Q&A with Reid Neilson, editor of Elias—An Epic of the Ages: Critical Edition October 10 2025

Greg Kofford Books recently chatted with Reid L. Neilson, editor of Elias—An Epic of the Ages: A Critical Edition, about his process in creating this new edition of the Latter-day Saint literary classic.

Questions on Editorial Process and Textual Decisions

Q. Choosing the Base Text: In the preface, you mention that Orson F. Whitney's epic exists in a 1904 first edition and a substantially revised 1914 second edition. Could you elaborate on why you chose the second edition as the base text for this critical edition, despite the existence of Whitney’s handwritten revisions for a never-published third edition?

A. This book was a labor of love for Whitney and he spent an incredible amount of time on it over the years. He never felt done with it. Initially, I planned on doing a comparative study of his 1904 and 1914 editions, but there were so many extensive changes that it became impossible to complete. I featured the 1914 edition because that displayed his latest published thinking. But he did continue to tinker with it with lots of different handwritten edits, thoughts, new text, etc. But again, that was so difficult to compare with the published 1914 text so I pointed readers to the handwritten manuscripts that they could go and compare themselves.

Q. The Role of Annotations: Whitney added over three hundred explanatory notes to his 1914 edition. What was your rationale for moving these original endnotes into footnotes directly at the bottom of the poetry pages, and how do you believe this change enhances the reading experience for contemporary students?

A. As a reader of texts myself, I know how awkward it is to constantly go back and forth between a text and an endnote. I felt that having them both on the same page, easy to reference, would make life simpler and more enjoyable for my readers. I love being able to glace up and down on the page and get all of Whitney’s published thinking on a specific stanza or poetic phrase. I think that readers will agree!

Q. Handling Textual Variance: You note that Whitney continued to revise his work, even leaving behind handwritten comments for an unreleased third edition. Did you incorporate any of these unpublished, later revisions, or did you stick strictly to the latest published version to preserve the author's final public statement on the text?

A. As I mentioned above, I did not integrate any of Whitney’s unpublished textual variants into this manuscript for a number of reasons. One of my main rationales was that it was never clear if these handwritten notes were his final thoughts or merely musings. Thus, I determined his published 1914 edition to be the definitive text. But readers will enjoy going to BYU Special Collections and doing this comparative work themselves.

Questions on Context and Structure

Q. The "Miltonic" Model: You compare this volume's structure to the Norton Critical Edition of Milton's Paradise Lost. Beyond the shared epic ambition, what parallels did you see between Whitney's work and Milton's that made this particular organizational model (text followed by appendices of criticism/context) the most appropriate choice?

A. When I began this project I had a general sense of what I hoped to accomplish in featuring Whitney’s epic poetry. But I wasn’t sure what the best format would be. So I spent several hours in the BYU library looking over various critical text editions for the great poets over the past several centuries. I especially wanted to see how literature scholars showcased the epic poetry of the great writes, especially John Milton. Orson F. Whitney was very transparent about his attempt to mimic Milton’s epic narrative. So I naturally wanted to follow the established pattern by the great Milton scholars to the best of my ability.

Q. The Biographical Appendices: The preface highlights five detailed appendices focusing on biographical and critical contexts. How did selecting these specific documents help fulfill the goal of showing the "biographical, historical, and poetical backgrounds" essential for understanding Elias?

A. Critical editions add value through their annotation and reference materials. Everyone already has access to the main texts in question, especially now with the Internet Archive, etc. The scholarly contributions I felt I could best make were in providing readers with the best ancillary materials that had been published over the past century, but they might not be able to locate and appreciate. I viewed this critical edition almost like a museum curator: I wanted to provide context and depth to the featured art, in this case the poetry of Whitney. My goal was to provide a single volume with what serious readers needed to know about Whitney and his Elias poem. My hope is that I gathered the best materials for my readers.

Q. Literary Reception: The appendix featuring contemporaneous responses (1903–1905) shows extraordinary praise for the poem, comparing it to Dante and Milton. From your perspective as an editor and historian, why was the original reception of Elias so intensely celebratory within the Latter-day Saint community?

A. Yes, the initial response, especially by Latter-day Saints in Utah was absolutely over the top. No Latter-day Saint poet had produced a volume like this and it was celebrated. They felt that Whitney had done for the Latter-day Saints what Milton had done of the Protestants and Dante for the Catholics before that. Keep in mind that the first edition went out in 1904 when the Saints were under fire once again for their ongoing practice of plural marriage. The Reed Smoot Senate hearings began that same year. The Latter-day Saints were anxious to celebrate their peoplehood, including their literary contributions to the world during this tumultuous times.

Questions on Reid Neilson's Editorial Perspective

Q. Personal Connection: You describe a long-standing "special affinity" for Orson F. Whitney, stemming in part from serving in the same role (Assistant Church Historian) decades later. How did this personal and professional kinship influence your approach to editing and presenting his magnum opus?

A. Yes, I do have special feelings for this Assistant Church Historian, a title we both shared for a season, but also for his role as an apostle. He was a remarkable writer and thinking and gave his life for the Church he loved. Because of his professional and personal excellence, I was driven to contribute my best to this volume. I wanted my “critical edition” to be critical in the best sense of that term: the best thinking and resources that I could provide for our readers. I want to shine the truest light I can on his work from a variety of perspectives.

Q. The Nature of Mormon Epic: Whitney himself noted that "No poet ever had a greater theme" than Elias. In compiling the historical background and critical response, what do you see as the single most compelling reason Elias remains "Mormonism's true epic poem," even if it is currently little-known?

A. Because it captures and tells the story of the entire plan of salvation, from the premortal councils in heaven, to the postmortal judgement. The Restoration was just a small piece of this grand narrative. Whitney wanted to show the grand story of Heavenly Father’s creation, fall, and atonement in the lives of his mortal children. Quite a canvas to paint with words!

Q. Understanding "Poetic Language": You mention retaining many early-twentieth-century "spelling variations" to preserve historical nuance. Can you give an example of one such retention and explain how retaining these older forms helps the modern reader step into the "poetic language" of Whitney's era?

A. Many of his historic variants are archaic British spellings of various words. Having spent many years in England as a missionary and having spent a lifetime studying British literature, he often deferred to these earlier versions of words, especially if they help with his rhyming and timing. It seems that he found pleasure in using unfamiliar words and phrases to tell his stories. I think he wanted his readers to work a little bit. Thankfully, he annotated many of these unfamiliar allusions and words in his 1914 edition, which I feature in the footnotes.

A Final Word on Whitney

Q. For a reader coming to Elias for the first time, what core idea or spiritual insight do you hope they take away that resonates most strongly with Orson F. Whitney's original purpose for writing the work?

A. That God’s overarching plan of redemption, which is what the poem is all about, is grander and more spectacular than any secular story. That we need to be better storytellers of our own spiritual heritage. He wove his personal testimony into epic poetry in a remarkable way.

Elias—An Epic of the Ages: A Critical Edition is available in hardcover, in paperback, and as an ebook.