What have the Joseph Smith Papers taught me?

It seems incredible, but it looks like they’re almost through with the Joseph Smith Papers Project*. The JSPP plans on printing 27 volumes across five series, and 20 are done: 3 of 3 Journals volumes are complete, 10 of 15 Documents volumes have been published, with the next one landing this fall; 2 of 2 Histories volumes are complete; the Administrative Records (C50) volume is complete; and 4 of 5 Revelations and Translations volumes are done, including the Manuscript Revelations book**. Not sure when we will receive the 2 online-only series, Financial Records and Legal Records. It is too early to assess the series as a whole, especially since the next several Documents volumes will contain some of the most interesting content. But it’s not too early for me, as an amateur and dilettante, to give you my observations and impressions, particularly about how reading these volumes has changed my perspective on Joseph Smith.

The first impression about Joseph Smith that I get from reading his papers is that we do not have a very complete record of his life. We have some significant gaps in the record, particularly in crucial early years. Then when JSJ does start keeping papers, he’s prolific — when he wants to be. He writes directly when he wants to write, but much of his papers are from scribes and observers. My overall impression is that can learn a lot about JSJ from how he chooses to write personally: particularly to Emma, for example, or to Congress. He seems to view the world through the lens of personal loyalties. It is also interesting when he does not write personally, for example in dictating revelations. Perhaps there is something to see there about the extemporaneous nature of his revelations and how writing them vs. dictating would affect the flow of his spiritual directions.

The next impression I get from the JSPP is JSJ is the living embodiment of somewhat confusing adage, ““A Prophet is not always a Prophet” only when he is acting as such.”*** He speaks in prophetic language quite often, even on the most banal and secular of topics. He dictates revelations and prophecies, but not all of them come to pass, for example regarding the Saints’ repossession of Missouri territories. His prophetic gifts do not apply to financial matters or investments, which fail with some regularity. JSJ seems to want to always be treated with the respect befitting his calling, but he also does not always want the weight or responsibility of perfect vision. Like any prophet who has ever lived, JSJ is human: he is trying to make his church work, trying to keep it together while his prophetic directions threaten to split it apart. He is thoughtful of his friends, tender, at times vindictive, even petty (with each emotion seemingly tied to personal loyalty). Joseph’s humanity is displayed through his papers like few other resources.

Another observation: running a church is a major headache. So much of Joseph Smith’s papers are made up of deeds, letters to attorneys, bills, invoices, complaints and administrative records that it’s hard to believe he ever had enough time to do all the actual prophet-work stuff. Perhaps this is the origin of saying that all things are spiritual – if the records are a representation of how he spent his time, I’d say about 2/3 of his time was dealing with day-to-day hassles. It’s no wonder that his translation of the Bible took so long! I think a lot of us have the impression that Prophet is a role exclusively practiced in the wilderness, without concern for worldly things. I’m not sure whether that’s true, but Joseph Smith presents a version of leadership where the temporal concerns of himself, his family and his flock are all intertwined with his spiritual insights and desire to do as he feels inspired to do.

As I’ve said in times past when reviewing volumes from the JSPP, these are works of interest largely to academics, researchers, and historians, not necessarily for the layperson’s personal devotional or intellectual exercise. This is partly because there is so much volume in the papers, but also because while the act of reading these papers may be faith-affirming for some, they are essentially raw materials. It is up to readers to develop frameworks and worldviews from these materials, and I am not sure that the traditional church narratives really help too much in the context of reading through the Papers. This may be why a portion of the volumes contain introductions explaining some of the complex dynamics at play, for example with respect to Joseph Smith’s translation activities – I get the sense that on the Big Topics ™, the editors feel the need to jump in a little bit, not necessarily to provide a complete framework or thesis, but rather to provide some aid to the reader who may be looking at a papyrus and asking, “what the heck is going on?”. In that respect, the JSPP is not a replacement for explanatory or devotional history — see, for example, the recent Producing Ancient Scripture collection by Mackay, Ashurst-McGee and Hauglid, which seeks to apply a variety of different frameworks, with some fascinating results. I believe that we are at a pivotal moment for how major JSJ-related issues are retranslated**** for the modern church, and that our understanding of topics like translation, sealings, polygamy, wealth distribution and others will be forever altered by the Papers.

Like I said at the start, we still have a ways to go in the JSPP, though we can already see how the seeds for the death of Joseph and the collapse of Nauvoo have been sown. But there is so much more around the martyrdom and the interregnum to come. For folks like me that have followed the volumes, we are getting to the really interesting stuff. But already the project has had a monumental effect on how the church approaches hot topics, and I have deeply appreciated how my own understanding of Joseph Smith has evolved through these volumes.

——————
*It LOOKS that way, but remember that the last volumes are the most complex and (arguably) the most important, comprising the end of Joseph’s life.
**I know this doesn’t add up, but I swear I spent five minutes on the JSPP site trying to make it all add and I failed. Leave the math to WVS. JSPP editors can chime in here and let us know where things are really at.
***Willard Richards, scribe, Journal, February 8, 1843: https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/journal-december-1842-june-1844-book-1-21-december-1842-10-march-1843/178#facts
****I couldn’t resist.