Joseph Smith

Family Background

1805. December 23: Born in Sharon, Vermont, to Joseph Smith, Sr., and Lucy Mack. He was a brother of Hyrum Smith and William Smith, a first cousin to George A. Smith, third cousin to Oliver Cowdery, fourth cousin to Willard Richards, fifth cousin to Heber C. Kimball, and sixth cousin to Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, and Orson Pratt.

1827. January 18: Eloped with Emma Hale. They had eleven children, including adopted twins. Only five of the children reached adulthood, and one of them, David Hyrum, was born shortly after his father's death. Joseph Smith, III, became the first president of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Although some evidence indicates Joseph Smith may have been involved in polygamy as early as Kirtland, Erastus Snow testified that Louisa Beaman became the Prophet's first plural wife in 1841. The total number of Joseph Smith's wives is unknown. Some accounts list eighty. Fawn Brodie's No Man Knows My History names forty-eight, including widows of Bishop Vincent Knight and Seventies President Lyman R. Sherman, daughters of Heber C. Kimball, Edward Partridge, and Newell K. Whitney, sisters of Brigham Young and Willard Richards, the sister-in-law of Parley P. Pratt, and two stepdaughters of Seventies President Josiah Butterfield.

Prophet

Joseph Smith reported a boyhood vision of God and Jesus Christ in Palmyra, New York. Though several accounts of this vision exist, the first known record was not made until 1831-32, and no account was published until Orson Pratt's 1840 missionary tract, Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions and of the Late Discovery of Ancient American Records. The best-known version, published by the Prophet in the 1842 Times and Seasons, is included in the Pearl of Great Price.

Angelic visitations resulted in the young Prophet's obtaining the Book of Mormon plates September 22, 1827.

Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery later reported they had been baptized and ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood by John the Baptist on May 15, 1829, and ordained one month later to the Melchizedek Priesthood by Peter, James, and John. In 1832 Joseph and Sidney Rigdon had a vision of God, Christ, and the eternal worlds, and in 1836, the Prophet and Oliver Cowdery had a vision of Christ, Moses, Elias, and Elijah in the Kiltland Temple.

Joseph Smith recorded more than a hundred revelations, including the Book of Moses (1830), the Law of Consecration (1831), a revelation prophesying the Civil War (1832), the Word of Wisdom (1833), and the revelation on plural marriage (1843).

"When did I ever teach anything wrong from this stand?" he asked. "When was I ever confounded … ? I never told you I was perfect: but there is no error in the revelations which I have taught."

Translator

He began the translation of the Book of Mormon on April 28, 1828, publishing it in March, 1830. In 1833 he said he had completed his "translation of the Bible," but periodically made additional changes until his death. In March, 1842, he published the Book of Abraham—"a translation of some ancient Records, that have fallen into our hands, from the catacombs of Egypt." He had worked on this translation since 1835, also developing "an alphabet to the Book of Abraham," and arranging "a grammar of the Egyptian language as practiced by the ancients."

Although the Prophet translated "through the Gift and Power of God," he also acquired rudimentary reading skills in Hebrew, Latin, and German.

Kirtland

During the nearly seven years that he lived in Ohio, Joseph Smith organized the First Presidency (1832), prepared an "inspired version" of the Bible (1833), organized the first high council (1834), led Zion's Camp to Missouri (1834), conducted the School of the Prophets (1834), and dedicated the Kirtland Temple (1835).

While living with the John Johnson family in Hiram, Ohio, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon were beaten, tarred, and feathered. A "doctor" intent on emasculating the two lost heart when he saw their naked bodies stretched out on the ground. But a vial of acid forced into the Prophet's mouth injured a tooth and his palate, causing a whistle in his speech. Joseph also had a permanent limp from a childhood operation for osteo-myelitis, a complication of typhoid fever.

First President of the Church

1830. Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, each designated as "an apostle of Jesus Christ, an elder of this church," organized the "church of Christ" on April 6, 1830 (Book of Commandments 24:1-4). Joseph became "President of the High Priesthood" on January 25, 1832. The first First Presidency, which included counselors Sidney Rigdon and Jesse Gause, was organized in March, 1832.

