Comments on: “The Day the Mormons Came”: A BBC Broadcast, 1956

By: Michelle Glauser

Michelle Glauser — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 15:00:33 +0000

I thoroughly enjoyed the piece and had to shake my head about them eating the trifle with such gusto that no one told them. Oops. Thanks!

By: Maurine

Maurine — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 02:11:13 +0000

The third president of the Hyrum [Utah] Stake was Danford Bickmore. He actually served in the Northern States Mission from 1898 to 1900. I don’t know whether he may have had a grandson or relative in England or not. I only mention this to show that there are alternatives to Daniel as the given name for Elder “Dan” Bickmore.

I don’t think missionaries today would show up with a baseball mitt and a basketball in arms, but who knows.

By: Roland California

Roland California — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 02:00:10 +0000

Great Article – Thanks Ardis.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 10:13:44 +0000

Good question, Hunter — how many times have I expressed public skepticism over some document and demanded provenance?

I have no doubt that the script itself is genuine and was broadcast over the BCC, even if it were to turn out that “Joe and Dan” were representative elders (I ordinarily would have identified them by full name, hometown, and at least birth year before using this on Keepa as I have done on similar posts in the past, except that my schedule and access to research materials has been irregular over the holidays). The script was submitted to Clifton G.M. Kerr, then (1956) president of the British Mission, and came to my notice because he sent it to Salt Lake.

I will send the citation for this piece to Hunter directly since he has raised the question, and am always willing to do that for regular Keepa commenters. Although I occasionally publish my sources on Keepa, I generally do not due to the informal nature of a blog: my posts are a byproduct of the research I do to earn my living. If someone finds Keepa because he is doing internet research for his own professional or academic project, I prefer that he contact me directly rather than silently and anonymously incorporating my work into his. (My “Murder in the Metropolis” series has drawn the most requests for citations from others working on the story, and my offer to share citations in exchange for comparable sources from their own research has been met universally with silence; were I to cite sources routinely, I have no doubt that my work would be used by such people without the slightest acknowledgement of my unwitting contributions.)

By: Hunter

Hunter — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 08:52:32 +0000

What do we know about the provenance of the script? Not to be a dark shadow on this, but isn’t there the possibility that the script is based only loosely on a real missionary companionship? I ask, because, I, too would like to know more about where this script came from. It’s absolutely delightful.

By: Tatiana

Tatiana — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 03:10:00 +0000

This is delightful. =)

By: Noray

Noray — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 02:13:43 +0000

My daughter went to school with a Bickmore from Sandy who is currently serving a mission, I believe. I hope he has as positive an influence on others as this Bickmore did.

By: Jami

Jami — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 01:16:00 +0000

What a great piece, Ardis! Thanks for sharing it.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 19:36:50 +0000

Well, now, that’s ADDITIONAL incentive to check the missionary index next week and find out exactly who our Joe and Dan really were!

(I owe 99.43% of whatever computer skills I have to a friend named Bickmore; based on his kindness, I want the entire family to have the best of reputations.)

By: Mark B.

Mark B. — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 19:12:17 +0000

That’s great Ardis. Thanks.

By the way, I wonder if the Elder Bickmore is related to the Barry Bickmore who makes his way around the apologetics crowd. (I’m hoping that it’s not the “Dan Bickmore” whom google turned up–he ended up doing four years for securities fraud!)