Item Detail
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30787
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0
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0
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English
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The Pleasures and Problems of Growth, 1920–1940
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Hearts Turned to the Fathers
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BYU Studies
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1994
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34
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2
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Provo, UT
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Brigham Young University
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91-130
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[1995 Mormon Historical Association Winner for Article Award of Excellence]
By 1920 the twenty-six-year-old genealogical society had
won a permanent and prominent place in the official programs of the Church. Nearly every ward and stake had a genealogical organization temple attendance was increasing, and the expertise of the society staff was always in demand by people who came to do research. Genealogical leaders were continually quoting the prophet Joseph Smith's statement that 'the greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead," and they seemed determined to emblazon that attitude upon the conscience of every latter-day saint. Nevertheless, only a handful of saints in most wards were devoting much time to genealogical research although the number of members heeding the persistent call for genealogical work was growing gradually.