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:
Undergraduate and Graduate Studies, 1902-1925
Includes grades, student correspondence, and lecture notes. M. Wilford Poulson kept these papers from his time teaching at BYU, the University of Utah, and the University of Chicago.
John Webster letter
Photocopy of a handwritten letter dated 17 July 1831. Webster tells of being approached by a "Mormonite," Samuel Harrison Smith (1808-1844), to buy a "gold Bible" (Book of Mormon). Webster asked Smith how his brother, Joseph Smith (1801-1844), wrote it. "He said that he would look under a shiney stone in the dark and there he would see the words appear."
William Weston letter
Photocopy of a handwritten and signed letter dated Feb. 1843 and addressed to George C. Weston of Rockville, Connecticut. The item was also written by "Rebeca Weston." The Westons express a negative view of the first president of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith. They also dislike the fact that many Mormons are coming to Illinois.
Eliza Westover letter
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.
Whitmer, Kerr and Johnson, 1832-1946
Contains letters and articles relating to the Whitmer, Kerr and Johnson families, as well as other notable figures in the early days of the Church.
Robert Wilmore letter
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.
Writings of M. Wilford Poulson, 1909-1941
Includes published and unpublished writings of M. Wilford Poulson.
Writings of W.M. Poulson (unpublished), 1945
Contains notebooks and journals with writings of M. Wilford Poulson that were never published. Writings date from 1902-1946.
Mary Ann Hoopes Yearsley papers
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.
Joseph Young letters
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.