One of the most influential characters in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Joseph Smith. Mormons believe he was called as a prophet, similar to Abraham, Noah, and Moses in the Bible. Through him, God restored His church on the earth after an absence lasting thousands of years.
Background and Childhood of Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith was born in 1805 in Sharon, Vermont to Lucy Mack Smith and Joseph Smith, Sr. He had three sisters and five brothers, one of whom died as a child. The Smith family was a poor farming family who moved around a lot between Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York.
Smith was mostly uneducated and particularly poor at spelling and grammar. As a teen, he admits that he was "guilty of levity" and under the employment of Josiah Stowell went "money digging," using a fake seer stone to locate buried treasure. He soon dropped the pretense, admitting that it was "not consistent with that character which ought to be maintained by one who was called of God as I had been" (History of the Church, Vol. 1)
Joseph Smith's First Vision
In 1820 at the age of 14 while living in Palmyra, New York, Joseph Smith reported that he had been visited by God the Father and Jesus Christ in response to prayer. He asked for direction about which church he should join, but was told that he should join none of them. This is commonly known by Mormons as "the First Vision."
Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon
Years passed, and Smith was later visited by an angel who explained more about what he was to do as a prophet. The angel described an ancient record engraved on gold plates buried in a hill, and prepared him through yearly visits over the next four years. After Smith went and got the plates in 1827, he began translating them into what is now known as the Book of Mormon.
Priesthood Given to Joseph Smith
In 1829, Smith was in the process of translating and ran across a passage about baptism. He and a friend named Oliver Cowdery prayed about who had the priesthood authority to baptize, and in response were visited by John the Baptist and later by Peter, James, and John who conferred their priesthood authority. This same priesthood authority is currently given to all worthy males in the LDS church today.
Organization of the "Mormon Church"
In 1830, Joseph Smith founded the Church of Christ. To distinguish it from the early-day church of Christ in Jesus' day, the addition "of Latter-day Saints" was added.
The church was originally organized with six members; today, there are over 12 million Latter-day Saints worldwide.
Receiving Prophetic Revelations for the Church
As prophet, Joseph Smith was believed to be God's mouthpiece on the earth. The majority of the revelations of Joseph Smith were compiled into a volume and published as the doctrine and covenants, which is part of the LDS scriptural canon today.
Relocating the LDS Church
The next years were particularly turbulent ones for the Latter-day Saints. They lived as a cohesive group, and prophetic revelation directed them to Ohio in 1830 and then to Missouri in 1831.
Religious and political unease led to the Missouri governor's "extermination order" that effectively kicked the group out of the state. They relocated to Illinois in 1839.
Joseph Smith's Martyrdom at Carthage Jail
In Illinois, the church enjoyed some prosperous years and were often left alone. But as they became a larger political bloc and began to have skirmishes with their neighbors, tensions escalated.
As mayor, Smith had ordered the destruction of the printing press for a newspaper that demonized the LDS church unfairly, an action which incited riot among area non-Mormons. Fearing for the lives of Nauvoo Mormons, Smith declared martial law in Nauvoo and was imprisoned for treason for doing so.
In 1844, an armed mob with blackened faces charged up the steps to where Joseph Smith and other men were being held in an upstairs room at Carthage Jail and began shooting. Smith shot back and attempted to jump from the window. He was shot twice in the windowsill and four more times after hitting the ground. A subsequent trial was held for the murder and the five mob leaders on trial were acquitted.
Do Mormons Worship Joseph Smith?
Although Mormons have great respect and love for the man who led the church as the prophet, they realize that Joseph Smith was only a human acting under the direction of the Lord. Mormons worship God and Jesus Christ and believe that fully accepting Jesus' atonement and receiving necessary priesthood ordinances like baptism is the only path to salvation.
Joseph Smith is a complex figure in the religious history of the Mormon faith. In his 39 years he is reported to have had the First Vision, translated the Book of Mormon, organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and directed it as a prophet. Mormons today speak about him often and fondly.
Sources:
- History of the Church, Vol. 1. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1978.
- Doctrine & Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: 1981.
- Church history course taken by the author from Dr. Alex Baugh, Brigham Young University, 2005.
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