After an extensive five-year project, BYU's Harold B. Lee Library has now made available online more than two-thirds of its collection of missionary journals spanning over 130 years between 1830 up to the 1960s.

Photo by Jaren Wilkey/BYU

Susan L. Fales, curator in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections in the Lee Library at BYU, points to an entry made Nov. 14, 1909, by George Edward Anderson describing 3 1/2-year-old Mabel Clifford, who became Sister Fales' mother.

The journals are part of the library's L. Tom Perry Special Collections and 63,000 pages have been placed on the library's Web site in high-resolution color images side-by-side with their typed text.

Journals are arranged geographically by continents or island groups and include the Pacific, Asia, North America, Great Britain, Scandinavia and Western Europe — the largest representation of journals coming from the European missions.

The entries contain many experiences and reflections from prominent figures in Church history. Hyrum Smith's journal is the oldest in the collection and comes complete with images of the book's cover, which shows designs decorated by his mother, Lucy Mack Smith. Others include entries by Elder John Henry Gibbs, who was killed in 1884, and Sister Inez Knight — one of the first two single women called to serve full-time missions for the Church in 1898.

Susan Fales, curator of digital and historical collections for Special Collections, said placing a great part of the collection online will serve many more people with varying needs.

"There are so many people who will never be able to physically come here, and yet we have so many items that they might be interested in for their family history or historical value," she said.

One hundred and fourteen diarists were selected for the online collection based on their ability to be descriptive, introspective and revealing about experiences, people and places.

In one such entry Sister Inez Knight describes her feelings during her first few street meetings in England:

"Attended and spoke in street meeting....Still it seemed to me I was worse frightened every time I was called upon to talk.

"Oh those fearful trembling feelings I shall never forget, if I ever am free from them" (Allen, Inez Knight vol. 1, pg. 22, 1898-1899).

Sister Fales, who found her own mother's name mentioned in a journal by prominent photographer George Edward Anderson, said, "Family, cultural, social and religious historians will be able to use this collection for intense and deep research. At the same time, students...now have the opportunity to read and better understand the mission experience — the joys, sorrows and struggles that can change the lives of missionaries and the individuals they grow to know and love."

The project was funded by Angel Partners Inc., an organization that supports projects relating to the Church, with other contributions provided by the Harold B. Lee Library.

Those interested in viewing the online collection can visit: lib.byu.edu/dlib/mmd.

E-mail to: cmorales@desnews.com