About the Author: H. Michael Marquardt is co-author with the late Wesley P. Walters of the acclaimedThe Four Gospels According to Joseph Smith";Inventing Mormonism: Tradition and the Historical Record";The Rise of Mormonism: 1816-1844"; and editor ofEarly Patriarchal Blessings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "and theThe Joseph Smith Revelations: Text and Commentary." In addition, he is the author of several historical monographs, includingThe Book of Abraham Revisited," Joseph Smith s Diaries," andThe Strange Marriages of Sarah Ann Whitney," and of essays that have appeared in a variety of professional and religious journals. A retired civil servant, he is now the webmaster for the Mormon Origins site. He and his wife, Dorothy, live in Sandy, Utah, and have five children.Wesley P. Walters, M.T., Covenant Theological Seminary, was pastor of the Marissa Presbyterian church in Illinois until his death in 1990. His thesis, The Use of the Old Testament in the Book of Mormon, presaged his life s work. He was the editor of the revised editions of Harry L. Ropp s Are the Mormon Scriptures Reliable; co-authored Inventing Mormonism: Tradition and the Historical Record"; was published on similar topics inDialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought," theJournal of the Evangelical Theological Society," Journal of the Westminster Theological Society," and theJournal of Pastoral Practice.""