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{{short description|Founder of the Latter Day Saint movement (1805–1844)}}
{{about|the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement|other persons|Joseph Smith (disambiguation)}}
{{pp|reason=Persistent [[WP:Disruptive editing|disruptive editing]]|small=yes}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Use shortened footnotes|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox Latter Day Saint biography
| image               = Joseph Smith, Jr. portrait owned by Joseph Smith III.jpg
| alt                 = Portrait of Joseph Smith Jr.
| caption             = Portrait, {{circa|1842}}
| birth_name          = Joseph Smith Jr.
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1805|12|23}}
| birth_place         = [[Sharon, Vermont]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1844|06|27|1805|12|23}}
| death_place         = [[Carthage, Illinois]], U.S.
| death_cause         = [[Killing of Joseph Smith|Gunshot wounds]]
| resting_place       = [[Smith Family Cemetery]],<br />[[Nauvoo, Illinois]], U.S.
| resting_place_coordinates = {{Coord|40.54052|-91.39244|type:landmark|display=inline|name=Smith Family Cemetery}}
| spouse              = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Emma Smith]]|1827}}
* [[List of Joseph Smith's wives|Multiple others]]{{efn|name=Polygamy|{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=153}} notes the exact figure is debated. {{Harvtxt|Smith|1994|p=14}} counts 42 polygamous wives; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=587–88}} counts 46; {{Harvtxt|Compton|1997|p=11}} counts at least 33 total; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=437, 644}} accepts Compton's count, excepting one, resulting in a total of 32; {{Harvtxt|Davenport|2022|p=139}} counts 37.}}
}}
| children            = {{hlist|[[Julia Murdock Smith|Julia]]|[[Joseph Smith III|Joseph&nbsp;III]]|[[Alexander Hale Smith|Alexander]]|[[David Hyrum Smith|David]]|[[Children of Joseph Smith|others]]}}
| parents             = {{ubl|[[Joseph Smith Sr.]] (father)|[[Lucy Mack Smith]] (mother)}}
| relatives           = {{plainlist|
* [[Alvin Smith (brother of Joseph Smith)|Alvin Smith]] (brother)
* [[Hyrum Smith]] (brother)
* Sophronia Smith (sister)
* [[Samuel H. Smith (Latter Day Saints)|Samuel H. Smith]] (brother)
* Ephraim Smith (brother)
* [[William Smith (Latter Day Saints)|William Smith]] (brother)
* [[Katharine Smith Salisbury|Katharine Smith]] (sister)
* [[Don Carlos Smith]] (brother)
* [[Lucy Smith Millikin|Lucy Smith]] (sister)
}}
| signature           = Joseph Smith Jr Signature.svg
| signature_size      = 100px
| signature_alt       = J Smith
<!-- Latter Day Saint Leadership  -->
| position_or_quorum1 = 1st [[President of the Church|President]] of the [[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)|Church of Christ]]{{efn|Church of Christ was the official name on April 6, 1830.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shields |first=Steven |title=Divergent Paths of the Restoration |location=Independence, Missouri |publisher=Restoration Research |year=1990 |edition=fourth |isbn=0-942284-00-3}}</ref> In 1834, the official name was changed to ''Church of the Latter Day Saints''<ref>{{cite news |author=Joseph Smith |title=Minutes of a Conference |url=http://www.centerplace.org/history/ems/v2n20.htm |work=[[Evening and Morning Star]] |location=Kirtland, OH |page=160 |volume=2 |issue=20 |access-date=May 5, 2023}}</ref> and then in 1838 to ''Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints''. The spelling "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" was adopted by the LDS Church in Utah in 1851, after Joseph Smith's death in 1844, and is today specified in [[Doctrine and Covenants]].<ref>{{cite web |title=D&C 115:4 |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/115.4?lang=eng}}</ref>}}
| successor1          = [[Succession crisis (Latter Day Saints)|Disputed]]{{efn|[[Brigham Young]], [[Sidney Rigdon]], [[Joseph Smith III]], and [[List of denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement|at least four others]] each claimed succession.}}
| start_date1         = {{start date|1830|04|06}}
| end_date1           = {{end date|1844|06|27}}
| end_reason1         = [[Killing of Joseph Smith|Death]]
<!--Political Office Holders  -->
| political_office1   = 2nd Mayor of [[Nauvoo, Illinois]]
| term_start1         = {{start date|1842|05|19}}<ref name=Mayor>{{cite journal|last=Garr|first=Arnold K.|title=Joseph Smith: Mayor of Nauvoo|journal=Mormon Historical Studies|volume=1|issue=1|date=Spring 2002|url=http://mormonhistoricsites.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/MHS3.1Spring2002Garr.pdf|pages=5–6}}</ref> 
| term_end1           = {{end date|1844|06|27}}
| office_predecessor1 = [[John C. Bennett]]
| office_successor1   = Chancy Robison<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Jenson|editor-first=Andrew|title=The Historical Record: A Monthly Periodical|location=Salt Lake City|page=843|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vPw8AAAAIAAJ|access-date=July 23, 2013|year=1888}}</ref> 
| party               = Independent
| portals             = none
| known_for           = Founding [[Mormonism]]}}
{{Joseph Smith, Jr.|noimage=true}}

