Joseph Smith was the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, more commonly known as the Mormon church. He was born on December 23, 1805 in Sharon, Vermont to Joseph and Lucy Smith. When he was young, his family moved to Palmyra, New York where Joseph claimed to have visionary experiences with God and angels.
According to Joseph Smith’s account, in 1820 at age 14 he was praying in the woods near his home when he had his First Vision experience. In this vision, God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph and told him that the true church was no longer on the earth and he should join none of the existing denominations. After having other angelic visitations, in 1827 Joseph claimed to have been led by an angel named Moroni to a hill near his home where he dug up a set of gold plates. These plates contained ancient writings in a language called Reformed Egyptian that told the story of the ancient inhabitants of America. Joseph then translated these plates into the Book of Mormon by the power of God (Smith 1832).
Over the next several years, Joseph continued to have revelations and visions. In 1830, he officially organized the Church of Christ (later renamed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) with a small group of followers. Members of this new church were nicknamed Mormons because of their belief in the Book of Mormon. As the church grew, members gathered in Kirtland, Ohio and then Nauvoo, Illinois. However, Joseph Smith and the Mormons faced significant opposition and persecution, with Joseph being tarred and feathered at one point. In 1844, Joseph Smith was killed along with his brother Hyrum when a mob stormed the Carthage, Illinois jail where he was being held on charges of treason and rioting.
Joseph Smith accomplished much during his short life. In addition to establishing the Mormon church, he claimed to have received numerous revelations from God, produced volumes of scripture including the Book of Mormon, instituted unique doctrines like plural marriage and baptism for the dead, sent out missionaries, and organized the early structure of the LDS church. Smith gathered thousands of devoted followers before his death at age 38, though he also stirred up significant controversy and opposition. The church Joseph Smith founded would go on to become a major world religion with over 16 million members today, though the mainstream Christian church still rejects Joseph Smith’s claims to be a prophet and the Book of Mormon as scripture.
Joseph Smith’s Early Life and Background
Joseph Smith Jr. was born on December 23, 1805 in Sharon, Vermont to Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith. He was the fifth child born to the couple but three of their older children died in infancy or childhood. When Joseph was 10, his family moved to the western New York town of Palmyra where his father worked as a farmer and merchant. The Smiths were a working class family who experienced financial difficulties and moved around frequently during Joseph’s youth. As a teenager, Joseph had little formal education, though he was known for his artistic skills and lively imagination. Those who knew young Joseph described him as outgoing and fun-loving, though prone to dreamy contemplation and treasure seeking (Bushman 2005, 21-31).
The Smith family was deeply religious and involved in Christian revivalism during the Second Great Awakening. Joseph’s mother Lucy recalled intense dreams and visions about spiritual matters beginning in her teenage years. The family attended different Protestant churches but Joseph Sr. and Lucy leaned toward Universalism, believing in universal salvation for all people. They encouraged their children to study the Bible and find the true church of Jesus Christ. The combination of magical thinking and fervent religiosity in Joseph’s home life likely influenced the supernatural and visionary experiences he would later report (Bushman 2005, 25-35).
Joseph Smith’s First Vision
The most foundational event of the Mormon faith is Joseph Smith’s First Vision. According to his accounts, when he was 14 years old in 1820 Joseph became concerned about which church he should join. He turned to the Bible, reading in James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” Taking this verse to heart, Joseph went to a grove of trees near his home to pray for guidance. In answer to his prayer, God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph and told him that none of the existing churches were the true church. This First Vision laid the foundation for Joseph’s future calling as a prophet and the rest of his ministry (Smith 1832).
The First Vision was not recorded by Joseph Smith until 1832, 12 years after the event supposedly took place. The account was then expanded and revised multiple times by Joseph and others up until the 1840s. Some details like the appearance of two personages evolved over time. Christian apologists view these evolving accounts as evidence that the First Vision was fabricated later in Joseph’s career. However, LDS scholars explain the changes as Joseph Smith gaining greater understanding of his experience through time and retelling the vision to different audiences (Allen 1970).
Moroni’s Visitations and the Golden Plates
According to Joseph Smith’s account, between 1823-1827 he was visited several times by an angel named Moroni. Moroni had been the last prophet of the ancient Nephites, a group described in the Book of Mormon. Moroni told Joseph about ancient golden plates buried in a nearby hill that contained the history and religious teachings of these ancient American peoples, written in Reformed Egyptian hieroglyphs. Along with the plates, Joseph was told about two mystical stones called “interpreters” that would allow him to translate the writings into English (Smith 1838).
