Chapter 3

Graceland College

Like the Great Lakes Mormons, everyone else is concerned with their own identity. In the 1990s, one of the strongest domestic challenges to the LDS Church, which has explicitly Christian beliefs, has been to overcome being identified as a non-Christian church. The RLDS Church has grappled with its own barriers to acceptance into the broader Christian community, and has adapted its position to be ecumenical.

In the RLDS world view, ecumenical means unity with churches larger than itself. Consider, for example, the retirement reflections of Richard Howard: "I made a major policy change--to open the library and archives to anyone pursuing serious research objectives. This included all people, without reference to religious affiliation or personal biases."(1) In the same era of his self-assessed enlightenment, Howard continued to write history by derogatorily labeling Great Lakes Mormons as "schismatic" and as "the Strangite faction."(2)

Conceding that the RLDS had a shared heritage with me from the smaller Great Lakes Mormons was clearly not what the RLDS intended when they became ecumenical. Rather, the RLDS Library and Archives had an aversion to patronage from people like me. For that purpose, Howard had another policy. He convened a special meeting with Ron Romig, his archivist, and Diane Shelton, the librarian at the RLDS-sponsored Graceland College, specifically to plan strategy about me and my research at their respective libraries. Shelton was later asked: "What do you remember about the substance of your conversation concerning John Hajicek with Dick Howard?" She responded:

We were discussing access to materials at the archives down there and here and rules and regulations that libraries are currently trying to enforce, to restrict access or to permit free access to materials and the advantages and disadvantages of both . . . We just generally discussed the fact that John had been at the archives there, that John had been here; and our general feeling about John, whether he was trustworthy or not--That we weren't really sure that he was.(3)

The issue in the forefront is whether there was reasonable cause then to wonder about my trustworthiness. Shelton demonstrably formed an image after being influenced by extraneous information. First, she was unable to offer any specific examples of any wrongdoing. Second, there was no personal characteristic to lead to suspicion--and she even complimented my demeanor when depicting me as a: "Good looking, pleasant young man, pleasant smile. Talked kind of rapidly."(4) Third, her statement of distrust is entirely irreconcilable with the association that I had with Graceland College. In 1988, for example, she wrote to me at my home in Tampa, Florida: "I am interested also in what materials you have," she said. "Could you send us a detailed list? . . . perhaps we could arrange for us to obtain copies of your papers."(5) When I then traveled to Lamoni, Iowa, she sent a letter of thanks:

I'm so glad that I had the chance to meet you Tuesday when you stopped at Graceland. Doing research for someone is much more fun when you have met the person. I hope the materials we had will be interesting and helpful to you in your research.

I would be very interested in obtaining copies of the materials you have on Warren Post. We do need to preserve this kind of history, and I think your information would benefit our Restoration History Collection. Please send us copies when you get the chance, and enclose a bill for copying charges. We will then send you a check for those charges and to cover postage.

I hope you have the opportunity to come back again and do some more research--maybe a new topic will catch your interest.(6)

Further, the distrust by Howard, Romig, and Shelton is incompatible with the evidence of my record of philanthropic contributions to both Graceland College and the RLDS Church. In 1989, I donated three copies of the Book of the Law of the Lord to Graceland College--the same title as that of the book they afterwards claimed to lose--because they already lacked any copy. For recognizing the importance of such a title in their collection, I received a letter saying that they "appreciate your gift of these documents."(7) In 1989, I also donated various books to the RLDS Church, and received a letter from Romig saying "Thank you for your consideration in placing these items with us," and later another letter saying "It was nice visiting with you in my office today. Thanks to you again, for your consideration in placing the following items with the RLDS Library-Archives. . . . Your thoughtfulness will make these items available to future users of the Library-Archives."(8) In 1990, the RLDS librarian said, "This letter is to acknowledge receipt of the gift copy . . . It has been accessioned as noted above and will be available to all interested researchers. Thank you for this donation."(9) In 1992, she wrote: "I appreciate your generosity . . . Thank you very much for this significant contribution to our collection of materials."(10) In 1992, Graceland College gave me a heavy case of exceedingly rare books that an elderly woman donated to the library, but that were duplicates of books the college already owned. Shelton said that I dealt "ethically and honestly" during all transactions.(11)

Even toward the latter months of 1993, Howard wrote, "I have just spent an enjoyable hour with John Hajicek, looking over his rare books and archival and manuscript materials. . . . He has built a fine array of holdings, and is caring for them very well."(12) The RLDS librarian wrote: "Thank you for your generous donation of books to the Library-Archives. We do not have copies of these particular ones and appreciate your willingness to share them with us."(13) In the midst of those 1993 flatteries, the trio of Howard, Romig, and Shelton were already having those meetings about how my minority religion might make me unethical--but the letters of appreciation demonstrate my genuine character or say something about their own.

