This article was originally written by Scott Facer Proctor for Meridian Magazine. The following is an excerpt.
Introduction
This month we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the landmark publication of Elder James E. Talmage’s Jesus the Christ. Most of us have been greatly influenced by this wonderful book. Many tie their testimonies of the Savior to their first reading of this book. Others have made a life-long study of Talmage’s work. It is required reading for missionaries. No book in our culture, save the scriptures, has been sold or distributed wider. It truly is a foundational work. What better way to celebrate this most amazing and sacred publication than to announce the ‘production’ of the Second Century Edition! Let me explain why I purposely used the word ‘production’ rather than publication.
Background
A few years ago we were sitting in our office and we received a call from our dear friend, BYU Professor D. Kelly Ogden. He wanted to float an idea past us. He said, “You know, in a few years it will be the 100th anniversary of the publication of Jesus the Christ, have you ever thought about putting together a new edition? If so, would you like to work together on it?” Well, yes, we had been thinking about it since we had completed new editions of Lucy Mack Smith’s history in 1996 and Parley P. Pratt’s in 2000. We were very excited about the idea and we were also very excited to work with Kelly.
Kelly Ogden’s life seemed to be destined to center in the Middle East and specifically in Israel. His master’s degree was in the Hebrew language and his PhD was in Middle East studies. He and his family lived in the Holy Land for a dozen years. He was the first associate director of the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies and he served twice as the branch president of the Jerusalem Branch. Kelly has literally walked the length and width of the country of Israel, coming to know the trails, the roads and hills, valleys and plains of this place where Jesus walked. Being with Kelly in Israel is like being with a walking, talking encyclopedia. Yes, we wanted to work with Kelly on this project!
I spent part of my growing up years living in Ankara, Turkey and then traveling extensively throughout the Middle East. In my American school in Ankara, traveling was encouraged and counted as an excused absence. We took advantage of that. My first trip to the Holy Land was just two months before the Six Day War in 1967. Maurine and I have been traveling regularly to the Holy Land since the late 80’s. We go there every year and sometimes many times a year. It is like a second home to us. We have dear friends in every quarter. Walking through the Old City of Jerusalem is like a homecoming.
Read Proctor’s full article at ldsmag.com.
