It's the Maxwell Institute podcast.

I'm Blair Hodges.

You've heard the saying, those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

You might already believe that history matters, but how much time have you spent really

thinking about why it matters? Margaret Bendroth has spent a good deal of her life trying to

remember and trying to help others remember the past. She is director of the Congregational

Library in Boston, Massachusetts, and a historian of American

religion. In this episode, we're talking about her short but stunning book, The Spiritual

Practice of Remembering. If you like what you're hearing or if you have a question or comment

about the Maxwell Institute podcast, you can reach me at MI Podcast at BYU.edu. And thanks for listening.

Margaret Bendroth, welcome to the Maxwell Institute podcast. Thank you. And I'm told that your friends call you Peggy. Can I do the same? I have always been

called Peggy. Okay. Great. We're talking today about a book that you wrote called the spiritual

practice of remembering. And to give people a sense of your background, you're director of the Congregational Library

and Archives in Boston.

So I imagine as the director, you're prepared to give a little tour guides pitch for that

institution.

Let's hear it.

Absolutely.

Thank you.

Someone said it's a shameless plug.

Yes.

But the Congregational Library and Archives was founded in 1853, and it is kind of for congregationalists,

...