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Precious Highlights in President Spencer W. Kimball’s Journal
Located, described, linked, and dated by Dennis B. Horne

    

by | Apr 15, 2023 | 4 comments

Pearls . . . gems . . . nuggets . . . whatever you want to call them. Probably 98% of President Kimball’s diary (thousands of pages) is tedious in the general sense of being notations about meeting itinerary, travelogue, mission tours, ordination names, and weather reports. But the remaining fraction is more precious than jewels to the spiritually literate and appreciative, and to those that love the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Finding pearls made wading through the rest of it worth it. A church email account is needed to access the diary.

The below pages contain a date, then a brief description of a journal item, followed by a link to the page it is on. These often run into more than one page, sometimes many. So keep reading or clicking the right arrow until you are sure you have exhausted the subject. Sometimes this means clicking that right arrow to get past a letter, pictures, newspaper clippings, or other intervening items. Sometimes words, lines, paragraphs, and even entire pages are redacted (blacked out; this is material considered sacred, private, and confidential). I have had some links change on me, so I also included dates to find if the links don’t quite get you there.

The entries can be candid. Elder Kimball called sin just what it is, sin. A running theme in the diary is Elder Kimball’s constant counseling of members with moral problems, especially homosexual activity, adultery, and other marriage problems. I have noted a few of the more detailed instances below, but the problems he faced in working with these people were constant and an emotional and spiritual strain and drain on him more than all else he did.

Not all items below are of lofty spiritual significance. Some are merely of interest as church history and administration. We get to be the fly on the wall for certain meetings where sacred and sublime things are said or done as only prophets can. In my judgment, a few of them reach to such heights as could offer the possibility of canonization if the Lord so desired. To me, one cannot read such things without being inspired and knowing the restored Church is led by prophets and apostles and is indeed God’s restored work.

I had not planned on posting this highlights index until I noticed that some enemies of the Church were slandering everything they read, doing their utmost to cast a negative slant on a prophet’s (actually) superb record. These doubters just don’t understand. This Apostolic record-keeper was a Special Witness whose belief was contagious. He lifted and blessed everyone around him (that would be) all his life. While he counseled and worked with doubters and unbelievers, he strove to help them rid themselves of such and replace it with faith and repentance and cleanliness.

President Kimball did create something of an index himself that he put at the front of most journal volumes, but one could argue about how useful it is according to what one is looking for. I could wish the diaries contained less of his movements and more of what went on and was said in temple meetings.

I estimate that only a tiny percentage of church members and historians will ever read any significant portion of the diaries, which makes this highlights index helpful as a way to find what I, and perhaps others, would consider the best parts—sifted from so many thousands of pages. And with this index being as long as it is, perhaps only a small percentage of it will be reviewed—but for those who love the same sweet things I do, I hope it will be of some use in delivering precious pearls, gems, and nuggets of the highest value:

 

by | Apr 15, 2023 | 4 comments

About Dennis B. Horne

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Dennis B. Horne grew up in south Davis County and he served in the Independence Missouri mission. He attended BYU and Weber State Universities, earning a degree in Communications. After working in television broadcasting for a number of years he became a technical writer for the LDS Church Material Management Department. He became an independent researcher/author because of his love of church history and doctrine. This pursuit led him to write a biography of Elder Bruce R. McConkie, an edited publication of the diaries of Abraham H. Cannon, and biographies of President Lorenzo Snow and Orson F. Whitney. He also wrote about callings to serve in the church, the doctrine of giving healing blessings, and a compilation of the teachings of prophets and apostles about how to determine doctrinal authority. He has twice presented at the BYU Church History Symposium. His articles occasionally appear at "truth will prevail," "Interpreter," and "FAIRMormon."

4 Comments

  1. Stephen Marshall
    Stephen Marshall on April 25, 2023 at 9:11 pm

    This is a fine collection. Thank you for the work and effort that went into this. I have a question. Some of the journal entries are in quotation marks, such as the one cited for 4/22/80. Do you know what the quotation marks mean? Do you know if Pres. Kimball is quoting from someone else or whether he dictated that part of his journal?

    Reply
    • Dennis Horne
      Dennis Horne on April 26, 2023 at 7:06 am

      My best understanding is that the material from 1977 to the end is taken from journal notations made by Pres. Kimball’s secretary, Arthur Haycock as summarized by Edward Kimball (Pres. Kimball’s son). However, there are some few entries in quotation marks where Ed’s notations indicate he thinks they are quotations from Pres. Kimball himself. I think the one you mention is probably a quotation from something written by Haycock in the diary.

      Reply
  2. James
    James on April 15, 2023 at 9:51 pm

    I think it would be wise to get rid of Dennis Horne’s commentary, “nut-job deluded relative”, “messed up young man who likes to wear women’s underwear:” among other rather unsavory judgements. I am interested in Spencer W. Kimball impressions, not Dennis’. Thanks

    Reply
  3. John
    John on April 15, 2023 at 12:11 pm

    This is amazing! Thank you for doing this!

    > some enemies of the Church were slandering everything they read

    This is so annoying. As I study the scriptures I sometimes want to discuss things with people. For example, recently while studying Matthew 13, I thought I saw a chiastic type structure in the text that I can’t find in any commentaries or other sources I checked:

    A – Matt 12:46-50 His Family
    B – Matt 13:3-9, 18-23 Parable of the Sower – How do we respond to the word?
    C – Matt 13:24-30 Parable of the Tares – tares are separated out and burned
    D – Matt 13:31-32 Parable of the Mustard Seed – growth of the kingdom
    D’ – Matt 13:33 Parable of the Leaven – growth of the kingdom
    C – Matt 13:36-43 Parable of the Tares – weeping and wailing by tares separated out
    E – Matt 13:44 Parable of the Hidden Treasure – great value of the kingdom
    E’ – Matt 13:45-46 Parable of the Pearl of Great Price – great value of the kingdom
    C’ – Matt 13:47-50 Parable of the Net – weeping and wailing by bad fish separated out
    B’ – Matt 13:51-52 Parable of the Scribe – Those who have responded positively to the word
    A’ – Matt 13:54-58 His Family

    Is this a true structure put in by Matthew or something I’m reading into the text? I’d like to discuss it with like minded people. It isn’t the kind of thing you can bring up in Sunday school. I don’t have anyone in person interested in discussing this with me. The obvious thing to do is discuss it with people online, but there isn’t really any place to do that since every place is immediately overrun by enemies as soon as they become aware of its existence. There really isn’t anywhere that faithful believing members of the church can discuss things like this.

    Reply

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