On This Day in the Church: An Illustrated Almanac of the Latter-day Saints By Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Alexander L. Baugh, Robert C. Freeman, Andrew H. Hedges Eagle Gate, 2000. Hardcover: 282 pages. ISBN: 1-57345-579-2 Suggested retail price: $32.95 (US)
Reviewed by: Larry Jackson

If you enjoy curling up by the fire to read the latest Church almanac, this book is for you!

The four authors, an associate and three assistant professors of Church history and doctrine at BYU, present events in Church history from each day of the year (including leap day, February 29th).

Pages of this hardcover book are 8-1/2 x 11" in landscape orientation (more wide than tall). Information is laid out in a very nice two-column format. Events appear one day per column, two days per page, except for those busy days such as April 6th, July 24th, and days around conferences in early April and October, where two columns becomes the norm.

Anywhere from six to ten items are included on most days, with a dozen or more on key dates in Church history. Some days include only four or five items. I only found one date with three notes (and a photograph).

Nearly every page has one or two photos relating to historical events of the day. Although they are black and white, they provide an interesting and significant enhancement to the book. While this really is not a book one "reads", the photos and illustrations were interesting enough to cause me to leaf through the entire book on first sitting. They are enjoyable and of very good quality. They contribute in their own way. Most are unusual, not being the picture that would first come to mind when a particular subject is mentioned.

There are seven pages of photo and illustration credits. A major portion come from the LDS Church Archives, a few from the authors themselves. They include Sister Charone Smith (one of the first humanitarian missionaries in Albania) with Mother Teresa, a young Elder Gordon B. Hinckley on his way to Asia in 1960, BYU president Rex E. Lee with U.S. president George Bush in Provo, 1992, and U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt during a visit to Salt Lake City in 1903. (Should president have been capitalized?)

The book has a thorough index, and if what you are looking for is in the book, you will find it. Of course, if you already know what day in Church history something happened, you could turn directly to that page.

You would be surprised at what you found, though. As expected, major historical events in Church history are included, along with birthdates and ordination dates of Church leaders (not including Area Authorities -- too many of them).

But, there is much besides information on general authorities. Philo T. Farnsworth, Jon Huntsman (Jr. and Sr.), Alexander Doniphan, John Whitaker, Crawford Gates, Ariel Bybee, Kurt Bestor, Sam Cardon, Anne Perry, Orson Scott Card, and other people rate mentions in the book. Unusual "things" include the SS Arizona, SS Joseph Smith, and the Mormon Meteor III, each with photo.

Also noted are events such as the creation of the first stake in a country or state, the opening of missions, and the groundbreaking and dedication of many temples.

Historians who already quibble over dates and events will have the same quibbles. The information for this book came from recognized and established histories of the Church. The selected bibliography includes 41 books, but most of the information came from four primary sources, plus the Church News, and several editions of the Deseret News Church Almanac series.

This book is diverse but not comprehensive. The authors note that some significant events do not come with dates (the First Vision and the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood, for example), and that some dates come with enough significant events to fill an entire volume.

Recognizing that limitation, this book is still fun. Because there are some "slow news days", many minor events in Church history have found their place. In fact, a few really obscure and interesting events in Church history are to be found in these pages.

This is a magazine table kind of book, fun to browse through when guests come to visit, a conversation piece, perhaps the source of a trivia question or two, fun and entertaining, and of no significant import unless you happen to do a short historical feature on a Church radio station each broadcast day.

So what happened in Church history on your anniversary, my birthday, or October 26th, to pick a few dates at random? Well, this book is a great place to start.

Larry Jackson
<lajackson@juno.com>