Max H Parkin was coeditor of volumes in the Documents series of The Joseph Smith Papers when this was written. He received a BS degree in business from the University of Utah, an MA from Brigham Young University in history and philosophy of religion, and a PhD from BYU in LDS Church history and doctrine. Some of his writings include Conflict at Kirtland and Missouri, volume four of the Sacred Places series. He served as a volunteer researcher in the Museum of Church History and Art, was a lecturer on Sea Trek 2001, and taught for the Church Educational System for fifty years, principally at the Institute of Religion at the University of Utah.