On September 22, 1827, Joseph Smith said he successfully recovered the golden plates and interpreters from the Hill Cumorah near his home. He was instructed by Moroni not to show the plates to anyone. Over the next two years, Joseph would dictate a translation of the plates to scribes while the plates were covered or hidden from view. This translation would become the Book of Mormon. The plates were said to have been taken back by Moroni after the translation was completed around 1829. Their existence and concealment during the translation process has led to significant skepticism about Joseph’s claims (Brodie 1945, 56-63).
Translation of the Book of Mormon
According to Joseph Smith and his associates, the Book of Mormon was translated directly from the language on the golden plates to English through the power of God, rather than Joseph reading and translating the language himself. He dictated while looking at the interpreters or another seer stone placed in a hat to block out light. Scribes including Martin Harris and Oliver Cowdery recorded his dictation, not looking directly at the plates themselves. The resulting text was published as the Book of Mormon in 1830 (Bushman 2005, 63-76).
Smith completed the translation at an astonishing pace in less than three months in 1829. The timeline and miraculous translation method has caused many to doubt the Book of Mormon’s authenticity. However, believers say it confirms Joseph Smith’s divine calling as a prophet and seer. The Book of Mormon contains the purported history of groups who journeyed from the Middle East to the Americas long before Columbus. It has been key scripture for the LDS Church but is viewed as a work of fiction by other Christians (Givens 2002).
Establishment of the Church of Christ
On April 6, 1830 Joseph Smith officially organized the Church of Christ along with five initial followers in Fayette, New York. Three of these founding members – Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris and David Whitmer – testified to seeing the golden plates firsthand, though Whitmer said he only saw them in vision rather than physically (Anderson 1981, 107-108). Soon after its founding, the church’s membership grew rapidly and Smith relocated the church headquarters to Kirtland, Ohio by 1831.
Joseph Smith said he received numerous revelations from God directing the new church’s teachings and policies. Under Smith’s leadership and claimed revelation, the Church of Christ instituted novel practices including: baptism by immersion for the forgiveness of sins and gift of the Holy Ghost by laying on of hands, the office of high priesthood and apostles,glossolalia (speaking in tongues), and tithing. Smith’s teachings sometimes put the church at odds with mainstream Protestantism and neighboring communities (Bushman 2005, 109-120).
Move to Kirtland, Ohio
Joseph Smith moved the young church’s headquarters to Kirtland, Ohio in 1831. He said it was revealed to him that Kirtland would be the eastern boundary of the holy city called Zion with Independence, Missouri as the western boundary. Mormons began gathering in both locations forming tight-knit communes. The Kirtland era was marked by intense religious experiences such as speaking in tongues, visions, angelic encounters and visits to heaven. At the same time, the church was plagued by factionalism and financial troubles that eventually forced them to leave Kirtland (Backman 1983).
While in Kirtland, Joseph reported receiving revelations about the Plan of Salvation, oral arranged Sealings and childless inverted couples, based outside of the first vision they received. He also announced a revelation calling for the construction of a House of the Lord or temple. Though lacking resources, Mormons constructed the Kirtland Temple from 1833-36 with Smith and other leaders claiming supernatural miraculous events occurred there, like visions of Jesus, angels and speaking in tongues (History of the Church 2:428). However, opposition rose against the Mormons for their unusual practices and they were forced out of Kirtland.
Settling in Nauvoo, Illinois
After leaving Kirtland in 1838, Joseph Smith and the main group of Latter Day Saints settled in Nauvoo, Illinois on a bend of the Mississippi River. They transformed the swampy land into a bustling center with over 12,000 inhabitants at its peak – rivaling contemporary Chicago. Joseph served as mayor of Nauvoo and commanded its large militia, the Nauvoo Legion. He established new doctrines in Nauvoo including plural marriage, baptism for the dead and temple rituals that included secret rites and symbols like the garment “Terrestrial, Telestial and Celestial ordinances introduced” (History of the Church 7:289–94).
Under Joseph’s leadership, the Mormons also constructed a new temple in Nauvoo that could perform rites like eternal marriage sealings and proxy baptisms. The concept of eternal progression was introduced, allowing mankind the potential to become exalted to godhood (Gospel Principles 1997, 302). Joseph also formed new church bodies like the Quorum of Twelve Apostles and First Presidency that continue today. The church underwent a period of rapid growth and doctrinal development in Nauvoo.
