Although the seven-volume “Documentary History of the Church” (History of the Church) has served as an indispensable resource in studying the history of Joseph Smith and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mormon scholar Richard Lloyd Anderson calls for a revision of this work so that new supplementary material can be added. Important sources that can be considered as additions to the documentary history include contemporary newspapers (both those run by Mormons and by non-Mormons, even anti-Mormons), contemporary letters, Mormon journals, John Whitmer’s history of the Church, and other sources that have been overlooked. New material should follow the standard of illuminating revelations and the Prophet Joseph Smith’s life and should ultimately serve to clarify, supplement, and expand the current History of the Church. In this article, Anderson even provides excerpts of the documents he wants to be included, in order to illustrate their importance.
