According to Ronald K. Esplin, executive director of The Joseph Smith Papers, “This may be the largest history-related project that Church-sponsored scholars have ever undertaken—a measure, of course, of the centrality of Joseph Smith and his records in documenting our shared religious heritage.”

Richard L. Bushman of Columbia University and a member of The Joseph Smith Papers advisory board praises the LDS Church’s sponsorship of this complete edition of Joseph Smith’s papers. “We work on the assumption that the closer you get to Joseph Smith in the sources, the stronger he will appear, rather than the reverse, as is so often assumed by critics. His warmth, his sincerity, and his absolute devotion to the cause come through page after page.”