}

Joseph Smith, Jr. (December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844) was the chief founder & leader of the Latter Day Saint movement, also referred to as Mormonism, which includes such denominations as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Community of Christ. Smith's followers revere him as a latter-day prophet.

Raised when you took an era of Christian innovation during a Second Great Awakening, Smith built his ministry upon claims of theophanies, visits from angels, the discovery & translation of ancient writings, & revelations, which led to the introduction of novel doctrinal, social, and economic ideas. Involved among Smith's accomplishments come a charted:

participation in the restoration of what he and his associates claimed was a original Church established by Jesus in the 1st Century;

publication of supposedly elysian and/or sacred texts such as the Book of Mormon, the Book of Commandments, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Book of Abraham, and the new translation of the Bible;

establishment of Nauvoo, which became a big city around Illinois until the Mormons were forced to vacate; and

an 1844 campaign for President of the United States.

Joseph Smith acquired several opponents & enemies because of his vast political power—in the period of his ministry he was the city manager, an opponent of slavery, and a commander of at least ii militias (Zion's Camp and the Nauvoo Legion). Several of his disparager too opposed his unique religion & his practice of polygamy. Tensions sustaining his enemies day and night escalated until in June 27, 1844, Smith and his brother Hyrum were shot and killed by a big mob.

Smith was the polarizing figure around his period, & he continues to become the focus of disceptation between his hundreds to thousands of followers, virtually all of whom revere him as a prophet of Jesus, and opponents of Mormonism, who guess he was either delusional or fraudulent. Still, virtually all observers agree that Joseph Smith's personal appeal & ability to instill fierce loyalty among his followers has seldom been matched around American history.

Early life, family, and religious experiences
Smith was innate within Sharon, Vermont, the fourth tyke of Joseph Smith, Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith. the Smiths were a agrarian personal & many moves within & about New England were necessitated by crop failures and more ill-ill-starred business ventures.

When you took a wintertime of 1812-1813, when Joseph was eight years old, his leg became hazardously septic. A few doctors advised amputation, but his personal refused (Smith 1853, pp. 62-65). Fallowing the successful operation to dislodge area of his affected shin (forgoing anaesthesia or even the normally utilized tranquilliser at that instance, whisky), Smith yet recovered, though he utilized crutches for many years & was bothered by using a hitch for the rest of his life.

Within roughly 1816, after trio years of crop failures inside Norwich, Vermont (a endure consequent from either the Year Without a Summer) (Smith 1853, p. 66), a Smith personal was "warned out of town" (Norwich 1813-1818), even because it were considered vagrants. Joseph Smith, Sr. moved alone to Palmyra, New York, followed soon by the rest of his family. Within Borassus flabellifer village, Smith Sr. & his oldest sons took odd jobs, & opened the "cake and beer shop" (Tucker 1867, at Xii). Around 1818 the family found the mortgage in the Century-acre farm just outside of Palmyra in Manchester (which was part of Farmington until 1821).

the Smith personal built a log front yard, technically upright outside their property, however in the town of Palmyra (Berge 1985). Inside 1822, the Smiths began building the big frame home that was actually in their newly property (Smith 1853, p. 87). In November 19, 1823, Joseph Smith Jr.'s older brother Alvin died, possibly as a symptom of mercurous chloride given for "bilious fever" (Smith 1853, p. 89). Inside 1825, the Smiths were unable to raise money for their final mortgage payment, & their creditor foreclosed on the property. But, a personal was take a breath to persuade a local Quaker, Lemuel Durfee, to pass & rent a Smiths the property. At a prevent of 1828, the personal moved to a second home farther south, in which it remained until 1830.

Smith got little formal schooling; like than attend school, he worked in his father's domestic, hunted, fished, took odd jobs, & sold cake & beer at Palmyra palm's public cases (Tucker 1867, pp. 14-15). His mother described him as "much less inclined to the perusal of books than any of the rest of the children, but far more given to meditation and deep study", never getting review through the Bible until at least the age of 18 (Smith 1853, p. 84). He wwhen described as "remarkably quiet" (Smith 1853, p. 73) & "taciturn" (Tucker 1867, p. Sixteen), also when "proverably good-natured", however "never known to laugh" (id. pp. 16–17). He reportedly got an interest & aptitude withwithin debating lesson & political issues in the local junior debating club (Turner 1851, p. 214).

Religious and folk-religious background of Joseph's family
Such as a majority of families in the early 19th Century United States, Joseph Smith's family & root experienced little affiliation sustaining religion; nonetheless, it were privately religious, accepting of items prefer visions & prophecies, and it expert various sort of folk religion (Quinn 1998). Joseph's agnate grandad Asael Smith, the Christian universalist, is said to have prophesied that one of his descendent would "promulgate a work to revolutionize the world of religious faith". Joseph's enate granddaddy Solomon Mack published the book around 1811 describing a series of heavenly visions & voices which he says led to his conversion to the "Christian faith" at a age of 76 (Macintosh 1811, p. Xxv).

