Special Collections Library Visit

This week we had the chance to visit the BYU Library Special Collections. It was absolutely amazing to see in such amazing books and learn about the arduous task of making just one single book. In fact, that is the part that really stood out to me: There were people so dedicated to learning that they would go through the entire publishing process of writing things by hand in perfect detail.
I got to hold some of the books that were written over 500 years ago. Some things were even older than that, but I didn’t get to touch them. They were written in perfect, equally spaced lines and then the absolute care was taken into using beautiful handwriting that must have taken years to develop. I think the history of the books is a story in and of itself, as in, how well these books were cared for and how well they are still preserved. Is it just me, or does it seem that these old documents have somehow carried with them all of the personalities, words, desires, and characteristics of the people who made them and preserved them?
I also was deeply impressed by the books that were printed by the printing presses throughout the ages. We got to see and handle some of Gutenberg's original documents, as well as a first edition copy of the Book of Mormon. It was special to contrast that with the handwritten predecessors published by the dedicated Monks that came before mass production was an option. All of these had their own unique sentiment attached to them. Now that I’m sitting here typing this blog post, I have suddenly realized that the Lord had a direct hand in all of this. He let blessings come down to this earth to help bless His children by the majesty of these inventions. For centuries, dedicated followers of Christ demonstrated to the Lord their devotion, and their understanding of the importance of sacred writ. Because there were people ready and willing to receive light, God began His work through the service of these Monks and Nuns, and then through the jeweler, Gutenberg. Even from the earliest eras we know of, we see that God’s children have understood that there is a point to record keeping. And not just record keeping, but also the development of papyrus, and animal skins, then paper, now digital, and who knows what’s next!
Honestly, I don’t think that the visit would have been complete if our guide didn’t show us the video of “The Medieval Help Desk” at the start. If you haven’t seen it, the link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQHX-SjgQvQ

We have so much, and we understand a lot in our times. But we still have a long way to go!