Understanding Church History By Study and By Faith

This entire article is an excellent read.  Here are a few points that I liked:

• As a historian, I’ve come to appreciate that we learn about history “by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118).

•  We must study the records that do survive while remembering that they do not represent the entirety of the past

• In the study of history, the absence of evidence is not a valid cause for doubt. Learning about the past is an effort of gathering as much trusted and, where possible, verifiable evidence while reserving final judgment on the portions of history that we are unable to fully understand because of the lack of information.

•  Frequently, so-called problems with the past are actually just bad assumptions made in the present.

• From our perspective today, we obviously know more than participants did about the outcome of the past, but we also know far less about their experience of living in it. The people who lived in the past belonged to their own times and places and circumstances. To have charity for their differences and empathy for their experiences, we must begin with humility about our own limitations.

Understanding Church History by Study and Faith, Ensign February 2017, Keith A. Erekson, Church History Library Director