Footnotes

1. [1]

   Revelation, Apr. 1829–D [D&C 9:4]. Cowdery’s calling to write for JS may have been initiated even before they met in April 1829. JS’s circa summer 1832 history explains that Cowdery had seen both the Lord and the gold plates in a vision, an experience that encouraged him to travel to Harmony, Pennsylvania, to meet JS. (JS History, ca. Summer 1832, [6].)

2. [2]

   Cowdery departed on his mission by late October 1830, after which John Whitmer became the primary scribe for the Bible revision, except for during a short period when Emma Smith wrote for JS. Sidney Rigdon, Jesse Gause, and Frederick G. Williams were the primary scribes for the Bible revision after November 1831. (See Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 43–47, 57–59, 63–73.)

   Faulring, Scott H., Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004.

3. [3]

   JS History, vol. A-1, 50; see also Historical Introduction to Revelation Book 1. In his role of recorder, Cowdery kept minutes for the 9 June 1830 conference and was there appointed “to keep the Church record and Conference Minutes until the next conference,” held 26 September 1830. At the 9 April 1831 conference, John Whitmer “was appointed to keep the Church record & history by the voice of ten Elders.” (Minutes, 9 June 1830; Minutes, 26 Sept. 1830; Minute Book 2, 9 Apr. 1831.)

4. [4]

   Although Cowdery created many records upon which a history could be based, no formal narrative history written by him is known. Even so, Whitmer made clear in his own history that he saw his work as continuing the work that Cowdery had begun. Later, beginning in 1834, Cowdery wrote a series of letters that detailed aspects of early church history. (Whitmer, History, 1, 25; see also JSP, H1:38–89.)

   JSP, H1 / Davidson, Karen Lynn, David J. Whittaker, Mark Ashurst-McGee, and Richard L. Jensen, eds. Histories, Volume 1: Joseph Smith Histories, 1832–1844. Vol. 1 of the Histories series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2012.

5. [5]

   Although Cowdery and Whitmer were JS’s primary scribes from 1828 to 1831, other scribes assisted JS on a more limited and temporary basis. These included, among others, Martin Harris, Samuel Smith, Emma Smith, Reuben Hale, Peter Whitmer Jr., and Sidney Rigdon. (See Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 43–48.)

   Faulring, Scott H., Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004.

6. [6]

   Revelation, 6 Apr. 1830 [D&C 21:1].

7. [7]

   Articles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830 [D&C 20:81–84].

8. [8]

   The minutes of the 26 September 1830 conference record the appointment of David Whitmer “to keep the Church records until the next Conference,” but there is no evidence that he fulfilled this responsibility. (Minutes, 26 Sept. 1830.)

9. [9]

   Minute Book 2, 9 Apr. 1831.

10. [10]

    Whitmer, History, 24.

11. [11]

    The full text of Whitmer’s history is reproduced here.