Author | Joseph Smith, Jr. |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Religious writings |
Published | 2008–2023 |
Publisher | Church Historian's Press (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) [note 1] |
Media type | Print and online (with the latter at JosephSmithPapers.org) |
The Joseph Smith Papers (or Joseph Smith Papers Project) is a documentary editing project to collect, research, and publish all documents created by, or under the direction of, Joseph Smith (1805-1844), the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Documents are published online alongside transcriptions and annotations, with selections also published in 27 printed volumes.
The project began in 2001, [1] published its first printed volume in 2008 and released its final printed volume in 2023; as of 2024, the project continues to publish digital content. The Church History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) sponsored the project; the department's imprint, the Church Historian's Press, published the website and printed volumes. [2]
After Smith's death in 1844, a collection of his papers was carried west by Brigham Young and other church leaders. Some significant documents remained with Smith's widow, Emma, and others, such as John Whitmer. Many of these were not published until years later by the LDS Church, the Community of Christ, and independent researchers. [3]
The "roots" of the project began in the late 1960s when Truman G. Madsen invited Dean C. Jessee, then an employee of the Church Historian's Office, to contribute documents relating to Joseph Smith and early Mormonism to issues of BYU Studies . In 1972, Leonard J. Arrington was appointed the Church Historian and he directed Jessee to continue to "locate, collect, and transcribe Smith's writings." [4] This resulted in Jessee's 1984 publication, The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, followed by the two volume Papers of Joseph Smith, the first in 1989 and the second in 1992. [5] This preliminary publication of Smith's documents was important to the creation of the landmark biography, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling , which Richard Bushman published in 2005. [6]
In 2001, Jessee's project became a joint venture between Brigham Young University's (BYU) Joseph Fielding Smith Institute and the LDS Church Archives. The project was renamed The Joseph Smith Papers and expanded with added funding from Larry H. and Gail Miller. [7] (The Millers provided a donation of $10 million in bonds and additional cash contributions. [8] ) In June 2004, the project received endorsement by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, a division of the US National Archives, [9] ensuring research was conducted according to the highest scholarly standards. [10] The project was moved to Salt Lake City in 2005, when BYU's Joseph Fielding Smith Institute dissolved. [5]
In February 2008, the Church Historian's Press, was established "for publishing works related to the Church's origin and growth." The publication of The Joseph Smith Papers was the press's initial project. [11] 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." [11] [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. [13]
The first volume of The Joseph Smith Papers, entitled, The Joseph Smith Papers, Journals, Volume 1: 1832–1839, was released in December 2008. [14] 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. [15]
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. [16]
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. [17] [18] After the release of the final volume, the printed volumes numbered 27. [1]
The papers are divided into the following seven series: [19]
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. [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." [22] Several hundred documents from this series are available on the Joseph Smith Papers website. [23]
Contains Smith's financial records, including tithing books. [39] The documents from this series are available only online. [19]
Contains Smith's manuscript history, which he began in 1838, and continued by clerks after his death in 1844. [20]
Contains the ten journals kept by Smith and his scribes from 1832 to 1844. [5]
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. [44] While an ebook study aid was published in 2024, the documents from this series are available only online, with minimal annotation. [45]
Contains the earliest known manuscripts text of revelations received by Smith and published in his lifetime including the printer's manuscript of the Book of Mormon, the published Book of Mormon, and the Book of Commandments. [20]
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The current and editorial board and project staff are as follows: [50] [ failed verification ]
Editorial Board
National Advisory Board
General Editors
Managing Historian
Associate Managing Historian
Editorial Manager
Assistant Editorial Managers
Project Archivist
Document Specialists
Volume Co-editors
Production Editors
In 2008, Journals, Volume 1: 1832-1839 received the Special Award in Textual Criticism and Bibliography from the Association for Mormon Letters, [51] and the Steven F. Christensen Best Documentary Award from the Mormon History Association in 2009. [52]
From 2017 through 2023, the project sponsored an annual "Joseph Smith Papers Conference" in Salt Lake City. [53] [54] Beginning in 2020 and ending in 2023, the project released a five-series podcast, which focused on certain themes from the church's history. [55] [56]
In December 2016, the project released a study aid titled Joseph 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 the Doctrine and Covenants. [57] The project released an updated version of this book in 2020. [58]
Although not an official part of the project, a documentary TV series also called The 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 by KJZZ-TV in cooperation with the Church History Department. [59]
The First Vision refers to a theophany which Latter Day Saints believe Joseph Smith experienced in the early 1820s, in a wooded area in Manchester, New York, called the Sacred Grove. Smith described it as a vision in which he received instruction from God the Father and Jesus Christ.
