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David Tirado (right) and
Alan Lopez, who David trained, reviewing records in Lima’s National Archives
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For the past 26 years David Tirado has been photographing vital records for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Unknowingly, he has been helping a 100-year-old prophetic vision come true.
A statement made by Nephi Anderson, Assistant Secretary of
the Genealogical Society of Utah in 1911, has become the life’s work of David Tirado. Anderson’s dream, “I see the records of
the dead and their histories gathered from every nation under heaven to one
great central library in Zion—the largest and best equipped for its particular
work in the world.” (Ensign April 1982.)
When Nephi Anderson made this prophetic statement in 1911, neither David
Tirado nor his parents were born. Yet, for the past 26 years David has played a
critical role in bring the 100-year-old dream of Nephi Anderson to fruition.
David’s family joined the Church in 1960 when David was
just two years old. Lewis Tirado,
David’s father, had always encouraged his five children to keep the
commandments, work hard, and continue their education. At age 31, David was working
on one of the thousands of public transportation buses in Lima, Peru. His
evenings were spent at school pursuing his interest in graphic arts and
photography.
In 1985 David read a Stake News Letter posted
in his ward building. The letter
was soliciting interested members with a background in photography to apply for
a position with the LDS Church working in Vital Record Preservation. David applied and got the job. David was excited with his new position
and working for the Church was an added bonus. He had now expanded his vocational interest in graphic arts
and photography to begin photographing vital records for the Church. This was
something he had never expected.
David is now part of a worldwide group that
has collected over one billion genealogical records. David has led the way in
Peru accomplishing what seemed impossible just decades ago.
David introduced many Peruvian ecclesiastical
authorities to the LDS Churches’ program of vital record preservation. He was
among the first to prove his talents in archives through out Peru. He also became a skilled diplomat
winning the hearts of numerous Catholic Church leaders in remote area of the Peruvian
Mountains. Through his efforts he became the first to work in numerous Catholic
archives and record their precious records. Many church records he microfilmed were written during the
early 17th century.
These old records often required hours of work placing small fragments
of deteriorated pages into proper orientation.
David’s work as a record preservationist has taken him to
Peruvian provinces throughout the country. During 1995 David was photographing
in the capital city of Huamachuco in the Northern province of Sanchez
Carrion. The brutality and
violence of terrorist activity forced him from his work. With frequent
regularity Peruvian citizens were kidnapped from the streets of Huamachuco, and
never seen again. For the
protection of his young family, David reluctantly abandoned his projects, and
returned to the relative safety of Lima.
During his long career David has watched in
amazement and awe at the progresses of photographic technology and computer
science. Science has combined these technologies and advanced his craft beyond
his most optimistic dreams.
During his first years of work microfilm was the
only technology being used to capture records. David’s darkroom was a heavy black blanket draped over his
hands where film was processed, and prepared for shipment to Salt Lake
City. This final process was
accomplished without being able to see a single frame of film and all his
processing equipment was manipulated by touch within his improvised darkroom.
He often discovered that shipments of undeveloped microfilm had been opened in
route to Salt Lake City by would be thieves. The airport thieves, searching for
valuable items, would open and then discard the shipping containers of film
exposing the precious images to harmful light. Thousands of records and hours of David’s work would be
ruined in seconds.
In 2007 digital photography arrived in Peru
and David’s daily production of copied records tripled overnight. Since then
David has trained Senior Missionaries and others in his craft. Many of his students are now
photographing records in various parts of South America and other Peruvian
archives. His students are
successfully copying records with the skills learned under David’s watchful eye
and have benefited from his years of experience.
Today, you will find David working at the
National Archives in Lima where over ten million records are stored and waiting
for his camera. David arrives each
morning before 8:00 AM. His day
involves training, supervising, coordinating record preservation with
subordinates throughout Peru, working with National Archive staff, and reaching
a personal goal of capturing one million images in a single year. At 5:00 PM,
Archive employees depart at the end of their long workday and David is forced from
his primary goal of photographing records.
Each Friday records are prepared for shipping
and sent to Salt Lake City. David’s improvised darkroom is a thing of the
past. Today computer images are
transferred to large hard-drives and sent in specially designed locked
containers. Within weeks these computer
images are reviewed, indexed by church members living throughout the world, and
then made available on Family Search.org.
There are over ten million records waiting in
Lima’s archive. For David to
complete the work in Lima during his lifetime, he will need help. Lima’s
records and other are waiting to be photographed in Africa, Asia, and other
continents. More Record Reservation Missionaries are needed to light the path
for Family Search.
A small section of Lima’s Archives.
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