The recent 2025 updates to Latter-day Saint scriptures have raised important questions for many members. While we know the changes are minor (applying primarily to the study helps rather than the scriptures themselves) and stem from the monumental Joseph Smith Papers Project, official announcements often lack the full context for how and why these adjustments are made. How exactly does that scholarship get into our scriptures, and how should members understand this ongoing process of “correcting” and “clarifying” the historical context of revelations? A fascinating new interview at the Latter-day Saint history blog From the Desk, with scholar Matthew Godfrey, a historian and general editor for the Joseph Smith Papers, provides a unique “insider’s view” of both the administrative collaboration and the theological framework for these updates. What follows here is a copost sharing key excerpts and discussion from the full interview.

How Did the Joseph Smith Papers Project Influence Recent Scripture Updates?

Godfrey explains that this process is an established one, continuing a precedent set with the 2013 edition of the scriptures. He notes that as the Joseph Smith Papers project progressed, it became clear that the historical information in the official section headings—many of which had been around for decades—could be significantly improved. This led to a formal collaboration between the Church’s Scriptures Committee and the Church Historian and his team.

Perhaps the most insightful part of the interview is how Godfrey addresses the concern some members might feel about “changing” details associated with the revelations. He provides a powerful historical precedent that reframes the entire discussion, showing that Joseph Smith himself saw the recording of his revelations as a process open to refinement.

As Godfrey explains in the interview:

Before the Book of Commandments (the first compilation of Joseph’s revelations) was published in 1833, a conference appointed Joseph Smith to go through the manuscript revelations and “correct those errors or mistakes which he may discover by the holy Spirit while reviewing the revelations & commandments.”

This 1831 mandate is a crucial piece of context. It indicates that from the very beginning, “early Church members did not view revelations as static.” They understood that the transmission of revelation through human prophets and scribes was a process that could involve “errors that needed correcting.” Godfrey notes that this historical understanding “doesn’t devalue a revelation at all—it’s a further testimony that God works through human beings who sometimes make mistakes, but He is still able to do a great work through them.”

This approach of providing deeper, more accurate historical context is evident in the specific 2025 changes. For instance, in discussing the newly added context for Doctrine and Covenants 89, the Word of Wisdom, Godfrey points to the inclusion of Emma Smith’s role in prompting the revelation:

I think it illustrates a principle that President Russell M. Nelson taught in 2018: “Good inspiration is based upon good information.”

The Lord revealed things to Joseph Smith as he inquired about them… And in other instances—as in the case of the Word of Wisdom—the questions were prompted by discussions Joseph had with other individuals, including Emma Smith.

He provides similar insight for the update to D&C 105, explaining that “Contemporary documents” show that Zion’s Camp was “intended … primarily as a defensive force,” which helps correct a common (and understandable) misunderstanding that it was an “army put together … to forcibly retake the Saints’ land.”

The interview also offers a humble, personal reflection from Godfrey on seeing his and his colleagues’ academic work contribute to the standard works of the Church, which he calls “very gratifying and humbling.”

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This is just a brief look at an informative discussion. For the full interview on the 2025 updates to the Scriptures—including more details on the 2013 changes and the specific types of corrections made in 2025—head on over to the Latter-day Saint history blog, From the Desk, to read the full interview with Matthew Godfrey.