Smith's parents likewise claimed to case visions & prophecy. Prior to Joseph was innate, Lucy, his mother, went to the grove to pray just about her husband's refusal to go to church with her, and when she returned to her home and went to bed, she reportedly had a dream-vision which she interpreted as a prophecy that Joseph, Sr. would down a road assume the "pure and undefiled Gospel of the Son of God" (Smith 1853, pp. 55-56).

Joseph Smith, Sr. also reported his own series of seven visions between 1811–1819, according to Lucy, five of which she described (Smith 1853, pp. 56, 58-59, 70-72, 74). These dreams, Lucy said, come whenever Joseph, Sr. was "much excited upon the subject of religion", & it confirmed around his mind a correctness of his refusal to join any religion, & led him to suppose that he would become guide the proper path to his have salvation (id.) A dreams exposed an "attendant spirit" (p. 56), & numerous commentators own noted that his 2nd vision (pp. 58-59) has several similarities to the dream which Smith, Jr. late dictated in the early chapters of the Book of Mormon (First Book of Nephi 8:2-28).

Prefer an forecasted 90% of Americans at a period (Quinn 1998), a Smith personal too expert various forms of folk religion. Based on data from an early Vermont historiographer, Joseph Smith, Sr. was reportedly a member of a sect of divining rodsmen in Vermont known as the "New Israelites" (Quinn 1998, p. 38); notwithstanding, a grounds to believe to trend lines this claim is very thinly. Many more accounts report that Smith, Sr. utilized the divining rod later in Palmyra for seeking treasure (Quinn 1998).

Joseph's early religious experiences

In a period of the Second Great Awakening, western New York was so often visited by itinerant revivalists that it later became called a Burned-Over District. These revivals occurred around numbers of communities in the region, & were typically reported in the Palmyra Register, the local paper page through per Smith personal (Turner 1851, p. 214). Inside Palmyra itself, the big revivals were from either 1816-1817 and 1824-1825; however, potentially in the intervening years, many churches got the presence, & the local Methodist congregation was holding camp meetings in the area where their church would afterwards exist as constructed (Palmyra Register, July 28, 1820).

Smith got a bit of interest in the Methodist denomination (Roberts 1902, vol. Single, ch. Single, p. Tercet), however prefer his father, Joseph Smith, Sr., he did not formally join an organized Christian denomination. He was described as a "very passable exhorter" in the evening Methodist camp meetings (Turner 1851, p. 214). Still, a single acquaintance claimed that his interpretations of scripture were every now and again considered "blasphemous" (Tucker 1876, p. Xvii). Smith's associate, Oliver Cowdery, later wrote (Courier & Advocate, Dec. 1834, p. Baker's dozen) that Smith was extremely influenced per teachings of the Rpm. George Lane, the presiding Methodist Elder and an administrator in the Palmyra era between 1824 and 1825; this is confirmed by Joseph's brother (Smith 1883). At the select few point, notwithstanding, Smith reportedly withdrew from either a Methodist tentative class where he was enrolled, announcing, based on data from an acquaitance, that he believed that "all sectarianism was fallacious, and the churches on a false foundation" (Tucker 1876, p. Xviii).

Smith's personal was particularly influenced per revivals of 1824-1825. Smith's mother Lucy Mack Smith recorded that shortly after a 1823 death of her son Alvaround, she became interested in the particular revivalist who had are to the metropolitan area preaching that tons churches should become united when 1 (Smith 1853, p. Xc). She was unable, but, to convince Joseph to attend, because he claimed, "I can take my Bible, and go into the woods, and learn more in two hours, than you can learn at meeting [sic] in two years, if you should go all the time" (Smith 1853, p. Ninety).

Joseph Smith's First Vision

Beginning within 1832, Smith began to publish accounts of what he described as his First Vision, a theophany he usually dated to the year 1820, though some accounts by his personal & associates place it when late when 1823 . Based on data from Joseph's brother, William, the number one vision go on within section because Joseph was prompted to pray fallowing hearing the sermon per Methodist revivalist George Lane, who referred to a Epistle of James 1:5 (Smith 1883), which in the King James Version reads, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." Lane is never recorded when with visited Longar palm until 1824, although he visited the neighboring town of Vienna (Fifteen miles from either Toddy palm) inside 1819 for a big Methodist conference (Porter 1969, p. 330). It hwhen been speculated that Joseph & his personal st& visit sell cake and beer at this event, as it did more cases in the Wine palm locality; notwithstanding, no specific grounds to believe of this (Anderson 1969, p. Sevener).

Around Smith's survive major written account of his 1st vision (1838), he described it as an appearance of two divine personages quondam when you took a spring of 1820, when he was fourteen years old: These are unreadable world health organization, whenever anyone, Joseph Smith told just about his vision before his reputed discovery of the Golden Plates in 1823. Based on data from Smith, he told his mother Lucy at the period that he experienced "learned for [him]self that Presbyterianism is not true" (Roberts 1902, vol. One, ch. One, p. Fin); yet, mention of this conversation is omitted from either Lucy's have history (Smith 1853, p. 77), & Joseph never stated that he described a details of the vision to his personal within 1820 or soon thenceforth. He did claim that he spoke all about a vision by using "one of the Methodist preachers, who was very active in the before-mentioned religious excitement" (id., p. Sestet). Several own presumed this to exist as a Revolutions per minute. George Lane, however no record of Revolutions per minute. Lane camping a Wine palm neighbourhood around 1820. Joseph's brother William was apparently unaware of any visions until 1823 (Smith 1883, pp. 8–9), although he would develop sole been nine years old within 1820.