'''Joseph Smith Jr.''' (December 23, 1805{{spnd}}June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and the founder of [[Mormonism]] and the [[Latter Day Saint movement]].<!--A number of churches claim Smith as their founder, so it is incorrect to assert that Smith is the founder only of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.--> Publishing the [[Book of Mormon]] at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thousands of followers by the time of his death fourteen years later. The religion he founded is followed to the present day by millions of global adherents and several churches, the largest of which is [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church).

Born in [[Sharon, Vermont]], Smith moved with his family to [[Western New York]], following [[Year Without a Summer|a series of crop failures]] in 1816. Living in an area of intense religious revivalism during the [[Second Great Awakening]], Smith reported experiencing a series of visions. The [[First Vision|first of these]] was in 1820, when he saw "two personages" (whom he eventually described as [[God the Father]] and [[Jesus Christ]]). In 1823, he said he was visited by [[Angel Moroni|an angel]] who directed him to a buried book of [[golden plates]] inscribed with a Judeo-Christian history of an ancient American civilization. In 1830, Smith published the Book of Mormon, which he described as an English translation of those plates. The same year he organized the [[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)|Church of Christ]], calling it a [[Restoration (Latter Day Saints)|restoration]] of the [[early Christian Church]]. Members of the church were later called "Latter Day Saints" or "Mormons".

In 1831, Smith and his followers moved west, planning to build a [[Intentional community|communal]] [[Zion (Latter Day Saints)|Zion]] in the American heartland. They first gathered in [[Kirtland, Ohio]], and established an outpost in [[Independence, Missouri]], which was intended to be Zion's "center place". During the 1830s, Smith sent out missionaries, published [[Revelation (Latter Day Saints)|revelations]], and supervised construction of the [[Kirtland Temple]]. Because of the collapse of the church-sponsored [[Kirtland Safety Society]], violent skirmishes with non-Mormon Missourians, and the [[Mormon extermination order]], Smith and his followers established a new settlement at [[Nauvoo, Illinois]], of which he was the spiritual and political leader. In 1844, when the ''[[Nauvoo Expositor]]'' criticized Smith's power and his practice of [[polygamy]], Smith and the Nauvoo City Council ordered the destruction of its [[printing press]], inflaming anti-Mormon sentiment. Fearing an invasion of Nauvoo, Smith rode to [[Carthage, Illinois]], to stand trial, but [[Killing of Joseph Smith|was shot and killed]] by a mob that stormed the jailhouse.

