Elder Steven E. Snow serves as both as a senior Church leader and as Church Historian and Recorder for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Reid L. Neilson is the Assistant Church Historian and Managing Director of the Church History Department. Lindsay Dil and his wife Tina are the Church History Advisors in the Pacific.
The historians toured the Public Records Offices in Melbourne and Sydney where Church volunteers work together to gather and catalogue Australian records to be preserved for future posterity.
Missionary gatherings occurred in Melbourne and Sydney with the leaders, providing opportunities for a question and answer format discussion on early church history, as well as learning about the importance of keeping our own personal histories.
On Saturday 21st April, members who were baptised in the Sydney area prior to 1960 were invited to a reception to meet Elder & Sister Snow, Brother & Sister Neilsen and Brother & Sister Dil. These early members of the Church shared memories and stories of their baptism into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Allen Murren reflected, “This is the first gathering that I can recall where these current living pioneers were invited to come together to be thanked and honoured.”
Pictures and posters of timelines of the history of the Church included names of all those who had been baptised in the early years in Australia.
Diane Morris, Ron Westbrook and Kent Scott shared their missionary memories with each other. They were three of the four missionaries that served their missions in the USA from Australia. Missionaries usually came from the United States to foreign countries including Australia, but this all changed in April 1961 when four missionaries from Australia were called to serve in the United States.
Pacific Area Church History Advisor Lindsay Dil remarked, “The goal of Church history worldwide is to collect, preserve and share information and physical items that help us remember and inspire future generations.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a worldwide Church with a membership 15.9 million with 148,862 members in Australia.
- President Checketts Greeting Elder and Sister Snow
- Elder Snow with Elder Steven Dinger and Brother Ron Westbrook
- Friends Reflect on Life Long Memories
- Brother Murrin and Elder Snow
- Lindsay and Tina Dil Area Church History Advisers
- Sister Snow and Sister Dinger
- Friends Reunite
- Elder and Sister McSweeney Greeting Joy Murrin
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