Smith claimed that a retelling of his vision story "excited a great deal of prejudice against me among professors of religion, and was the cause of great persecution, which continued to increase" (Roberts 1902, vol. Ace, ch. I, p. Hexad). Tales of visions & theophanies, however, were non unusual at a period, though a clergy of numbers of religion typically resisted a stories (Quinn 1998). A bulk of Smith's persecution seems to develop risen, non because of his First Vision, but because of his later on claim to stand found a Golden Plates inside a hill hear his house; a claim was widely publicized & ridiculed in local newspapers beginning as much as 1827.

Early experiences with seer stones, angels, and hidden artifacts

A select few instance within Smith's early teens, he reportedly began to practice crystal gazing. There are ii stories all about how else Smith found his 1st seer stone. Based on data from an account of an locate sustaining Smith, Sr., the 14 month old Joseph borrowed the stone from either a individual working as a local crystal gazer (Lapham 1870, pp. 305-306); it reportedly showed him the underground location of his have stone touching his personal, which he placed at a depth of astir Twenty-two feet (Id.)

Based on data from an additional story, within either 1819 (Tucker 1867, p. Xix) or even 1822 (Howe 1834, p. 240), when the older Smith males were digging the easily for Clark Chase, the Borassus flabellifer neighbor, at a depth of other than Xx feet it reportedly noticed an unusual stone (Tiffany 1859, p. 163). This stone wwhen described as either whiten & glassy, wrought rather the tyke's foot (Tucker 1867, p. Nineteen), or even "chocolate-colored, somewhat egg-shaped" (CHC 1:129). Fascinated, Smith reportedly took this stone and later began to understand items within it clairvoyantly (Tucker 1867, p. Twenty). A bit of scholars use at times concluded that these ii accounts refer to deuce distinct stones witnessed within 1819-1820 and 1822, and that these stories keep close at hand within occasionally suits been conflated (Quinn, Magic Worldview 1987, pp. 39-41). More scholars suppose that them accounts refer to the equivalent event around 1822 (Vogel 1994, p. 202).

Work as a treasure seeker and marriage to Emma

named Odle of treasures supposedly concealed around the hill touching Hale's residence (Amboy Journal, 30 Apr. 1879).

Smith agreed to require the job of assisting Stowell & Hale, & he & his father worked sustaining a Stowell-Hale team for about of these year attempting, based on data from their contract, to research "a valuable mine of either Gold or Silver and also...coined money and bars or ingots of Gold or Silver" (Salt Flow of any stream Tribune, 23 Apr. 1880). Smith boarded sustaining Isaac Hale, & fell taken sustaining with Hale's girl Emma, a school teacher he would late marry within 1827. Hale, yet, disapproved of their relationship & of Smith in the main. Based on data from Hale, Smith attempted to research a mine by burying his face around a hat containing the seer stone; however, when a treasure seekers had about their objective, Smith claimed that an enchantment became thus heavy that Smith may there is no elongated watch it. (Howe 1834, pp. 262-266). A failing task disbanded in November 17, 1825 (Howe 1834, p. 262); notwithstanding, Smith continued to act for Stowell in more matters until 1826.

Court records from either Bainbridge, New York show that Smith, identified as "The Glass Looker," was prior to a court in March 20, 1826 on a warrant for an unspecified misdemeanor charge (Hill 1972, p. Ii), & that the judge issued a mittimus for even Smith to be held, either in a period of or when the legal proceeding (id., p. Little phoebe). Although Smith's associate Oliver Cowdery (who experienced non met Smith when of 1826) late claimed that Smith was "honorably acquitted" (LDS Messenger & Advocate, 1835), a symptom of a redeeming is indecipherable, by having a few eye-witnesses (including the court newsperson) claiming he was observed shamed, others claiming he was "condemned" however "designedly allowed to escape," & however others claiming he was "discharged" for want of grounds to believe (Hill 1972, p. Quintuplet). At a examination, septenary witnesses were known as, including Smith himself, & virtually all of the two affirmed that Smith got a bit of rather spiritual gift.

By November 1826, Josiah Stowell could there is no protracted afford to prove my point shopping for inhumed treasure; Smith traveled to Colesville, New York for a few months to operate for Joseph Knight (Jesee 1984, p. 32), one of Stowell's friends. There are reports that Smith directed farther excavations in Knight's property & at more locations in Colesville (Vogel 1994, pp. 227, 229).

Because Smith got been unable to benefit Isaac Hale's approval, he & Emma Hale Smith eloped to South Bainbridge on January 18, 1827.

Moroni and the Golden Plates
When Smith was working as the treasure seeker, he was too oftentimes occupied using a second supplementary religious matter: getting a placed of Golden Plates he claimed were deposited, along with more artefact, inside the prominent hill near his home.

