Acknowledgments

In 2005, Thomas R. Valletta, director of Curriculum Services for Seminaries and Institutes of Religion, and David T. Giles, manager of curriculum special projects, traveled to Logan, Utah, to visit with Kenneth W. Godfrey, who had retired from a long and distinguished career in CES. Ken and his wife Audrey, both published and respected historians, were asked to begin gathering materials and prepare a manuscript for a one-volume narrative history relating the development and influence of seminary and institute programs. The Godfreys accepted and the project was launched. Our initial expression of gratitude goes to Brother and Sister Godfrey for their labor and devoted service to the Church Educational System, their love of history, and their great ability to share that history with others.

Brother and Sister Godfrey worked closely with the Church History Department. We are grateful to Elder Marlin K. Jensen, formerly of the Seventy and former Church Historian, who arranged for them to do research in the Church archives, and to Jill Mulvey Derr and her staff, who responded to requests and made available various source documents that proved essential to our efforts. We express our thanks to Randall Dixon, a Church archivist, who kept a stream of material and information flowing from the Church History Department.

The publishing of this volume would not have been possible without the assistance of many talented individuals. Our thanks to Dee R. Darling and C. Malcom Warner, who read and submitted their valuable insights to the original manuscript. Thanks to Happy Lee Ditton for his dedicated efforts in checking endnotes and verifying sources. We convey our gratitude to David T. Giles, who first managed the project and coordinated the reviews. After Brother Giles retired, Robert A. Ewer assumed the managing responsibilities and saw the project through to publication.

Following the completion of the initial draft, Randall L. Hall, Casey Paul Griffiths, and Robert A. Ewer restructured the manuscript content into a chronological format. Brother Griffiths contributed additional historical content concerning the beginnings of the seminary and institute programs as well as material relating to Church schools. He also conducted numerous interviews, gathered photographs, and compiled the biographical sketches found in the appendix. Brother Hall, a former S&I associate administrator, was involved in extensive reviews of the manuscript and conducted research and a number of interviews. He also reworked portions of the initial draft and provided substantial historical material relating to chapters five through seven. We express our deep appreciation to these brethren for sharing their time, talents, and commitment to seeing this project through to completion.

Our thanks to Thomas R. Valletta, whose vision, counsel, and direction throughout the duration of this project have proven indispensable and have led to a significantly more viable product. Thanks to Ronald Schwendiman, director of the Publishing Product Management Division for Seminaries and Institutes of Religion, and Russell Cummings, product manager, for their organizational skills and guidance. Thanks to Stacie Ann Borneman and others for their meticulous work in securing copyrights and permissions for the photographs and quoted material used in the book. Thanks to Jennifer Hettinger for coordinating numerous schedules and preparing manuscripts for Correlation review and reconciliation.

Grateful appreciation is expressed to our lead editor Eliza Nevin, whose skill and expertise unfailingly guided this project. She was ably assisted with the various editorial tasks required for publication by a multitude of editors, especially Kathryn Tilby, Eva Olsen, Kathleen Skovran, and Heather Wood. To Jarrod Cain, our lead designer, and Scott Van Kampen we are indebted for the layout of the book and its attractive appearance. Special thanks to Brent S. Woodruff, Jennifer Ward, and our partners in the Publishing Services Department and the Materials Management Department, whose skills and resources were essential in completing this project.

We are grateful to Clyde J. Williams and the Correlation Review Committee for their valuable suggestions in refining and improving the quality of the manuscript.

We wish to acknowledge the work of many scholars who wrote dissertations and theses focused on various aspects of the Church Educational System and others, as appropriately cited in the endnotes of each chapter, from whose research we have greatly benefitted.