The Joseph Smith Papers (orJoseph Smith Papers Project) is adocumentary editing project to collect, research, and publish all documents created by, or under the direction of,Joseph Smith (1805–1844), the founder of theLatter Day Saint movement. Documents are published online alongside transcriptions and annotations, with selections also published in 27 printed volumes.
After Smith's death in 1844, a collection of his papers was carried west byBrigham Young and other church leaders. Some significant documents remained with Smith's widow,Emma, and others, such asJohn Whitmer. Many of these were not published until years later by the LDS Church, theCommunity of Christ, and independent researchers.[3]
The "roots" of the project began in the late 1960s whenTruman G. Madsen invitedDean C. Jessee, then an employee of the Church Historian's Office, to contribute documents relating to Joseph Smith and earlyMormonism to issues ofBYU Studies. In 1972,Leonard J. Arrington was appointed theChurch Historian and he directed Jessee to continue to "locate, collect, and transcribe Smith's writings."[3] This resulted in Jessee's 1984 publication,The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, followed by the two volumePapers of Joseph Smith, the first in 1989 and the second in 1992.[4] This preliminary publication of Smith's documents was important to the creation of the biographyJoseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, whichRichard Bushman published in 2005.[5]
In 2001, Jessee's project became a joint venture betweenBrigham Young University's (BYU)Joseph Fielding Smith Institute and theLDS Church Archives. The project was renamedThe Joseph Smith Papers and expanded with added funding fromLarry H. andGail Miller.[6] (The Millers provided a donation of $10 million in bonds and additional cash contributions.[7]) In June 2004, the project received endorsement by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, a division of the USNational Archives,[8] ensuring research was conducted according to the highest scholarly standards.[9] The project was moved toSalt Lake City in 2005, when BYU's Joseph Fielding Smith Institute dissolved.[4]
In February 2008, the Church Historian's Press, was established "for publishing works related to the Church's origin and growth." The publication ofThe Joseph Smith Papers was the press's initial project.[10]Marlin K. Jensen, Church Historian and Recorder at the time of the press' establishment, said the papers project would include "journals, diaries, correspondence, articles and notices. Everything of a written nature Joseph Smith generated, or over which he had oversight."[10][note 2] Prior to publication of the documents, transcripts of the manuscripts were verified three times, and annotation was supplied to provide the historical context for each document.[12]
The first volume ofThe Joseph Smith Papers, entitled,The Joseph Smith Papers, Journals, Volume 1: 1832–1839, was released in December 2008.[13] Despite the $50 retail price, unexpectedly high demand caused the initial printing of 12,500 copies to sell out in two weeks, and the publishers to triple their projected second printing order to 16,500. Many Christmas purchasers bought gift certificates for the coming printing and some extant copies were resold for over twice the retail price.[14]
The final printed volume, number 15 of the Documents series, was published on June 27, 2023.[1] Even though the print volumes are completed, new content will continue to come and the website will see "substantial work" beyond 2023.[15]
Initially, the project anticipated that it would publish around two dozen print volumes, as well as online publication of additional documents not included in the print editions.[16][17] After the release of the final volume, the printed volumes numbered 27.[1]
The papers are divided into the following seven series:[18]
The Administrative records series published records relating to the "institutions that were established under Smith's directions" as well as minutes for meetings Smith attended.[19]
Administrative Records,Council of Fifty, Minutes, March 1844–January 1846 (published September 26, 2016)[20]
Contains correspondence, sermons and other addresses, official declarations and pronouncements, editorials and articles from periodicals, early versions of revelations, and "selected minutes and proceedings."[21] Several hundred documents from this series are available on the Joseph Smith Papers website.[22]
