LOGAN, Utah — "I, Leonard, having been born of goodly parents..."
So began the interminable diary of Mormon historian Leonard J. Arrington, beginning when he was a 10-year-old farm boy and ending a week before his death. Arrington, who passed away in February 1999, bequeathed his 30,000 page diary to Utah State University — with the stipulation that his personal history be sealed for 10 years after his death. His wish granted, Arrington's life story was told publicly, and poignantly, during the 16th Annual Leonard J. Arrington Lecture on Sept. 23.
Titled "A Paper Mountain: The Extraordinary Diary of Leonard James Arrington," the lecture drew more than 500 visitors, who packed the Logan, Utah, Tabernacle for a long-awaited glimpse into the soul of a man who dedicated his life to preserving history.
"Tonight, I had the opportunity to reconnect with my husband's colleague and closest friend," said JoAn Bitton of Salt Lake City, whose late husband, Davis Bitton, served for a decade with Arrington in the Church History Department. "It takes me back to the meals we enjoyed together, the events we attended and the lives we shared. Truly, Leonard was a remarkable man and dear friend whose diaries have touched me tremendously."
Presenting in tag-team fashion, two of Arrington's children, Carl Arrington and Susan Arrington Madsen, painted a vivid portrait of their father, an avid historian and prolific writer whose life was both riddled with challenges and rich in faith. Interspersing their own recollections with words from their father's journals, Arrington and Madsen brought Leonard Arrington's legacy to life with humor, candor and grace. Evident throughout the presentation was their father's determination to capture not only his own life on paper but also to maintain a vibrant history of early Mormonism, the settlement of Idaho and LDS heritage. Having written, coauthored or contributed to 36 books and 22 monographs, including an acclaimed biography of Brigham Young, Arrington's passion for the written word took him on an extraordinary life journey, immortalized on the shelves of USU's Special Collections in the Merrill-Cazier Library. "Tonight we are gathered to celebrate his life at the official opening of his diary," said Susan. "We are grateful to share our gratitude and enthusiasm for this remarkable document, which is written by and about a stalwart saint, scholar and mentor."
"We believe his diary will come to be known as one of the most astonishing documents held by the USU Special Collections," said Carl. "Our experience in reading Leonard's diary and other papers is that the Arrington archives contain many treasures. There you will find wild tales of courage and misadventures of trappers, Native American chiefs, governors, ill-fated handcart companies, rich business entrepreneurs, apostles, Danites, FBI intrigue, annoying high school principals, unacknowledged polygamous families, Saints, scholars and sinners, and people with varying degrees of devotion to truth and faith. Our father wrote about things that touch on almost every aspect of the Beehive State. If you have a job at Hill Field or Thiokol or Kennecott Copper Mine or farming sugar beets, Leonard Arrington has probably written about your family, business or college. Maybe he wrote about you."
From a very young age, his children said, Leonard Arrington had a dogged conviction that his life was spared as a child (from smallpox, typhoid fever, pneumonia and influenza) for a significant purpose. In 1950, Arrington had a deeply moving experience that solidified his belief. Quoting from his father's diary, Carl Arrington read, "...In a university library I was unexpectedly absorbed into the universe of the Holy Spirit. A meaningful moment of insight and connectedness had come to me that helped me to see that my research efforts were compatible with the divine restoration of the church. It was something like, but more intense than, the feelings that welled up in me when I listened to the finale of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony or was moved by Raphael's painting of the Madonna in the Vatican Museum at the end of World War II. In an electrifying moment, the lives and beliefs of 19th-century Mormons had a special meaning. They were inspiring, part of the eternal plan, and it was my pleasure to understand and write about their stories. Whatever my talents and abilities, an invisible power had now given me a commission. Regardless of frustrations and obstacles that came to me in the years that followed, I knew that God expected me to carry out a research program of his peoples' history and to make available that material to others. ... My experience was a holy, never-to-be-forgotten encounter, one that inspired me to live up to the promises held out for those who receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
From a humble start on a rural Idaho farm, Arrington became the first member of his family to attend college, against his father's wishes, ultimately earning a Ph.D. in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There he met and married "a beautiful Southern belle," Grace Fort, whose loyalty and fortitude on the home front made Arrington's professional contributions possible. "We need to say loud and clear," said Carl, "that Leonard Arrington was saved by Grace."
A veteran of WWII, Arrington served primarily in the Pacific Theater. After the war, he went on to teach economics at Utah State University for 26 years, a position he cherished throughout his life. In 1972, Arrington was asked by LDS Church leaders to head the church's fledgling historical department, a calling he held until 1982. Not without controversy, Arrington's service as church historian required him to walk a precarious line between commitment to his faith and commitment to his perception of historical accuracy. During his tenure, the Church History Department published 15 books and 400 articles, likewise recording 1,500 personal histories in multiple languages.
Norm Jones, head of USU's Department of History, appreciates the mark Arrington's diaries and professional contributions have left and will leave not only on contemporary Mormon scholars and historians but also on future generations. "Leonard's collection is an extraordinary asset to Utah State University, both from a historical and personal perspective," he said. "For most of us, we experience the moments of our lives fleetingly and then they are gone, but Leonard recorded his life history and Mormon history in such minute detail that the memories he captured will live on indefinitely."
Quoting Davis Bitton, Susan echoed, "Leonard loved our Latter-day Saint history and its people high and low ... he wanted to tell our history in a way that would be true to its richness, that would recognize both its wonderful humanity and the divinity that shapes its ends."
To that end, said Carl, Leonard J. Arrington "accomplished more than the little farm boy from Twin Falls ever dreamed of."
e-mail: jchristensen@desnews.com