The Joseph Smith Papers

[Elphaba]

SALT LAKE CITY 25 February 2008 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced today the establishment of The Church Historian’s Press, a new imprint for publishing works related to the Church’s origin and growth.

The initial publishing project of the press will be The Joseph Smith Papers, a documentary series eventually comprising 25–30 volumes. Elder Marlin K. Jensen, Church Historian, has described The Joseph Smith Papers as “the single most significant historical project of our generation.”

That collection includes 270,000 books, pamphlets and magazines, as well as 240,000 original unpublished records. “These documents are the crown jewels of Mormonism. The truthfulness of Mormonism is inextricably tied to its history, and it is in our best interest to preserve these records and make them available to those who wish to study the origins of this remarkable faith.”

. . .

Elder Jensen describes the Papers project as a collection of “journals, diaries, correspondence, articles and notices. Everything of a written nature Joseph Smith generated, or over which he had oversight.”

The Papers project has been endorsed by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. A division of the National Archives, the Commission approves qualified documentary editing projects, including collections of the papers and writings of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Jonathan Edwards, Benjamin Franklin and others.

Yale University Professor Harry S. Stout, a member of the Papers’ national advisory board, said: “Receiving this endorsement is important. It conveys the Commission’s conclusion that the staff and procedures of The Joseph Smith Papers meet the NHPRC’s rigorous scholarly standards for transcription and annotation and that the edition will be accurate and professional.”

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/new-publishing-imprint-set-to-boost-mormon-scholarship

~~~~~~~~~

If you have any interest in Mormon history, this is a fantastic announcement, although it has been in the works for a while now. Please go to the website as it tells the story much better than I have in this post.

Elphaba

[Palerider]

Thanks for posting that.....I am looking ofrward to this.......I have read 2 books titled...The Papers of Joseph Smith....volumes 1 and 2....those were awesome

[siouxz72]

This looks like a great read, Elphie! Thanks for the post! :)

[skalenfehl]

I saw the program on t.v yesterday. It was really cool to see some of the journals of Joseph Smith and some of the handwritten documents which were the sources of all the history that we read about. I found out that Joseph Smith was part of over 200 trials as either a witness, a plaintiff or a defendant. He truly went through a lot in his life. By the way, Larry H. Miller, owner of the Utah Jazz is financing this project. Just a bit of trivia.

[the Ogre]

. . . [t]he truthfulness of Mormonism is inextricably tied to its history, and it is in our best interest to preserve these records and make them available to those who wish to study the origins of this remarkable faith . . .

Elphaba

El:

I agree, this is an incredible announcement, but I disagree with the quote you included. Historians are such a conceited bunch. The truthfulness of "Mormonism" has little to nothing to do with early church history.

Truthfulness is personal, or rather understanding of truth is different from person to person making it obviously relative (and why everyone's testimony is different). What is true to one person is not so for another. The truthiness of any religion can only be found through faith and not the facade of religio-historicity.

You know a lot about the history of the LDS church and the Mormon people, but you do not find religious value in anything you have studied (otherwise you would drop the atheist stuff).

[Elphaba]

El:

I agree, this is an incredible announcement, but I disagree with the quote you included. Historians are such a conceited bunch. Truthfulness is personal, or rather understanding of truth is different from person to person making it obviously relative (and why everyone's testimony is different). What is true to one person is not so for another. The truthiness of any religion can only be found through faith and not the facade of religio-historicity.

You know a lot about the history of the LDS church and the Mormon people, but you do not find religious value in anything you have studied (otherwise you would drop the atheist stuff).

Hi Ogre,

Of course I adamantly disagree with you. The truthfulness of "Mormonism" has everything to do with early Church history.

For example, the First Vision is early Mormon history. If you don't believe in that, you don't believe the Church is true.

Joseph translating the Book of Mormon is early Church history. If you don't believe he did that, you don't believe the Church is true.

Joseph receiving instructions to build temples and how to perform temple ordinances is early Mormon history. If you don't believe that, you don't believe the Church is true.

I could go on and on.

BTW, I loved your use of "truthiness." I think its use is apt here, as, if I am understanding you, you are saying you go with your gut feeling, which I assume you would call faith.

Drop the atheist stuff?

Elphaba

[Hemidakota]

SALT LAKE CITY 25 February 2008 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced today the establishment of The Church Historian’s Press, a new imprint for publishing works related to the Church’s origin and growth.

The initial publishing project of the press will be The Joseph Smith Papers, a documentary series eventually comprising 25–30 volumes. Elder Marlin K. Jensen, Church Historian, has described The Joseph Smith Papers as “the single most significant historical project of our generation.”

That collection includes 270,000 books, pamphlets and magazines, as well as 240,000 original unpublished records. “These documents are the crown jewels of Mormonism. The truthfulness of Mormonism is inextricably tied to its history, and it is in our best interest to preserve these records and make them available to those who wish to study the origins of this remarkable faith.”

. . .

Elder Jensen describes the Papers project as a collection of “journals, diaries, correspondence, articles and notices. Everything of a written nature Joseph Smith generated, or over which he had oversight.”

The Papers project has been endorsed by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. A division of the National Archives, the Commission approves qualified documentary editing projects, including collections of the papers and writings of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Jonathan Edwards, Benjamin Franklin and others.

Yale University Professor Harry S. Stout, a member of the Papers’ national advisory board, said: “Receiving this endorsement is important. It conveys the Commission’s conclusion that the staff and procedures of The Joseph Smith Papers meet the NHPRC’s rigorous scholarly standards for transcription and annotation and that the edition will be accurate and professional.”

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/new-publishing-imprint-set-to-boost-mormon-scholarship

