2025 Arrington Lecture Celebrated Legacy of Church Historians

LOGAN — This fall, Utah State University Libraries hosted the annual Leonard J. Arrington Mormon History Lecture, which drew more than 200 attendees to the Russell/Wanlass Performance Hall on Sept. 18.

The 2025 lecture featured acclaimed historian Richard E. Turley Jr., whose presentation titled "Team History: The Latter-day Saint Historical Enterprise, 1986-2025" explored the transformative power of collaboration in researching and presenting modern Latter-day Saint history.

Turley, former managing director of the Church History and Family History Departments of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, highlighted the collective efforts behind many of the church’s landmark historical initiatives over the last four decades.

Jennifer Duncan, dean of libraries, praised Turley's message: “Particularly as a librarian, I loved Rick’s sharing the impressive accomplishments of our colleagues in the Church History Department and all the many ways they are working to preserve our shared past for future researchers. Their work is a true gift to society.”

The Leonard J. Arrington Mormon History Lecture is hosted annually by USU Libraries to honor the legacy of Leonard J. Arrington, a pioneering historian and former Latter-day Saint church historian. The lecture series invites leading scholars to share original research that deepens public understanding of the Latter-day Saint past.