The restoration of Historic Kirtland Village was among the earliest of the Foundation’s efforts. Eventually, the Church assumed responsibility for the project, and, when it was completed, it was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley.
You may already be familiar with them, but, if not, I would like to introduce to you an organization that I admire tremendously: the Mormon Historic Sites Foundation.
All my life, I’ve been exceptionally and acutely aware of the transience of people and things, and yet, at the same time, very conscious of the continuing presence of the past. I care very deeply that historic buildings not be lost, that historically important sites be preserved.
People who lose their memories forget who they are. This is, I’m convinced, as true for communities as it is for individuals.
I had thought that an organization like the Mormon Historic Sites Foundation needed to exist; it was only comparatively recently that I discovered that, in fact, it did exist.
There’s urgency to this work. Historic houses and buildings and places are often deteriorating, neglected, threatened by development. And, even when they’re not, they’ve rarely been properly constituted to be the places of teaching and reflection and memorialization that they can be. And there are a number of such places beyond the United States, where Mormon history has been made.
Browse through the site. Look at the Foundation’s excellent journal. See whether this is a cause to which you might be able to contribute. Or, at a minimum, consider joining and subscribing.
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