Joseph Smith, Jr

What better place to start out with Joseph Smith, Jr! Joseph was born Dec. 23, 1805 in Sharon, Vermont to Joseph Smith Sr and Lucy Mack. They moved to Palmyra, New York which during that time, there was many religions talking and arguing about the Kingdom of Heaven. Joseph had wondered which church was true. He had studied the Bible and turned to James 1:5. During the spring morning in 1820, he went out to the grove near his home and prayed to the Father about it. He felt a dark presence that tried to stop him from praying. When he almost gave up a light descended upon him. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to the 14 year old farm boy. Joseph asked which church to join. Christ told him to join none of them. He went back home after the vision and told his mother about it. The Angel Moroni appeared to him telling him of gold plates buried in the Hill Cumorah. Moroni was the last of the Ancient American prophets of the Book of Mormon. He showed Joseph the place where the plates were. Joseph was to wait 5 years to obtain the Gold Plates. When Joseph received the Plates, he hid them and showed nobody as the Angel Moroni had told him. Joseph Smith married Emma Hale on Jan. 18th. He started translating the Gold Plates. Martin Harris was his first scribe. After losing the 116 pages of the Book of Lehi, they pleaded and repented of their sins to continue translating. Joseph listened to God and never questioned Him after that experience. Oliver Cowdry was also his scribe. They had read about baptism and the priesthood. They were shown and taught many things concerning faith, baptism and the sacrament. April 6, 1830, the Church was organized! Many were baptized and leaders were ordained. Joseph Smith, Jr was prophet of the Church. He called 12 to be his apostles. The Priesthood keys were restored and given to Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon had been published!

Missionaries were sent to preach the Gospel of Christ. Joseph went through many hardships and persecution. They were driven from New York to Kirtland, Ohio where they built a temple to God. They set up another branch of the Church in Missouri. Persecution followed. Many were tarred and feathered. Joseph Smith and Sydney Rigdon, an apostle, were tarred and feathered. The mob tried to poison Joseph. They chipped his tooth when they tried to force it down him. After the mob left, family members brought Joseph and Sydney in their homes and cleaned them up. The next day was Sunday, the mob thought that Joseph wouldn't show himself. Joseph, though weak, came out and preached about forgiveness. Many of the mob left. Joseph was put in Liberty Jail along with his brother Hyrum and other men. They had been driven from Kirtland to join the rest of the saints in Missouri. The mob became worse. They ran the women, children, old and sick out of their homes in the winter. They fled to Nauvoo, Ill.

Joseph was released from Liberty. He had gone through many trials there. Listening to the men slander and talk about what evil they had done to the members. Joseph had told them to stop. They left and stopped talking about it. They built up Nauvoo even with many people becoming sick because of the mosquitoes and other fevers. It was called Commerce then changed to Nauvoo meaning "City Beautiful" it's also called "The City of Joseph." Their city was growing. Members from all over were moving to Nauvoo and other places outside of Nauvoo. Persecution mounted. Joseph's life was still in more danger. They had started building the Nauvoo Temple. Everyone worked on it. New commandments were coming. The Doctrine and Covenants were now printed.

Joseph Smith was called to go to Carthage to stand trial. His brother Hyrum, went with. Along with Willard Richards, John Taylor and other men. They went to Carthage. The 4 men were the only ones in the upper room in the Carthage Jail June 27, 1844 when men stormed the jail shooting. They held the door shut. Hyrum was first to be hit and was killed. The mob stormed in and shots were fired. Willard Richards was behind the door, John Taylor was hit twice was under a mattress. Joseph Smith jumped out of the window and was shot from the men who were outside of the ground. Williard Richard and John Taylor survived. Willard wasn't hurt. John was shot in the leg and a bullet hit his pocket watch saving his life and telling the time of Joseph and Hyrum's death. They're bodies were taken to Nauvoo, where the Saints mourned the loss of their leader. The mob though if they killed the Prophet of the Mormon Church, the Church would dissolve. Not so! It's God's true Church not Joseph's! The Church has grown strong since April 6,1830! It's all over the world as Joseph had prophesied.

Joseph Smith was a wonderful man and prophet. I love him. He is a hero of mine because of all he went through, he was still strong in the faith and close to the Lord.