Volume 1: July 1828–June 1831 (published September 4, 2013)[23]
Volume 2: July 1831–January 1833 (published December 2, 2013)[24]
Volume 3: February 1833–March 1834 (published December 1, 2014)[25][26]
Volume 4: April 1834–September 1835 (published May 9, 2016)[27]
Volume 5: October 1835–January 1838 (published May 15, 2017)[28]
Volume 6: February 1838–August 1839 (published September 25, 2017)[29]
Volume 7: September 1839–January 1841 (published April 2, 2018)[30]
Volume 8: February 1841–November 1841 (published May 13, 2019)[31]
Volume 9: December 1841–April 1842 (published October 8, 2019)[32]
Volume 10: May 1842–August 1842 (published May 4, 2020)[33]
Volume 11: September 1842–February 1843 (published October 12, 2020)[34]
Volume 12: March 1843–July 1843 (published April 26, 2021)[35]
Volume 13: August–December 1843 (published June 23, 2022)[36]
Volume 14: 1 January–15 May 1844 (published April 17, 2023)[37]
Volume 15: 16 May–28 June 1844 (published June 27, 2023)[1]
Contains records of cases in which Smith was a plaintiff, defendant, witness, or judge. Also contains records related to the trial of his accused assassins and his estate's disposition.[43] While anebook study aid was published in 2024, the documents from this series are available only online, with minimal annotation.[44]
Legal Records: Case Introductions (ebook study aid, published April 17, 2024)[43]
Contains the earliest known manuscripts text of revelations received by Smith and published in his lifetime including the printer's manuscript of theBook of Mormon, the published Book of Mormon, and theBook of Commandments.[19]
Volume 1: Manuscript Revelation Books (published March 9, 2011)[citation needed]
From 2017 through 2023, the project sponsored an annual "Joseph Smith Papers Conference" in Salt Lake City.[52][53] Beginning in 2020 and ending in 2023, the project released a five-seriespodcast, which focused on certain themes from the church's history.[54][55]
In December 2016, the project released a study aid titledJoseph Smith’s Revelations: A Doctrine and Covenants Study Companion from the Joseph Smith Papers. Published only as an ebook, the study aid was produced to provide original text and historical context for those studying theDoctrine and Covenants.[56] The project released an updated version of this book in 2020.[57]
Although not an official part of the project, a documentary TV series also calledThe Joseph Smith Papers was aired in the late 2000s. The two-season series documented the creation of and work involved in the Joseph Smith Papers Project. It was produced byKJZZ-TV in cooperation with the Church History Department.[58]
^With co-sponsorship by the Miller Family and endorsement from the USNational Archives
^High resolution images of many of the original documents had previously been published byBrigham Young University Press in 2002 as part ofSelected Collections from the Archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The two volume set contains 76 DVDs of images from 1830 to 1923, including complete images of the Joseph Smith Collection, circa 1831–1844, the Revelations Collections, circa 1831–1876, architectural drawings of theNauvoo Temple, and several volumes containing minutes from meetings Joseph Smith attended or oversaw.[11]
^Toone, Trent (September 27, 2022)."A look back at the history of the Joseph Smith Papers, its impact and what's coming in 2023".Church News. Salt Lake City. RetrievedApril 20, 2024."It's kind of a misnomer to say that the Joseph Smith Papers project is going to be completed in 2023," [Brent M.] Rogers said. "There will still be a lot of releases and new content coming that will be available in the years beyond 2023. ... There is still going to be some substantial work ongoing online."
^Grow, Matthew J.; Esplin, Ronald K.; Ashurst-McGee, Mark; Dirkmaat, Gerrit John; Mahas, Jeffrey D., eds. (2016).Administrative Records, Council of Fifty, Minutes, March 1844–January 1846. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church Historian's Press.ISBN9781629722429.OCLC939911194.
^"Joseph Smith Papers Conference".The Joseph Smith Papers. The Church Historian's Press. RetrievedApril 20, 2024.The Joseph Smith Papers Project has held a conference each year since 2017, gathering scholars, educators, and others interested in the project to share new ideas and findings based on the ongoing publication ofThe Joseph Smith Papers.
