Glenn Rawson, building historical programs for CBS television on the Joseph Smith papers, the history of the LDS Church, and the westward migration of the Mormons and others, gave the keynote address. He stressed the importance of reading the original sources written by the ancestors in their own hand. Instead of “drinking downstream from where the cattle cross the crick.”
Each one of us is entitled to make our own interpretation of the records rather than having to rely on someone else’s reading. You need the actual words your ancestor wrote to capture their emotional tone and their nuances of feeling. And Rawson gave example after example to illustrate this important concept.
Think about it–selected and digested and summarized and abstracted.
How do you know their reading and understanding are accurate? How do you know that the record written in German was read with German understanding?
An amazing beginning to an awesome program–one of the best that Holly Hansen has presented in St George. Your favorite genealogist, Arlene Eakle
PS Stay tuned!