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SALT LAKE CITY — President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced Friday that a new biography is being written about church founder Joseph Smith.
The church's First Presidency commissioned Richard E. Turley Jr., former assistant church historian, to write "Joseph the Prophet." Turley has written more than 20 books, including the 2021 biography of President Oaks, "In the Hands of the Lord: The Life of Dallin H. Oaks."
No release date has been announced yet, but the church said in a statement Friday that it will take several years to finish.
The book's announcement came during President Oaks' remarks on the opening day of the seventh annual Joseph Smith Papers Conference.
"Though there is much future work to be done on this book, it is fair to say it has been underway for the last 22 years thanks to the gold-standard research that has occurred since the inception of the Joseph Smith Papers project in 2001," President Oaks said in a Facebook post following his remarks.
Turley's writing plan
Turley spoke Friday about the research and planning involved in his work on "Joseph the Prophet." He said most biographies of Joseph Smith have failed to fully unravel the legal, financial and revelatory sides of the prophet's life.
"Very few seem to recognize how much his spiritual labors as a prophet consumed his life," Turley said Friday. "I maintain that no one can really understand Joseph Smith without understanding his revelations and translations in depth. … This I believe is the greatest failing of Joseph Smith biographies to date, and one we hope to avoid in writing 'Joseph the Prophet.'"
The book will serve as a more accessible version of the in-depth Joseph Smith Papers, which comprises 27 volumes containing 1,306 journal entries, 643 letters, 155 revelations, 18,822 pages and 49,687 footnotes.
The Church of Jesus Christ said Turley will rely on the research and help of Church History Department scholars, Joseph Smith Papers historians, the Family History Department and BYU professors. Turley added that the Joseph Smith Papers will serve as a basis for his writing but that the papers are not comprehensive, and historians who worked on the papers will continue to help him conduct further research.
"I can say categorically that the Joseph Smith papers are now the single most important resource for studying the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith," Turley said. "The magisterial Joseph Smith papers have laid a firm foundation for the new biography 'Joseph the Prophet,' and other future biographies of the Prophet and his associates."
"I'm thrilled with the announcement there will be a new biography written of (Joseph Smith) now in the years to come that will largely be based and founded on the work of the Joseph Smith Papers project," said Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the Church History Department. "I think the reason that Joseph is important just isn't because of him as a man and his greatness as a prophet, it's because of what he stands for and the light that his life, his teachings, reflect on the Savior of the world."
The first volume of the Joseph Smith Papers was published in 2008, with the remaining 26 published two per year over the following years. President Oaks said Friday that this was "an unheard-of pace for documentary editions."
"No other documentary editing project can match this record of high-quality volumes produced in such a short period of time," President Oaks said.
Larry and Gail Miller
President Oaks also thanked Utah philanthropists Larry and Gail Miller for their contributions to the Joseph Smith Papers during the conference Friday, saying it would not have been possible without their donations.
"The Millers' inspired decision resolved the final issue in making the expanded papers project a reality," President Oaks said.
Gail Miller said getting involved with the Joseph Smith Papers was a "very special opportunity" and described the awe she and her late husband experienced when they saw original church history documents, including Joseph Smith's journals and personal writings.
"I often think that we got involved by accident, but I know now it wasn't an accident. It was orchestrated," Gail Miller said during a roundtable at the conference. "I have never expected anything in return, but I have had blessings, manyfold. So thank you for the opportunity."
The conference continues through Saturday. The broadcast is available on the church's website.