Missouri

1831. June: Joseph Smith first visited Missouri with Sidney Rigdon, Martin Harris, Edward Partridge, W. W. Phelps, and others. There the temple site was revealed (D&C 57) and the Colesville, New York, Branch began the Mormon settlement of Jackson County.

1838. January 12: Following the collapse of the Kirtland Safety Society, Joseph and Sidney Rigdon fled to Far West, Missouri. They were arrested there in October on charges of "treason, murder, arson, larceny, theft, and stealing." They spent the following six months in the Richmond and Liberty jails, "within the walls, grates, and screeking of iron doors, of a lonesome, dark, dirty prison."

Joseph had forty-eight lawsuits brought against him during his lifetime. He prevailed in forty-seven. The sole exception was an 1826 indictment for fraudulent "glass looking" brought by Peter G. Bridgeman. Fraser's Magazine of February, 1873, claimed Smith was convicted of a misdemeanor in the case. George A. Smith may have been referring to this case when he told a Salt Lake City congregation in 1855 that Joseph Smith "was never found guilty but once."

Nauvoo

1840s. During the Prophet's five years in Illinois, he served as trustee-in-trust for the Church, receiving, managing, and conveying Church property; married several plural wives; edited the Times and Seasons (1842); received a Master Mason Degree "on sight" from Illinois Grand Master Abraham Jonas (1842); organized the Relief Society (1842); organized the Council of Fifty (1842); instituted the full endowment ceremony in the second story of his "red brick store" (1842); became mayor of Nauvoo (1842); dictated the revelation on plural marriage (1843); and became a U.S. presidential candidate: "When I get hold of the Eastern papers, and see how popular I am, I am afraid myself that I shall be elected" (1844).

"Strong and Active"

Joseph Smith was six feet tall and weighed two hundred pounds. Parley P. Pratt described him as "tall and well built, strong and active, of light complexion, light hair, blue eyes, very little beard, and of an expression peculiar to himself, on which the eye naturally rested with interest and was never weary of beholding. His countenance was ever mild, affable, beaming with intelligence and benevolence; mingled with a look of interest and an unconscious smile, or cheerfulness, and entirely free from all restraint or affectation of gravity; and there was something connected with the serene and steady penetrating glance of his eye, as if he would penetrate the deepest abyss of the human heart, gaze into eternity, penetrate the heavens and comprehend all worlds."

Aroet Hale, a Nauvoo acquaintance, wrote, "Joseph was always goodnatured and full of fun. I have seen him sit down on the carpet in his office in the Mansion and pull sticks with the Nauvoo Police. … The Prophet would … pull the stoutest man up with one hand."

	A Book of Mormons Richard S. Van Wagoner and Steven C. Walker Copyright 1982, Signature Books Salt Lake City, Utah Contents


	Joseph Smith (1805-1844)

				Joseph Smith was the prophet and first president of the Church and a martyr. Photograph courtesy Utah State Historical Society.


