''History of the Church'' (cited as ''HC'') (originally entitled ''History of Joseph Smith''; first published under the title ''History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints''; nicknamed ''Documentary History of the Church'' or ''DHC'') is a semi-official history of the early
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...
during the lifetime of founder
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...
. It is largely composed of Smith's writings and interpretations and editorial comments by Smith's secretaries, scribes, and after Smith's death, historians of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
(LDS Church). The history was written between 1839 and 1856 . Part of it was published in ''
Times and Seasons
''Times and Seasons'' was a 19th-century Latter Day Saint newspaper published at Nauvoo, Illinois. It was printed monthly or twice-monthly from November 1839 to February 1846. The motto of the paper was "Truth will prevail," which was printed u ...
'' and other church periodicals. It was later published in its entirety with extensive annotations and edits by
B. H. Roberts
Brigham Henry Roberts (March 13, 1857 – September 27, 1933) was a historian, politician, and leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He edited the seven-volume ''History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
as part of a seven-volume series beginning in 1902 as ''History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints''.
Authorship, editorship, and initial publication
The body of the work is "a narrative of the prophet Joseph Smith"; most of the text was written by scribes rather than by Smith. The parts of the work attributed to Smith were either dictated by Smith to a scribe or consist of a secretary or historian independently outlining Smith's activities and statements for a given time period. Much of the writing occurred after
Smith's death in 1844. From
handwriting analysis
Graphology is the analysis of handwriting with attempt to determine someone's personality traits. No scientific evidence exists to support graphology, and it is generally considered a pseudoscience or scientifically questionable practice. Howe ...
, scholars have identified the following men as the primary scribal authors of the work during the time periods indicated:
*
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery (October 3, 1806 – March 3, 1850) was an American Mormon leader who, with Joseph Smith, was an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836. He was the first baptized ...
(1829–38)
*
John Whitmer
John Whitmer (August 27, 1802 – July 11, 1878) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He was one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates. Whitmer was also the first official Church Historian and a member of t ...
(1829–38)
*
Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon (February 19, 1793 – July 14, 1876) was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.
Biography Early life
Rigdon was born in St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on February 19, 1793. He was ...
(1830–38)
*
Frederick G. Williams (1832–39)
*
Orson Hyde
Orson Hyde (January 8, 1805 – November 28, 1878) was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement and a member of the first Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus ...
(1833–36)
*
W. W. Phelps (1831?–44)
*
Warren Parrish (1835–37)
*
Sylvester Smith (1834–36)
*
Warren A. Cowdery (1836–38)
*
George W. Robinson (1836–40)
*
James Mulholland (1838–39)
*
Robert B. Thompson
Robert Blashel Thompson (October 1, 1811 – August 27, 1841) was an associate of Joseph Smith Jr., a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement, a Danite, and an Church Historian and Recorder, official historian of the Church of Christ (Latter Day S ...
(1839–41)
*
Howard Coray (1840–41)
*
James Sloan (1840–43)
*
Willard Richards
Willard Richards (June 24, 1804 – March 11, 1854) was a physician and midwife/nurse trainer and an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He served as second counselor to church president Brigham Young in the First Presidency of th ...
(1841–54)
*
William Clayton (1842–44)
*
Thomas Bullock (1843?–56)
*
Robert Lang Campbell
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
(1845–50, 1854–56)
*
Leo Hawkins
Leo or Léo may refer to:
Acronyms
* Law enforcement officer
* Law enforcement organisation
* ''Louisville Eccentric Observer'', a free weekly newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky
* Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity
Arts an ...
(1853–56)
*
Jonathan Grimshaw
Jonathan may refer to:
*Jonathan (name), a masculine given name
Media
* ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer
* ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski
* ''Jonathan'' (2018 ...
(1853–56)
Although Smith died in 1844, the compilation of his actions and words was not completed until 1856.
Apostle
An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
Willard Richards
Willard Richards (June 24, 1804 – March 11, 1854) was a physician and midwife/nurse trainer and an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He served as second counselor to church president Brigham Young in the First Presidency of th ...
was the chief editor of the work from 1841 until 1854. Apostle
George A. Smith was the chief editor from 1854 until its completion in 1856. After Smith's death, apostle
Wilford Woodruff
Wilford Woodruff Sr. (March 1, 1807September 2, 1898) was an American religious leader who served as the fourth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1889 until his death. He ended the public practice of ...
allowed his extensive journal entries to be used to coordinate dates and clarify statements made by Smith. The completed work was read by and revised by
church president Brigham Young
Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...
and was published in 1858 by the LDS Church under the title ''History of Joseph Smith''.
