Other early leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, such as Brigham Young, George A. Smith, and Eliza R. Snow, contributed in different ways to the development of the record.

The Joseph Smith–History was published in 1851 by Franklin D. Richards as selected excerpts from the beginning of the History of the Church as part of his collection, the Pearl of Great Price.

It has been used as a proselyting tool by Mormon missionaries; today, they are encouraged to memorize and recite Joseph Smith's account of the First Vision.

When the Church of Christ was organized on April 6, 1830, Joseph Smith received a revelation from God (now known as Doctrine and Covenants 21:1), commanding the Latter Day Saints to record their history.

[2] The account found in Joseph Smith–History is the product of the 1838 attempt undertaken by Smith and other early Latter Day Saint leaders to record the history of the church.

[3] Smith's motivation for creating this history was twofold: to adhere to God's direction to record his experiences, and to respond to critics of his story.

[2] The paranoia that led up to the 1838 Mormon War may have had an effect on the opening passage of Joseph Smith–History, when Smith states: "Owing to the many reports which have been put in circulation ...

[2]It wasn't until December 1842, when Willard Richards—Smith's personal secretary and editor of the Times and Seasons[2]—became scribe that a substantial amount of the history was recorded.

[4] Richards and Phelps remembered that he once asked the schoolmaster of a nearby class to change locations because noise from the students was distracting those tasked with compiling the record.

[5] Smith instructed them to be thorough, pulling information from sources such as newspapers and the records of city council meetings and other organization proceedings.

Wilford Woodruff also worked on the project in his capacity as assistant church historian; he helped gather the testimonies of those who had known Joseph Smith, many of which contradicted each other.

[2] Joseph Smith–History subsequently became part of the official standard works of the LDS Church on October 10, 1880, when the Pearl of Great Price was canonized during the 50th semiannual general conference.

After the proceedings, the manuscript was sent to James E. Talmage, then a professor at the University of Utah, for some minor editing: mainly, adding footnotes and organizing the passages into chapters and verses.

[3] They then proceed to a description of the confusion Smith felt at the age of fourteen pertaining to the various Christian sects that had grown to prominence around him.

[10] These opening verses display Smith's personal search for knowledge[11] and his becoming convinced that an answer from God directly was required in order to know which church to join.

[12] Verses 5 through 20 then comprise one of the four accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision, in which he testifies of having seen God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ:[13]"...I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.

[3] The remainder of the account includes details about Joseph Smith's marriage to his wife, Emma Hale, his experience receiving the ancient Book of Mormon record and beginning translation, and Professor Charles Anthon authenticating the characters found on the golden plates.

[15]: 102–109  The passage concludes with the restoration of the Aaronic priesthood by John the Baptist to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in verses 68 and 69.

"[2]: 59  Today, Preach My Gospel, the training manual for Mormon missionaries, encourages its readers to be prepared to quote Smith's description of the First Vision verbatim as it appears in Joseph Smith–History.

Additionally, the part describing Moroni's appearance to the young Joseph Smith alludes to a prophecy contained in Isaiah 29.

[2] Milton R. Hunter, a member of the LDS Church's Council of the Seventy, wrote that "in many respects it [the Pearl of Great Price] holds an [sic?]