~~~~~~~~~

If you have any interest in Mormon history, this is a fantastic announcement, although it has been in the works for a while now. Please go to the website as it tells the story much better than I have in this post.

Elphaba

Seeing the Founding Fathers writings being added is a plus.

I hoping if there is any additional writings from the Prophet Joseph Smith, it will be provided.

[WillowTheWhisp]

This sounds really exciting. I hope I will be able to get access to some of this stuff.

[skalenfehl]

For those who live in Utah or at least get KJZZ on their cable it's on every week and you can also find it on "On Demand" if you have Comcast Cable. It's under Utah on Demand-Religious-LDS.

I just watched a few episodes and it's amazing (and extremely coincidental, eh?) how the timing of the Lord's preparation of Joseph's Family to end up near the hill Cumorah, etc. and how the great religious awakening was occurring in such a young country while establishing its manifest destiny (political and religious) and just how Joseph's vision coincided with it. I've been very fascinated by Church History and it's coincidence to the country's development in the Jacksonian era.

I got to watch as several of Joseph's journals were read from and how little we know about his history. He was very private and hesitant to share a lot of his personal experiences to the point where it took four times to write the account of his vision on separate occasions in his life. He also seldom wrote in his own journals, but rather dictated to clerks.

In one of his journals as the host read we could see where Joseph had written that when God the Father and His Son appeared to Joseph, he had seen a "a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun..." but in the hand written journal he had the word fire written down and scratched out before using the word light.

What intrigues me is the fact that the word "fire" was used first. I can only imagine what awe and wonder filled Joseph to behold so much glory that he compared it to a pillar of fire brighter than the sun. I can only imagine what Moses must have encountered with the "burning bush" which I find interesting to note that some scholars consider the interpretation of the burning bush to refer to Sinai. So maybe Moses stood in a pillar of "fire" (as well as Joseph initially described in his own experience), which rested on the bush--or Sinai itself.

When this project is finished, we can expect to see about thirty volumes of this work published! Wow!

[Hemidakota]

Thanks for the insight.

[Bethie]

These are such great shows. I've watched each one on KJZZ here in Salt Lake.

They have been repeating the previous show each week, so sometimes I get

to watch them twice! I can't wait until the first printed volume comes out later this year. What a treasure!

[Moksha]

El:

Truthfulness is personal, or rather understanding of truth is different from person to person making it obviously relative (and why everyone's testimony is different). What is true to one person is not so for another. The truthiness of any religion can only be found through faith...

This idea resonates well with me. Although I prefer to think in terms of truth rather than truthiness, I do think religious truths, relative to the believer, are found through faith.

[skalenfehl]

In one of his journals as the host read we could see where Joseph had written that when God the Father and His Son appeared to Joseph, he had seen a "a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun..." but in the hand written journal he had the word fire written down and scratched out before using the word light.

What intrigues me is the fact that the word "fire" was used first. I can only imagine what awe and wonder filled Joseph to behold so much glory that he compared it to a pillar of fire brighter than the sun. I can only imagine what Moses must have encountered with the "burning bush" which I find interesting to note that some scholars consider the interpretation of the burning bush to refer to Sinai. So maybe Moses stood in a pillar of "fire" (as well as Joseph initially described in his own experience), which rested on the bush--or Sinai itself.

I also find it intriguing that Lehi also beheld great things in a pillar of "fire" and also compared his vision of Christ, who's glory was brighter than the sun. Sound familiar?

1 Ne. 1: 6-9

6 And it came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much; and because of the things which he saw and heard he did quake and tremble exceedingly.

7 And it came to pass that he returned to his own house at Jerusalem; and he cast himself upon his bed, being overcome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen.

8 And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.

9 And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day.

[Hemidakota]

Something I said earlier, Lehi had a desire to be like Moses. Seeing this 'Pillar of Fire', Moses received the same. Interesting.

[lds9999]

This is great news and I believe it to be a project that will help us come to know the Prophet Joseph Smith better than ever before. 25-30 volumes--WOW!

[Hemidakota]

This is better than 'Slice Bread'. :)