David J. Whittaker is a Mormon historian and bibliographer who is working with the Joseph Smith Papers. He has authored or co-authored seven books and about fifty scholarly articles. He was the curator of Western and Mormon history manuscripts for the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Library of the Harold B. Lee Library. He was also a professor of history at Brigham Young University. He received his BA from BYU, his MA from California State University at Northridge, and his PhD from BYU. A native of California, he and his wife have four children.