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Smith, Joseph, Jr., 1805-1844

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1805 - 1844

Biography

Joseph Smith, Jr. (1805-1844) was a prophet and founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Joseph Smith, Jr. was born on December 23, 1805, to parents Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith. He was the fifth of eleven children. He worked on the family farm in Vermont and later in western New York. A series of remarkable spiritual experiences prepared him for his prophetic calling. Beginning in 1820 at Palmyra, New York, Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ in vision. Through revelation, he translated and published the Book of Mormon, organized The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 6, 1830, and received revelations to guide the Church. By inspiration, he called Apostles and other Church leaders, defined doctrines, and taught the principles and ordinances that would lead to exaltation. Under his leadership, Latter-day Saints founded communities in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. He was sustained as First Elder of the Church on April 6, 1830. On June 27, 1844, at Carthage, Illinois, Joseph Smith died a martyr to his faith.

Citation:
Book of Mormon. Japanese. Morumon-kyō, 1909 (1950 printing): t.p. (Josefu Sumisu [in Japanese])

Book of Moemon. Armenian. Girkʻ Mōrmōni, 1937: t.p. (Kart. Chōzēf Smitʻh)

Britannica.com, Oct. 13, 2010 (Joseph Smith, originally Joseph Smith, Jr. (b. Dec. 23, 1805, Sharon, Vt., U.S.; d. June 27, 1844, Carthage, Ill.), prophet and founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

The Book of Mormon, 1830: title page (Joseph Smith, Junior)

Doctrine and covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, 1835: title page (Joseph Smith, Junior)

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, page 1331 (Joseph Smith, Jr. (1805-1844), the Prophet Joseph Smith, founding prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; born December 23, 1805 in Sharon, Vermont; moved to Palmyra, N.Y. in 1816; founded the Church in Fayette, N.Y. April 6, 1830; migrated with the Church to Kirtland, Ohio in 1831; then to Far West, Missouri in 1838; finally to Nauvoo, Ill. (which he founded) in 1839; killed by a mob in Carthage, Ill. June 27, 1844)

Found in 20 Collections and/or Records:

In the pioneer group to the Iron Co. Mission, was another great leader, Anson Call, who became a great colonizer

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230329770]
Identifier: MSS SC 3079
Scope and Contents Photocopy of a microfilm reproduction of a typed manuscript. The item is a biography of Anson Call by an unnamed author. The date of composition is uncertain. Anson Call was born in Fletcher, Franklin County, Vermont on 13 May 1810. Call married Mary Flint and later joined the Mormon Church. "He was closely associated with the Prophet Joseph [Joseph Smith, 1805-1844], and with the saints was driven from his home. He had a great love the the Prophet and did all he could to protect him...
Dates: 1930
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / In the pioneer group to the Iron Co. Mission, was another great leader, Anson Call, who became a great colonizer

John Murdock journal and autobiography

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197233631024]
Identifier: MSS SC 997
Scope and Contents

Materials include two copies of the typescript of an autobiography covering, 1792-1867, and journals, 1830-1859. Murdock was a Campbellite who joined the Mormon Church in 1830. He lived with Joseph Smith (1805-1844), the Mormon prophet, in 1833 and participated in "Zion's Camp" in 1834. He lived in Kirtland, Ohio; Nauvoo, Illinois; and Lehi, Utah and was in Missouri during the persecution of Mormons in that state.

Dates: 1830-1867
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / John Murdock journal and autobiography

Neibaur family papers

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 438
Scope and Contents Contains typed copies of a diary, biographies, autobiographies, and miscellaneous items. Neibaur kept his diary from 1841 to 1861. This typescript is 60 pages long, and there are many gaps in the record. Neibaur writes about leaving England for the United States. He lived in Nauvoo, Illinois, and later migrated to Utah in 1847 where he lived in Salt Lake City. Neibaur writes about his experiences with the presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith and...
Dates: 1841-1972
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / Neibaur family papers

