Review

Title: Confidence Amid Change: The Presidential Diaries of David O McKay, 1951-1970
Editor: Harvard Heath
Publisher: Signature Books
Genre: Documentary History
Year Published: 2019
Number of Pages: 867
Binding: Cloth
ISBN: 13: 978-1560852698
Price: $60.00

Reviewed by Andrew Hamilton for the Association for Mormon Letters, March 4, 2019

In the late 1980’s when the Joseph Smith Papers Project was just a gleam in Dean Jesse’s eye and when the doors to the “Camelot” period of researching documents in the LDS Church History archives that was started in the 1970’s by Leonard Arrington seemed to be closing for the foreseeable future, Signature Books pioneered and practically invented the art of LDS Documentary publishing when they released An American Prophet’s Record: The Diaries and Journals of Joseph Smith. An American Prophet’s Record (which fetches a high price on the used book market these days) was the first volume of Signature Books’ “Significant Diaries” series which would eventually encompass thirteen volumes released between 1987 and 2013.

In 2016 Signature Books again ventured into the forefront of important Mormon diary and journal publishing when they initiated their “Legacy Series” with the release of Thirteenth Apostle: The Diaries of Amasa M. Lyman, 1832-1877. Now the second volume in the Legacy Series, Confidence Amid Change: The Presidential Diaries of David O McKay, 1951-1970, edited by Harvard Heath, is available for purchase.

Near the beginning of his brief introduction, Heath summarizes some of the reasons why the David O. McKay diaries are so important. Among these reasons are: the idea held by the authors of the diaries (McKay himself and his secretary Claire Middlemiss) that their creation was a “sacred duty” (p. vii), that as the “second monogamous president” McKay’s administration occurred in a church that “no longer (had a) preoccupation with polygamy” (p viii), McKay’s “idealization of courtship and marriage” (p. ix), his connections with local and national politicians, his push for more funding of BYU and education, his concern for international church members, and even McKay’s clean shaven image and personal style. These are just a few of the reasons why the McKay diaries are an extremely important resources for the studying of twentieth century Mormonism.

Due to these reasons, plus McKay’s length of tenure and position as LDS Church president in the middle of the 20th century, I do not think that it is exaggerating to say that his diaries are to modern Mormonism what Wilford Woodruff’s diaries are to early Mormonism. Even though Confidence Amid Change is just a small slice of the whole,[1] Heath sliced it well. With his research, knowledge, and editing skills Heath has served up a book that will provide a feast to anyone who wants to know David O McKay’s deliberations and thoughts and why “modern Mormonism” is what it is.

There is no way for me to tell you all of the goodies that are in this fine tome, but let me whet your appetite with a few of the things that really excited me in the book. When Greg Prince’s Rise of Modern Mormonism came out nearly 15 years ago, one of the stories that fascinated me was when he told of a time when, as president of the LDS church, McKay allowed Reverend Arthur W Moulton, retired Bishop of the Episcopal Church, to lay his hands on him and give him a blessing. McKay likewise blessed the reverend. This all occurred when McKay paid Moulton a personal visit in Moulton’s home on the occasion of McKay’s 78th birthday. Prince pointed out in his volume that such a blessing was very unusual due to the LDS church “not recogniz(ing) the sacraments of any other church.” He further stated that “For an LDS church president to consent to…such a blessing was extra ordinary – perhaps even unique in all of LDS history”[2]. Prince quoted from McKay’s diary to tell this story, but he quotes just a few lines. Confidence Amid Change gives the full story in McKay’s own words. It’s a two-page story and every word is beautiful. I am a better person for having read it. That is just one tiny story among many that give insight into the loving and Christ-like nature of David O. Mckay.

Every entry in this book is likewise priceless and all give glimpses and insights into moments of interest in LDS history. Heath had to be picky when he chose what to include and he chose well. Here are a few other interesting and fun things I learned from this volume. David O. McKay was a fan of Douglas MacArthur and had his “Old Soldiers Never Die” speech recorded so that the general authorities could listen to it. McKay had what is sometimes called a “lead foot.” On October 4th, 1951, McKay did something that had never been done before in LDS history: he told the other general authorities ahead of time when they would be speaking in General Conference. McKay definitely did not like the United Nations and he was not afraid to express his feelings about this and numerous other political topics, though he was also very clear that the Church as an entity should be neutral on political matters. He was very concerned about how to handle the creation of a modern retirement program for LDS church employees. These are just a few of the lighter matters that you will come across in this volume.

