Who was Joseph Smith?
“Joseph Smith, Jr. (1805-1844), often referred to as the Prophet Joseph Smith, was the founding prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Latter-day Saints call him “the Prophet” because, in the tradition of Old and New Testament prophets, he depended on revelation from God for his teachings, not on his own learning.
Joseph Smith was born on December 23, 1805 in Sharon, Vermont to Joseph Smith, Sr., a struggling farmer and sometime treasure hunter who descended from an early American family of more than average means and influence. Lucy Mark Smith, Joseph’s mother, was a highly mystical woman who was given to unimaginable tales of exaggeration. Lucy’s father claimed experiences of divine visions from God. At the age of 14, Joseph Smith, Jr. claimed he was visited by God the Father and Jesus Christ. In 1823, according to his account, he was visited by an angel who told him of thin golden plates containing an ancient record of God’s dealings with the early American inhabitants. During this same time, Smith was enamored of the “seer stones” used in occult practices and gained some small reputation as a clairvoyant able to locate lost objects. In 1827, Joseph Smith began translating the golden plates using what he claimed as the “gift of God.” Three years later, the Book of Mormon was published. In tha
