McKell said said Dr. Arrington was worthy of a following.
“A friend of mine recently read the biography of Brigham Young, written by Arrington, ” McKell said. “Now I want to read it.”
Amy White, a resident of Hyde Park, said she thought of Arrington and his children as open, creative, down-to-earth, amusing, entertaining, touching and profound.
“It would be nice if the students knew something about the journals besides the lecture,” White said.
The lecture was co-spoken by Dr. Arrington’s son Carl, and daughter, Susan Madsen, who took turns giving the lecture. Wright said he enjoyed every word that was spoken.
Dr. Arrington was the first American to establish the contribution women made to the settling of the west, Carl Arrington said.
“My mom believed I was born for a special purpose,” Dr. Arrington wrote in one diary entry.
A life-altering change came when Dr. Arrington’s father was called on a LDS mission to the southern states, Arrington said.
“This left us to work on the farm,” Dr. Arrington wrote in his diary.
This forced Dr. Arrington to become an entrepreneur, Arrington said. He raised chickens and once made a 2,000 percent profit.
Carl Arrington said his dad was a “true intellectual. He was a wildly successful egghead.”
Dr. Arrington’s father did not approve of him going to college, Arrington said. He enrolled in the University of Idaho anyway.
“I thought I could serve the church by getting a good education,” Dr. Arrington wrote in his diary. His diary reveals a change in attitude during his time in school.
“I used to hate people that smoked tobacco,” Arrington wrote. “I used to hate people that drank liquor. I used to think all the other churches were wrong.”
After attending college Arrington came to believe that people from other churches were not perfect, “but mostly good,” he wrote in his diary.
-keith.burbank@aggiemail.usu.edu