David Oman McKay papers

Collection

Identifier: MS 0668

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The David Oman McKay papers (1897-1983) contain correspondence, diaries, notebooks, scrapbooks, speeches, and sermons relating to the personal and ecclesiastical life of David O. McKay (1873-1970), ninth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church/Mormon Church). The collection is divided into four sections and also contains materials relating to members of McKay's family.

The first section of the collection (boxes 1-2A) consists of correspondence dating from 1897 to 1936. The first seven folders of box 1 contain letters from David O. to his wife, Emma Ray, while the rest of the box holds letters between David O. and various individuals. The letters in boxes 2-2A concentrate on family matters. Most of the correspondence contained in these boxes is between David L., Emma Ray, and Lou Jean. Some letters from David O. and various other members of the family, however, can also be found here.

The second section (boxes 3-10) dates from 1897 to 1961 and consists of David O. McKay's diaries. For the most part, the diaries contain daily accounts of McKay about his ecclesiastical duties. The diaries in box 3 concentrate on McKay's first mission experience in Great Britain. They describe his journey to the mission field as well as various missionary experiences. Many of these experiences are duplicated in the letters (found in box 1) he wrote to his then friend and confidant, Emma Ray. The diaries in box 4 provide McKay's thoughts on the LDS Church and life experiences in general. He describes the weather conditions and provides notes, statistics, and minutes on LDS stake conferences he attended and presided over. Beginning with box 5 and continuing through box 10, the diary entries become scattered and shortened as McKay briefly describes his daily activities regarding his family and church callings.

The third section of the collection (boxes 11-18) consists of notebooks belonging to David O., Emma Ray, and Mildred McKay (daughter), as well as some miscellaneous materials of David O.'s and David L.'s. This section dates from 1897 to 1983. Boxes 11-13 contain notebooks with information on what transpired in various meeting and conferences David O. attended. These notebooks also contain letter drafts from David O. to various members of LDS stakes. Miscellaneous notebooks of David O.'s can be found in boxes 14-16. These include notes for talks and from trips, quotes, poems, notations, lists, and addresses. Notebooks pertaining to Emma Ray are in box 17. She includes letter drafts and detailed accounts of daily activities and trips she took. There is one notebook in the same box belonging to Mildred McKay where she makes notations about her trip to Europe with David O. and Emma Ray. Box 18 contains miscellaneous materials which generally are unrelated to any other section. These materials include Weber Academy letters, notes, membership cards, certificates, tax and insurance information, and travel documents and memorabilia.

The fourth section (boxes 19-107) consists of two addenda to the collection. These materials date from 1850 to 1970 and include scriptures, diaries, scrapbooks, speeches, and funeral sermons. The scriptures consist of a Bible and a bound volume of the New Testament. Included with the New Testament are LDS "Ready References" and John Jacques's Catechism for Children. The scriptures are undated except for an inscription in the Bible to McKay by his mother dated 1897. The rest of the materials in this section reflect McKay's years as a missionary (1897-1899), an apostle (1932), as a member of the First Presidency (1936-1951), and as president for the LDS Church (1951-1970). The missionary diaries are photocopies of the originals, which are in box 3 of the collection, while the rest of the diaries are typescripts prepared by McKay's long-time secretary, Clare Middlemiss. The scrapbooks are the originals and contain news clippings, photographs, letters, and various ephemera on McKay. Funeral sermons and speeches prepared by McKay, as well as various LDS temple dedicatory service materials, are also included in this section. Of interest is a scrapbook concerning the making of the motion picture, The Ten Commandments. Photographs of Mr. and Mrs. McKay with Cecil B. DeMille and Charleton Heston are included.

The original letters from boxes 1-2 were transferred to the Manuscripts Division Reserve Collection and photocopies have been placed in their stead.

Click here to view digitized materials from the papers or the links below.