Inside Smith's have account dated 1838, he claimed that an angel visited him on the night of September 21, 1823. On a visit, Smith dictated a as punishment: Smith said he had two more encounters with Moroni that night and an additional one the next morning, after which he told his father (Roberts 1902, vol. 1, ch. 2, p. 14) and soon thereafter the rest of his family, who believed his story, but generally kept it within the family (Smith 1853, p. 83–84; Smith 1883, p. 9–10).

Thus, on September 22, 1823, a day listed in local almanacs as the autumn equinox, Smith went to a prominent hill near his home, and found the location of the artifacts (id., p. 15). There are varying accounts as to how this angel directed Smith to the location of the Golden Plates. Smith himself later claimed that this location was shown to him in a vision while he conversed with Moroni (Roberts 1902, vol. 1, ch. 2, p. 13). This conforms to an account by Smith's friend Joseph Knight (Jesee 1976, p. 2). However, according to an account by another friend Martin Harris, Smith discovered the location of the Golden Plates through the use of the seer stone he had used to seek treasure as part of the Stowell-Hale team in 1825 (Tiffany 1859, p. 163). In yet another account, the angel required Smith to follow a sequence of landmarks until he arrived at the correct location (Lapham 1870, p. 305).

The plates, according to Smith, were inside a covered stone box. However, Smith was unable to obtain the plates at his first visit. The angel purportedly gave Smith a strict set of "commandments" which he was to follow in order to obtain the plates. Among these commandments was reportedly the requirement that Smith approach the site "dressed around nigrify textile, & riding the black horse by having the switch stern, & require the book around a certain title, & when obtaining it, he must last directly away, & neither lay it down nor look behind him" (Howe 1834, p. 242). Smith's mother said that the angel forbade him to put the plates on the ground until they were under lock and key (Smith 1853, p. 85–86). He was, however, according to an purported account by Smith, Sr., allowed to put down the plates on a napkin he was to bring with him for that purpose (Lapham 1870, pp. 305–306).

When Smith arrived at the place where the plates were supposed to be, he reportedly took the plates from the stone box they were in and set them down on the ground nearby, looking to see if there were other items in the box that would "be of a select few monetary benefit to him" (Smith 1853, p. 85). When he turned around, however, the plates had disappeared into the box, which was then closed (Jessee 1976, p. 2). After Smith attempted to get the plates back out of the box, he reportedly saw a toad that grew into the form of the angel (Howe 1834, p. 242), and hurled him back to the ground with a violent force (id.; Smith 1853, p. 86; Lapham 1870, p. 305). After three failed attempts to retrieve the plates (Smith 1832, p. 3), the angel purportedly told him that he couldn't have the plates then, because he "experienced been tempted of the advisary [sic] & saught [sic] a Plates to obtain wealth & saved non a commandments that We should own" (Smith 1832, p. 3)

Thus, he was directed by the angel to return the next year on September 22, 1824, with the "right individual", whom the angel said was his brother Alvin (Jessee 1976, p. 2). However, Alvin died within a few months, with the result that when Smith returned to the hill in 1824, he was unable to obtain the plates. Once again, the angel told Smith that he must return the next year with the "right individual", the identity of whom the angel would not say (Jessee 1976, p. 2). According to Smith's associate Willard Chase, Smith originally thought this person was to be Samuel T. Lawrence, a seer himself who worked in Smith's treasure-seeking company (Tiffany 1859, p. 164), and therefore Smith reportedly took Lawrence to the hill in 1825 (Howe 1834, p. 243). At Lawrence's prompting, Smith reportedly ascertained through his seer stone that there was an additional item together with the plates in the box, which Smith later called the Urim and Thummim (Howe 1834, p. 243). Smith also reportedly discovered at some point that the box, or the ground nearby, contained at least two more Book of Mormon artifacts, the Liahona and the sword of Laban (Lapham 1870, p. 306). However, Lawrence was apparently not the "right human", because Smith did not obtain the plates in his 1825 visit.

Later, Smith reportedly determined by looking into his seer stone that the "right person" was Emma Hale Smith, his future wife (Jessee 1976, p. 2). There is no specific record of Smith seeing the angel in 1826, However, after Joseph and Emma were married on January 18 1827, Smith returned to Manchester, and as he passed by Cumorah, he was purportedly chastised by the angel for not being "engaged sufficiency in the operate of the Lord" (Smith 1853, p. 99). He was told that the next annual meeting was his last chance to get the plates (Jessee 1976, p. 3).

Just days prior to the scheduled meeting with the angel on September 22, 1827, Smith's treasure-seeking associates Josiah Stowell and Joseph Knight arranged to be in Palmyra for the attempt to retrieve the plates (Jesee 1976, p. 3; Smith 1853, p. 99). Because Smith was concerned that Samuel Lawrence, his earlier confidant, might interfere, Smith sent his father to spy on Lawrence's house the night of September 21 until dark (Jessee 1976, p. 3). Late that night, Smith took the horse and carriage of Joseph Knight to Cumorah with his wife Emma (Smith 1853, p. 100). Leaving Emma in the wagon, where she knelt in prayer (Tiffany 1853, p. 164), he reportedly walked to the site of the Golden Plates, retrieved them, and hid them in a fallen tree-top on or near the hill (Howe 1976, p. 246; Tiffany 1859, p. 165). He also reportedly retrieved the Urim and Thummim, which he showed to his mother the next morning (Smith 1853, p. 101).