Most of the material that resulted in ''History of Joseph Smith'' had been originally published in serial form over a 25-year period in the ''
Times and Seasons
''Times and Seasons'' was a 19th-century Latter Day Saint newspaper published at Nauvoo, Illinois. It was printed monthly or twice-monthly from November 1839 to February 1846. The motto of the paper was "Truth will prevail," which was printed u ...
'', the ''
Deseret News
The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...
'', or the ''
Millennial Star''.
Revision, renaming and republication
Beginning in 1902, a
general authority of the LDS Church,
B. H. Roberts
Brigham Henry Roberts (March 13, 1857 – September 27, 1933) was a historian, politician, and leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He edited the seven-volume ''History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
, was commissioned by the
First Presidency
Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...
to work through ''History of Joseph Smith'' and correct errors, add corroborative material, improve the narrative, and provide commentary on the events. Roberts's extensive revision of the work resulted in it being republished by church-owned
Deseret Book
Deseret Book () is an American publishing company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, that also operates a chain of bookstores throughout the western United States. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation (DMC), the ...
between 1902 and 1912 as the seven-volume ''History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints''. The work soon became nicknamed the ''Documentary History of the Church'', a usage which has only recently been abandoned by
Mormon
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
historians.
Today, the work is published in essentially the same form created by Roberts.
Deseret Book
Deseret Book () is an American publishing company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, that also operates a chain of bookstores throughout the western United States. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation (DMC), the ...
currently publishes the work in paperback under the shortened title ''History of the Church''.
Volumes
''History of the Church'' is published in seven volumes. The dates covered by each volume is as follows:
*Volume 1: 1805 – December 1833
*Volume 2: January 1834 – December 1837
*Volume 3: January 1838 – July 1839
*Volume 4: July 1839 – May 1842
*Volume 5: May 1842 – August 1843
*Volume 6: September 1843 – June 1844
*Volume 7: June 1844 – October 1848
Status in the LDS Church
''History of Joseph Smith'' was initially published as an official publication of the LDS Church. Although Roberts's ''History of the Church'' has never been granted "official history" status, it nonetheless is widely used in the church and is often cited in the sermons and magazine articles written by
general authorities and other church leaders.
In 1851, extracts from what would become ''History of Joseph Smith'' were published in a church publication entitled ''
Pearl of Great Price''. This book was
canonized
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...
by the LDS Church on October 10, 1880. The portion of ''History of Joseph Smith'' that was canonized consists of Smith's recitation of events between his birth in 1805 and May 1829 and is officially entitled
Joseph Smith–History
Joseph Smith–History (abbreviated JS–H) is a book in the Pearl of Great Price containing excerpts from an autobiographical record of some of the early events in the life of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Like man ...
.
Although ''History of the Church'' is no longer an official publication, it is the most-cited source in two histories of the church which are official publications of LDS Church: ''Our Heritage: A Brief History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints'' and ''Church History in the Fulness of Times''.
Criticism
Jerald and Sandra Tanner
Jerald Dee Tanner (June 1, 1938 – October 1, 2006) and Sandra McGee Tanner (born January 14, 1941) are American writers and researchers who publish archival and evidential materials about the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sa ...
have alleged that when ''History of the Church'' is compared to the original manuscripts from which it is drawn, "more than 62,000 words" can be identified that were either added or deleted. One response to these charges points out that the methods used in creating ''History of the Church''—while flawed by today's standards—were not uncommon practices in the nineteenth century, even by reputable historians.
"Jerald and Sandra Tanner's Distorted View of Mormonism: A Response to ''Mormonism—Shadow or Reality?''"
See also
*'' Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith'' (a single volume of selections from ''History of the Church'')
*''''
* ''Saints'' (book)
Notes
References
*.
*.
*.
*.
*.
*.
*.
*.
External links
{{Wikisource
''History of the Church''
complete work in HTML at byu.edu
''History of the Church''
complete work in TXT at boap.org
Introduction to History, 1838–1856 (Manuscript History of the Church)
on the Joseph Smith Papers Project Website (includes links to the original manuscripts)
1902 non-fiction books
1902 in Christianity
Deseret Book books
History books about the Latter Day Saint movement
History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
History of the Latter Day Saint movement
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints texts
Works by B. H. Roberts
Works by Joseph Smith
Works originally published in the Deseret News
Works originally published in Times and Seasons
Works originally published in Millennial Star