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, 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.

History of the project

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. 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." 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. 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. 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. (The Millers provided a donation of $10 million in bonds and additional cash contributions. ) In June 2004, the project received endorsement by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, a division of the US National Archives, ensuring research was conducted according to the highest scholarly standards. The project was moved to Salt Lake City in 2005, when BYU's Joseph Fielding Smith Institute dissolved.

Publishing

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. 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." 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. The first volume of The Joseph Smith Papers, entitled, The Joseph Smith Papers, Journals, Volume 1: 1832–1839, was released in December 2008. 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. The final printed volume, number 15 of the Documents series, was published on June 27, 2023. Even though the print volumes are completed, new content will continue to come and the website will see "substantial work" beyond 2023.

Volumes

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. After the release of the final volume, the printed volumes numbered 27. The papers are divided into the following seven series:

Administrative records

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.

Documents

Contains correspondence, sermons and other addresses, official declarations and pronouncements, editorials and articles from periodicals, early versions of revelations, and "selected minutes and proceedings." Several hundred documents from this series are available on the Joseph Smith Papers website.

Financial records

Contains Smith's financial records, including tithing books. The documents from this series are available only online.

Histories

Contains Smith's manuscript history, which he began in 1838, and continued by clerks after his death in 1844.

Journals

Contains the ten journals kept by Smith and his scribes from 1832 to 1844.

Legal records

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. While an ebook study aid was published in 2024, the documents from this series are available only online, with minimal annotation.

Revelations and Translations

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.

Editorial board and project staff

The current and editorial board and project staff are as follows: 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

Awards

In 2008, Journals, Volume 1: 1832–1839 received the Special Award in Textual Criticism and Bibliography from the Association for Mormon Letters, and the Steven F. Christensen Best Documentary Award from the Mormon History Association in 2009.

Related projects

From 2017 through 2023, the project sponsored an annual "Joseph Smith Papers Conference" in Salt Lake City. Beginning in 2020 and ending in 2023, the project released a five-series podcast, which focused on certain themes from the church's history. 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. The project released an updated version of this book in 2020. 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.