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I am not sure if anyone here is interested in this but I took a look at this book today. See:

http://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Smith-Pape ... 108&sr=1-1

It is $50 and DB and $39 on Amazon. Not a cheap book.

I was able to look at a copy today at a bookstore. I am wondering if I want the book. It looks well done and has lots of information, footnotes and even some commentary.

I noted of interest in a brief commentary about the Book of Mormon that the Rigdon/Spalding theory was discussed and summarily dismissed.

I perused other parts of the book. It might be a good resource for those interested in things about Joseph Smith.

This is the first installment of the most important publishing project related to Mormon history to have occurred in our lifetimes.

So...is it a "reference work", or are people actually sitting down and reading it from start to finish? Any chance for electronic (and searchable!) copies to be available in the future?

The Joseph Smith Papers: Journals, Vol. 1: 1832-1839 ..

Curious how volume one can start with 1832.. what about before that ??

Daniel Peterson wrote:This is the first installment of the most important publishing project related to Mormon history to have occurred in our lifetimes.

I am interested in how this volume is superior to already published works by Dean Jesse. Any insight?

Why does the journal volume begin with 1832? Because that's where the journal begins.

John Larsen wrote:

Daniel Peterson wrote:This is the first installment of the most important publishing project related to Mormon history to have occurred in our lifetimes.

I am interested in how this volume is superior to already published works by Dean Jesse. Any insight?

Dean Jessee, working alone (and very slowly) was never going to finish. So some others joined in to help. When they realized the magnitude of the project, they drafted still others. Ultimately, there will be roughly thirty volumes in the collection. So, while the improvements in these first journal volumes will be relatively minor -- annotations, some superior readings, a few newly discovered texts -- the overall end result will be something far superior to what Brother Jessee was ever going to be able to carry off on his own.

Daniel Peterson

Why does the journal volume begin with 1832? Because that's where the journal begins.

Hmm the title is "The Joseph Smith Papers: Journals.."

So there are no journals or papers for the first two years of the organization of the Church or in the years prior to that?

TAK wrote:Daniel Peterson

Why does the journal volume begin with 1832? Because that's where the journal begins.

Hmm the title is "The Joseph Smith Papers: Journals.."

So there are no journals or papers for the first two years of the organization of the Church or in the years prior to that?

The journals will comprise one portion of the overall Papers collection. There are materials in other portions of the collection that antedate the journals.

Daniel Peterson wrote:Dean Jessee, working alone (and very slowly) was never going to finish. So some others joined in to help. When they realized the magnitude of the project, they drafted still others. Ultimately, there will be roughly thirty volumes in the collection. So, while the improvements in these first journal volumes will be relatively minor -- annotations, some superior readings, a few newly discovered texts -- the overall end result will be something far superior to what Brother Jessee was ever going to be able to carry off on his own.

If Jesse was "never going to finish," then what are we to make of his finished work that's been in print for the last 20 years, or Faulring's finished work that's also been in print for the last 20 years?

Dr. Shades wrote:If Jesse was "never going to finish," then what are we to make of the finished work that's been in print for the last 20 years?

That he finished two volumes of a series that was projected to be much bigger than two volumes.

Are you insinuating something sinister or conspiratorial here?

I hope so. I absolutely love the recurrent conspiracy-theorist aspect of this board.