During his ministry, Smith published numerous documents and texts, many of which he attributed to divine inspiration and revelation from [[God]]. He dictated the majority of these in the first-person, saying they were the writings of ancient prophets or expressed the voice of God. His followers accepted his teachings as prophetic and revelatory, and several of these texts were [[wikt:canonized|canonized]] by denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement, which continue to treat them as [[Religious text|scripture]]. Smith's teachings discuss God's nature, [[cosmology]], family structures, political organization, and religious community and authority. Mormons generally regard Smith as a prophet comparable to [[Moses]] and [[Elijah]]. Several religious denominations identify as the continuation of the church that he organized, including the LDS Church and the [[Community of Christ]].

==Life==
===Early years (1805–1827)===
{{Main|Early life of Joseph Smith}}
Joseph Smith was born on December 23, 1805, in [[Vermont]], on the border between the villages of [[South Royalton, Vermont|South Royalton]] and [[Sharon, Vermont|Sharon]], to [[Lucy Mack Smith]] and her husband [[Joseph Smith Sr.]], a merchant and farmer.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=9, 30}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1832|p=1}}</ref> He was one of eleven children. At the age of seven, Smith had a bone infection and, after receiving surgery, used crutches for three years.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=21}}</ref> After an ill-fated business venture and three successive years of crop failures culminating in the 1816 [[Year Without a Summer]], the Smith family left Vermont and moved to [[Western New York]],<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=27–32}}</ref> and took out a mortgage on a {{convert|100|acre|ha|adj=on}} [[Smith Family Farm|farm]] in the townships of [[Palmyra (village), New York|Palmyra]] and [[Manchester, New York|Manchester]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Smith Family Log Home, Palmyra, New York |url=https://ensignpeakfoundation.org/smith-family-log-home/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005104715/https://ensignpeakfoundation.org/smith-family-log-home/ |archive-date=October 5, 2022 |access-date=December 26, 2022 |website=Ensign Peak Foundation}}</ref>

The region was a [[Burned-over district|hotbed of religious enthusiasm]] during the [[Second Great Awakening]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Martin |first=John H. |url=https://www.crookedlakereview.com/articles/136_150/137fall2005/137martin.html |title=Saints, Sinners and Reformers: The Burned-Over District Re-Visited |year=2005 |chapter=An Overview of the Burned-Over District |postscript=, |chapter-url=https://www.crookedlakereview.com/books/saints_sinners/martin1.html}} published in the [https://www.crookedlakereview.com/articles/136_150/137fall2005/137toc.html ''Crooked Lake Review''. No. 137. Fall 2005].</ref><ref name=":7" /> Between 1817 and 1825, there were several camp meetings and revivals in the Palmyra area.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=36–37}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|p=136}}</ref> Smith's parents disagreed about religion, but the family was caught up in this excitement.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|p=xx}}; {{Harvtxt|Hill|1989|pp=10–11}}; {{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|p=129}}</ref> Smith later recounted that he had become interested in religion by age 12, and as a teenager, may have been sympathetic to [[Methodism]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|pp=26–7}}; {{cite web |author=D. Michael Quinn |date=July 12, 2006 |title=Joseph Smith's Experience of a Methodist 'Camp-Meeting' in 1820 |url=https://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/joseph-smiths-experience-of-a-methodist-camp-meeting-in-1820/  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927235221/http://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/QuinnPaperless.pdf |archive-date=September 27, 2011 |access-date=December 26, 2022 |website=Dialogue Paperless |page=3}}</ref> With other family members, he also engaged in [[Cunning folk traditions and the Latter Day Saint movement|religious folk magic]], a relatively common practice in that time and place.<ref>{{harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=30–31}}; {{harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=51}}; {{Harvtxt|Shipps|1985|pp=7–8}}; {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|pp=16, 33}}; {{Harvtxt|Hill|1977|p=53}}</ref> Both his parents and his maternal grandfather reported having visions or dreams that they believed communicated messages from God.<ref>{{harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=14–16, 137}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=26, 36}}; {{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|pp=150–51}}; {{Harvtxt|Mack|1811|p=25}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|pp=54–59, 70–74}}</ref> Smith said that, although he had become concerned about the welfare of his soul, he was confused by the claims of competing religious denominations.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=38–9}}; {{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|p=30}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|p=136}}; {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=37}}</ref>

