USH - Joseph Smith - Church

Joseph Smith (true name: Joseph Smith, Jr.) was born in Sharon, Vermont on December 23, 1805, and died in Carthage, Illinois on June 27, 1844, at the age of 39. He was the American religious figure who founded the Latter Day Saint movement (also known as Mormonism). His followers declared him to be the first latter-day prophet, whose mission was supposedly to restore the original Christian church that was “said to have been lost soon after the death of Apostles because of an apostasy [“total desertion of or departure from one's religion, principles, party, cause, etc.”].”

His family was a farming family that lived in western New York for much of Smith’s young life. This region was an area of intense revivalism and religious diversity during the Second Great Awakening. Smith, during is youth, had little interaction with organized religion, but he still studied the Bible, had religious opinions, and was influenced by the common folk religion of the area. He reported that in 1820 (aged 14) he experienced a theopany [“an appearance of God to man, or a divine disclosure”], commonly referred to as the First Vision (several accounts of this would be recorded later in his life).

He was said to have been concerned as to which church was “correct” for him to join. Supposedly, God and Jesus came to him as “two separate, glorious, resurrected beings” to tell him that “none of the churches established at the time were correct, and so he should join none of them.” Smith purportedly had several additional revelations while the Book of Mormon (translation of ancient Egyptian plates) was published, and he had supposedly begun the work of organizing a new Christian church.

Once established with a congregation of followers, the church was moved to Ohio to avoid the conflict encountered in New York and Pennsylvania. He was eventually killed (over thirteen years later) when a mob broke into the jail where he was being held (under promise of “protection and a fair trial” following an accusation of him violating the freedom of the press) and was killed. (Mormons view his death as martyrdom).

Currently there are between thirteen and fourteen million people that are part of a denomination originating from his teachings. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the largest, with approximately 13 million members. The second largest is the Community of Christ, with about 250,000 members.