I.

Introduction

Joseph Smith (1805-1844), American religious leader, who was the founding prophet of the Mormon religion (see Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).

Smith was born of poor parents in Sharon, Vermont, on December 23, 1805. The family moved near the town of Palmyra, in upstate New York, where between the ages of 14 and 25 Smith experienced visions calling him to restore the true Christian religion. According to his account, an angel guided him to a set of golden plates buried in a hill near the Smith farm; these contained a narrative written in a hieroglyphic script, which he translated, “by the gift and power of God.” The result was published in 1830 as the Book of Mormon, which he believed to be a religious record of the ancient inhabitants of North America.

The church Smith founded on April 6, 1830, soon known officially as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, quickly attracted followers, many of whom served as lay missionaries. It also aroused opposition, with Smith as its focus. He suffered a violent tarring and feathering in Ohio and a jail term of several months in Missouri. After establishing a new headquarters at Commerce (which they renamed Nauvoo), Illinois, in 1839, Smith continued to provide charismatic leadership. Soon, however, rumors, later confirmed, that the Mormons had begun to practice polygamy provoked a schism in the Mormon community and intensified the opposition outside the church. Smith himself is believed to have had more than 27 wives, although he publicly acknowledged only one.

In February 1844, Smith announced his candidacy for the United States presidency. He was by then one of the most famous men of the American West. His base of appeal, however, was too narrow for him to have won election, and his political ambitions increased the hostility of non-Mormons. When a group of dissenting Mormons started to publish a newspaper attacking polygamy and his leadership, Smith ordered the press destroyed. This led to new threats of violence, and finally Smith was charged with treason and conspiracy and placed under arrest in the Carthage, Illinois, jail. There, despite the Illinois governor's promise of safety, he and his brother Hyrum were assassinated by a mob on the night of June 27, 1844.

II.

Achievements

During the 14 years between the organization of the Mormon church and his death, Smith accomplished a great deal. In addition to the Book of Mormon, he produced a series of revelations containing doctrinal pronouncements and instructions regarding everything from organization to finances to a code of health. These revelations are collected in the Doctrine and Covenants (1835). He also published narratives of Abraham and of Moses, adding many details to the biblical books, and a revision of the Bible itself, by “inspiration,” with numerous clarifications. He delivered hundreds of sermons, many of which were preserved in summaries by his followers. As early as 1838 he initiated a collective project to write a history of the church from its beginning.

III.

Character and Assessment

Smith did not conceive of religion narrowly. His teachings place a high value on physical health and on communal organization. A criticism of capitalism was implicit in his early efforts to establish the law of consecration, a communal economy that had to be modified later under the stress of circumstance. His social idealism was an important force in the newly established Mormon communities, especially the one in the area around Independence, Missouri, which he believed would soon be the site of Christ's second coming.

Smith clearly had a strong, determined character and a charismatic personality, inspiring either intense loyalty or implacable hostility. Biographical treatments have from the beginning seen him as either an impostor or a genuine prophet, each interpretation resting upon a priori assumptions. Recently some historians have shown a willingness to find a middle ground. At the very least Smith's significance lies in demonstrating how a major religion comes into being and how, even in a country of supposed individualism and religious pluralism, the appeal of corporative religion and forceful leadership remains strong.

IV.

Descendants

Smith married Emma Hale in 1827. Five sons survived to manhood, but none of them joined the main body of Mormons, who under Brigham Young settled in and around Utah. One of these sons, Joseph Smith III, rejected the Utah church and in 1860 accepted leadership of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, now known as the Community of Christ.