Affirming that commonalities of heritage existed was the foundation of trouble for me so far back as 1982, when I began my book about the history of the Great Lakes Mormons during the period in which it overlapped RLDS history.(14) Then, when I began a company that photographically reproduced rare books printed by Joseph Smith Jr. in the 1830s and 1840s (free of copyrights), and advertised those books in the Independence Examiner in December 1990, the RLDS Church formally asked me to quit, probably because they mistook my history-based objectives.(15) My research continued to be a source of consternation between the librarians and archivists at the RLDS Church, when I began to compete with the RLDS Church for scarce resources in rare books and manuscripts related to our joint heritage. Then Romig addressed a letter to me in which he admitted concern over my success as a historian:

Your presence at our facility invariably creates a delicate tension. However, you usually constrain your activities within acceptable bounds. So, I, along with other staff, have maintained as cordial and gracious a relationship as possible in our work with you. . . . We have thus exercised an uneasy and at times potentially beneficial tolerance of your activities.(16)

Romig's oxymoronic expression, "beneficial tolerance," is an indicator of multifarious sentiments. If my activities had been unethical or untrustworthy, then Romig was saying that he tolerated unethical activities because he thereby derived benefits. However, since my activities were ethical, then Romig's strained tolerance signified actual intolerance from an unrelated attribute of my identity. He continued to use that intolerance as the basis for malicious slander, in concert with his firm denials:

Rather than making negative statements about you to prospective clients or other historical repositories as you assume, I have referred one researcher to you since your visit. I believe in networking and in putting persons in touch with the best historical sources possible.(17)

Contrary to his claim, and acting as an agent of the RLDS Church, he continued his defamation of me to innumerable researchers. He did not perceive that some were better friends with me than with him, and that they would relay his stories to me. Then the library and archives created a "Biographical File--John Hajicek" available to the public, and inadvertently referred my own wife to the file. He began to cause us severe financial damage with the malicious slander.(18)

Sara Hallier Nyman, a Kansas City Public Librarian and former co-member of the staff to whom Romig referred, eventually disclosed under an oath that the trait that so anguished Howard, Romig, Shelton, and her, was astoundingly just my cultural background:

I had no reason to wonder about him in any way. He's a clean-cut, nice-looking fellow. . . . But he came in and looked up our material on James Strang, who was a faction after Joseph Smith [Jr.] died in Illinois in 1844. Everything he used over there had to do with James Strang and what we call the "Strangites" in Voree, Wisconsin. . . . And it's a little strange when people come in and want that kind of thing--to me. But, you know, I had no reason to suspect, you know what I mean?

. . . I don't know whether you want to go back to why I did become suspicious of him. . . . we were always--the archivist [Ron Romig] and I both, were always a little leery of these people who represented these small little groups. . . . Now, you know, this is personally me. This registered with me when I read his name there, realized I knew him, and always thought it was strange that "Why would someone be researching this little obscure, nobody left group, never was much to begin with?" I'm always kind of suspicious. But, see, I'm deeped [sic] in this. . . . But I had no reason to accuse him of anything over there.(19)

Nyman spent more than a decade in the library and archives, and she apparently failed to notice from where the roots of her own church came, she developed no tolerance of people from other cultures, she missed her church's stated mission of "Dedicated to the Pursuit of Peace," and she lacked the proficiencies of an expert historian. She did not plan then to accuse me, she said, but the substructure was certainly being designed to end my research. Eventually, her colleague, Romig, resorted to an explicit warning to me: "For your continuing success, you are more dependent than perhaps you realize upon the good will of the community of historical repositories."(20)

Several months later, on 6 April 1993, Romig heard again from associates at Graceland College. There, a library volunteer said that the library no longer possessed a copy of the second edition of James Strang's Book of the Law of the Lord (the library had periodic book sales). He clarified that he did not know when it was last seen, and that I had not been there since the prior year, 3 April 1992.(21) Romig knew more--he knew (1) that I had been advertising in Independence that I would pay one hundred dollars for that common title, (2) that one fourth of the students at Graceland College lived in the Independence area and could potentially see the advertisements, and (3) that if anyone had the book they would most likely sell it to me. Romig had two alternatives: He could either alert me that the book was stolen so that I would not buy it, or else he could keep quiet and snare me.