Dates

1897-1983

Creator

McKay, David O. (David Oman), 1873-1970 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hours advance notice encouraged. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Some original items located in box 1 have been removed and placed in Reserve. Access must be given by the Manuscripts Curator and by appointment. An archivist must remain with the items if being used. Photocopies are available in the collection for research use.

Only photocopies of the original materials from boxes 20-71 are available for researchers.

Conditions Governing Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Biographical Sketch

David Oman McKay was ninth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His duties and services within the LDS Church were many throughout his life. He was ordained an apostle in 1906, was appointed as superintendent of the Deseret Sunday School Union in 1918, was named Church Commissioner of Education in 1919, was sustained as second counselor to President Heber J. Grant in 1934, was sustained as second counselor to President George Albert Smith in 1945, and was sustained as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1950. A year later, he was sustained as prophet of the LDS Church and served in that capacity until his death in 1970.

David Oman McKay was born on 8 September 1873, to David McKay and Jennette Eveline Evans in Huntsville, Utah. The third of ten children, David O., as he was most often called, learned the meaning of work as he helped his father on the farm. He also learned the value of service as he became the "man of the house" at the age of eight when his father left to serve an LDS mission in Scotland. These and other values he learned at home helped shape him for further responsibilities in life.

One of these responsibilities came in the form of education. David O.'s appetite for learning was evident throughout his life. He constantly quoted from the world's best literature and memorized many passages from the classics. His interest and background in such material led him to attend the University of Utah in 1893. At the time of graduation, he was president and valedictorian of his class. In 1897, he received a normal certificate from that institution making him a professional teacher. After graduation, he served a two-year mission for the LDS Church then accepted a teaching position at Weber Stake Academy in Ogden, Utah, one of several academies operated by the LDS Church. He was appointed principal there in 1902.

His educational activities did not stop there. Even after his appointment to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1906, David O. continued on as head of Weber Academy until 1908. He then served on that institution's board of trustees until 1912. He also served on the University of Utah's Board of Regents from 1921 to 1922 and the board of trustees for Utah State Agricultural College from 1940 to 1941. In 1919, after being appointed Commissioner of Education for the LDS Church, McKay discontinued the operation of the church's academies due to the growth of public high schools. However, where feasible, he turned those academies into seminary institutions for the purpose of week-day religious instruction.

Of course, mixed in with his educational duties, David O. was also fulfilling other services for the LDS Church. As an apostle, he traveled all over the world promoting missionary work and even serving as president of the European Mission from 1922 to 1924. He also encouraged church members to remain in their native countries so as to strengthen the church membership beyond the United States. As president of the LDS Church, David O. saw membership triple and oversaw the building of several new temples, including those in England, Switzerland, and New Zealand. He also allowed members of the Council of the Seventy to be ordained high priests so as to help the Quorum of the Twelve in their supervisory duties of stakes around the world. His accomplishments as apostle and prophet demonstrated his dedication to the LDS Church and to the welfare of its membership.

Outside of his church callings, David O. performed services in civic capacities as well. He was head of the Utah Centennial Commission that planned the 1947 pioneer centennial celebration, and, for most of his presidency, he held weekly breakfast meetings with the head of the Salt Lake Area Chamber of Commerce and the publisher of the Salt Lake Tribune. He did so to keep both parties up-to-date on church issues and topics of mutual interest. His non-partisan nature drew admirers from both religious and non-religious communities.

David O. McKay died in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1970.

Extent

52 Linear Feet (147 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Arrangement

Organized in four series: 1. Correspondence; 2. Diaries; 3. Notebooks; 4. Addendum.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Boxes 1-18 were donated in 1993.

Box 19 was donated in 2000.

Boxes 20-107 were donated in December 2000.

Separated Materials

See also the David Oman McKay photograph collection (P0807) and audio-visual materials (A0219) in the Multimedia Division of Special Collections.

Processing Information

Processed by Stan Larson in 1999.

Addendum processed by Lisa DeMille in 2001.

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