Years later, Smith wrote that he had received [[First Vision|a vision]] that resolved his religious confusion.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=39}}; {{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|p=30}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|p=136}}</ref> He said that in 1820, while he had been praying in a [[Sacred Grove (Latter Day Saints)|wooded area]] near his home, [[God the Father]] and [[Jesus Christ]] together appeared to him, told him his sins were forgiven, and said that all contemporary churches had "turned aside from the gospel."<ref>{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|pp=37–38}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=39}}; {{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|p=30}}</ref> Smith said he recounted the experience to a Methodist minister, who dismissed the story "with great contempt".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|p=30}}; {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=40}}; {{Harvtxt|Harper|2019|p=9}}</ref> According to historian Steven C. Harper, "There is no evidence in the historical record that Joseph Smith told anyone but the minister of his vision for at least a decade", and Smith might have kept it private because of how uncomfortable that first dismissal was.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Harper|2019|pp=10–12}}</ref> During the 1830s, Smith orally described the vision to some of his followers, though it was not widely published among Mormons until the 1840s.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Harper|2019|pp=1, 51–55}}</ref> This vision later grew in importance to Smith's followers, who eventually regarded it as the first event in the [[Restoration (Latter Day Saints)|restoration of Christ's church to Earth]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Allen |first=James B. |title=The Significance of Joseph Smith's "First Vision" in Mormon Thought |date=Autumn 1966 |url=https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/dial/article/1/3/28/247772/THE-SIGNIFICANCE-OF-JOSEPH-SMITH-S-FIRST-VISION-IN |journal=[[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought]] |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=29–46 |doi=10.2307/45223817 |jstor=45223817 |author-link=James B. Allen (historian) |s2cid=222223353|doi-access=free }}</ref> Smith himself may have originally considered the vision to be a personal conversion.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=39}}; {{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|p=30}}; {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=39}}</ref>

[[File:The Hill Cumorah by C.C.A. Christensen.jpeg|left|thumb|Smith said he received golden plates from the [[angel Moroni]] at the [[Hill Cumorah]].]]
According to Smith's later accounts, while praying one night in 1823, he was visited by an angel named [[Angel Moroni|Moroni]]. Smith claimed this angel revealed the location of a buried book made of [[golden plates]], as well as other artifacts including a breastplate and a [[Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)|set of interpreters]] composed of two [[Seer stone (Latter Day Saints)|seer stones]] set in a frame, which had been hidden in [[Cumorah|a hill]] near his home.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=136–38}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=43}}; {{Harvtxt|Shipps|1985|pp=151–152}}</ref> Smith said he attempted to remove the plates the next morning, but was unsuccessful because Moroni returned and prevented him.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=50}}; {{Harvtxt|Jortner|2022|p=38}}</ref> He reported that during the next four years he made annual visits to the hill, but, until the fourth and final visit, each time he returned without the plates.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=163–64}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=54}}</ref>

