Personal Writings of Joseph Smith [Hardcover]

Joseph Smith (Author), Dean C. Jessee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2, 2002

The problem of understanding who Joseph Smith was, what his personality was like, is not so hopeless, but nevertheless real. For while the Mormon prophet produced a sizable collection of papers, the question remains as to how clearly they reflect his own thoughts and personality. The answer lies in the documents themselves and becomes particularly clear when we note that the sources are not the past but only the raw materials whence we form our conception of the past, and in using them we inherit the limitations that produced them—the lack of personal writing, the wide use of clerks taking dictation or even being assigned to write for him, and the editorial reworking of reports of what he did and said. For example, Howard Coray, employed with E. D. Woolley in 1840 to work on the Prophet's History, relates that Joseph furnished all the material and that "our business, was not only to combine, and arrange in chronological order, but to spread out or amplify not a little, in as good historical style as may be." 5

When Joseph Smith began his record-keeping career in the early 1830s, he tenaciously sought to preserve records of personal and public value and to hand down to posterity an accurate picture of his life and the work in which he was engaged. The history he produced is of monumental importance. But limitations inherent in record keeping and history writing have had a screening effect upon our understanding of the Prophet. The very sources that inform also tend to obscure.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 736 pages
• Publisher: Deseret Book Co; Revised edition (June 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573457876
• ISBN-13: 978-1573457873
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #306,791 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read and decide for yourself!, September 3, 2002

By 

Kendal B. Hunter (Provo, UT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Personal Writings of Joseph Smith (Hardcover)

I am glad that the renaissance of Joseph Smith Manuscripts is still going on. It hit a high mark when Mark Hoffman was deftly producing his forgeries, and seems to have petered out a bit. As Jesse says in the introduction, "Since the first edition, a team of scholars has commenced preparing for publication the complete papers of Joseph Smith, which, it is anticipated, will fill a dozen volumes." (xvi) Good! The Church of Jesus Christ has put a lot of time and money into Islamic Classics translations, and the Dead Sea Scrolls, that it is high time they remember their founder and prophet!

The book itself is a gem. It has some materials that were previously published in "The Papers of Joseph Smith, vol 1-2," such as the 1832 account of the visitation of God the Father and the Son Jesus Christ, and his early journals. The bulk of the book is devoted to letters and epistles Joseph Smith wrote in the process of his life and mission.

Some of the letters are interesting, such as his letter to Oliver Cowdery discussing his early childhood. Others, such as his letters to Edward Hunter (my great-great-grand uncle), are rather boring and incidental to the greater work. This book also includes several letters to his wife Emma. I feel like a voyeur as I read these letters, but I am also very curious about this aspect of Joseph Smith's life. We see him as a Prophet, Seer, Revelator, and Translator, but not as a husband, father, and lover. These letters open up this aspect on to the man's life.

Jesse has also included photographs of the manuscripts, so if you are into eyestrain, you can compare the transcription against the original document. This becomes important in the 1832 account of the First Vision, where Joseph Smith give his age when the events happened. He wrote the age in a "between-line" insertion, and wrote the age in Arabic numerals. The age has traditionally (habitually?) been transcribed as "16th year of my age," but as the manuscript showy, the "y" from the "heard my cry" in the immediate above line crosses over the "16" in the insertion, so it is possible that the "16" may actually be a "15," which corresponds to the other accounts of the First Vision.

The maps are absolutely incredible, and the mini-biographies help us keep track of who's who. The paper is very sturdy archival paper, and the binding is reinforced, so the book should really last the ages.

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, July 14, 2009

By 

HMC (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Personal Writings of Joseph Smith (Hardcover)

"Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah!" This volume illustrates how God worked through Joseph Smith -- a most uncommon man -- to restore the fullness of the Gospel in this last dispensation.

7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful for the LDS historian, but quite expensive..., July 29, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Personal Writings of Joseph Smith (Hardcover)

Probably in effort to make up for failure to produce "Papers of Joseph Smith vol. 3," Jessee here republishes his long touted necessity of all LDS scholars' personal libraries "Personal Papers of Joseph Smith." The new edition removes some of the Hofmann forgeries (Patriarchal blessing of Joseph III, Anthon manuscript, etc.) and updates some of the erroneous footnotes of the first version, as well as the introduction of a new letter or two sent by the Prophet. The reader will be especially interested in the letter correspondance between Governer Thomas Ford and the prophet prior to the martyrdom. This is an expensive book, and I recommend it only for the Joseph Smith history enthusiast, as the casual reader/learner may find his personal writings difficult to navigate or search. Those interested in the doctrine taught by the prophet should continue to seek the usual sources (TPJS, WJS, etc.) as this book is predominately historical.