In 1972, Arrington was called to serve as the LDS Church Historian, although he was not a General Authority. But Arrington's attempt to publish New Mormon History through the Church Historian's office met stiff resistance from members of the Quorum of the Twelve, specifically Ezra Taft Benson, Mark E. Peterson, and Boyd K. Packer, who according to D. Michael Quinn "shared a suspicion of what was going on in the historical department and misgivings concerning Leonard's appointment." Some of Arrington's subordinates were not allowed to publish through church organs or imprints, and they were eventually removed. Privately, Arrington wrote, "Our great experiment in church-sponsored history has proved to be, if not a failure, at least not an unqualified success." In 1982, the First Presidency sent Arrington a personal letter releasing him from his call as church historian, and the release "was not publicly announced in General Conference." The East Wing of the Church Office Building contains a gallery of portraits of all the church historians—except for Arrington. According to Quinn discussing Arrington as the LDS Church historian "Leonard became the fall guy ... and the apostles blamed him for everyone who was disturbed or upset or embarrassed about something that they read based upon research that was done since 1972."