Church History, Thomas G. Alexander
A collection of more than 450 documents, this book offers primary sources on Mormon origins in Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, and Pennsylvania. The entries document certain aspects of the lives of members of the Joseph Smith Sr. family down to January 1831, when Joseph Smith Jr., the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, moved to Ohio. The editor attempted to include all known authentic documents relating to the Smith family and Mormonism except the affidavits gathered in 1833 by Dr. Philastus Hurlbut. He considered these of little value because of the prejudice in their method of collection and in the statements contained in them. The most valuable of the entries consist of such things as legal documents, accounts, diaries, and letters written by participants in events at or near the time of their occurrence. Other valuable documents include later reminiscences and journals written by participants in or observers of the events. Less useful are those documents written by people unfamiliar with the events. Often many of these contain misinformation written either by persons antagonistic toward Mormonism or by those anxious to defend their own beliefs. The most useful documents are found in the "Joseph Smith Jr. Collection" (5-209) and the "Lucy Mack Smith Collection" (213-452). The least useful—indeed often perverse—documents are the Vermont and New Hampshire "Miscellaneous Sources" (595-628).

Journal of Mormon History, Ross Geddes
How many "primary" documents exist relating to Mormon origins in Vermont, New Hampshire, New York and Pennsylvania? According to Dan Vogel, at least 450, and even that number is incomplete. This first volume of Early Mormon Documents contains fifty-seven documents produced by the Joseph Smith family or others claiming to report their sentiments, and another twenty on the Smith family in Vermont and New Hampshire between 1796 and 1816. Although Vogel refers in his copious notes to many of the documents which will appear in later volumes, a complete list of all documents in the series would have been a useful addition to the first volume.

Some of his offerings are genuinely obscure. I suspect Peter Bauder's account of an interview with Joseph Smith in October 1830 (16-18) may not have been published since 1834. The letters from Lucy Smith to her brother Solomon Mack, Jr. (214-17) and from Jesse Smith to his nephew Hyrum Smith (551-54) are also, to my knowledge, not readily accessible. Vogel has cast his net wide, deciding to include any document from friend or foe that may shed light on Mormon origins, and excluding only those proven or suspected to be later forgeries and the Hurlbut-Howe affidavits on the Spaulding manuscript.

But, as Vogel himself warns, "not all historical documents are created equal" (xiv). I would question, for example, the value of an anonymous newspaper account (48-51) published in 1876 reporting a sermon by Sidney Rigdon forty years earlier in which he gives a garbled account of Joseph Smith finding the gold plates; can it seriously be considered a Joseph Smith document? Another dubious entrant is Barnes Frisbie's lengthy account of the "Wood Scrape" in Middletown, Vermont ca. 1800-02 (599-621). While interesting, its connection to Mormon origins is speculative and extremely tenuous. On a different level, William Smith, the Prophet's younger brother, is rightly included, but since he admits that in his youth he "knew nothing about [the gospel]. . .paying no attention to religion of any kind" (499, 496), his accounts of this period may not be as reliable as those of his brother or mother.

Those who have read Dean C. Jesse's editions—The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1984) and The Papers of Joseph Smith, 2 vols. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1989, 1992)—will already be familiar with many of the Joseph Smith documents in this collection, including the different accounts of his early visions. These and other documents (together with Vogel's editorial comments) may prompt some questioning of traditional details, such as the chronology of Smith's visionary experience or the place where the Church was organized. Historical documents, however, do not speak for themselves. They must be interpreted. For one thing, they are written by human beings who may be mistaken for forgetful or dishonest, but are certainly fallible. Documents are at best only part of the story, for no document can record everything that happened, and many events are not recorded at all. It is unrealistic to expect anyone, prophets included, to have photographic memories. Discrepancies are not necessarily sinister. Instead they should be regarded as invitations to greater understanding of the past and the people who lived there.

The longest document in Vogel's compilation is Lucy Mack Smith's History, which occupies almost one-third of the book (227-450). Vogel includes both the 1845 manuscript and 1853 first edition in parallel columns up to January 1831 when Lucy left Fayette for Kirtland. This is truly a contribution, for passages such as the following description of Lucy's feelings in early 1830 were left out of the printed edition:

my Soul swelled with joy that could scarcly [be] heightened except by the reflection that the record which had cost so much labor and suffering and anxiety were now in reality lieing beneath my own head that the identicle work had not only been the object which we as a family had pursued so eagerly but that Prophets of ancient days and angels even the Gr[e]at God had had his eye upon it. and said I to myself Shall I fear what man can do[,] will not the angels watch over the precious relict of the worthy dead and the hope of the living[,] and am I indeed the mother of a prophet of the God of Heaven—the honored instrument in performing so great a work. . . .(406; some editorial symbols deleted)

As is inevitable in any first edition, there are some minor mistakes. "Foundation of living waters" (194) should be "fountain of living waters" according to the Journal of Discourses version of John Tayler's 1879 sermon. Emma Smith was baptized on 28 June 1830 (539), not 1829 (529). Solomon Humphrey's missionary companion was Joseph (not John) H. Wakefield (571). Vogel says Joseph and Emma's twins were unnamed (575 note 3), but the family record from the Joseph Smith Family Bible (583) gives their names as Thadeus and Louisa. Asael Smith was Lucy Mack's father-in-law, not "faith-in- law" (631). I have one other quibble. This work is obviously intended for the serous researcher of Mormon history, who deserves a book that will stand up to frequent usage, but I fear the binding may be too flimsy for such a hefty volume.

In making this compilation, Vogel's objective is to "not only facilitate but accelerate the scholarly examination of Mormon origins" (xi). He should achieve his aim since this series will assemble a smorgasbord of sources and allow for easier comparison and study. If the first volume is any indication, Early Mormon Documents should become a standard reference for anyone with a serous historical interest in this period.