Sufficiently stated, when I next saw Romig in May 1993, he did not say a single word--but he took the opportunity to discreetly inspect my copies of the first edition Book of Mormon to detect that they possessed no library stamps. Perhaps he perused farther than the preliminaries and into the Mormon narrative, for Romig seemed to mimic the impatience that Laban, the wicked archivist, had for the Nephites who shared a legacy, as related in the Book of Mormon: "And behold, it came to pass that Laban was angry, and thrust him out from his presence; and he would not that he should have the records. Wherefore, he [Laban] said unto him: Behold thou art a robber . . ."(22) Within the same month, Romig's assistant, Barbara Bernauer, used price guides, bibliographies, expert consultants, and competitive offers to decide that I pay more gold and silver for Mormon books than anyone in the country, and sold me some books inside a retreat of the RLDS Temple, after speculating with others against my honesty, and treating me with haughtiness.(23) Again they demonstrated the dualism between their intolerance of me and benefits derived from me--between capitalizing on me and accusing me of theft.

1. Richard Howard, "Three Life Blessings," Saints Herald, September 1994.

2. Richard Howard, The Church Through the Years, Volume 1: RLDS Beginnings, to 1860 (Independence, Mo.: Herald Publishing House, 1992), pp. 309-11, 313, 327-30.

3. Deposition of Diane Shelton, 23 December 1994, 8:12 - 9:2, emphasis added. Shelton emphasized that this meeting regarding Hajicek occurred before any accusations of theft (8:16 - 10:13).

4. Deposition of Diane Shelton, 23 December 1994, 69: 19-24.

5. Diane Shelton, Director, Graceland College Library, to John Hajicek, 11 October 1988.

6. Ibid., 1 December 1988, emphasis added.

7. William Russell, Chairperson, Division of Social Science, Graceland College, to John Hajicek, 11 March 1989.

8. Ron Romig, Church Archivist, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to John Hajicek, 17 January and 3 March 1989.

9. Patricia Struble, Librarian, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to John Hajicek, 2 August 1990.

10. Ibid., 28 April 1992.

11. Deposition of Diane Shelton, 23 December 1994, 13: 7-12.

12. Richard Howard to John and Alta Topham, 25 October 1993.

13. Sue McDonald, Church Librarian, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to John Hajicek, 6 December 1993.

14. See L. Madelon Brunson, Archivist, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to John Hajicek, letter file from 1982-1988, for examples of early resistance to my research.

15. Thomas Bennett, The Presiding Bishopric, Office of General Council, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to [John Hajicek], 20 December 1990. The letter is carbon copied to Dan Potter, general manager, Independence Examiner, indicating cooperation between the two organizations. See also Oscar McConkie, Office of General Counsel, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to [John Hajicek], 17 December 1990, for a same-week indication of parallelism between the LDS and RLDS churches.

16. Ron Romig to John Hajicek, 4 December 1992.

17. Ron Romig, Church Archivist, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to John Hajicek, 9 March 1993.

18. See Appendix: Essay on Selling Mormon Books.

19. Deposition of Sara Hallier Nyman, 2 March 1995, pp. 7-8, 11-13, emphasis added.

20. Ron Romig, Church Archivist, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to John Hajicek, 4 December 1992, emphasis added.

21. Journal of John Hajicek, 29 March to 3 April 1992.

22. Joseph Smith Jr., trans., "First Book of Nephi," The Book of Mormon (Nauvoo, Ill.: Printed by Robinson and Smith, 1842), p. 12 (LDS 1 Nephi 3:13 or RLDS 1 Nephi 1: 71-72), emphasis added.

23. Barbara Bernauer, Inventory of Books, 31 March 1993, with price guide annotations and price precedents, faxed via Dennis Sharier, RLDS Central Purchasing, to John Hajicek; and Barbara Bernauer, Bill of Sale for Books Sold to John Hajicek, 27 April 1993.

Book Copyright � 1995 John Hajicek.  All rights reserved.