Marlin K. Jensen

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Marlin Keith Jensen (born May 18, 1942) has been a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since 1989 and has been the twentieth official Church Historian and Recorder of the church since 2001.

[edit] Biographical background

Jensen was born in Huntsville, Utah. As a 19-year-old, he served as a missionary for the LDS Church in West Germany until 1964.^[1] He graduated from BYU with a B.S. in German.^[2] He obtained a Juris Doctor^[2] degree from the University of Utah College of Law in 1970^[3], graduating first in his class.^[1] At the relatively young age of 28, he served as a bishop of his ward in Huntsville, as had both his father and grandfather.^[1] Later, he also served as a Stake President.^[1] In 1987 he became a Regional Representative for the Kaysville Utah and Layton Utah regions.^[4]

Jensen married Kathleen Bushnell on June 9, 1967 in the Salt Lake Temple. They are the parents of eight children.^[1]

Professionally, Jensen was an attorney in private practice in Ogden, Utah, specializing in business and estate planning.^[2] This supported his real passion of living a farming lifestyle.^[1] His family operates a ranching enterprise called Jensens' Middle Fork Ranch, in which he is a partner.^[5]

[edit] General authority

In 1989, Jensen became a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy at the age of 46.^[6] In 1993, he was made assistant executive director of the Church’s Priesthood Department.^[7] From 1993 to 1995, while a general authority, Jensen served as the mission president in the New York Rochester Mission of the church. In 1995, Jensen became a member of the Church's Public Affairs Committee.^[8] By 1997, he was Executive Director of the Church Historical Department.^[9] He served in the First Quorum of the Seventy until 1998, when he became a member of the Presidency of the Seventy. Jensen was in this position until 2001, when he was asked to succeed John K. Carmack as Church Historian and Recorder. In 2000 and 2001, Jensen was the general president of the church's Sunday School.

Jensen is one of the few general authorities of the LDS Church who self-identifies politically as a member of the Democratic Party.^[10]

[edit] Area Presidencies

Jensen has served in various Area Presidency positions. As a new Seventy in 1989, he was counselor to John K. Carmack, president of the Utah Central Area.^[11] Then from 1990 to 1992, Jensen served as president of the Utah North Area. He later served as a counselor to, then president of the North America Northeast Area from 1995 to 1998, as well as the Europe Central Area from 2001 to 2003.

[edit] Church Historian

Jensen has been Church Historian and Recorder since 2001, and Executive Director of the Church History Department since 1997. In these roles and as a church official, he has spoken at General Conference, BYU Women's Conference (1998), BYU Family History and Geneology Conference (2006), Northern Utah Family History Conference (2006), Yale's American Society of Church History (2007), and the Mormon History Association Conference (2005 and 2007). Jensen has also notably attended various conferences, including the Library of Congress' Worlds of Joseph Smith Symposium (2005) and UVSC's Mormon Studies Conference (2008).

Several major developments have ocurred during Jensen's leadership over the church's history department.

• Department merge: On June 1, 2000, the church's Family History Department and Historical Department were consolidated into the Family and Church History Department. Jensen had been Executive Director of the Historical Department and continued over the new body.^[12]
• Joseph Smith Papers Project: In 2001, the LDS Church and BYU created the Joseph Smith Papers Project, intended to revise and expand on the longtime work of Dean C. Jessee. Eventually the project expanded into a 30-some volume, multi-year effort endorsed by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission of the National Archives. In 2005, Jensen said this was "the single most significant historical project of our generation".^[13]
• Church History Library: Plans were finalized in 2005 to build a new 250,000-square-foot, 5 floor building near Temple Square to house the church archives and history department staff, and to be open to the general public in 2009.^[14]
• Researchers return to archives: From 1980-1982, the church moved the History Division of the Historical Department to Provo, Utah, to become the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History at BYU.^[15] In late 2004, discussions began about returning researchers to the LDS Archives to increase pace and reduce costs in the Joseph Smith Papers Project. In June 2005, the Institute was closed and the staff moved to church headquarters and in 2009 will relocate again to the new Church History Library.^[16]
• Church Historian's Press: On February 25, 2008, a new imprint called the Church Historian's Press was announced as the long awaited publisher for the Joseph Smith Papers. Jensen mentioned the press could be used to publish George Q. Cannon's journals or other documentary works, and perhaps someday narrative histories and biographies that make use of the Church Archives.^[13]
• Department separation: On March 12, 2008, the Family and Church History Department was divided into the Family History Department and the Church History Department.^[17]
• New Assistant called: On March 12, 2008, when the Church History Department was formed, Richard Turley was called as the first Assistant Church Historian since Davis Bitton was released in 1982.^[17]

[edit] Major statements

Jensen has at times addressed the press and public as a church representative. While not always official church positions, his statements illustrate his views as a mainstream leader in the LDS Church. Some view his public candor as a refreshing change from the often tight-lipped public image of general authorities.

