Documents in Joseph Smith’s Handwriting
Although Joseph
Smith left a sizable collection of written records, few documents remain that are
considered holographs, that is, written in his own handwriting. In his earliest history, in one of the rare passages we have in his own
handwriting, Joseph Smith wrote of learning to read and write despite limited formal
education: “It required the exertions of all that were able to render any assistance
for the support of the Family therefore we were deprived of the bennifit of an
education suffice it to say I was mearly instructid in reading writing and the
ground rules of Arithmatic which const[it]uted my whole literary acquirements.”
The majority of the
time, Joseph Smith relied on scribes and clerks to compose, copy, or take down his
dictation of the thousands of pages attributed to him, including sacred texts,
correspondence, journals, histories, administrative records, and other documents.
The scarcity of surviving records he personally wrote gives added significance to
their pages. In many cases, they allow a deeper connection to his personality,
thoughts, and emotions than texts penned by scribes or reproduced in print. Readers
should bear in mind, however, that because a large portion of Joseph Smith documents
survive as copies, there is not always a correlation between holographs and more
direct access to Joseph Smith’s mind. In some cases, documents not found in his
handwriting may have a closer connection to Smith than texts in his own hand.
The list below
presents the journal entries and letters or other documents written, either entirely
or substantially, in Joseph Smith’s hand. Documents with very minor portions written
by Joseph Smith, or those with just his signature, are not included. As explained in
our Editorial
Method, Smith’s handwriting is rendered in bold in
transcripts. Images of the documents can be enlarged for viewing details of the
original. If the document listed is currently on our website, a link is included;
other documents will be forthcoming.
Book of Mormon
Manuscript Excerpt, circa May 1829 [Alma 45:22]
Entries from Journal,
1832–1834
Entries from Journal,
1835–1836
Letter to Almira
Mack Scobey, 2 June 1835 (at end of Letters to John Burk, Sally Phelps, and Almira Scobey, 1─2 June 1835)
Pay Order to Henry
G. Sherwood for John A. Hicks, 7 November 1839
Letter to Emma
Smith, 20–25 January 1840
Statement and
Blessing, ca. February 1840 (private possession)
Authorization for
Ebenezer Robinson, 24 February 1842