This volume, and the Joseph Smith Papers Project of which it is a part, are made possible through the help and generosity of many people and institutions. We give special thanks to administrators and officials of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, which sponsors the project, and to management and staff of the Church History Library, Salt Lake City, where the majority of Joseph Smith’s papers are located and where the project is centered. We also express special thanks to the Larry H. Miller and Gail Miller Family Foundation for their continued financial and emotional support of the project. Their generosity and encouragement have enabled the project to meet an ambitious production schedule while adhering to the highest scholarly standards.
In addition to the Church History Library, numerous other libraries and repositories have provided critical materials and assistance. These include the Family History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City; the Community of Christ Library-Archives, Independence, Missouri; the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah; the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, Springfield, Illinois; the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; the Daviess County, Missouri, Courthouse, Gallatin; the Illinois State Archives, Springfield; the International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Pioneer Memorial Museum, Salt Lake City; the Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City; the National Archives and Records Administration, Washington DC; the National Archives and Records Administration, Great Lakes Region, Chicago, Illinois; the Quincy Public Library, Quincy, Illinois; the State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines; and the State Historical Society of Missouri at the Ellis Library, University of Missouri, Columbia.
This second volume of the Journals series had its genesis in two works by Dean C. Jessee: The Papers of Joseph Smith, Volume 2: Journal, 1832–1842, published by Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, in 1992; and the completed but unpublished third volume of that series. The earlier work of Jessee and those who assisted him is apparent throughout the volume presented here. Our understanding of Nauvoo and Illinois history in general has also benefited from conversations with several individuals, including Mark L. Staker, Emily Utt, and Donald L. Enders of the Historic Sites section of the Church History Department, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Glen M. Leonard, former director of the Church History Museum, Salt Lake City; Lachlan MacKay, Rene Romig, and Ronald E. Romig, historians and site directors of the Community of Christ; and Bryon Andreasen, Kathleen Thomas, Cheryl Schnirring, and Mary Michals of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Conversations with Jonathan A. Stapley, Samuel M. Brown, D. Michael Quinn, and Brian C. Hales helped sharpen our thinking and clarify issues surrounding Nauvoo plural marriage, ritual, and various other topics.
We express special thanks to several individuals whose special talents and dedicated efforts added materially to our understanding of these Nauvoo journals and the times in which Joseph Smith lived. LaJean Purcell Carruth, Church History Department, deciphered the shorthand that Willard Richards occasionally used; Joseph Johnstun, independent researcher and former director of tourism for the city of Nauvoo, provided valuable information for the maps and geographical directory; Derek Farnes, Andrew Thorup, Brent Beck, Ben Clift, Vania Hernandez, and Tyler Jones created the maps under the direction of Brandon Plewe, Brigham Young University; Sharon E. Nielsen, Joseph Smith Papers, collected and organized the information contained in the organizational charts; Gerrit Dirkmaat, Joseph Smith Papers, assisted with the organizational charts, helped identify obscure individuals who appear in the journal, and provided valuable insights into Nauvooera plural marriage; Jill Mulvay Derr, Church History Department, shed much-needed light on the lives of women in Nauvoo; Larry E. Morris and David Kitterman, Joseph Smith Papers, developed the volume chronology; and Gene A. Ware, Brigham Young University, utilized multispectral imaging techniques to restore faded or erased text. Special thanks are also due to Kay Darowski, Joseph Smith Papers, who oversaw a talented team of student researchers at Brigham Young University; David Grua, who was especially helpful with researching legal issues; Welden C. Andersen, who took the textual photographs featured in the volume and helped analyze multispectral images of damaged text; and Anna Staley and Viola Knecht, who served as administrative assistants for the project as a whole. The volume also benefited from careful review by the project’s leadership, advisory board, and editors. We specifically thank Gordon A. Madsen and Larry C. Porter, who provided invaluable comments and feedback.
A number of other people contributed to the volume presented here, including employees, interns, and missionaries of the Church History Department; faculty and researchers at Brigham Young University; individuals associated with other academic and archival institutions; independent researchers and editors; and volunteers. We are especially grateful for the help of Linda Hunter Adams, Alex D. Braunberger, Lisse Brox, Jeffrey G. Cannon, Clark D. Christensen, Ethan J. Christensen, Lee Ann Clanton, Jared P. Collette, Justin Collings, Lia Suttner Collings, Renee Collins, Daniel J. Combs, Christopher K. Crockett, Joseph F. Darowski, Karen Lynn Davidson, Eric Dowdle, Vanessa Ann Dominica Dowdle, Patrick C. Dunshee, Jay R. Eastley, Naoma W. Eastley, J. Spencer Fluhman, Amanda Kae Fronk, James A. Goldberg, Angella L. Hamilton, Jared Hamon, Shirl Herget, Tyler Humble, Jeffery Ogden Johnson, Christopher C. Jones, Carma L. King, Cort Kirksey, Elias E. Kurban Sr., Jamie Layton, Mary-Celeste Lewis, Riley M. Lorimer, Jennifer L. Lund, Michael Hubbard MacKay, Allison Mathews, Winston Matthews, Chris McAfee, Colleen McDannell, Russell Jay McDonald, Kara Nelsen, Amy Norton, Sandy Olah, Jason M. Olson, Amanda Owens, Benjamin E. Park, Shauna Payne, Sarah Gibby Peris, Jennifer Peters, Josh E. Probert, Daren E. Ray, Mark Robison, Natalie Ross, Glenn N. Rowe, Ryan W. Saltzgiver, Leslie Sherman, Todd M. Sparks, Timothy D. Speirs, Virginia E. Stratford, Nathan N. Waite, Norman E. Waite, Chase Walker, Kathryn Jensen Wall, Stephen Whitaker, Kally Whittle, Julia K. Woodbury, and Ellen Yates.
We also thank the management and staff at Deseret Book for the professional help and advice they provided regarding the design, printing, and distribution of this volume. Special thanks are owed to Sheri L. Dew, Cory H. Maxwell, Anne Sheffield, Richard Erickson, Suzanne Brady, Gail Halladay, Derk Koldewyn, Ruth B. Howard, Jeffrey G. Howard, Melissa Marler, Rachel Stauffer, and Whitney Hinckley. We are grateful to Scott Eggers, Scott Eggers Design, Salt Lake City, for designing the dust jacket and cover.