Special Collections

For this past week in class we went to the Special Collections area of the Harold B. Lee Library to receive a lecture on the history of writing and preserving records. It is amazing to me the measures that people would go to in the past in order to write something down so that it could be preserved for at least a period of time. It was amazing to see how writing evolved. From rocks, to animal skins, to paper, it is clear that they would use just about anything they could to be able to preserve, or communicate, what they had to say.
What really struck me though is how much we take the ability to read, write, and keep records for granted. Looking at the texts before the printing press, it is incredible to see how perfect the writing was, and how much time they took to make it look beautiful. During Roman times, they had the metal plates which they would engrave in. The Egyptians made papyrus. And even then, there were only some who could actually read and write. It was an opportunity that few had to be able to truly preserve a record or a history. Today we have pens and paper at our finger tips. I am able to sit at my computer and write my personal history, or anything else that I want. We have text messaging capabilities and e-mail. Do we really ever stop and think about how lucky we are to be able to so easily read or write. It made me realize a little bit more why we are encouraged to keep a journal and other histories. I’m sure that many of my ancestors would have given anything for the opportunities that I have now. To be taught from a young age how to read and write, and yet what am I doing with it?
I also realize how grateful I am for those who were educated, and did choose to write things down. Although we couldn’t see their original works, I am grateful for the prophets from the Book of Mormon and the Bible for keeping their records. Because of them, and the work of others, I am able to read the word of God as He gave direction to His prophets. Thanks to their faithfulness, and the technology that allows for mass production of these materials, I am able to study their words. And why? Because there were faithful people over the years who kept and preserved these sacred records. This trip to the Special Collections Library really helped me to understand how grateful I am for the time that people put into keeping records, and what a responsibility I have to keep records for myself.