Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
475677970
label
Mormon Church
core
doc
dtoType
document
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
475677970
contentType
document
title
Mormon Church
citationUrl
identifierLocal
47
collections
Records of the White House Office of Public Liaison (Reagan Administration)
Morton Blackwell's Religion Liaison Files
imageCount
1
hasImages
yes
source
import
hasTranscription
no
Source extras
naId
475677970
levelOfDescription
fileUnit
recordType
description
ocrSource
nara-archive
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
document
mediaId
8381623f452b114e
ocrText
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Digital Library Collections
This is a PDF of a folder from our textual collections.
Collection: Blackwell, Morton: Files
Folder Title: Mormon Church
Box: 37
To see more digitized collections visit:
https://reaganlibrary.gov/archives/digital-library
To see all Ronald Reagan Presidential Library inventories visit:
https://reaganlibrary.gov/document-collection
Contact a reference archivist at: [email protected]
Citation Guidelines: https://reaganlibrary.gov/citing
National Archives Catalogue: https://catalog.archives.gov/
THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
47 EAST SOUTH TEMPLE STREET
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 84111
GORDON B. HINCKLEY
October 4, 1982
Honorable Ronald Reagan
The White House
Washington, D.C.
Dear President Reagan:
Thank you for your gracious letter of September 27th concerning
your recent visit to Utah, including your visit to one of our
welfare program canneries in Ogden.
Please be assured that it was our honor and pleasure to visit
with you on that occasion. We hope that you may have the oppor-
tunity of coming again soon.
As the Chief Executive of this great nation we hold you in high
esteem and remember you constantly in our prayers as you carry
the tremendous burdens of your office.
Sincerely,
Kardon Gordon B. Hinckley minuary
September 29, 1981
It is a special honor for Nancy and me to extend our greetings and
affection to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints as you meet in your 151st Semi-Annual General Conference.
May we also extend our affection to President Spencer W. Kimball,
your beloved leader. He has our prayers, and we hope he soon will
be back In the church office building, pacing the Mormon world
in the important work that you do.
I remember very well the morning President Kimball came to visit
me in the Oval Office not long after Nancy and I had arrived in
Washington. He brought me d very lovely gift which I have often
referred to as the gift of my past. It was a book tracing my
genealogy.
Now I realize that genealogy is something of great consequence
to all of you. But I was never able to find out much about my
lineage on my father's side because he was orphaned at an early
age.
So, again, I thank President Kimball for his thoughtfulness, and
I thank all of you, too, for I know that many of you here in Salt
Lake City participated in this project. You have made me very
happy, and now I am able to respond 0 bit more authentically to
the letters I receive from long lost Reagans all over the country.
I never knew there were so many ways to spell Reagan.
Your Mormon Tabernacle Choir was with US for the Inauguration,
and I must say I envy you your proximity to this magnificent voice
of the American spirit. It is no wonder that you go about your
work with such cheerfulness and conviction.
2
One of my favorite scriptures is from the 106th Psalm, verses
two through five, and I would like to share it with you:
"2. Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can shew
for th all his praise?
3. Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth
righteousness at all times.
4. Remember me, o Lord, with the favour that thou bearest unto
my people: O visit me with thy salvation:
5. That I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in
the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance."
As you know, we in the United States today are faced with the
very immediate challenge of returning our nation to economic
health.
In the months and years ahead, the values which you Mormons hold
so dear -- the importance of your families and religion, prayer,
love and support for this nation, hard work, personal discipline,
and the tradition of neighbor helping neighbor -- must be fostered
and strengthened throughout the Republic.
I seek your help in this, for I believe, as you do, that our Heavenly
Father set US here in this blessed and bountiful land to make the
experiment of freedom work.
May God bless all of you.
Sincerely,
Sent via Express Mail to:
The President's Office
The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints
47 East South Temple Street
Salt Lake City, Utah 84150
RR:Livingston:ba
cc: H. von Damm/ D. Livingston M. Blackwell (FYI)/CF
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
March 12, 1981
MEETING WITH SPENCER W. KIMBALL
FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 1981
THE OVAL OFFICE
10:00 A.M. (15 MINUTES)
$
FROM: ELIZABETH H. DOLE
I. PURPOSE
Spencer W. Kimball, president of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) V, will present you with
genealogical records on your family.
II. BACKGROUND
A. The genealogical records will include information on
your paternal line in the U.S. back to the 1850's and
information on your maternal line. (DeBretts Peerage in
England is covering your paternal line before the 1850's.)
B. The Church places great emphasis on families and
genealogical research and encourages people not only to
seek information about their ancestors but also to
write their own personal and family journals and histories.
C. President Kimball, who will be 86 on March 28, traveled
15,000 miles in the South Pacific February 9 to 23 and has
been traveling since February 28. March 14 he will attend
the funeral of his sister Alice Kimball Nelson, mother of 12,
in Arizona. He is the only surviving child of his parents.