	Family Background 1805. December 23: Born in Sharon, Vermont, to Joseph Smith, Sr., and Lucy Mack. He was a brother of Hyrum Smith and William Smith, a first cousin to George A. Smith, third cousin to Oliver Cowdery, fourth cousin to Willard Richards, fifth cousin to Heber C. Kimball, and sixth cousin to Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, and Orson Pratt. 1827. January 18: Eloped with Emma Hale. They had eleven children, including adopted twins. Only five of the children reached adulthood, and one of them, David Hyrum, was born shortly after his father's death. Joseph Smith, III, became the first president of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Although some evidence indicates Joseph Smith may have been involved in polygamy as early as Kirtland, Erastus Snow testified that Louisa Beaman became the Prophet's first plural wife in 1841. The total number of Joseph Smith's wives is unknown. Some accounts list eighty. Fawn Brodie's No Man Knows My History names forty-eight, including widows of Bishop Vincent Knight and Seventies President Lyman R. Sherman, daughters of Heber C. Kimball, Edward Partridge, and Newell K. Whitney, sisters of Brigham Young and Willard Richards, the sister-in-law of Parley P. Pratt, and two stepdaughters of Seventies President Josiah Butterfield. Prophet Joseph Smith reported a boyhood vision of God and Jesus Christ in Palmyra, New York. Though several accounts of this vision exist, the first known record was not made until 1831-32, and no account was published until Orson Pratt's 1840 missionary tract, Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions and of the Late Discovery of Ancient American Records. The best-known version, published by the Prophet in the 1842 Times and Seasons, is included in the Pearl of Great Price. Angelic visitations resulted in the young Prophet's obtaining the Book of Mormon plates September 22, 1827. Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery later reported they had been baptized and ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood by John the Baptist on May 15, 1829, and ordained one month later to the Melchizedek Priesthood by Peter, James, and John. In 1832 Joseph and Sidney Rigdon had a vision of God, Christ, and the eternal worlds, and in 1836, the Prophet and Oliver Cowdery had a vision of Christ, Moses, Elias, and Elijah in the Kiltland Temple. Joseph Smith recorded more than a hundred revelations, including the Book of Moses (1830), the Law of Consecration (1831), a revelation prophesying the Civil War (1832), the Word of Wisdom (1833), and the revelation on plural marriage (1843). "When did I ever teach anything wrong from this stand?" he asked. "When was I ever confounded … ? I never told you I was perfect: but there is no error in the revelations which I have taught." Translator He began the translation of the Book of Mormon on April 28, 1828, publishing it in March, 1830. In 1833 he said he had completed his "translation of the Bible," but periodically made additional changes until his death. In March, 1842, he published the Book of Abraham—"a translation of some ancient Records, that have fallen into our hands, from the catacombs of Egypt." He had worked on this translation since 1835, also developing "an alphabet to the Book of Abraham," and arranging "a grammar of the Egyptian language as practiced by the ancients." Although the Prophet translated "through the Gift and Power of God," he also acquired rudimentary reading skills in Hebrew, Latin, and German. Kirtland During the nearly seven years that he lived in Ohio, Joseph Smith organized the First Presidency (1832), prepared an "inspired version" of the Bible (1833), organized the first high council (1834), led Zion's Camp to Missouri (1834), conducted the School of the Prophets (1834), and dedicated the Kirtland Temple (1835). While living with the John Johnson family in Hiram, Ohio, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon were beaten, tarred, and feathered. A "doctor" intent on emasculating the two lost heart when he saw their naked bodies stretched out on the ground. But a vial of acid forced into the Prophet's mouth injured a tooth and his palate, causing a whistle in his speech. Joseph also had a permanent limp from a childhood operation for osteo-myelitis, a complication of typhoid fever. First President of the Church 1830. Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, each designated as "an apostle of Jesus Christ, an elder of this church," organized the "church of Christ" on April 6, 1830 (Book of Commandments 24:1-4). Joseph became "President of the High Priesthood" on January 25, 1832. The first First Presidency, which included counselors Sidney Rigdon and Jesse Gause, was organized in March, 1832. Missouri 1831. June: Joseph Smith first visited Missouri with Sidney Rigdon, Martin Harris, Edward Partridge, W. W. Phelps, and others. There the temple site was revealed (D&C 57) and the Colesville, New York, Branch began the Mormon settlement of Jackson County. 1838. January 12: Following the collapse of the Kirtland Safety Society, Joseph and Sidney Rigdon fled to Far West, Missouri. They were arrested there in October on charges of "treason, murder, arson, larceny, theft, and stealing." They spent the following six months in the Richmond and Liberty jails, "within the walls, grates, and screeking of iron doors, of a lonesome, dark, dirty prison." Joseph had forty-eight lawsuits brought against him during his lifetime. He prevailed in forty-seven. The sole exception was an 1826 indictment for fraudulent "glass looking" brought by Peter G. Bridgeman. Fraser's Magazine of February, 1873, claimed Smith was convicted of a misdemeanor in the case. George A. Smith may have been referring to this case when he told a Salt Lake City congregation in 1855 that Joseph Smith "was never found guilty but once." Nauvoo 1840s. During the Prophet's five years in Illinois, he served as trustee-in-trust for the Church, receiving, managing, and conveying Church property; married several plural wives; edited the Times and Seasons (1842); received a Master Mason Degree "on sight" from Illinois Grand Master Abraham Jonas (1842); organized the Relief Society (1842); organized the Council of Fifty (1842); instituted the full endowment ceremony in the second story of his "red brick store" (1842); became mayor of Nauvoo (1842); dictated the revelation on plural marriage (1843); and became a U.S. presidential candidate: "When I get hold of the Eastern papers, and see how popular I am, I am afraid myself that I shall be elected" (1844). "Strong and Active" Joseph Smith was six feet tall and weighed two hundred pounds. Parley P. Pratt described him as "tall and well built, strong and active, of light complexion, light hair, blue eyes, very little beard, and of an expression peculiar to himself, on which the eye naturally rested with interest and was never weary of beholding. His countenance was ever mild, affable, beaming with intelligence and benevolence; mingled with a look of interest and an unconscious smile, or cheerfulness, and entirely free from all restraint or affectation of gravity; and there was something connected with the serene and steady penetrating glance of his eye, as if he would penetrate the deepest abyss of the human heart, gaze into eternity, penetrate the heavens and comprehend all worlds." Aroet Hale, a Nauvoo acquaintance, wrote, "Joseph was always goodnatured and full of fun. I have seen him sit down on the carpet in his office in the Mansion and pull sticks with the Nauvoo Police. … The Prophet would … pull the stoutest man up with one hand."