Meanwhile, Smith's family faced financial hardship, due in part to the death of his oldest brother [[Alvin Smith (brother of Joseph Smith)|Alvin]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=42}}</ref> Family members supplemented their meager farm income by hiring out for odd jobs and working as treasure seekers,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=21}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=33,48}}</ref> a type of [[Cunning folk traditions and the Latter Day Saint movement|magical supernaturalism]] common during the period.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Taylor |first=Alan |date=Spring 1986 |title=The Early Republic's Supernatural Economy: Treasure Seeking in the American Northeast, 1780–1830 |journal=American Quarterly |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=6–34 |doi=10.2307/2712591|jstor=2712591 }}</ref> Smith was said to have an ability to locate lost items by looking into a seer stone, which he also used in treasure hunting, including, beginning in 1825, several unsuccessful attempts to find buried treasure sponsored by Josiah Stowell, a wealthy farmer in [[Chenango County, New York|Chenango County]].<ref name="treasure">{{Harvtxt|Newell|Avery|1994|pp=17}}; {{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|pp=152–53}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=43–44, 54–57}}; , {{Harvtxt|Persuitte|2000|pp=33–53}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=45–53}}; {{Harvtxt|Jortner|2022|p=29}}</ref> In 1826, Smith was brought before a Chenango County court for "glass-looking", or pretending to find lost treasure; Stowell's relatives accused Smith of tricking Stowell and faking an ability to perceive hidden treasure, though Stowell attested that he believed Smith had such abilities.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Jortner|2022|pp=29–31}}</ref> The [[Joseph Smith and the criminal justice system#Disorderly person, March 1826|result of the proceeding remains unclear]] because primary sources report conflicting outcomes.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Jortner|2022|p=33}}; {{cite journal |last=Vogel |first=Dan |title=Rethinking the 1826 Judicial Decision |url=http://mormonscripturestudies.com/ch/dv/1826.asp |journal=Mormon Scripture Studies: An e-Journal of Critical Thought |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609204410/http://mormonscripturestudies.com/ch/dv/1826.asp |archive-date=June 9, 2011}}; {{cite web |title=Introduction to ''State of New York v. JS–A'' |url=https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/introduction-to-state-of-new-york-v-js-a/1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221220004833/https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/introduction-to-state-of-new-york-v-js-a/1 |archive-date=December 20, 2022 |access-date=December 26, 2022 |website=[[The Joseph Smith Papers]] |postscript=,}}</ref>

[[File:EmmaSmith.jpg|thumb|alt=Portrait of Emma Smith|[[Emma Smith|Emma Hale Smith]], who married Joseph Smith in 1827.|307x307px]]
While boarding at the Hale house, located in the township of Harmony (now [[Oakland, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania|Oakland]]) in [[Pennsylvania]], Smith met and courted [[Emma Smith|Emma Hale]]. When he proposed marriage, her father, Isaac Hale, objected; he believed Smith had no means to support his daughter.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=53}}; {{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|p=89}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|p=164}}</ref> Hale also considered Smith a stranger who appeared "careless" and "not very well educated."<ref>{{Harvtxt|Newell|Avery|1994|pp=17–18}}</ref> Smith and Emma [[elopement|eloped]] and married on January 18, 1827, after which the couple began boarding with Smith's parents in Manchester. Later that year, when Smith promised to abandon treasure seeking, his father-in-law offered to let the couple live on his property in Harmony and help Smith get started in business.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=53–54}}</ref>

Smith made his last visit to the hill shortly after midnight on September 22, 1827, taking Emma with him.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Shipps|1985|p=12}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=163–64}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=54, 59}}; {{Harvtxt|Easton-Flake|Cope|2020|p=126}}</ref> This time, he said he successfully retrieved the plates.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=59–60}}; {{Harvtxt|Shipps|1985|p=153}}</ref> Smith said Moroni commanded him not to show the plates to anyone else,{{efn|However, eventually a total of eleven others published statements affirming having been shown the plates. See [[Three Witnesses]] and [[Eight Witnesses]].}} but to translate them and publish their translation. He also said the plates were a religious record of [[Jewish Indian theory|Middle-Eastern indigenous Americans]] and were engraved in an unknown language, called [[reformed Egyptian]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Shipps|1985|p=9}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=54}}; {{Harvtxt|Howe|2007|pp=313–314}}; {{Harvtxt|Jortner|2022|p=41}}</ref> He told associates that he was capable of reading and translating them.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2004|pp=238–242}}; {{Harvtxt|Howe|2007|p=313}}</ref>

Although Smith had abandoned treasure hunting, former associates believed he had double crossed them and had taken the golden plates for himself, property they believed should be jointly shared.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=61}}; {{Harvtxt|Howe|2007|p=315}}; {{Harvtxt|Jortner|2022|pp=36–38}}</ref> After they ransacked places where they believed the plates might have been hidden, Smith decided to leave Palmyra.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Shipps|1985|p=12}}; {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=55}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=60–61}}</ref>

