Abstract

Thomas Bullock was intimately associated with leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than twenty-five years. He served twenty-one years in the Church Historian's office and also clerked in many city, county, and territorial positions, acting as scribe, clerk, and personal secretary to Joseph Smith Jr., Brigham Young, Willard Richards, and the Twelve Apostles. During this time he was privy to important events of late Nauvoo and early Utah Mormon history. His was a critical role in not only recording the history, but also in the gathering and preservation of historical documents. As a clerk Bullock frequently referred to himself as a man who was "doing my duty," and he surely fulfilled in his life the revelatory injunction: "It is the duty of the Lord's clerk, whom he has appointed, to keep a history, and a general record of all things that transpire in Zion." This essay will focus on how well Thomas Bullock fulfilled the duties he was given, particularly as they relate to his contributions to Mormon historiography.

Degree

College and Department

Family, Home, and Social Sciences; History

Rights

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