Over the next few days, Smith took a well-digging job in nearby Macedon to obtain money to buy a solid lockable chest in which to put the plates (Smith 1853, p. 101). By then, however, some of Smith's treasure-seeking company had heard that Smith was successful in obtaining the plates, and they wanted what they believed was their cut of the profits from what they saw as part of their joint venture (Tiffany 1859, 167). Spying once again on the house of Samuel Lawrence, Smith, Sr. determined that a group of 10–12 of these men, including Lawrence and Willard Chase, had enlisted the talents of a renowned and supposedly-talented seer from 60 miles away, in an effort to locate where the plates were hidden by means of divination (Smith 1853, p. 102). When Emma heard of this, she went to Macedon and informed Smith, Jr., who determined through his Urim and Thummim that the plates were safe, but nevertheless he hurriedly traveled home by horseback (Smith 1853, pp. 103–104). Once home in Palmyra, he then walked to Cumorah and reportedly removed the plates from their hiding place, fending off attackers on his walk back home, with the plates under his arm wrapped in a linen frock (Howe 1834, p. 246; Smith 1853, pp. 104–105; Tiffany 1859, p. 166).

The plates, according to Smith, "experienced a appearance of gold", and were:

However, Smith initially kept the plates out of sight, even to his family. At first, he reportedly kept the plates in a chest under the hearth in his parents' home (Smith 1853). Fearing they might be discovered, however, Smith hid the chest under the floor boards of his parents' old log home nearby (Tiffany 1859). Later, he took the plates out of the chest, left the empty chest under the floor boards, and hid the plates in a barrel of flax, not long before the location of the empty box was discovered and the place ransacked by Smith's former treasure-seeking associates, who had enlisted one of the men's sisters to find that location by looking in her seer stone (Smith 1853, pp. 107–109).

Joseph Smith as a translator and prophet in New York and Pennsylvania
Once Joseph Smith had the purported Golden Plates, temporarily kept safe from his Palmyra neighbors, his focus turned to getting the engravings on them translated. To do so, however, he needed money, and at the time he was pennyless (Smith 1853). Therefore, Smith sent his mother (Smith 1853, p. 110) to the the home of Martin Harris, a local landowner said at the time to be worth about $10,000 (Howe 1834).

Harris had apparently been a close confidante of the Smith family since at least 1826 (Howe 1834, pp. 255), and he may have heard about Smith's attempts to obtain the plates from the angel even earlier from Smith, Sr. (Smith 1853, p. 109). He was also a believer in Smith's powers with his seer stone (Tiffany 1859, p. 164). Harris had heard about Smith's Golden Plates from many of his friends, neighbors, his own family (Tiffany 1859, pp. 167–168). Thus, at Lucy Smith's request, Harris went to the Smith home, heard the story from Smith, and hefted a glass box that Smith said contained the plates (Tiffany 1859, pp. 168–169). Smith convinced Harris that he had the plates, and that the angel had told him to "quit a company of the money-diggers" (Tiffany 1859, p. 169). Harris, convinced, immediately gave Smith $50 and committed to support him further (Smith 1853, p. 113).

In November 1827, because of the stir caused by word of Smith's discovery of the Golden Plates, he and Emma moved back to Harmony, Pennsylvania, the plates purportedly hidden during the trip in a barrel of beans.

Translating the golden plates, and the Book of Mormon

Smith translated portions of the plates from December 1827 to February 1828; Emma and her brother Reuben acted as scribes. The faithful believe that Smith translated the plates using divine guidance and the Urim and Thummim. According to his scribes, Smith rarely, if ever, stopped and corrected himself. He would translate a sentence, the scribe would say, "Written," and read it back to him. If the sentence was written correctly, Smith would continue. They would work through the day, often into the night. Still, the work was slow and sporadic because Joseph had to work to make a living for himself and his new wife.

Martin Harris acted as Smith's translation scribe from April to June of 1828. Because of pressure from his doubting wife, Martin asked Joseph to borrow the partial Book of Mormon manuscript so he could ease his wife's fears. However, Martin soon lost the manuscript, which had thus far amounted to 116 pages. According to Smith, he and Martin both fell under condemnation from the Lord, who had warned Joseph not to allow Martin to borrow the manuscript, and the translation halted for a time. In early April, 1829, Smith again began translating, this time with Oliver Cowdery as scribe. Others also helped. When translation was complete, Smith said he returned the plates to Moroni.

The scribes never physically saw the plates while Smith was translating. Instead, Smith hung a curtain between himself and the scribe, as commanded by Moroni. Later, three men and then eight others were allowed to view the plates. The eight witnesses were shown the plates by Joseph Smith. Mary Whitmer, with whom Joseph and Emma boarded during the translation’s final phase, said Moroni appeared to her and showed her the plates. Emma and others reported touching and moving the plates as they lay under a heavy cloth or in a bag.