D. Further background on the Church is attached.
III. PARTICIPANTS
Spencer W. Kimball
D. Arthur Haycock, Secretary to President Kimball
Gordon B. Hinckley, Council of the Twelve
W. Don Ladd, Regional Representative of the Twelve
Richard S. Beal, Deputy Assistant to the President
IV. PRESS PLAN: Photo opportunity.
V. SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
A. Photo of you and Spencer W. Kimball and genealogical records.
B. Group photo.
C. Discussion.
Attachment: Further Background
FURTHER BACKGROUND
Welfare services and preparedness programs:
The personal and family preparedness standards stress: (1) Literacy
and education, (2) career development, (3) financial and resource
management, (4) home production and storage, (5) physical health,
and (6) social-emotional and spiritual strength.
Needy members are encouraged to seek assistance from family and
Church, rather than the government, and to work, as they are able,
for assistance received.
Members are encouraged to plant gardens and also to store one year's
supply of food, other necessities, and if possible fuel, as they
are able, depending on local circumstances and laws.
The Church was organized April 1830 through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
President Kimball is the prophet today, the successor to Joseph Smith.
Current membership: 4,700,000 members worldwide (3,265,000 in
the U.S.) and 12,591 congregations in 81 countries.
Scriptures of the Church include: The Bible, the Book of Mormon,
the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.
Missionary program:
30,000 missionaries serve in 188 missions worldwide 24 months.
Missionaries are supported by themselves or their families.
Health code:
Members strive to live by good principles of nutrition, exercise,
and physical fitness, including abstinence from coffee, tea,
alcoholic drinks, tobacco, and harmful drugs.
Family emphasis:
Members hold family home evening each week.
Couples are married in temples for time and eternity.
Nineteen temples are in operation, nine announced or under construction.
The Washington D.C. Temple is the largest.
Women's organization:
The women's organization, the Relief Society, was organized 139
years ago by Joseph Smith on March 17, 1842. It has 1,500,000
members (1,054,500 in the U.S.) and may be the largest women's
organization in the world.
Children's and youth programs:
The children's Primary has 650,000 members, and there are extensive
programs for teenagers and Scouts.
THE CHURCH OF
file Mormors
JESUS CHRIST
church
OF
LATTER-DAY
SAINTS
SPECIAL AFFAIRS
Twenty-fifth Floor
50 East North Temple Street
Salt Lake City, Utah 84150
Phone (801) 531-3539
March 23, 1981
Morton C. Blackwell
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. Blackwell:
We appreciated very much your assistance to President
Spencer W. Kimball and his party during the "Roots"
presentation to President Reagan at the White House
on March 13th.
It is our understanding that your White House staff
role includes liaison with churches. In our role at
Church Headquarters in Salt Lake City, we perform a similar
function for the Mormon Church as the contact point with
various governmental groups.
On any matters which involve a possible church position on
an issue of concern to the religious community in general,
we would be pleased to discuss such issues of common
concern with you.
We wish you well in your new assignment.
Sincerely,
Richard P. Lindsay
RPL/cbe
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
file Veligious Svoupe
MEMORANDUM
DATE
2/24/81
TO:
ELIZABETH DOLE
*****
FROM:
GREGORY J J NEWELL
SUBJ:
Approved Presidential Activity
Please take the necessary steps to implement the following
and confirm with Helene von Damm, ext. 2699. The appropriate
briefing paper should be submitted to Dick Darman by 3:00 p.m.
of the preceding day.
Meeting: with Spencer W. Kimball, President of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Mrs. Reagan Participation:
No.
Date:Friday, March 13
Time: 10:00 am
Duration: 15 mins
Location: Oval Office
Exess Coverage: Coordinate with Press Office.
***** Background material attached.
Purpose: To be covered in briefing
paper.
Note: Following the President's meeting, please submit a con-
Vilmed list of actual participants, including staff or Admin-
istration attendees to me. Include full names and business
titles for non-White House participants.
CC:
Michael Deaver
Elizabeth Dole
James Brady
Craig Fuller
David Gergen
Peter McCoy
Joseph Canzeri
Nina Wormser
David Fischer
Jennifer Fitzgerald
Richard Darman
Helen Donaldson
Richard Williamson
Mabel Brandon
Ken Khachigian
Larry Speakes
Decision/Making/Information
Intelligent alternatives
for today's decision makers
Approve 10:00
5317 Lee Highway, Arlington, Virginia 22207, (703) 241-2406
An
3/13
February 16, 1981
12
mar B
10:00 Am
Mr. Michael K. Deaver
15min
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mike:
Per our conversation on Thursday the 12th, I would
be most grateful if the President could spend 10-15 minutes
with Spencer W. Kimball, President of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints.
President Kimball wishes to extend his best wishes
and to let President Reagan know that he is remembered frequently
in the prayers of the Latter-day Saints.
Thanks so much for your help.
Cordially,
Richard B. Wirthlin
ce
Dr. Richard B. Wirthlin
President
Decision Making Information
CC: Greg Newell
RBW/cc