A few weeks ago I got invited to attended a luncheon with Pulitzer Prize winning historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. I assumed a bunch of graduate students were invited, and I accepted the invitation with only the passing though of "She's actually kind of famous, for a historian, that would be fun." In the back of my mind I knew it was connected to a conference they are having tomorrow on Women in the LDS Church, but I didn't really think about it.
So I show up today to discover that am I one of only a fairly small number of students that got invited, and in addition beyond this amazing historian (who I was impressed with, she managed to be gracious even when skewering people) this small group also included Church Historian Elder Steven E. Snow. Elder Snow handled a difficult question with such humility and tact, while still being absolutely true to the gospel, that it made me delighted to be a member of the Church. I was a little star struck and am still not entirely sure why I was lucky enough to be invited. I even got to ask a question!
I also got to reconnect with one of my grad school buddies whom I look up to and who has meant a lot to me over the years.
Beyond the sheer amazement I had at being in a room with those people, the discussion was extremely interesting and relevant to a number of things I care about, both as a historian, an archivist and as a Mormon woman. It was one of those days that reminded me why I went into history in the first place.
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