compiling the record. Smith instructed them to be thorough, pulling information from sources such as newspapers and the records of city council meetings and other organization proceedings. While in Carthage Jail, Smith expressed to Richards his wish that work on the history continue. Richards kept his promise, spearheading the production of the history for the next decade. After Smith's death, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles also took over responsibility for the history. Brigham Young began his task of reviewing and revising the record in April 1845. The people involved in the project were able to follow the pattern and style Smith had laid out. As the Mormons were preparing to leave Nauvoo, they were encouraged to gather together any documents that would prove useful to the history. By the time they exited the city, the history included Smith's story up until March 1, 1843. Henry Fairbanks and Thomas Bullock transported the manuscript across the Great Plains. Bullock brought them into the Salt Lake Valley under the direction of Willard Richards. No significant progress was made on the history thereafter until George A. Smith became church historian. He oversaw the addition of 844 pages, ending with a record of August 8, 1844. He drew on various sources, such as transcriptions of Joseph Smith's sermons and sketches of his life previously written by record keepers such as Smith's scribes and Eliza R. Snow. Many of these records George A. Smith inspected had been damaged over time. 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. The history was completed in August 1856 after a total of 17 years of work. The account eventually expanded into the multi-volume History of the Church (also known as Documentary History of the Church), edited by B. H. Roberts and published in its current format in 1902. It was 2,000 pages long in its entirety. Early publication The history was published serially in the newspaper Times and Seasons from March 15, 1842 until February 15, 1846. It was first featured in volume 3, issue 10 of the paper. The portion scribed by Mulholland was what was featured in the Times and Seasons. This selection was later printed into a pamphlet, called "Joseph Smith's Own Story," to be used for proselyting purposes. It was