Dean Cornell Jessee[1] (August 29, 1929 – December 31, 2025) was an American historian of the earlyLatter Day Saint movement and leading expert on the writings ofJoseph Smith Jr.
In his career, Jesse was a respectedarchivist, editor and historian, as well as an authority on early Mormon handwriting.[7]Davis Bitton called him one of the "[Mormon] historians who are deeply familiar with the sources on Mormon origins [yet] still find it possible to remain in the fold."[8] In addition to his mission, Jessee has served in his local Salt Lake Citycongregation as ahome teacher[9] and counselor of thehigh priest group,[10] as well as astakefamily history coordinator.[11]
WhileLeonard J. Arrington was researching a book on the Mormon development of western America, he met Jessee in the church archives during 1967. As a cataloguer of manuscripts, Jessee informed Arrington of many useful documents in the archive that historians had not yet studied.[15] Arrington later recalled that at the time Jessee was "Intelligent, well-informed, hardworking, and modest," and that "he knew more about the documents of LDS history than any other person."[16]
In the late 1960s, Jessee was invited byTruman G. Madsen, at BYU'sInstitute of Mormon Studies, to publish articles on Joseph Smith and early Mormon history inBYU Studies.[17] This began Jessee's research and publication in early Mormon manuscripts and historical documents.
In 1972, Leonard J. Arrington became the officialChurch Historian. He requested the transfer of Jessee from the archives to the new History Division, a newly created, impressive team of historians for researching and writing of new Mormon histories.[4] One such work, Jessee's 1974Letters of Brigham Young to his Sons, causedApostleBoyd K. Packer to bring concerns to theFirst Presidency about the Historical Department's "orientation toward scholarly work," an early sign of the tension that would eventually lead to the History Division's disbandment.[18] Jessee was also assigned by Arrington to locate, collect and transcribe all ofJoseph Smith Jr.'s writings, a work inspired by theThomas Jefferson Papers of the 1950s and those of otherFounding Fathers.[17]
In the 1980s, Jessee was a major player in the Historical Department's examinations of important historical documents produced byMark Hofmann, which were later found to beforgeries.[19] Jessee was considered the preeminent expert on early Mormon handwriting, especiallyJoseph Smith's, and he authenticated and defended a number of Hofmann's forgeries,[20][21][22] including the famous "Salamander Letter".[23] Hofmann's extensive deception of document and forgery experts led him to be called "unquestionably the most skilled forger this country has ever seen".[24]
As a Senior Historical Associate[27] then Senior Research Fellow,[28] Jessee served for nineteen years in the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute.[25] During this time he continued his earlier work to produce the papers of Joseph Smith. In 1984, he published most of Smith's own writings and many of his dictations inThe Personal Writings of Joseph Smith. This research continued to expand into two volumes ofThe Papers of Joseph Smith, one in 1989 on Smith's autobiographical and historical writings, and the other in 1992 on Smith's journals.[17]
Jessee's efforts were eventually made an official joint effort of BYU and the LDS Church in 2001, called theJoseph Smith Papers Project. This is intended to be a large multi-volume series, including virtually everything written by Joseph Smith, by his office, or under his direction.[17] That year,Larry H. Miller, a Salt Lake City businessman andphilanthropist, began funding the venture. In 2005, Miller announced the goal of completing the project by 2015, "while Dean Jessee is still around", since Jessee was then in his 70s.[29] Jessee was general manager of the project along withRichard Bushman andRon Esplin.[25]
The T. Edgar Lyon Award for Best Article for "Return to Carthage: Writing the History of Joseph Smith’s Martyrdom" (Mormon History Association: 1983)[35]
Best Book Award in documentary history forThe Personal Writings of Joseph Smith (Mormon History Association: 1984)
Steven F. Christensen Best Documentary Award forThe Papers of Joseph Smith: Autobiographical and Historical Writings, vol. 1 (Mormon History Association: 1989)
Steven F. Christensen Best Documentary Award forSteven F. Christensen Best Documentary Award (Mormon History Association: 1992)
Steven F. Christensen Best Documentary Award forThe Joseph Smith Papers: Journals, vol. 1, 1832-1839 (Mormon History Association: 2009)
Special Award in Textual Criticism and Bibliography forThe Joseph Smith Papers: Journals, vol. 1, 1832-1839 (Association for Mormon Letters: 2009)[36]
Young, Brigham (1974). Jessee, Dean C. (ed.).Letters of Brigham Young to his Sons. Mormon Heritage Series. Vol. 1. Salt Lake City:Deseret Book; In collaboration with the Historical Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.ISBN0-87747-522-9.
—— (1985). "The Early Accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision". InRobert L. Millet;Kent P. Jackson (eds.).Studies in Scripture. Vol. 2. Salt Lake City, Utah: Randall Book. pp. 301–14.
—— (1986). "Wilford Woodruff". InLeonard J. Arrington (ed.).The Presidents of the Church. Salt Lake City, Utah:Deseret Book. pp. 117–143.
—— (1987). "'Walls, Grates and Screeking Iron Doors': The Prison Experience of Mormon Leaders in Missouri, 1838-1839". InDavis Bitton,Maureen Ursenbach Beecher (ed.).New Views of Mormon History: Essays in Honor of Leonard J. Arrington. Salt Lake City:University of Utah Press. pp. 19–42.
—— (1988). "Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormon Record Keeping". In Larry C. Porter;Susan Easton Black (eds.).The Prophet Joseph: Essays on the Life and Mission of Joseph Smith. Salt Lake City:Deseret Book. pp. 138–60.
—— (1995). "Sources for the Study of Joseph Smith". In David J. Whittaker (ed.).Mormon Americana. Provo, Utah:BYU Studies. pp. 7–28.
—— (2005). "The Earliest Documented Accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision". InJohn W. Welch (ed.).Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations, 1820-1844. Provo, Utah and Salt Lake City:BYU Press andDeseret Book. pp. 1–33.
—— (1977). "Solomon Spaulding and the Book of Mormon".The First Annual CES Religious Symposium: LDS Church History. Provo, UT:Brigham Young University. pp. 57–68.
^Texts from Hofmann'sforgeries that Jessee identified as Joseph Smithholographs made it into the 1984 first edition of Jessee'sThe Personal Writings of Joseph Smith. A corrected second edition was published in 2002.
