It was originally titled Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations and was published by Orson Pratt in Liverpool in 1853.

Eventually, apostle Orson Pratt obtained Lucy's copy and published it in 1853, to great controversy.

There was no "corrected" version until the church published a 1901 serialization and 1902 book, which were done under the direction of Joseph F. Smith, Lucy's grandson.

[5] LDS historian Leonard Arrington saw the book as "informative, basically accurate, and extremely revealing of Joseph Smith's early life and family background," and felt it "perhaps tells more about Mormon origins than any other single source.

"[5] Non-Mormon historian Jan Shipps identifies this history as being "of central importance in the Mormon historical corpus.