If it’s not recorded, it didn’t happen. This expression appears in many disciplines, including medicine, law, accounting, and athletics. It even appears, less helpfully, in references to social media.
Accurate records are important for multiple reasons, including:
- As a memory aid – King Benjamin explained to his sons, “It were not possible that our father, Lehi, could have remembered all these things, to have taught them to his children, except it were for the help of these plates” (Mosiah 1:4).
- To inform people who weren’t present – When Benjamin saw that not everyone could hear his sermon, “he caused that the words which he spake should be written and sent forth among those that were not under the sound of his voice, that they might also receive his words” (Mosiah 2:8).
- As a formal declaration – After Benjamin’s people verbally committed to serve God, he “thought it was expedient … that he should take the names of all those who had entered into a covenant with God to keep his commandments” (Mosiah 6:1).
This last purpose of records was important to Alma as he later worked to “regulate all the affairs of the church” (Mosiah 26:37). Those who chose to follow church teachings and repented when they fell short, had their names included on church records, while those who chose not to live by church guidelines had their names removed.
Moroni indicates that the same process was followed after the ministry of Jesus Christ. Those who were baptized “were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God,” while those who turned away from church teachings had their names removed. (See Moroni 6:4, 7-8.)
In September 1842, Joseph Smith wrote two letters to the Church on the topic of baptism for the dead. The main message of both letters is that recording a priesthood ordinance is an essential part of completing the ordinance. Quite literally, if it’s not recorded, it didn’t happen.
He quoted from Revelation 20:12, which says that at the Final Judgment “the books [will be] opened; and another book [will be] opened, which is the book of life.” Joseph indicated that “the books” in this passage refer to our earthly records, while “the book of life” refers to the heavenly record. Both are essential.
Then, he spoke of Matthew 16:18, 19, where the Savior promised Peter, “whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Joseph again applied this promise to the keeping of records:
Taking a different view of the translation, whatsoever you record on earth shall be recorded in heaven, and whatsoever you do not record on earth shall not be recorded in heaven; for out of the books shall your dead be judged,
Doctrine and Covenants 128:8
What are these earthly records which will have such eternal significance? Obviously, priesthood ordinances like baptism or eternal marriage are kept on official Church records. I think our journals and personal histories will also qualify. Wilford Woodruff, who kept a daily journal for more than 64 years, wrote:
I seldom ever heard Brother Joseph or the Twelve preach or teach any principle but what I felt as uneasy as a fish out of water until I had written it. Then I felt right. …
It may be considered by some not important to write or keep a record of our work or the work of God, but I believe it is. Otherwise, the Prophets would not have been moved upon to exhort us to faithfulness upon this subject. The Lord has told us that what we seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven and what we record on earth shall be recorded in heaven, and what is not sealed or recorded on Earth is not sealed or recorded in heaven. Therefore, it appears to be very important that we do keep a true and faithful record in all things. While walking in a rapid stream, we cannot tread twice in the same water. Neither can we spend twice the same time. When we pass out of that door, the work of this meeting will be closed to us forever. We shall never spend the time of this evening again. Then should we not keep a record of our work, teachings, and counsel which we give in this meeting? We should.
Journal of Wilford Woodruff, March 17, 1857, spelling and grammar normalized
Today, I will update my journal and recommit to keeping a faithful record of the important events in my life. I will remember that the records I keep may have eternal significance.
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