Egbert Bratt Grandin was a printer in Palmyra, New York, best known for publishing the first edition of the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the churches of the Latter Day Saint movement.
There are many works relating to Joseph Smith. These works cover Joseph Smith's his life, legacy, and teachings. Smith is the author of several works of scripture, and several personal histories, letters, and other writings. There have also been several biographies written about him.
The Joseph Smith Papyri (JSP) are Egyptian funerary papyrus fragments from ancient Thebes dated between 300 and 100 BC which, along with four mummies, were once owned by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Smith purchased the mummies and papyrus documents from a traveling exhibitor in Kirtland, Ohio in 1835. Smith said that the papyrus contained the records of the ancient patriarchs Abraham and Joseph.
History of the Church is a semi-official history of the early Latter Day Saint movement during the lifetime of founder Joseph Smith. It is largely composed of Smith's writings and interpretations and editorial comments by Smith's secretaries, scribes, and after Smith's death, historians of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The history was written between 1839 and 1856. Part of it was published in Times and Seasons and other church periodicals. It was later published in its entirety with extensive annotations and edits by B. H. Roberts as part of a seven-volume series beginning in 1902 as History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Church Historian and Recorder is a priesthood calling in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The role of the Church Historian and Recorder is to keep an accurate and comprehensive record of the church and its activities. His office gathers history sources and preserves records, ordinances, minutes, revelations, procedures, and other documents. The Church Historian and Recorder also chairs the Historic Sites Committee and Records Management Committee, and may act as an authoritative voice of the church in historical matters.
Sylvester Marshall Smith was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and one of the inaugural seven Presidents of the Seventy.
The Kirtland Egyptian papers (KEP) are a collection of documents related to the Book of Abraham created in Kirtland between July and November 1835, and Nauvoo between March through May 1842. Because some documents were created in Nauvoo, the collection is sometimes referred to as the Book of Abraham and Related Manuscripts and Joseph Smith Egyptian Papers.
Ronald Kent Esplin is the managing editor of The Joseph Smith Papers project and the former director of the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History at Brigham Young University (BYU).
Dean Cornell Jessee is a historian of the early Latter Day Saint movement and leading expert on the writings of Joseph Smith Jr.
Richard Eyring "Rick" Turley Jr. is an American historian and genealogist. He previously served as both an Assistant Church Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and as managing director of the church's public affairs department.
Mark Roscoe Ashurst-McGee is an American historian of the Latter Day Saint movement and editor for the Joseph Smith Papers project.
The Church History Department (CHD) manages the historical and publishing activities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This includes the Church History Museum, Church Historian’s Press, and various research and collection projects. Kyle S. McKay, an LDS general authority seventy, is the current Church Historian and Recorder (CHR).
Steven Craig Harper is a professor of church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University. He was a historian for the Church History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. From 2019, he is the Editor-in-Chief of BYU Studies Quarterly.
Mormon studies is the interdisciplinary academic study of the beliefs, practices, history and culture of individuals and denominations belonging to the Latter Day Saint movement, a religious movement associated with the Book of Mormon, though not all churches and members of the Latter Day Saint movement identify with the terms Mormon or Mormonism. Denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by far the largest, as well as the Community of Christ (CoC) and other smaller groups, include some categorized under the umbrella term Mormon fundamentalism.
The Joseph Smith Papers: Television Documentary Series is a documentary television series produced by Ronald O. Barney and the Larry H. Miller Communications Corporation. The series documented the creation of, and work involved in, the Joseph Smith Papers Project. It also discussed the history of Joseph Smith, the founder and first prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.
Joseph Smith Jr. was an American religious leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thousands of followers by the time of his death fourteen years later. The religion he founded is followed to the present day by millions of global adherents and several churches, the largest of which is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
This is a bibliography of works on the Latter Day Saint movement.
The Greek Psalter Incident was a moment in the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement when Henry Caswall reported to have asked Joseph Smith to translate an old Greek psalter he had in his possession on April 19, 1842, in Nauvoo, Illinois, United States. Before meeting with Smith, Caswall was already aware of the psalter's contents and intended to use the request as a means of exposing Smith as a fraud.
Eyewitness accounts associated with the Joseph Smith Papyri have been analyzed extensively to understanding the content, purpose and meaning of the Book of Abraham, a canonized text of the Latter Day Saint movement. In 1835, Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, came into possession of four mummies, two papyrus rolls, and various papyrus fragments, which Smith said contained the writings of the ancient biblical patriarchs Abraham and Joseph.
"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."
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 of The Joseph Smith Papers.