===Founding a church (1827–1830)===
{{Main|Life of Joseph Smith from 1827 to 1830}}
In October 1827, Smith and Emma permanently moved to Harmony, aided by a relatively prosperous neighbor, [[Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints)|Martin Harris]],<ref>{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|pp=55–56}}; {{Harvtxt|Newell|Avery|1994|p=2}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=62–63}}</ref> who began serving as Smith's scribe in April 1828.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Easton-Flake|Cope|2020|p=129}}</ref> Although he and his wife, Lucy, were early supporters of Smith, by June 1828 they began to have doubts about the existence of the golden plates. Harris persuaded Smith to let him take [[Lost 116 pages|116 pages of manuscript]] to Palmyra to show a few family members, including his wife.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Shipps|1985|pp=15–16}}; {{Harvtxt|Easton-Flake|Cope|2020|pp=117–119}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|pp=117–18}}</ref> While Harris had the manuscript in his possession—of which there was no other copy—it was lost.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Shipps|1985|p=16}};{{Harvtxt|Easton-Flake|Cope|2020|pp=117–118}}</ref> Smith was devastated by this loss, especially since it came at the same time as the death of his first son, who died shortly after birth.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=67–68}}</ref> Smith said that as punishment for his having lost the manuscript, Moroni returned, took away the plates, and revoked his ability to translate.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Shipps|1985|p=17}}</ref> During this period, Smith briefly attended Methodist meetings with his wife, until a cousin of hers objected to inclusion of a "practicing [[necromancy|necromancer]]" on the Methodist class roll.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=68–70}}</ref>

[[File:The Book of Mormon- An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Image|Cover page of the [[Book of Mormon]], original 1830 edition]]
Smith said that Moroni returned the plates to him in September 1828,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Shipps|1985|p=18}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=70, 578n46}}; {{Harvtxt|Phelps|1833|loc=sec. 2:4–5}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=126}}</ref> and he then dictated some of the book to his wife Emma.<ref name="Bushman 2005 70">{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=70}}</ref> In April 1829 he met [[Oliver Cowdery]], who had also dabbled in folk magic; and with Cowdery as scribe, Smith began a period of "rapid-fire translation".<ref name="Bushman 2005 70"/> Between April and early June 1829, the two worked full time on the manuscript, then moved to [[Fayette, New York]], where they continued the work at the home of Cowdery's friend, [[Peter Whitmer]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=70–74}}</ref> When the narrative described an institutional church and a requirement for [[baptism]], Smith and Cowdery baptized each other.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=5–6,15–20}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=74–75}}</ref> Dictation was completed about July 1, 1829.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=78}}</ref> According to Smith, Moroni took back the plates once Smith finished using them.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=68}}</ref>

The completed work, titled the [[Book of Mormon]], was published in Palmyra by printer [[Egbert Bratt Grandin]]<ref>{{Harvtxt|Jortner|2022|p=43}}</ref> and was first advertised for sale on March 26, 1830.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Shipps|1985|p=154}}</ref> Less than two weeks later, on April 6, 1830, Smith and his followers formally organized the [[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)|Church of Christ]], and small branches were established in Manchester, Fayette, and [[Colesville, New York]].<ref>For the April 6 establishment of a church organization, see {{Harvtxt|Shipps|1985|p=154}}; for Fayette and Manchester (and some ambiguity over a Palmyra presence), see {{Harvtxt|Hill|1989|pp=27, 201n84}}; for the Colesville congregation, see {{Harvtxt|Jortner|2022|p=57}};</ref> The Book of Mormon brought Smith regional notoriety and renewed the hostility of those who remembered the 1826 Chenango County trial.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=117}}; {{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|pp=484–486; 510–512}}</ref> After Cowdery baptized several new church members, Smith's followers were threatened with mob violence. Before Smith could [[Confirmation (Latter Day Saints)|confirm]] the newly baptized, he was arrested and charged with being a "disorderly person."<ref>{{Harvtxt|Hill|1989|p=28}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=116–18}}</ref> Although he was [[acquittal|acquitted]], both he and Cowdery fled to Colesville to escape a gathering mob. Smith later claimed that, probably around this time, [[Saint Peter|Peter]], [[James, son of Zebedee|James]], and [[John the Apostle|John]] had appeared to him and had ordained him and Cowdery to a higher priesthood.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=24–26}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=118}}</ref>

