The Church Historian’s Press has released an ebook for the Joseph Smith Papers Financial Records series, according to a report published October 20. The ebook introduces readers to a completed collection of nearly 2,000 financial documents, including their accompanying transcripts and annotations.
The series provides historical context for documents covering Joseph Smith’s personal finances and the temporal affairs of the early Church. According to Elizabeth Kuehn, lead editor of the series, the collection is more than just ledgers and promissory notes, as it documents the work required to build the Latter-day Saint community and the personal sacrifices made by Joseph Smith.
Volume editors for the ebook include Elizabeth Kuehn, Jeffrey D. Mahas, Sharalyn D. Howcroft, and Naomi W. Raffensparger. The book features historical introductions and an extensive glossary designed for the complete online publication of the Prophet’s financial papers.
The documents in the collection include invoices and ledgers for a bank and stores, as well as promissory notes and pay orders related to Smith’s personal finances. The collection also contains several large record books, ranging from 50 to 400 pages, that primarily contain records of business endeavors in Nauvoo, Illinois. These include tithing donations received while Smith served as a trustee for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The ebook's introductions place the documents in a historical setting by explaining the range of business, personal, and church-related transactions, the financial concerns encountered, and the geographical areas where Joseph Smith lived. The volume also examines arrangements made by agents acting on behalf of Joseph Smith and the Church.
The Financial Records series was originally part of a larger online-only Legal, Business and Financial Records project. That project was divided in 2019, resulting in the Financial Records becoming its own series that began publishing documents on the Joseph Smith Papers website in 2020.
While the 26-volume print edition of the Joseph Smith Papers was completed in 2023, additional documents have continued to be published digitally at josephsmithpapers.org. The final group of documents for the Financial Records series was published on the Joseph Smith Papers website in September.
The new ebook is available through Amazon, Deseret Book, and other retail outlets. Further information can be found on the Joseph Smith Papers website.
