Many sources address Church history, but which sources can I trust? It’s important to think about where we get our information, how reliable the source, and whether we can trust the accuracy of the source. In other words, what are credible sources, or what sources can I trust? I’m not a historian, but my experience as an attorney has helped me think about this in terms of “evidence” and the reliability of sources.
The legal rules of evidence exist to recognize credible sources
The legal rules of evidence are applicable in almost every court proceeding with the intent to identify reliable evidence. For example, Rule 602 of the Utah Rules of Evidence requires that a witness have “personal knowledge.”1 Rule 802 provides that “hearsay” is not admissible, except in very specific circumstances as set forth in other rules.2 These two rules work together, for example, so that witnesses who testify in court can only testify about what they saw or experienced, not what someone else told them.
My experience with these rules has guided the way I have approached my study of church history. For example, a person’s journal containing a description of what that person did on a certain day would be more reliable than an oral tradition of multiple people telling other people about what happened that day. When studying history, the source matters. We should always ask the question “did this come from a credible source?”
We should constantly be aware of whether we are hearing fact, or whether we are hearing opinion. The Utah Rules of Evidence also have rules regarding facts and opinions. Rule 701 has certain limitations about opinions that a fact witness can give.3 In other words, a fact witness may testify regarding facts within their personal knowledge, but they cannot provide even their own opinions about those events.
As I have dealt with these rules, I have gained more of an understanding of what is a fact versus what is an opinion. This has helped me in my study of history. I prefer to read records by individuals who had first-hand knowledge of events rather than commentary containing opinions.
The Joseph Smith Papers are a credible source
The primary source for early church history is the Joseph Smith Papers. “The Joseph Smith Papers Project is an effort to gather together all extant Joseph Smith documents and to publish complete and accurate transcripts of those documents with both textual and contextual annotation.”4
The 27 printed volumes come in different series: Journals, Revelations and Translations, Histories, Documents, Administrative Records.5
The Joseph Smith Papers website
The Joseph Smith Papers website includes documents from the published volumes, as well as legal records, financial records, and many more documents than the printed volumes.6
The JSP website also contains a significant amount of media, including videos, photographs, illustrations, charts, and maps.
There is a series of podcasts that contain discussions and background information regarding the First Vision, the Priesthood Restored, the Nauvoo Temple, Kirtland, and Carthage.
The website contains reference information, such as biographical sketches of people from church history, places, and many other references.
Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days
A great way to introduce yourself to Church history is to read the Saints volumes.7 Volume 1 details the foundations of the church, from 1815 to 1846; Volume 2 covers 1846 to 1893; Volume 3 covers 1893 to 1955.
Teachings of the Presidents
The manual Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, has teachings of the prophet as well as biographical sketches of his life.8 This is a great resource that was compiled largely from the Joseph Smith Papers.
Other sources
There are many other credible sources, but they should be first-hand accounts. Two examples are books written by Lucy Mack Smith, Joseph’s mother, and Parley P. Pratt.
A History of Joseph Smith, by His Mother, written by Lucy Mack Smith, gives great insight into the early life of Joseph Smith.9 This expands upon Joseph’s own experiences, and gives the perspective of his mother.
The Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt recounts Parley’s personal experiences.10 This is a very entertaining, fast-paced read. Here is an excerpt of one of my favorite parts of the book, wherein Parley talks about being in prison with Joseph in Missouri:
“In one of those tedious nights we had lain as if in sleep till the hour of midnight had passed, and our ears and hearts bad been pained, while we had listened for hours to the obscene jests, the horrid oaths, the dreadful blasphemies and filthy language of our guards, Colonel Price at their head, as they recounted to each other their deeds of rapine, murder, robbery, etc., which they had committed among the “Mormons” while at Far West and vicinity. They even boasted of defiling by force wives, daughters and virgins, and of shooting or dashing out the brains of men, women and children.
“I had listened till I became so disgusted, shocked, horrified, and so filled with the spirit of indignant justice that I could scarcely refrain from rising upon my feet and rebuking the guards; but had said nothing to Joseph, or any one else, although I lay next to him and knew he was awake. On a sudden he arose to his feet, and spoke in a voice of thunder, or as the roaring lion, uttering, as near as I can recollect, the following words:
“SILENCE, ye fiends of the infernal pit. In the name of Jesus Christ I rebuke you, and command you to be still; I will not live another minute and hear such language. Cease such talk, or you or I die THIS INSTANT!
“He ceased to speak. He stood erect in terrible majesty. Chained, and without a weapon; calm, unruffled and dignified as an angel, he looked upon the quailing guards, whose weapons were lowered or dropped to the ground; whose knees smote together, and who, shrinking into a corner, or crouching at his feet, begged his pardon, and remained quiet till a change of guards.
“I have seen the ministers of justice, clothed in magisterial robes, and criminals arraigned before them, while life was suspended on a breath, in the Courts of England; I have witnessed a Congress in solemn session to give laws to nations; I have tried to conceive of kings, of royal courts, of thrones and crowns; and of emperors assembled to decide the fate of kingdoms; but dignity and majesty have I seen but once, as it stood in chains, at midnight, in a dungeon in an obscure village of Missouri.”11
The website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a dedicated page for Church history at history.churchofjesuschrist.org.
One of the purposes of this website is to provide sources for the original material. For example, see my post, “The First Vision Accounts,”12 which contains links to all the accounts of the First Vision, or my post, “The 1832 First Vision Account,”13 which contains the full text of the 1832 First Vision Account.
We should constantly ask ourselves, “what sources can I trust,” and make sure that we are reading reliable, credible sources. It is vital to find a source that you trust.
References
- Utah R. Evid. 602.
- Utah R. Evid. 802.
- Utah R. Evid. 701.
- About the Project, The Joseph Smith Papers, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/articles/about-the-project.
- Published Volumes, The Joseph Smith Papers, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/articles/published-volumes.
- Browse the Papers, The Joseph Smith Papers, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/the-papers.
- Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/saints?lang=eng.
- Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, https://site.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-joseph-smith?lang=eng.
- Lucy Mack Smith, A History of Joseph Smith By His Mother, ebook published by Zions Camp Books. There are many versions of this book. The version I reference is an inexpensive version published for the Amazon Kindle.
- Parley P. Pratt, The Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, ebook published by $1 LDS Books. There are many versions of this book. The version I reference is an inexpensive version published for the Amazon Kindle.
- Parley P. Pratt, The Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, Chapter 26, Parley P. Pratt, http://mldb.byu.edu/ppprat26.htm.
- https://discoverfaithinchrist.com/the-first-vision-accounts/.
- https://discoverfaithinchrist.com/the-first-vision-1832-account/.