Reviews

Journals, Volume 1: 1832–1839

“Readers need not raise a skeptical eyebrow when they see this edition is produced by LDS members and printed by an LDS press. While this project is meant in part to be a resource for its own constituency, there is an impartiality and professionalism here in the tone, subjects, and sources that bode well for this series and edition as a reliable resource for all.”

“The transcription practices of the project are excellent and are carefully explained in the volume’s front matter. The editors preserve the exact language, spelling, and punctuation of the original journals. . . . Overall, this is an excellent start to this very important addition to the history of the Latter-day Saints.”

“The editorial staff have gathered every available Smith document, subjected them all to a three-step verification process, and provided an extensive historical annotation without theological commentary in conjunction with an advisory board of Smith scholars. . . . In addition to extensive introductory material, the volume contains useful reference material including a chronology, maps, glossary, and essay on sources. . . . This is an extraordinary work. . . . Highly recommended.”

“Journals, Volume 1 is . . . massive in its scope and a welcome addition to historical documents in the study of the history and scriptures of the Latter-day Saints. . . . [It] is a beautifully bound volume with high-quality paper. The typeface is easy to read. The book is a significant improvement in historiography of Joseph Smith. This is scholarly work but simple enough for a general audience. The editors should be proud of their work. I recommend the book.”

“Both LDS and non-LDS scholars, in short, will wish to use this and future volumes produced by the Joseph Smith Papers. Though the editors acknowledge being LDS adherents, they have done their work according to the modern standards of documentary editing and are at no point guilty of preparing or presenting their texts in tendentious ways. . . . All in all, the volume is an impressive achievement, and it is to be hoped that future volumes in the Joseph Smith Papers Project will match its quality of scholarship.”

“The painstaking editing process has been invaluable in assuring accuracy and also in correcting past textual errors. . . . Journals, Volume 1 deserves only the highest praise. . . . The editors have also provided 146 pages of reference material to help readers with almost any reasonable question they might have. . . . Those who are willing to approach the journals in more than a casual manner will likely find them valuable and inspirational.”

“[Journals, Volume 1] contains generous background information, abundant annotations (recommending a variety of primary and secondary sources), illustrations, and maps. . . . These volumes—may I live to see the release of the entire series—will be indispensable for the next generation of scholars on Mormon history.”

“This is the finest edition of Mormon primary documents ever produced. It sets a new standard in transcription, editing and production that will be hard to match.”

“This first volume in the upcoming . . . series is a monumental achievement in so many ways. It provides both content and context—it relates what Joseph wrote, and gives the modern reader a glimpse at what was going on around him. And, in many ways, it represents a major step in Mormonism’s emergence into the light of the 21st century. . . . This volume, and, I suspect, the ones that will follow, will constitute one of the greatest contributions to the lore of Mormonism’s founder that we’ve seen in some time.”

David Azzolina, Library Journal, 15 Feb. 2009, http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6635777.html?q=joseph+smith+papers (accessed 29 May 2009)

Revelations and Translations: Manuscript Revelation Books

“A particularly useful contribution of the editors is identifying the hands that contributed to the manuscript text. On the transcript pages, the work (sometimes only marks of punctuation) of Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, William W. Phelps, Sidney Rigdon, and John Whitmer is distinguished by a different color of ink. This puts at the disposal of readers the expertise it took the editors hours to acquire becoming familiar not just with the singular shapes characteristic of the handwriting of each individual, but also with even the most minute, but important elements of an individual’s style.”

“The Joseph Smith Papers Project began working with [Revelation Book 1, which is labeled “Book of Commandments and Revelations”] in the middle of 2006. In that short period they have done a magnificent job. . . . I recommend this volume (with transcriptions) for the serious inquirer of Latter Day Saint scriptures. If there is just one book that you should own of the Joseph Smith Papers, this is the book.”

“It is hard to overstate the significance of [Revelations and Translations: Manuscript Revelation Books] to Mormon historiography. Editors have transformed these foundational records, much of them only recently discovered, into a vividly accessible volume that exceeds all documentary standards and reveals the process of Mormon revelation in stunning detail.”

“This new volume will allow each person [to] access . . . these revelations and see for themselves the changes that have been made. By seeing these pages of scripture in their early form the reader can have an informed understanding of this revelatory process. I highly recommend this book.”

“This may be the first time that many readers have a chance to examine, even second hand, a primary manuscript from the 19th century. At some point, many will probably test themselves at trying to read a few lines of manuscript before looking at the printed ‘cheat sheet.’ Depending on the chosen page, there will likely be some pride at how well the novice can read the unfamiliar handwriting, or—if the chosen page is one that is faded or particularly carelessly written—some marveling at the success of the volume editors in transcribing what seems an impossible mass of pale pen strokes.”