The Book of Mormon was first published on March 26, 1830.

Church Founded
According to Cowdery and Smith, on May 15, 1829, John the Baptist appeared and ordained them to the Aaronic Priesthood. They baptized each other immediately thereafter, exercising their new authority. Peter, James, and John also came to them during either May or June 1829 and ordained them to the Melchizedek Priesthood. Latter Day Saints believe that the authority found in these priesthoods was necessary for a complete restoration of the Ancient Church.

On April 6, 1830, Smith and five others formally established "A Church of Christ". (The church was later called “Church of Latter Day Saints� (1834), “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints� (1838) then “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints�.) Smith and others quickly began proselytizing and baptizing new members.

Smith asserted that he received many revelations throughout this period. These were compiled as The Book of Commandments at that time and were organized into the Doctrine and Covenants in 1835.

Joseph Smith in Kirtland, Ohio

To avoid conflict and persecution encountered in New York and Pennsylvania, Smith and Emma eventually moved to Kirtland, Ohio early in 1831. They lived with Isaac Morley’s family while a house was built for them on the Morley farm. Many of Smith's followers and associates settled in Kirtland, Ohio, and also in Jackson County, Missouri, where Smith said he was instructed by revelation to build Zion.

In Kirtland, the church's first temple was built, and many extraordinary events were reported: appearances by Jesus, Moses, Elijah, Elias, and numerous angels; speaking and singing in tongues, often with translations; prophesying; and other spiritual experiences. Some Mormons believed that Jesus' Millennial reign had come. Even those of other faiths reported a heavenly light "resting" upon the temple.

The early Church grew rapidly, but there were often conflict between Saints and their neighbors. These conflicts were sometimes violent: On the evening of March 24, 1832 in Hiram, Ohio, a group of men beat and tarred and feathered Smith and his counselor Sidney Rigdon. They threatened Smith with castration and with death, and one of his teeth was chipped when they attempted to force him to drink poison. The mob action led to the exposure and eventual death of Smith's adopted newborn twins. Sidney Rigdon suffered a severe concussion after being dragged on the ground. According to some accounts, Rigdon was delirious for several days. The reasons for this attack are uncertain, but likely were tied to a sermon given by Rigdon.

After tending to his wounds all night and into the early morning, Smith preached a sermon on forgiveness the following day. Though some reports state that members of the mob that had attacked him were present at this sermon, Smith did not mention the attack directly.

On January 12, 1838 Smith and Rigdon left Kirtland for Far West in Caldwell County, Missouri, in Smith's words, "to escape mob violence, which was about to burst upon america under a color of legal run to handle a hellish designs of my enemies." Just prior to their departure, many Saints, (including prominent leaders), became disaffected in the wake of the Kirtland Safety Society debacle, in which Smith and several associates were accused of various illegal or unethical banking actions.

Most remaining church members left Kirtland for Missouri.

Plural marriage
Most believe that Smith began practicing a form of polygyny called celestial marriage (later called plural marriage) perhaps as early as 1833. Polygamy (marriage to multiple partners) was illegal in many U.S. States, including Illinois, and was felt by some to be an immoral or misguided practice.

There is disagreement as to the precise number of wives Smith may have had: one historian, Todd M. Compton, who contends that polygamy was a mistake for the Church, tried to document, using Utah LDS sources, at least thirty-three plural marriages or sealings during Smith's lifetime. It is without question that Joseph had multiple wives (as marriage certificates are available for some); but, as Compton states multiple times in his work "[a]bsolutely nothing is known of this marriage fallowing a ceremony"; that is, it is unclear how many (if any) of these marriages Smith consummated. Information on the intention of some of the sealings is similarly ambiguous; Smith has been sealed to many people as a father or a brother as well as those instances of being a husband. If these marriage sealings were indeed sexual unions it would be reasonable to expect some children from them as there were from Smith's first marriage. One of the plural wives made an allegation that Smith had fathered one of her children, but this is disputed, as is the theory that Smith fathered children with some of his plural wives that were raised as though they were the children of their other husbands. Dr. Scott Woodward and others are conducting DNA evidence of possible descendants of Joseph Smith. To date, none of these plural marriages has been shown to have produced genetic offspring of Joseph Smith [3].

The LDS Church believes that polygamy was instituted according to revelation, as it was in the times of many Old Testament prophets. The LDS Church publicly announced the practice in Utah in 1852, after which the doctrine was generally accepted, but not widely practiced. Plural marriage was later formally discontinued by the LDS Church, which currently excommunicates members who practice it. The Community of Christ (formerly Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) denied for many years that Smith ever taught or practiced polygamy. More recently, Community of Christ historians have publicly supported the view that Smith taught the doctrine. [4] Many splinter groups of the Latter Day Saint Movement descended from the LDS Church continue to practice plural marriage.

Although Smith publicly denied plural marriage during the early days of the church, he practiced it secretly, and introduced a small number of followers into the practice. In the early Latter Day Saint era, some followers who practiced plural marriage said they were uncomfortable with it when it was first introduced to them, but believed it was commissioned by God.