[edit] Political parties

On April 22, 1998, Jensen was sent by the First Presidency to give an interview with the Salt Lake Tribune in reaction to a recent First Presidency statement^[18] and to explicitly state that someone could be a devout Mormon and a member of the Democratic Party.^[8] He lamented Utah's Democratic Party decline, and regretted that the Republican Party might be seen the "church party". In addition, he felt that good Latter-day Saints will have conflicts and must pick and choose from either party's philosophy.^[8]

Coming from a church official on assignment from the First Presidency, the comments surprised many prominent Utah politicians and Latter-day Saints.^[19]

[edit] The Mormons (PBS)

Jensen featured prominently in the 2007 PBS documentary The Mormons. His March 7, 2006 interview probed a variety of subjects, including some controversial topics.^[20]

• Doubt: Jensen describbed doubting after his mission because of philosophy classes, and having to "test [his] belief against...other theories". This led him to study deeply to reinforce his faith.
• Correlation: "We are really trying to take account of cultural differences and to not feel that this Utah influence or even the American influence has to be worldwide."
• Folklore of the priesthood ban: Jensen recalled his attempts to have the church repudiate the rationale behind the priesthood ban.^[21]
• Historical truth claims: "I think we take it very literally. We don't deconstruct and feel that what we have is the figment of language or our imagination, or that there is some middle ground. I know that is very polarizing. In a sense, I think the hardest public relations sell we have to make is that this is the only true church."
• Homosexuality: Jensen said the gospel allows either heterosexuality or celibacy. He sympathized with celibate gay members, since the church cannot offer them hope of eventually finding love, as it can with single heterosexuals.
• Faith-promoting history: Jensen questioned whether the Church Historian should only focus on reinforcing faith or also on "objective" histories.
• Excommunicable doctrines: Jensen mentioned that members may receive disciplinary action in supporting gay marriage or opposing Book of Mormon divinity, if they are "openly vocal about that, and in the process malign the leadership in the church for not adopting that position".

[edit] Illegal immigrants

On February 13, 2008, Jensen urged the Utah State Legislature to show compasion in considering laws that would affect undocumented immigrants.^[22] Several bills were under debate to block undocumented access to jobs and public benefits, like in-state tuition and driving privilege cards.^[23] On behalf of the First Presidency^[24] at Westminster College's Interfaith Dialogue on Immigration, Jensen said lawmakers should "take a step back" since this "deal[s] with God's children" and "a more humane approach is warranted"^[22].

[edit] Historical openness

In a February 25, 2008 press release about the new Church Historian's Press publishing the Joseph Smith Papers, Jensen outlined on how to approach church history. He felt LDS historians should "not be in an apologetic mode, but to be as open, candid and fair about our own history as we can". They should foster a culture of mutual openness with the general historical community. Jensen observed "greater dialogue coming about, less suspicion and a greater openness that is coming to pass".^[25]

[edit] FLDS Polygamy

On May 5, 2008, Jensen officially responded to Timothy Egan's New York Times op-ed piece which claimed that FLDS polygamy "is a look back at some of the behavior of Mormonism's founding fathers"^[26]. Jensen strongly disagreed and pointed out that by 19th century norms a 15-year-old bride was not unusual nor considered abused, and the "common-law marriage age for women was 12". Plural marriages were "not controlled by the authority of one individual" and "the consent of individual women was always honored in any marriage proposal". In addition, many 19th century polygamous wives were well educated, politically active professionals. ^[27]

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• “Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the First Quorum of the Seventy”, Ensign, May 1989, 91.

[edit] External links

• PBS Interview with Marlin K. Jensen
• Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages: Marlin K. Jensen

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