Manuscript History of the Church

Mormon History 1830-1844

Joseph

Bios

Manuscript History of the Church (MH)

The "Manuscript History of the Church" is the traditional title for the 69-volume history begun by Joseph Smith and James Mulholland in 1838 and continued by various scribes and clerks to 1888. It was used as the basis of the serialized "History of Joseph" and later of B. H. Roberts' History of the Church.
Manuscript History on SC	The "Manuscript History of the Church" is the traditional title for the 69-volume history begun by Joseph Smith in 1838. The history was maintained by his scribes, and later by Church Historians and clerks to 1882. Digital images of the history comprise the first 18 DVDs of Selected Collections from the Archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (SC) (1:1–18), where it is titled, "Church Historian's Office History of the Church, 1839–circa 1882."	Selected Collections Review Selected Collections Alphabetically
	A-1
Volume A-1	Joseph and his scribes often refer to the first volume as "the large journal." It is labeled A-1 on the spine and includes two accounts. The first, which I refer to as the 1834 –1836 History, contains 191 numbered pages. The second, which I refer to as MH A-1, is the beginning of the Manuscript History of the Church. It contains 533 pages, numbered 1–533 from the back of the book.	Only 187 of the 191 numbered pages contain text.
1834 –1836 History	MH A-1
Scribes	Joseph and scribe James Mulholland begins the "History of Joseph Smith" manuscript on June 11, 1839. Mulholland is followed by scribes Robert B. Thompson, W. W. Phelps, Willard Richards (h), Thomas Bullock, Leo Hawkins, Robert L. Campbell, and Johnathan Grimshaw.	"Tuesday 11. I commenced dictating my history for my Clerk, James mulholland to write. " MH-C, 956. Writing JS, 440–441. Source
	The period from ?? to ?? appears to be based on the 1834–1836 History, though the history is written in the third person and the MHC in the third person.
	Joseph writes very little of the history himself. His contributions are primarily dictated and drawn from his diaries and letterbooks. The scribes write much of the history themselves, based on their observations of Joseph's activities, minutes of meetings, correspondence, and other documents accumulated during his lifetime.
1805–1830 Volume A-1	James Mulholland wrote the first 59 pages of volume A-1 (1805–Sept. 30, 1830). He began writing June 11, 1839 and died November 3, 1839.	June 11, 1839: MH B-1, 100.
	Robert B. Thompson wrote the next 15 pages (Sept.–Nov. 1830) before his death on August 27, 1841.
1831	W. W. Phelps wrote pages 75–92 (Nov. 1830–Jan. 1831).
	Willard Richards (h) added notes on pages 131–133.
	W. W. Phelps resumed on page 135 and continued to page 157 (Aug. 2–Nov. 1, 1831). ??
	MH B-1
1834 Volume B	Willard Richards wrote page 553 (Aug. 30, 1834) of A-1 on August 24, 1843. On October 1, 1843 he resumed the narrative in a new volume, B-1, beginning with page 553 (Aug. 30, 1834–Apr. 4, 1845).
Joseph's death	At the time of Joseph's death in 1844, the project had reached August 5, 1838. Richards and resumed the work in March 1845, with Thomas Bullock doing most of the writing.
Hiatus from 1846 to 1854 Completed 1856	There was an eight-and-a-half year hiatus (Jan. 15, 1846.–July 1, 1854) while the Saints moved from Nauvoo to Winter Quarters, then established themselves in the Salt Lake Valley. The work was completed through August 8, 1844 under the direction of Church Historian George A. Smith, assisted by Wilford Woodruff in 1856.
Times and Seasons 1842–1846	Publication of the history began in the Times and Seasons 3, no. 10 (Mar. 15, 1842) and continued through almost every issue to the end of the publication, 6, no. 23 (Feb. 15, 1846).
Beginning	Those familiar with Mormon history will recognize the beginning of the history: "Owing to the many reports which have been put in circulation by evil designing persons in relation to the rise of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter Day Saints, …"
End of Times and Seasons	The last episode of the Times and Seasons concludes with the minutes of a Kirtland assembly held on August 11, 1834 (after the return of Zion's Camp).
Deseret News 1851	Publication of the history resumed with Deseret News 2, no. 1 (Nov. 15, 1851), Willard Richards editor. I have not identified the concluding issue of the series yet. The December 15, 1855 issue discusses events of August 1842.
Millennial Star 1842–1844	Meanwhile in England, the Millennial Star commenced publication of the history in 3, no. 2 (June 1842) and ended in 5 (Aug. 1844). The 1852 supplement to vol. 14 contained 56 pages of the history.
History of the Church	B. H. Roberts used the "History of Joseph Smith" as a primary source for the History of the Church.
	Scribes Church Historians History of Joseph Smith: Contents