The origin of Mormonism and reminiscences of the Mormons in Illinois

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230233634]
Identifier: MSS SC 89
Scope and Contents Prepared typescript of a series of ten articles written by J.H. Sherman which appeared in the Ithaca Daily Journal during April and May, 1886. The articles, decidedly anti-Mormon, tell of Joseph Smith's early life, the Solomon Spaulding manuscript from which Smith supposedly got the idea for the Book of Mormon, the organization of the Latter-day Saint Church, the settlement of the Mormons in Nauvoo, Illinois, death of Joseph Smith, mob violence in Illinois, expulsion of the Mormons from...
Dates: 1886
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / The origin of Mormonism and reminiscences of the Mormons in Illinois

Samuel W. Richards sworn oath

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230308436]
Identifier: MSS SC 1056
Scope and Contents Oath sworn before Martin S. Lindsay, Notary Public, in Salt Lake City on 11 Dec. 1903. The document affirms that Richards was among 25 young men who were called during the winter of 1843-4 by the Mormon Prophet, Joseph Smith (1805-1844), to explore the mountains in the West for a place where the Mormons could go to avoid persecution. Richards states that the men had weekly meetings to prepare for the trip and the decision to explore the West was made by Joseph Smith and not by his successor...
Dates: 1903
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / Samuel W. Richards sworn oath

Joseph Smith Tanner autobiography

 Collection — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197231045938]
Identifier: MSS 1267
Scope and Contents

Photocopy of a typescript as "given by Joseph S. Tanner to N. H. Tanner ... at Payson ... Utah." Tanner tells about his early life as a Mormon and about his experiences in Payson, Utah.

Dates: 1907
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / Joseph Smith Tanner autobiography

Nathan Tanner autobiography

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197231566537]
Identifier: MSS 836
Scope and Contents

Photocopy of a handwritten autobiography. Tanner writes about joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1831; participating in Zion's Camp in 1834; life in Kirtland, Ohio; his mission to the Eastern States for the Church; and his life in Far West, Missouri, and in Nauvoo, Illinois. He also tells about his interaction with early leaders of the Church and about troubles with mobs in Missouri and Illinois.

Dates: approximately 1854
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / Nathan Tanner autobiography

William Reynolds Terry autobiography

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197232487501]
Identifier: MSS 285
Scope and Contents Photocopy of a handwritten autobiography. Terry writes about his early life in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Iowa. He joined the Mormon Church in 1842 and moved to Hancock County, Illinois, in January of 1843 and tells of the murder of the first president of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith (1805-1844). Terry also writes about the persecutions the Mormons faced in Illinois, tells of the Mormon migration to Utah, and describes his life in Salt Lake City, Utah, as a school teacher. Also...
Dates: 1858
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / William Reynolds Terry autobiography

Though he slay me : the story of Richard Ballantyne

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230318567]
Identifier: MSS SC 2006
Scope and Contents

Typewritten manuscript with corrections. Sonne portrays Richard Ballantyne as a modest and taciturn Scotsman who converted to the Mormon religion and migrated to the United States. He distinguished himself as a Mormon pioneer, settler, and missionary. Richard met Joseph Smith (1805-1844), the Mormon prophet, in Nauvoo, Illinois and later moved to Utah. He also served a mission for the Mormon Church in India. The manuscript was later published under the title: "Knight of the Kingdom."

Dates: approximately 1948
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / Though he slay me : the story of Richard Ballantyne

Mary Ann Hoopes Yearsley papers

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230240241]
Identifier: MSS SC 391
Scope and Contents

Materials include papers related primarily to Yearsley. Includes a holograph journal of a visit to her home state of Pennsylvania in 1872 and a printed life sketch compiled by James D. Cummings, a grandson, in 1914. Also includes her husband, David Dutton Yearsley's, missionary recommend signed by John D. Lee and Joseph Young, Nauvoo, Illinois, 1844. Dated 1844-1914.

Dates: 1844-1914
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / Mary Ann Hoopes Yearsley papers

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