Robin Scott Jensen is a historian for the Joseph Smith Papers and coedited the five volumes in the Revelations and Translations series (published 2009, 2011, 2015, 2018, and 2021). He specializes in document and transcription analysis. He is also a member of the Church History Department Editorial Board. In 2005 he earned an MA degree in American history from Brigham Young University, and in 2009 he earned a second MA in library and information science with an archival concentration from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. In 2019 he earned a PhD in history at the University of Utah. He completed training at the Institute for the Editing of Historical Documents in 2007. He has published several articles and edited documents and has presented papers at various scholarly conferences.
Five things you may not have known about the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon:
- What can we learn about the translation from the original manuscript?
- Mosiah through Moroni came first and then the small plates (through Words of Mormon) came second.
- Why do we not have all of the Book of Mormon manuscript?
- Only 28 percent is extant. It was in a cornerstone since 1841
- Are there stories of individuals who helped the translation but who didn’t serve as scribes?
- Story of Joseph Knight and Mary Whitmer
- Is it true that the manuscript was treated as a souvenir?
- Lewis Bidamon handed out pages piecemeal and scattered the manuscript.
- What are the challenges of sharing this important artifact that is held sacred by millions of members of the church and preserving it for future generations?
- Balance between conservation and displaying the manuscript. Also the role of photographs in both sharing and preserving it.
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