Joseph Smith Bio
Filed under Past Leader Bios
Biography of Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith is the founder and first prophet and president of the Mormon Church, or more properly, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Joseph Smith dedicated his life to the building up of the church of God on earth. He was president of the Church from Jan. 25, 1832 to June 27, 1844. He died as a martyr for the Mormon Church at age 38.
Joseph’s Childhood
Joseph Smith was an average 14 year old boy when he was called of God to reorganize Christ’s church. Joseph grew up in Palmyra, New York, with his ten brothers and sisters. His parents were Joseph and Lucy Mack Smith. Religion was promoted within his home. He grew up on his family’s farm and had little schooling. Both of his parents belonged to Christian denominations. His mother was orthodox and his father leaned more toward a rationalistic way of thinking. His parents always encouraged him to read the Bible, pray, and be faithful to God. They met nightly for family prayer and scripture study. Although he had faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, he did not know which denomination to join. Joseph Smith pondered the words found in James 1:5, which say that he who lacks wisdom should ask of God. Joseph did so. He went into a grove of trees and prayed to Heavenly Father that he might know which church was true. Christ and Heavenly Father appeared to Joseph, telling him to join none of the churches, since they had all gone astray and incorporated the philosophies of men into their doctrines. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ explained that it was time to restore Christ’s true church on earth. Many were skeptical of Joseph’s claim of seeing God and Jesus Christ. He was mocked and tormented by many. But he could not deny what he saw. Joseph’s parents believed him, supported him, and later joined the Mormon Church, as did all of Joseph’s siblings.
Joseph’s role, essentially, was to restore the true church of Christ upon the earth. Mormons believe that shortly after Christ’s death, the church He established became corrupt. Upon the death of the Apostles, the authority to act in God’s name was lost, and in time, the philosophies of men altered true doctrine. The Church fell into a general apostasy, called in Mormonism, the Great Apostasy. During the ensuing centuries, sects of Christianity proliferated, offering various doctrines, but not the authority and power of God’s holy priesthood.
Restoring the church and bringing forth the Book of Mormon
After Joseph Smith was called to be a servant to restore the gospel to the earth, the Lord sent a heavenly messenger, the Angel Moroni, to instruct him on how he would accomplish such a feat. Joseph recorded that the Angel Moroni visited him at least twenty two separate times, sometimes teaching him all night. The Angel Moroni instructed Joseph Smith to recover the gold plates which were buried anciently in the Hill Cumorah, located only a few miles from Joseph’s home in Palmyra, New York. The gold plates recount the history of people living on the American continent from 600 B.C. through 400 A.D. In 1827, Joseph Smith translated the gold plates from reformed Egyptian to English with the help of various scribes, including his wife, Emma Hale Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and Martin Harris, one of the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon. The gold plates were then published and made available to the public. The compilation of the gold plates is known as the Book of Mormon. Mormons believe that this book was written for our generation to bring souls unto Christ.
Joseph Smith is responsible for translating other ancient scripture. He translated large parts of the Pearl of Great Price, The Old Testament, The New Testament, and the Doctrine and Covenants. Some wonder how an uneducated young man was able to translate these books. Joseph Smith was divinely given the gift of tongues to do this work. To help him, the Angel Moroni gave him two seer stones, known as the Urrim and Thummim, to help him translate these works.
Joseph’s Family Life
In 1827, Joseph Smith married Emma Hale. She was a statuesque woman, tall and slender with brown hair and blue eyes. Emma Hale was a supportive wife to Joseph, and had a firm testimony in the work he was called to do. She was strong-willed and hard working. She, like her husband, dedicated her life to the church. She held many positions of authority in the church. She was the first president of the church’s women’s organization, the Relief Society. She took dictation from her husband many times in helping to translate the Book of Mormon. She endured much trial throughout her lifetime. Joseph Smith faced a tremendous amount of persecution throughout his lifetime.
Although the followers of Joseph Smith thought well of him, there were many who saw Joseph as a threat and wanted to take his life. He was hated by many. Threats were also made on Emma’s life and the lives of his children. His and Emma’s faith was constantly being tried. The family moved many times, fleeing from mobsters, trying to find a safe haven for Mormons to live in peace. They moved from New York to Ohio to Missouri to Nauvoo, Illinois. There, Smith held a number of leadership roles outside the church as well. He was elected mayor in 1842. He ran for president of the United States two years later. His list of achievements within the church and outside of the church is extensive.
Joseph’s Death
Throughout his life, Joseph faced much opposition. Those who hated the Mormons sought his life. He was illegally jailed many times. The last time he would be jailed was with his brother Hyrum in Carthage, Illinois. He awaited trial. On June 27, 1844, a group of angry mobsters stormed the jail, shooting both Hyrum and Joseph to death. Joseph Smith would die a martyr.
John Taylor had this to say about Joseph Smith:
Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord’s anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated (Doctrine and Covennts 135:3)!
