Smith, Joseph, Jr., 1805-1844
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 90 Collections and/or Records:
Alvira Lavona Smith Hendricks statement
Photocopy of a handwritten statement with a typewritten transcript. The item was dictated when Hendricks was 89 years old. She was present at the Haun's Mill Massacre in 1838 and tells how her mother treated her twin brother, Alma, who had been seriously wounded there. She also mentions hearing Joseph Smith, first president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speak.
Nelson Higgins certificates
Udney Hay Jacob letter
Photocopy of a handwritten and signed letter addressed to Martin Van Buren and dated 19 March 1840. Jacob writes to Van Buren offering to aid him in the presidential election if Van Buren would finance the printing of a manuscript to be used against Joseph Smith and the Mormons.
Typescript copy of Benjamin F. Johnson letter to George Snow Gibbs
Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History symposia records, 1987-2005
Joseph Smith portraits : a search for the prophet's likeness
Items include research notes and materials regarding the many different representations of Joseph Smith (1805-1844). Contains copies of these likenesses, and also contains information on the different artists who have created them, particularly Sutcliffe Maudsley. A large portion of the material deals with the death mask of Joseph Smith, and its comparison to his portraits.
Justin E. Page (son of John E. Page, early Mormon Church apostle), 1933-1940
Contains correspondence between M. Wilford Poulson and Justin E. Page, dated between 1933 and 1940.
Wilson Law legal document
Photocopy of a handwritten and signed legal document. The item relates to the estate of the first president of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith.