ajames wrote:Are we supposed to keep a copy locally, or is it sufficient to send our annual history to SLC only?
simonawright wrote:The need to look at the old histories is probably a rare event but there are some occasions when it is desirable.
I guess that would depend on two things...
1) If what you save in your histories is relevant, both as a record of the past, and an inspiration to the future
2) If stake members know that relevant items are kept in those histories, and they are accessible.
For example, I don't believe we need to "re-invent" every stake activity. In our stake, many items happen every two or three years, like a stake youth conference, or a "parade float committee." When they roll around again, they are generally "big" deals. The people who worked on it last time are often released and a new bunch of people are called. How nice it is for the "new" planning committee to look at what was done in the past from the histories. The more detailed info that was saved, and pictures that were saved, the better....
Even looking backward at yearly items such as a relief society dinner, or more frequent items like stake conference, or leadership training meetings, are valuable as we look at past topics, speakers and insights as we plan new ones.
It works on a ward level, too. Perhaps we look at histories to often as an archive only, and not a document more like the scriptures, that can continue to give inspiration and guidance from events in the past. If we lock them away, or send them away, or don't collect them with an eye to the future uses, we lose an opportunity.
