R. Eric Smith: Unsung Hero of the Joseph Smith Papers

The Joseph Smith Papers Project team regrets to announce the recent passing of R. Eric Smith. Eric served as the project's senior editorial manager and as one of its general editors. His influence can be found on nearly every page of both the 27-volume print edition and the project's website.

At a very early stage in the Joseph Smith Papers Project, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints decided the Papers would be published not through an external press but through the newly created Church Historian’s Press. This crucial decision allowed the church to ensure the excellence of every portion of the project, from historical research through typesetting. It also required the project team to quickly create an editorial operation to verify the accuracy of every word in the original documents, to source check every introduction and footnote, to edit every page, and to publish the information both in thick volumes and on a comprehensive website. Eric was the genius who created that editorial operation.

While the project’s historians, beginning with Dean Jessee, are frequently recognized for their contributions to the Papers, the work of Eric and the team of editors he helped hire, mentor, and lead is less understood and often underestimated. Those who worked on the project are quick to point to Eric as vital to the project’s success and its reputation as the gold standard in documentary editing. Matthew J. Grow, managing director of the Church History Department, worked closely with Eric for more than 15 years. “Eric had a gift to balance his meticulous ability to find any mistake on the page with the vision to see the big picture of what the Joseph Smith Papers needed,” Grow shared. “Editors work behind the scenes,” he added, “but those of us who worked with Eric on the Joseph Smith Papers know that the project would not have met its lofty goals without his steady leadership.”

Eric’s colleagues remember him as a joy to work with. His wry sense of humor lightened the mood in tense situations and helped bring the team together. Joseph Smith Papers Project archivist Sharalyn D. Howcroft mused, “His fun-loving horseplay helped us to not take ourselves, our intellects, or the daunting work in front of us too seriously.”

In addition to his roles with the Joseph Smith Papers, Eric was the lead editor for First Fifty Years of Relief Society, the online publication of the Diaries of Emmeline B. Wells, and the second volume of Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, among his many other contributions.

During his time with the Church History Department, he was diagnosed with kidney cancer, which he battled courageously for more than 15 years. He faced this trial with faith, resolve, and good humor. He passed away on 22 July 2026. His colleagues join his family in mourning the loss of their dear friend and mentor.