Acknowledgments

Hundreds of people contributed to this new history of the Church, and we are grateful to each one of them. We are indebted to the generations of historians employed by the Church who have meticulously collected and preserved the records on which this book is based. All staff members, missionaries, and volunteers in the Church History Department contributed directly or indirectly. Special thanks to James Goldberg, David Golding, Elizabeth Mott, Jennifer Reeder, and Ryan Saltzgiver for creating the supplemental materials online. The digitization of sources on the Church History Catalog was led by Audrey Spainhower Dunshee and Jay Burton.

The historical analysis in the book depends particularly on The Joseph Smith Papers. We acknowledge the reviews of historians with that project, including Matthew Godfrey, Mark Ashurst-McGee, Elizabeth Kuehn, David Grua, Spencer McBride, and Alex Smith. Jenny Lund and Mark Staker of the Historic Sites Division also provided careful reviews and corrections. R. Eric Smith, editorial manager of the Publications Division, made sizable contributions, as did Alison Palmer and Stephanie Steed. The members of the Church Historian’s Press Editorial Board provided ongoing support.

In shaping the literary structure of the book, we consulted with Ardis Parshall, Chris Crowe, Angela Hallstrom, the late Jonathan Langford, the late Eric C. Olson, Brandon Sanderson, Laurel Barlow, Kathleen and Dean Hughes, H. B. Moore, Kimberley Heuston Sorenson, and Gale Sears. Historians Alex Baugh and Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye also provided important assistance, as did Frank Rolapp. Greg Newbold created the engaging artwork and maps.

John Heath, Debra Abercrombie, and Miryelle Resek contributed to the outreach effort. Kiersten Olson, Jo Lyn Curtis, Andrea Maxfield, and Debi Robins provided administrative assistance. Lizzie Saltsman provided project management.

Members of other Church departments likewise contributed, including a cross-departmental team made up of Irinna Danielson, Alan Paulsen, Karlie Guymon, Robert Ewer, Jen Ward, Drew Conrad, David Dickson, and Paul Murphy. Other contributors include Eliza Nevin, Patric Gerber, Nick Olvera, Paul VanDerHoeven, Randall Pixton, Brooke Frandsen, David Mann, Alan Blake, Jeff Hutchings, Gary Walton, Matt Evans, Scott Welty, and Jeff Hatch. Kelly Haws, Mark Eastmond, Casey Olson, and Tom Valletta spent many hours reviewing the manuscript. Translators carefully prepared the entire text in thirteen languages as well as the first eight chapters in dozens of additional languages.

Hundreds of volunteer readers from all around the world reviewed the narrative and provided feedback that improved the book and helped ensure that it would speak to the minds and hearts of Saints everywhere.