Plural Marriage and Smith’s Wives
Perhaps the most controversial aspect of Joseph Smith’s ministry was his introduction and participation in plural marriage (polygamy). In 1841, Joseph allegedly was commanded by God through revelation to institute the ancient practice of plural marriage among Mormon leaders. Plural marriage was kept secret and denied publicly during Smith’s lifetime to avoid controversy. By some estimates, Joseph married at least 34 women including both single and already-married ladies (Foster 2004, 92-102).
Among Smith’s wives were Emma Hale who he married in 1827 and was the First Lady of the church, plus multiple sets of sisters like Emily and Eliza Partridge. Some of his wives were as young as 14 or 16 years old at the time he married them, though marriage at younger ages was more common in that era. Many of these polygamous marriages likely involved intimate relations in order to raise up righteous seed and were not simply spiritual sealings (Compton 1997).
This introduction of plural marriage was extremely controversial and provoked opposition from wider American society as well as Emma Smith and other Mormon insiders. It contributed greatly to anti-Mormon sentiment in the early church and Joseph Smith’s eventual death at the hands of a mob (Daynes 2001).
Joseph Smith’s Death
In his short life, Joseph Smith stirred significant controversy, opposition and even hatred from many neighbors and outsiders to Mormonism. Mormons were driven from New York to Ohio to Missouri to Illinois by persecutors who saw Smith as a dangerous religious fanatic (Brodie 1971, x). In 1844, tensions reached a breaking point after Joseph ordered the destruction of an opposition newspaper called the Nauvoo Expositor that exposed his plural marriages. Smith was arrested for treason and rioting and imprisoned at Carthage Jail.
On June 27, 1844, a mob with blackened faces stormed Carthage Jail and shot Joseph and his brother Hyrum to death. Mormon history eulogizes Joseph and Hyrum as innocent martyrs. At the time of his death, the Mormon church had around 15,000 members and Smith was running as a candidate for President of the United States (Bushman 2005, 537-556). Leadership of the church then fell to Brigham Young and subsequent prophets who led the Mormons west to Utah.
Joseph Smith’s Legacy
Joseph Smith accomplished much during his 38 years of life and short ministry. His published revelations and new scriptures including the Book of Mormon have had lasting influence among his millions of followers. Doctrines Smith taught like deification of man, proxy baptism for the dead and plural marriage shaped Mormon theology in profound ways. The church structure and hierarchy created under his leadership continues today with prophets like Russell M. Nelson. There are also various smaller Mormon denominations who trace their origin back to Joseph Smith like the Community of Christ.
Outside of the LDS church, perceptions of Joseph Smith are still largely polarized. He is admired by Mormons as a true prophet but derided as a false teacher by most mainstream Christians. Critics view him as a manipulative, womanizing fraud while believers revere the Book of Mormon and other revelations he produced. Smith undoubtedly left a large religious legacy, though disagreements persist on whether that legacy was divine truth or deception.
References
Allen, James B. “The Significance of Joseph Smith’s First Vision in Mormon Thought” (PDF). Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 3 (3). Retrieved June 29, 2014.
Anderson, Richard Lloyd (1981), Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses, Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company, ISBN 0877478465
Backman, Milton (1983). The Heavens Resound: A History of the Latter-day Saints in Ohio, 1830–1838. Salt Lake City, Utah.: Deseret Book Company. ISBN 0-87747-965-X.
Brodie, Fawn (1971). No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith (2nd ed.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-679-73054-0.
Bushman, Richard Lyman (2005). Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 1-4000-4270-4.
Compton, Todd (1997). In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith. Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books. ISBN 1-56085-085-X.
Daynes, Kathryn M. (2001). More Wives Than One: Transformation of the Mormon Marriage System, 1840–1910. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0252026810.
Foster, Lawrence (2004). Religion and Sexuality: The Shakers, the Mormons, and the Oneida Community. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-515215-1.
Givens, Terryl (2002). By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion. Oxford University Press. p. 320. ISBN 978-0-19-513833-3.
Gospel Principles (1997). Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ISBN 0-87747-829-5.
Smith, Joseph Fielding, ed. (1976). Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Deseret Book Company. ISBN 978-0877476300.
Smith, Joseph (1832). “History of the Life of Joseph Smith”. In Jessee, Dean C (ed.). Personal Writings of Joseph Smith. Deseret Book Company. ISBN 1-57345-787-6.
Smith, Joseph (1838). “Joseph Smith—History”. Pearl of Great Price. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.