Joseph Smith Papers: Journals, December 1841-April 1843, Vol. 2
The editors of the volume have produced transcripts that scholars may rely upon with confidence. . . . Ancillary material included in the volume and on the Smith Papers website is outstanding and will serve as an essential reference library to scholars. . . . The examination of this volume revealed no reason to doubt that the editors have risen to the challenge and produced an unfiltered view of the documents left behind by the founders of the Church. In ways both subtle and immediately evident it is clear that the editing standards applied at the Smith Papers are forthright and rigorous.   Hobson Woodward, Mormon Historical Studies 13, nos. 1 2 (Spring/Fall 2013): 239 241.  The value of this volume lies in the journals themselves, the annotations, and the remaining scholarly apparatus. All reflect the resources and talent that the Church History Department continues to devote to this venture. . . . The chronology, outstanding maps, biographical directory, complex charts of church officers, and bibliography will all also be of great use to anyone active in Mormon Studies. Any instructor with students who might write research papers on Mormon topics should have their libraries buy the (not inexpensive) volumes of the JSP.  John Turner, Joseph Smith Journals, Religion in American History (blog), 6 Dec. 2011.  This is a unique and momentous publication, done in a way unlikely to be duplicated. It is also one that every scholar seriously interested in the founding documents of the Church must inevitably examine. James B. Allen, BYU Studies Quarterly 51, no. 2 (2012): 151 160  A particularly useful contribution of the editors is identifying the hands that contributed to the manuscript text. On the transcript pages, the work (sometimes only marks of punctuation) of Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, William W. Phelps, Sidney Rigdon, and John Whitmer is distinguished by a different color of ink. This puts at the disposal of readers the expertise it took the editors hours to acquire becoming familiar not just with the singular shapes characteristic of the handwriting of each individual, but also with even the most minute, but important elements of an individual s style. David B. Gracy, II, Mormon Historical Studies 11, no. 2 (Fall 2010): 177 180. The Joseph Smith Papers Project began working with [Revelation Book 1, which is labeled Book of Commandments and Revelations ] in the middle of 2006. In that short period they have done a magnificent job. . . . I recommend this volume (with transcriptions) for the serious inquirer of Latter Day Saint scriptures. If there is just one book that you should own of the Joseph Smith Papers, this is the book. H. Michael Marquardt, The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal 30 (2010): 275 278. It is hard to overstate the significance of [Revelations and Translations: Manuscript Revelation Books] to Mormon historiography. Editors have transformed these foundational records, much of them only recently discovered, into a vividly accessible volume that exceeds all documentary standards and reveals the process of Mormon revelation in stunning detail. --J. Stapley, Review: The Joseph Smith Papers, Revelations and Translations: Manuscript Revelation Books, By Common Consent (blog), 4 Nov. 2009,This new volume will allow each person [to] access . . . these revelations and see for themselves the changes that have been made. By seeing these pages of scripture in their early form the reader can have an informed understanding of this revelatory process. I highly recommend this book. Joe Geisner, with additional comments by Jeffrey Needle, --Joe Geisner, with additional comments by Jeffrey Needle The Joseph Smith Papers: Revelations and Translation, Vol. 1, LDS Book Lovers, 27 Oct. 2009,This may be the first time that many readers have a chance to examine, even second hand, a primary manuscript from the 19th century. At some point, many will probably test themselves at trying to read a few lines of manuscript before looking at the printed cheat sheet. Depending on the chosen page, there will likely be some pride at how well the novice can read the unfamiliar handwriting, or if the chosen page is one that is faded or particularly carelessly written some marveling at the success of the volume editors in transcribing what seems an impossible mass of pale pen strokes. --Ardis E. Parshall, First Impressions of the Joseph Smith Papers: Revelations Volume, Keepapitchinin (blog), 23 Sept. 2009,.)