Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History

The Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for LDS History was created in 1980, after it was decided that a university would provide a better setting for research and publication. Before then it was a Church Historian's Office, reorganized into the Historical Department of the Church headed by Leonard Arrington. The primary responsibility of the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for LDS History is to research, write, and publish Latter-day Saint history from the perspective of faith and according to the highest scholarly standards. The Institute Faculty also teach courses in history, LDS Church history, and other disciplines related to their fields of expertise and advise students whose major papers, theses, and dissertations address Mormon history topics.

From the description of Records, 1829-2005. (Brigham Young University). WorldCat record id: 62200068

The Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History was a department at Brigham Young University that researched, wrote, and published Latter-day Saint history.

The Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History was created in 1980, after it was decided that a university would provide a better setting for research and publication. Before then it was a Church Historian’s Office, reorganized into the Historical Department of the Church headed by Leonard Arrington. The primary responsibility of the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History was to research, write and publish Latter-day Saint history from the perspective of faith and according to the highest scholarly standards. The Institute Faculty also taught courses in history, LDS Church history, and other disciplines related to their fields of expertise and advise students whose major papers, theses, and dissertations address Mormon history topics.

From the guide to the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History records, 1880-2005, (L. Tom Perry Special Collections)