Encyclopedia of LDS Church history due out next year
(BYU) Daily Universe 27Jul99 L2
By Jennifer Robinson: NewsNet Staff Writer

A group of BYU religion faculty are compiling the Latter-day Saint Church History Encyclopedia, as it is tentatively named, a compendium of biographies and articles on significant people, places and events in LDS Church history. The book will also include articles on every state or country where the LDS Church has had a presence.

The project began last fall at the suggestion of Deseret Book, who approached Religious Education Dean Robert L. Millet, according to Department of Church History and Doctrine Associate Chair Arnold Garr. Deseret Book saw a need for an easily accessible reference on Church History.

Garr, professor Richard Cowen and professor Ronald Canon became the editors for the project. They have collected article topics and contacted almost 300 experts from all over the world to write articles for the book. Collectively, these authors will cover about 1,300 topics, according to Cowen.

According to Cowen, the biggest challenge was to get authors to respond to article requests. The project is now in its final weeks, and Deseret Book expects to release the encyclopedia next year.