Confidence Amid Change also contains many important entries describing discussions and deliberations of very serious matters about LDS doctrine and practice. If you have ever wanted to be a “fly on the wall” during the meetings of the LDS church’s top leaders, you now have the chance. One thing I found very interesting was that in their discussions, the first presidency and apostles were so formal that they seemed to be following a version of “Robert’s Rules of Order” with motions being submitted and “seconded” before being discussed and voted on. In your reading of these meeting notes you will come across discussions that you might have already expected including meetings about Bruce R. McConkie’s Mormon Doctrine, Ezra Benson’s involvement with the John Birch Society, Ernest Wilkinson’s political machinations and desires to expand the LDS school system (along with his own power), how much power and authority the LDS “Presiding Patriarch” should hold, and many issues of race and civil rights. At one point, in an attempt to be very clear on church doctrine and procedure, McKay and his counselors spent some time discussing whether the extra counselors that McKay had called were counselors “in” OR “to” the First Presidency!

Another thing about this book that absolutely fascinated me was to see how often McKay, who was a champion of freedom and agency (both politically and doctrinally), struggled and agonized over how involved LDS authorities should be in controlling and dictating what church members should do. For example, within the first 15 pages of the book the First Presidency discusses if they should counsel the Auerbach Company (owned by LDS members, but not owned by the church) to not sell or promote a book by Samuel W. Taylor. Shortly after that they contacted a member of the church who worked in Hollywood and encouraged her to contact a script writer whose parents were members of the church and get him to kill a project based on Juanita Brooks’ Mountain Meadows Massacre. On other occasions McKay contacted the governor of Utah and encouraged him to appoint certain men to certain positions within the state’s government.

I will mention and quote one entry in a little detail because a related story has been getting attention on social media. On February 20, 1952 McKay recorded:

“I called attention to a growing tendency in the Church to feel that no member of the Church should hold the sacrament [trays] while he himself partakes of it; further, that it is a breach of proper procedure to partake of it with the left hand. The brethren felt that we should keep away from formalities and leave it to the custom or development of the custom. They felt that while the partaking of the sacrament is a covenant [and] that it is the custom to use the right hand in making covenants, failure so to do would not vitiate the covenant.” (p. 28)

This is an interesting contrast to a recent recording of Dallin Oaks that was made in a sacrament meeting. After the sacrament was administered he made the following comments:

“I had an impression from the spirit of the Lord to teach something each of you and particularly to the young men…I saw something in sacrament meeting…that told me that some of you don’t understand something…The sacrament is an ordinance of the gospel…it needs to be done exactly right…when we partake of the sacrament we partake with our right hand, not our left hand. And today I saw quite a few of the deacons take the sacrament with their left hand. Don’t do that.”[3]

I won’t pretend to know what this difference means. Some might say it means nothing, some might say that LDS leaders have become more dogmatic in the last seventy years. To me it shows the value of Heath’s work and of Confidence Amid Change as a resource for studying change, and development of doctrine and practice in the modern LDS church. I would hope that scholars and amateurs alike who are preparing future symposium sessions and journal articles on changes to Mormon practices and the development of doctrine and policy of the LDS Church will utilize this book. If they don’t their scholarship will be incomplete.

If I had any criticism about this book it would be that the introduction was surprisingly brief. Harvard Heath’s introduction is excellent, but it is only 10 pages long. Three pages establish the diaries provenance and Heath’s history with them (this is all very fascinating, by the way), one page gives the editorial approach, and one page gives acknowledgments. This leaves only about five pages to contextualize all the contents of the diaries and all of President McKay’s ministry. I realize that at nearly 900 pages this is a very thick book and at $60.00 the price is already on the highish side. I am grateful that Signature was trying to keep the cost from being any higher. The footnotes are extensive and extremely helpful (I will definitely not discount them) and there are many biographies on David O. McKay that would make great companions to this volume.

I would highly recommend reading Confidence Amid Change in companionship with David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism by Greg Prince. Prince used these diaries in the writing of his book and the two really do go hand in hand. But with all of that said, I must admit, I would have appreciated a little bit more detailed volume introduction.

In current parlance, if I had to “Tweet” or “Hashtag” a brief description of David O. McKay’s 19 year, mid-twentieth century ministry, Confidence Amid Change and The Rise of Modern Mormonism would be the perfect descriptions. Discussions of change are on nearly every page of these diaries and David O. McKay’s confidence and personality are as well. Changes in the world and the confidence and decisions made by McKay during those years turned a Utah church into the world-wide Mormonism that exists today. Development during the McKay years in relation to revelation, doctrine, temples, church structure, educational development, scriptures, involvement in the political process, and so much more continue to shape the Mormonism of the 21st Century. The reading of the McKay Presidential diaries are essential reading for any historian, Latter-day Saint, or interested party who wishes to understand modern Mormonism. I highly recommend this volume and look forward to the next release in Signature’s “Legacy” series.

[1] At just over 800 pages Confidence Amid Change may seem long, but a fully published set of McKay’s journals which are in the works through Kofford Books is projected to take about 10 volumes.

[2] David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, Greg Prince, University of Utah Press, 2005, pp 108-109

[3] Dallin Oaks, recording on YouTube, 2019