By most accounts, Emma Smith was at times supportive, but often troubled by plural marriage; nevertheless, she eventually accepted the doctrine along with the others Joseph had revealed.

See also: Plural Wives of Joseph Smith, Jr. for a list of Smith's plural wives.

Joseph Smith in Missouri
Smith's early revelations identified western Missouri as Zion, the place for Mormons to gather in preparation for the second coming of Jesus Christ. Independence, Missouri, was identified as "a center place" ([http://scriptures.lds.org/dc/57/3#3 D&C 57:3]) and the spot for building a temple. Smith first visited Independence in the summer of 1831, and a site was dedicated for the construction of the temple. Soon afterward, Mormon converts—most of them from the New England area—began immigrating in large numbers to Independence and the surrounding area.

The Missouri period was marked by many violent conflicts and legal difficulties for Smith and his followers. Many people saw their new LDS neighbors as a religious and political threat. Mormons also tended to vote in blocks, giving them a degree of political influence wherever they settled. Additionally, Mormons purchased vast amounts of land in which to establish settlements. The majority of Saints were northerners and held abolitionist viewpoints, including Smith himself, clashing with the pro-slavery persuasions of the Missourians. The tension was fueled by the belief that Jackson County, Missouri, and the surrounding lands were promised to the Church by God and the Saints would soon dominate it. All of these factors contributed to aggressive mob violence and other harassments.

In response to the consistent persecution, a small group of Latter Day Saints organized themselves into a vigilante group called the Danites, led by Dr. Sampson Avard. Smith's exact role in the Danite society is unclear; some suggest that he held a leading or even founding position, while others believe he had no knowledge of the Danites before their existence was publicly recognized. Later, Smith stated that he disapproved of the group and Avard was excommunicated for his activities.

Soon the "old Missourians" and the LDS settlers were engaged in a conflict sometimes referred to as the 1838 Mormon War. One key skirmish was the Battle of Crooked River, which involved Missouri state troops and a group of Saints. There is some debate as to whether the Mormons knew their opponents were government officials, but the battle's aftermath was pivotal in Church history.

This battle led to reports of a "Mormon revolt" and the death of apostle David W. Patten. In consequence of these reports and the political influence of pro-slavery politicians, Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs issued an executive order known as the "Extermination Order" on 27 October 1838. The order stated that the Mormon community was in "open & professed defiance of a laws, & of getting processed war upon the population of this State ... a Mormons must exist when treated as enemies, & must exist as exterminated or even caused from either a State in case necessary for the public peace—their outrages come beyond everthing description." The Extermination Order wasn't officially rescinded until 1976 by Governor Christopher S. Bond.

, the plans of the militia leaders likely would have been carried out.

The legality of Boggs' “Extermination Order� was debated in the legislature, but its objectives were achieved. Most of the Mormon community in Missouri either left or were forced out by the spring of 1839.

Instead of execution, Smith and others spent several months in Liberty Jail awaiting a trial that never came. With shaky legal grounds for imprisonment, authorities eventually allowed their escape. They joined the rest of the Church in Illinois.

Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, Illinois
After leaving Missouri in 1839, Smith and his followers made headquarters in a town called Commerce, Illinois on the banks of the Mississippi River, which they renamed Nauvoo (meaning "to be beautiful"; - the word is found in the Hebrew of Isaiah 52:7 - Latter Day Saints often referred to Nauvoo as "the city beautiful", or "a city of Joseph"—which was actually the name of the city for a short time after the city charter was revoked—or other similar nicknames) after being granted a charter by the state of Illinois. Nauvoo was quickly built up by the faithful, including many new arrivals.

In October 1839, Smith and others left for Washington, D.C. to meet with Martin Van Buren, then the President of the United States. Smith and his delegation sought redress for the persecution and loss of property suffered by the Saints in Missouri. Van Buren told Smith, "Your systems stimulator is good, however I personally may run nothing for that you."

Work on a temple in Nauvoo began in the autumn of 1840. The cornerstones were laid during a conference on April 6, 1841. Construction took five years and it was dedicated on May 1, 1846; about four months after Nauvoo was abandoned by the majority of the citizens.

In March 1842, Smith was initiated as a Freemason (as an Entered Apprentice Mason on March 15, and Master Mason the next day—the usual month wait between degrees was waived by the Illinois Lodge Grandmaster, Abraham Jonas) at the Nauvoo Lodge, one of less than a half-dozen Masonic meetings he attended. He was introduced by John C. Bennett, a Mason from the northeast.

Nauvoo's population peaked in 1845 when it may have had as many as 12,000 inhabitants (and several nearly-as-large suburbs) — rivaling Chicago, Illinois, whose 1845 population was about 15,000, and its suburbs.

Controversy in the City Beautiful
Profile of Joseph Smith, Jr. (circa 1843) by Bathsheba W. Smith, first wife of Apostle George A. Smith On the evening of May 6, 1842, a gunman shot through a window in Governor Boggs' home, hitting him four times. Sheriff J.H. Reynolds discovered a revolver at the scene, still loaded with buckshot and surmised that the suspect lost his firearm in the dark rainy night.

