Elder Andrew Jenson
"The Savior, as we have seen, spoke very plainly to [the Nephites], commanding them to record those things which He had spoken unto them and also that which had been predicted by one of His servants, many years before.
"So it is with the Latter-day Saints. We are here in the midst of a dispensation that is of greater importance than any former dispensation the Lord has ever opened upon the face of the earth, and the Lord has commanded us to write down the things that transpire in our day, that we also may make a book or books of remembrance, a Bible or a testament, to be handed down to future generations, to be read by our posterity in all ages to come.
"As the Lord commanded His people in former dispensations, He has also told us to make records; for he 'commands all men' to write His words." (Collected Discourses, Vol.5, January 20th, 1895)