Category: Joseph Smith

Learn more about Joseph Smith and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Following the Prophet’s “First Vision” in 1820, the Latter-day Saints have grown to comprise nearly 20 million members around the world.

FromtheDesk features interviews and commentary on the latest Joseph Smith research, including frequent check-ins with scholars from the Joseph Smith Papers project.

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Joseph Smith Old Testament Pearl of Great Price

What Does Genesis Really Say About Creation?

At its core, Genesis offers not one but two distinct creation accounts, each highlighting different aspects of humanity’s relationship with God. Far from being the straightforward words of Moses, the book reflects centuries of redaction and compilation—much like the Book of Mormon—woven from multiple voices and contexts. Along the way, readers encounter surprising details: skies imagined as a solid dome, humans formed from dirt, and Joseph Smith’s bold emendations of the Old Testament Hebrew text. In this interview, Avram R. Shannon explains how ancient context reshapes our understanding of Genesis, creation, and the faith-science conversation.

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19th Century Joseph Smith Pearl of Great Price

Why Did Joseph Smith Reject Creeds—Then Write the Articles of Faith?

An AI-generated oil painting of Joseph Smith drafting the Articles of Faith, probably not seeing them as creedal in nature.

Joseph Smith called religious creeds an “abomination.” He protested against self-appointed guardians of orthodoxy, rejoicing instead in the freedom to believe without constraints while recognizing the inherent doctrinal tension of ongoing revelation. However, the Articles of Faith have sometimes been mislabeled as a creed, leading some to wonder why the Prophet published the 13 verses eventually canonized in the Pearl of Great Price. In this interview, Terryl Givens explains that while creed-like summaries of belief are nearly impossible to avoid, the Articles of Faith omit key Latter-day Saint doctrines and were likely not seen by Joseph as a creed.

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Book of Mormon Come Follow Me Doctrine and Covenants Joseph Smith

How Did the Joseph Smith Papers Project Influence the 2025 Scripture Updates?

A photo of someone reading D&C 106 on a tablet, illustrating the 2025 updates to Latter-day Saint scriptures such as the Doctrine and Covenants, Book of Mormon, and Study Helps.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made several updates to its scriptures in 2025. Roughly half of the changes approved by the Scriptures Committee provide additional historical context, while the other half make minor factual adjustments to details like dates and places. This includes updates to “Study Helps” such as Doctrine and Covenants section headers and Book of Mormon chapter introductions. In this interview, scholar Matthew Godfrey introduces the scripture updates and illustrates how many of them were made possible by the Joseph Smith Papers Project.

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Joseph Smith Temples Theology

How Has Temple Worship Evolved Since Joseph Smith’s Time?

Composite image blending John’s vision of heaven from the book of Revelation with a modern Latter-day Saint temple, symbolizing the origins and evolution of temple worship.

Temple worship has changed in important ways since the 1830s. In Kirtland, Joseph Smith promised the Saints power from on high to preach the gospel and revealed washing and anointing rituals. By Nauvoo, his vision had grown, resulting in a temple endowment that constructed heaven on earth—ritually declaring men and women the celestial kings and queens from John’s vision in Revelation. Later leaders followed Joseph’s precedent of change, from Brigham Young’s adjustments to President Russell M. Nelson’s focus on Christ-centered covenants. In this interview, historian Jonathan Stapley discusses his book, Holiness to the Lord: Latter-day Saint Temple Worship.

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Joseph Smith

Rough Stone Rolling: Richard Bushman Reflects 20 Years Later

A sketch of Richard Lyman Bushman with his book Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling — reflecting on the biography 20 years later.

Twenty years after writing Rough Stone Rolling, Richard Bushman says his biography of Joseph Smith met a pressing need and still largely stands, though he would now give far more space to plural marriage, especially Sarah Ann Whitney. He recalls the book’s unexpected reception, marvels at Joseph’s reinvisioning of heaven and reinstatement of temple worship, and concedes he missed later allegations like attempted murder. In this interview, Richard Bushman looks back on Rough Stone Rolling, now seeing Joseph as even more inventive than he thought—and more revolutionary than we recognize.

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Doctrine and Covenants Joseph Smith

What Was Joseph Smith’s Civil War Prophecy?

Split painting showing Joseph Smith’s 1832 prophecy on the left, with a parchment and quill on a desk, and a Civil War battlefield with cannon smoke and divided flags on the right, symbolizing Doctrine and Covenants 87.

In 1832, Joseph Smith received a revelation now known as the Civil War Prophecy. Early Latter-day Saints saw it as evidence of his prophetic calling, while contemporary newspapers responded skeptically. Initial interpretations emphasized conflict between the Northern and Southern States. Over time, the prophecy was also applied to later wars, including World War I and the Cold War. Today, it’s call to “stand ye in holy places” is the most commonly cited application in General Conference. In this interview, historian Scott C. Esplin discusses the origin and evolving interpretations of Joseph Smith’s Civil War Prophecy.

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Joseph Smith

What’s in John Turner’s Joseph Smith Biography?

Illustration of John Turner reflecting on scenes from Joseph Smith’s life, including the First Vision, Kirtland Temple dedication, Nauvoo preaching, and Carthage Jail.

Historian John Turner’s new biography of Joseph Smith portrays the Prophet as charismatic, flawed, and relentlessly dynamic. His conclusions often differ from those in Richard Bushman’s Rough Stone Rolling, offering a new perspective. Turner approaches Joseph’s spiritual claims with scholarly caution, adopting different stances based on his interpretation of the evidence. He writes there is “little reason to doubt” that Joseph saw the Lord in the First Vision, yet personally concludes that the gold plates weren’t real. In this interview, Turner reflects on Smith’s life—from the Prophet’s unifying vision of Zion to the divisive impact of polygamy.

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Joseph Smith Latter-day Saint History

What Is the 1832 Account of the First Vision?

A painted glass depiction of God and Jesus appearing to Joseph Smith in the 1832 account of the First Vision.

The 1832 account of the First Vision is the earliest version on record. While there are four known published accounts, this is the most unique and the only one written in Joseph Smith’s hand. New research suggests Joseph may have intentionally used biblical phrasing to signal his prophetic calling. In this interview, Kyle Beshears discusses how Joseph’s 1832 efforts to connect with Protestant contemporaries may explain the account’s strange language.

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Joseph Smith

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith: Revised and Expanded Edition

A cropped section of the book cover of The Revised and Expanded Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, published by Greg Kofford Books.

Alonzo Gaskill and Richard Moore have created a revised and expanded edition of Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith (TPJS), first published by Joseph Fielding Smith in 1938. They intend to provide readers with the earliest-known manuscripts, make it easier to compare Joseph Smith quotes with the previous book, and further the legacy of the classic publication. The new edition published by Greg Kofford Books uses, but doesn’t exclusively rely on, scholarship produced by the Joseph Smith Papers Project. In this interview, Gaskill and Moore discuss their new book.

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Book excerpts Doctrine and Covenants Joseph Smith

A Brief History of the Doctrine & Covenants

A photograph of an original first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.

There has not always been a Doctrine and Covenants. It has a history and can best be understood by those who know that history. Robert Woodford, a great scholar of the Doctrine and Covenants, described how we tend to think of it as a “tidily defined book, quietly resting with the other scriptures.” But the story of how those revelations were written, prepared for publication, and moved through various states until they reached our present edition is the story of trying to keep up with a flood of revealed knowledge.

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