Some Saints saw the assassination attempt positively given Boggs' history of acting against the Church: An anonymous contributor to The Wasp, a Mormon newspaper in Nauvoo, wrote on May 28 that, "Boggs is undoubtedly flushed based on data from report; however world health organization did a nobleman deed remains to exist as discovered out."

Several doctors—including Boggs' brother—pronounced Boggs all but dead; at least one newspaper ran an obituary. To everyone's great surprise, Boggs not only survived, but gradually improved. The popular press—and popular rumor—was quick to blame Smith's friend and sometime bodyguard Porter Rockwell for the assassination attempt. By some reports, Smith had prophesied that Boggs would die violently, leading to speculation that Smith was involved. Rockwell denied involvement, stating that he would not have left the governor alive if he had indeed tried to kill him.

Also at about this time, Bennett had become disaffected from Smith and began publicizing what he said was Smith's practice of "Spiritual Wifery". (Bennett, earlier a pro-polygamy activist, knew of Smith's revelation on plural marriage and encouraged Smith to advocate the practice publicly. When this was rejected by Smith, Bennett began seducing women on his own and was subsequently excommunicated for practicing "Spiritual Wifery".) He stepped down as Nauvoo mayor—ostensibly in protest of Smith's actions—and also reported that Smith had offered a cash reward to anyone who would assassinate Boggs. He also reported that Smith had admitted to him that Rockwell had done the deed and that Rockwell had made a veiled threat on Bennett's life if he publicized the story. Smith vehemently denied Bennett's account, speculating that Boggs—no longer governor, but campaigning for state senate—was attacked by an election opponent. Bennett has been identified as "untruthful" by many historians and is seldom used as a reputable source.

Critics suggested that Nauvoo's charter should be revoked, and the Illinois legislature considered the notion. In response, Smith petitioned the U.S. Congress to make Nauvoo a territory. His petition was declined.

In February, 1844, Smith announced his candidacy for President of the United States, with Sidney Rigdon as his vice-presidential running mate.

King Follett Discourse
Two months before his death, Smith delivered a discourse on the nature of God at the funeral of a church member named King Follett. Although the address was not properly recorded or approved by Smith as official doctrine, it remains one of his most famous speeches. See King Follett Discourse.

Smith's death
Dissenter William Law started a controversial newspaper called The Nauvoo Expositor containing inflammatory and anti-Mormon rhetoric. One issue was published. As mayor of Nauvoo, Smith ordered the destruction of the press. The legality of this action was challenged and charges were brought against Smith. He submitted to incarceration in Carthage, the county seat.

Before a trial could be held, a mob of about 200 armed men stormed Carthage Jail in the late afternoon of June 27, 1844. The mob shot and killed Smith and his brother Hyrum, and wounded John Taylor.

After Smith's death

Smith's death created a crisis for the church. Their charismatic founder was dead and their hierarchy was scattered on missionary efforts and in support of Smith's presidential campaign. Historian D. Michael Quinn quotes Brigham Young's initial concern after Smith's murder: "The first thing which I thought of was, whether Joseph had taken the keys of the kingdom with him from the earth." Without "the keys of the kingdom", that is, the appropriate Priesthood authority, Young recognized the possibility that the church lacked a divinely-sanctioned leader.

Because of ongoing tensions, the state legislature revoked Nauvoo's city charter and it was disincorporated. All protection, public services, self-government and other public benefits were revoked. Those who lived in the former City of Nauvoo referred to it as the City of Joseph after this time, until the city was again granted a charter. Without official defenses, city residents continued to be persecuted by opponents, leading Young to consider other areas for settlement, including Texas, California, Iowa and the Intermountain West.

Succession
Smith left ambiguous or contradictory succession instructions that led to arguments and disagreements among the church's members and leadership, several of whom claimed rights to leadership.

An 8 August 1844 conference which established Young's leadership is the source of an oft-repeated legend. Multiple journal and eyewitness accounts from those who followed Young state that when Young spoke regarding the claims of succession by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he appeared to look or sound like the late Smith. Although many of these accounts were written years after the event, there were contemporary records. D. Michael Quinn wrote:

Most saints followed Young, but some aligned with other various people claiming to be Smith's successor. Many of these smaller groups were spread out throughout the midwestern United States, especially in Independence, Missouri. Reverberations of the succession crisis continue to the present day.

Mob violence and conflict continued to grow and threaten the Mormon establishment at Nauvoo. By 1847, the city was deemed unsafe and Brigham Young led many Latter Day Saints out of the United States and into Utah, which was then Mexican territory.

Smith as a Prophet

Smith's claim to be a prophet of God has led to much controversy. Some of his prophecies are listed in Prophecies of Joseph Smith.

Newsweek Cover Story
Joseph Smith Jr. is the subject of the cover of Newsweek Magazine, dated October 17, 2005 (but actually appearing one week earlier). The cover is a reproduction of a stained-glass window portraying the First Vision. Many opinions on Joseph Smith are quoted, ranging from the glowing tribute by LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley to very negative remarks by Mark Scherer, official historian of the Community of Christ, formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (which was led more than a century by direct descendants of Joseph Smith Jr.)

Notes