[Leonard Arrington]
.... Maureen [Beecher] received a letter of appointment as a writer for the instructional development group in the Church. The letter indicated this was a Church service position. She was to resign all other Church positions and it was signed by Bruce McConkie, Boyd Packer, Marvin Ashton, and Tom Monson. Maureen is now a Sunday school teacher with her husband Dale [Beecher] in her ward. We were all delighted with this appointment.
Later during the morning I learned that a condition had been attached. This was apparently passed on from Bruce McConkie to Earl Olson and from Earl Olson to me. This condition was that she not publish any articles in Dialogue or Woman's Exponent II or be involved or associated with them in any official capacity during the period of her appointment, which is "indefinite." The indefinite appointment suggests that she may be asked to write other manuals in addition to the Relief Society manual which she is to direct for the coming year.
Under the appointment she is to write a series of lessons about outstanding historical Relief Society personalities. This first draft is to be finished by May and the complete work is to be finished by September. At that time she may or may not be released from the group. I told Earl that I was sure Maureen would comply with the requirement. Maureen, of course, has had her article on Eliza R. Snow as an enigma accepted by Dialogue and they had planned to publish it in the next issue. She was pleased that it was to be published there. However, she telephoned Bob Rees and asked him to withdraw it. ... The most peculiar thing is that all members of the Twelve [Apostles] had signed her appointment before she had made any commitment in regard to Dialogue and Exponent II.
[Confessions of a Mormon historian : the diaries of Leonard J. Arrington, 1971-1997, Gary James Bergera, editor, Signature Books, 2018]
No comments:
Post a Comment