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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 30 Collections and/or Records:

Joseph Smith, Jr. complaint against Thomas J. Winter

 Collection — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197233284790]
Identifier: Vault MSS 65
Scope and Contents

Handwritten and signed complaint filed by Smith on 29 Nov. 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois. The complaint was filed against Thomas J. Winter for making detrimental comments on Smith's character.

Dates: 1842 November 29

Joseph Smith letter

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230237775]
Identifier: MSS SC 742
Scope and Contents

Photocopy of a handwritten and signed letter, dated 20 June 1844, and addressed to John Tyler, president of the United States. Smith asks Tyler for protection.

Dates: 1844

Joseph Smith letter

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230235258]
Identifier: MSS SC 173
Scope and Contents

Photocopy of a handwritten letter, dated June 11, 1829, and addressed to the Northern Judicial District of New York, R. R. Lansing, clerk. The item claims copyright for the Book of Mormon and describes its content and authorship.

Dates: 1829

Joseph Smith letter

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230325109]
Identifier: MSS SC 2576
Scope and Contents Photographs of a handwritten and signed letter dated 18 June 1844 and addressed to James Strang. Smith responds to Strang's request to establish a stake of the Mormon Church in Wisconsin. Smith said that the inquiry was received negatively by the leaders of the Mormon Church, but later it was accepted more positiviely. Smith then records a vision he had in which he was carried to the Kingdom of Heaven by angels and spoke with God about the request. God told Smith that the stake was to be...
Dates: 1844 June 18

Joseph Smith letter

 Collection — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197233282869]
Identifier: Vault MSS 36
Scope and Contents

Photograph of a handwritten and signed letter, dated 17 June 1844, and addressed to John P. Greene. Smith writes about his concerns on the possibilities of mob actions near Nauvoo, Illinois.

Dates: 1844 June 17

Joseph Smith letters

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230342286]
Identifier: MSS 258
Scope and Contents

Photocopy of a handwritten letter with a typescript of the item. This letter is dated 27 June 1844 at 8:20 A.M. and was written from Carthage Jail. Also included is a typewritten copy of another letter dated 23 June probably also in the year 1844. Both letters were addressed to Smith's wife, Emma Hale Smith (1804-1879). Smith describes the condition of his incarceration, states that they have no valid case against him, and expresses the belief that he was in little danger.

Dates: 1844

Robin R. Tucker letter

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197231045821]
Identifier: MSS 1223
Scope and Contents

Photocopy of a handwritten and signed letter, addressed to E. Jay Bell of Provo, Utah, and dated 5 Feb. 1972. Tucker writes about the Mormon Church publications, the "Book of Commandments" and the "Doctrine and Covenants." He also tells about the difficulties the first president of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith, had in getting the "Book of Commandments" published.

Dates: 1 February 5972

Eliza Westover letter

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230335546]
Identifier: MSS 371
Scope and Contents

Photocopy of a handwritten letter with a typescript of the item. Westover writes to "Lew" in response to his questions about the first president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith (1805-1844). She outlines her life and tells of her conversion to the LDS Church, her life in Nauvoo, Illinois, the death of Joseph Smith, and her migration to Utah.

Dates: 1916

Robert Wilmore letter

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230308279]
Identifier: MSS SC 1038
Scope and Contents

Letter to "Dear Children" written from Warren County, Illinois, July 6, 1844. This item includes his opinion on the death of the "imposter" Joseph Smith (1805-1844), the Mormon prophet. He says some people thought a few of Smith's own followers killed him.

Dates: 1844

Joseph Young letters

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230307776]
Identifier: MSS SC 1001
Scope and Contents

Holograph letters addressed to Lewis Harvey dated 16 Nov. and 18 Nov. 1880. Young tells about his conversion to the Mormon Church and baptism into that faith in 1832. He also tells about his dealing with the Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith (1805-1844); about the Mormon Church in Kirtland, Ohio in the 1830s; and about the organizing of the Seven Presidents of the Seventies by Joseph Smith in 1835.

Dates: 1880