Ok, I am back, tonight.  After a “Baconator”, I am ready to roll.

At 9:23 am, today, Steven Olsen says, “I hope you don’t go to sleep in the describing of the structure . . . “The first session is always a tough one, you know, for waking everybody up.  But Steven’s session title, “Are the Church Archives Closed?” attracted me from the start.  I wanted to know if Baptist preachers have full access.Among many things, the speaker discussed the Church History Library, planning and technology, the mixed workforce, etc.; but I really perked up during the question and answer time.

Are you employing new staff?  There are 200 paid staff currently.  He will be giving out business cards.

What do the vaults of the First Presidency contain?  the Urim and Thummim, Sword of Laban, 116 pages?  No.  But they do contain things that have been given to them in trust.  And we have a good relationship with them.

Are the archives inaccessible to some?  No.  It doesn’t matter if you have been excommunicated or published anti-mormon materials.  There is no distinction made for ideological trouble makers. 

What about origins of endowments?  Access to primary sources?  This is not for academic discourse.

Are there any smoking guns?  You mean like Brigham Young ordering the Mountain Meadows Massacre or Joseph Smith making up the Book of Mormon?  No.  On the contrary.

Is LDS history to be told now undiluted and un-sanitized?  The newspapers didn’t include all the details.  After focus groups and asking lots of opinion questions, here is the perception we gathered.  The teaching of history doesn’t have to be without blemishes.  We don’t need all the warts in the Sunday School curriculum, but we can appreciate more complex nuances.