	Martyr 1844. During his last days the Prophet reported a revelation which instructed him to leave Nauvoo and promised his life would be preserved. He planned a trip to Washington, D.C., to seek federal aid for the Saints. But nervous followers in Nauvoo accused him of cowardice, begging him to return to Nauvoo from his haven across the Mississippi. Despite the revelation, he returned, declaring shortly before his death, "I have heard to [sic] the brethren, & gone to Carthage contrary to the council of the spirit & I am now no more than another man." Submitting to arrest for ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor, Joseph Smith was incarcerated in Carthage Jail. On the morning of June 27, he wrote Emma, "I am very much resigned to my lot, knowing I am justified, and have done the best that could be done. Give my love to the children and all my friends." He was shot to death that evening, at the age of thirty-nine, by a mob which stormed the jail. Two years before his death, Joseph had built a family tomb near the Nauvoo Temple. He wanted the tomb to be called the tomb of Joseph, a descendant of Jacob. "And when I die," he said, "let me be gathered to the tomb of my Father." Emma, fearful the bodies would be disinterred by enemies, secretly buried the brothers in the unfinished basement of the Nauvoo House. They were later moved across the street behind the Smith family homestead. Sources Brodie, Fawn M. No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet. 2nd ed. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1971. Conkling, Christopher. A Joseph Smith Chronology,. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1979. Hill, Donna. Joseph Smith: The First Mormon. Garden City: Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1977. History of the Church, 2:170; 6:116, 244, 366, 605; 7:107. Journal of Discourses, 2:213. Matthews, Robert J. Joseph Smith's Translation of the Bible. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1975. Millennial Star, 26:834. Pratt, Parley P., Jr., ed. Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1966. Quinn, D. Michael. "The Council of Fifty and Its Members: 1844 to 1945." Brigham Young University Studies 20 (Winter 1980):163-197. _____. "Joseph Smith III's 1844 Blessing and the Mormons of Utah." John Whitmer Historical Association Journal 1 (1981):12-27 _____. "Latter-day Saint Prayer Circles." Brigham Young University Studies 19 (Fall 1978):79-105. Saints' Herald, 26:289. Salt Lake City, Utah. LDS Church Archives. Aroet L. Hale Journal. ______. Joseph Smith, Jr., Papers.