Smith's authority was undermined when Cowdery, [[Hiram Page]], and other church members also claimed to receive revelations.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Hill|1989|p=27}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=120}}</ref> In response, Smith dictated a revelation which clarified his office as a prophet and an [[Apostle (Latter Day Saints)|apostle]], stating that only he had the ability to declare doctrine and scripture for the church.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Hill|1989|pp=27–28}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=121}}; {{Harvtxt|Phelps|1833|p=67}}</ref> Smith then dispatched Cowdery, Peter Whitmer, and others on a mission to [[proselytize]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Hill|1989|p=28}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=112}}; {{Harvtxt|Jortner|2022|pp=59–60, 93, 95}}</ref> Cowdery was also assigned the task of locating the site of the [[New Jerusalem]], which was to be "on the borders" of the United States with what was then Indian territory.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Phelps|1833|p=68}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=122}}</ref>

On their way to [[Missouri]], Cowdery's party passed through northeastern [[Ohio]], where [[Sidney Rigdon]] and over a hundred followers of his variety of [[Campbellite]] [[Restorationism]] converted to the Church of Christ, swelling the ranks of the new organization dramatically.<ref>Parley Pratt said that the Mormon mission baptized 127 within two or three weeks "and this number soon increased to one thousand". See {{Cite journal |last=McKiernan |first=F. Mark |date=Summer 1970 |title=The Conversion of Sidney Rigdon to Mormonism |journal=Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=71–78 |doi=10.2307/45224203 |jstor=45224203 |s2cid=254399092 |postscript=none|doi-access=free }}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=124}}; {{Harvtxt|Jortner|2022|pp=60–61}}</ref> After Rigdon visited New York, he soon became Smith's primary assistant.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=McKiernan |first=F. Mark |date=Summer 1970 |title=The Conversion of Sidney Rigdon to Mormonism |journal=Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=71–78 |doi=10.2307/45224203 |jstor=45224203 |s2cid=254399092 |postscript=none|doi-access=free }} 
; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=124}}</ref> With growing opposition in New York, Smith announced a revelation that his followers should gather to [[Kirtland, Ohio]], establish themselves as a people and await word from Cowdery's mission.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=124–25}}; {{Harvtxt|Howe|2007|p=315}}</ref>

===Life in Ohio (1831–1838)===
{{Main|Life of Joseph Smith from 1831 to 1837}}
When Smith moved to Kirtland in January 1831, he encountered a religious culture that included enthusiastic demonstrations of [[spiritual gift]]s, including fits and trances, rolling on the ground, and [[speaking in tongues]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=150–52}}; {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=95}}</ref> Rigdon's followers were practicing a form of [[Christian communism|communalism]]. Smith brought the Kirtland congregation under his authority and tamed ecstatic outbursts.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=154–55}}; {{Harvtxt|Hill|1977|p=131}}</ref> He had promised church [[Elder (Latter Day Saints)|elders]] that in Kirtland they would receive an [[Endowment (Latter Day Saints)|endowment]] of heavenly power, and at the June 1831 [[general conference (Latter Day Saints)|general conference]], he introduced the greater authority of a [[Melchizedek priesthood (Latter Day Saints)|High ("Melchizedek") Priesthood]] to the church hierarchy.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=31–32}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=125, 156–60}}</ref>

[[File:Josephsmithtarandfeatherharpers.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Angry men surrounding Smith at night|A mob [[tarring and feathering|tarred and feathered]] Smith in 1832.]]
Converts poured into Kirtland. By the summer of 1835, there were fifteen hundred to two thousand Latter Day Saints in the vicinity,<ref name="Arrington 1979 21">{{Harvtxt|Arrington|Bitton|1979|p=21}}</ref> many expecting Smith to lead them shortly to the [[Millennialism|Millennial]] kingdom.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Shipps|1985|p=81}}</ref> Though his mission to the Native Americans had been a failure,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Turner|2012|p=41}}</ref><ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=161}}</ref> Cowdery and the other missionaries with him were charged with finding a site for "a holy city". They found [[Jackson County, Missouri]]. After Smith visited in July 1831, he pronounced the frontier hamlet of [[Independence, Missouri|Independence]] the "center place" of [[Zion (Latter Day Saints)|Zion]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=162–163}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|Cowdery|Rigdon|Williams|1835|p=154}}</ref>

For most of the 1830s, the church was effectively based in Ohio.<ref name="Arrington 1979 21"/> Smith lived there, though he visited Missouri again in early 1832 to prevent a rebellion of prominent church members who believed the church in Missouri was being neglected.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=180–182}}</ref> Smith's trip was hastened by a mob of Ohio residents who were incensed over the church's presence and Smith's political power. The mob beat Smith and Rigdon unconscious, [[tarring and feathering|tarred and feathered]] them, and left them for dead.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|pp=109–10}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=178–80}}</ref>

In Jackson County, existing Missouri residents resented the Latter Day Saint newcomers for both political and religious reasons.<ref>See {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|pp=113–15}}; {{Harvtxt|Arrington|Bitton|1979|p=61}})</ref> Additionally, their rapid growth aroused fears that they would soon constitute a majority in local elections, and thus "rule the county."<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=222}}</ref> Tension increased until July 1833, when non-Mormons forcibly evicted the Mormons and destroyed their property. Smith advised his followers to bear the violence patiently until after they had been attacked multiple times, after which they could fight back.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=181–83,235}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=82–83}}</ref> Armed bands exchanged fire, killing one Mormon and two non-Mormons, until the old settlers forcibly expelled the Latter Day Saints from the county.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=83–84}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=222–27}}</ref>

After petitions to Missouri governor [[Daniel Dunklin]] for aid were unsuccessful,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=227–8}}; Bruce A. Van Orden, "[https://rsc.byu.edu/well-sing-well-shout/importuning-government Importuning The Government]" in ''We'll Sing and We'll Shout: The Life and Times of W. W. Phelps'' (Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2018), 123–134.</ref> Smith organized and led a small [[paramilitary]] expedition, called [[Zion's Camp]], to aid the Latter Day Saints in Missouri.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=115}}</ref> As a military endeavor, the expedition was a failure. The men of the expedition were disorganized, suffered from a [[cholera]] outbreak and were severely outnumbered. By the end of June, Smith deescalated the confrontation, sought peace with Jackson County's residents, and disbanded Zion's Camp.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Hill|1989|pp=44–46}} (for Smith deescalating and disbanding the camp); {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=235–46}} (for the numerical limitations, social tension, and cholera outbreak in the camp).</ref> Nevertheless, Zion's Camp transformed Latter Day Saint leadership because many future church leaders came from among the participants.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=246–247}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|p=85}}</ref>

After the Camp returned to Ohio, Smith drew heavily from its participants to establish various governing bodies in the church.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=247}}; see also {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|pp=100–104}} for a timeline of Smith introducing the new organizational entities.</ref> He gave a revelation announcing that in order to redeem Zion, his followers would have to receive an endowment in the [[Kirtland Temple]],<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=156–57}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|Cowdery|Rigdon|Williams|1835|p=233}}<!-- D&C 105: https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/doctrine-and-covenants-1835/241; see also https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/revelation-22-june-1834-dc-105/1-->; {{Harvtxt|Prince|1995|p=32 & n.104}}<!--D&C 105:10-12-->.</ref> which he and his followers constructed. In March 1836, at the temple's dedication, many who received the endowment reported seeing visions of angels and engaged in prophesying and speaking in tongues.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=310–19}}</ref>

[[File:KirtlandTemple Ohio USA.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=A white two-story building with a steeple|Smith dedicated the [[Kirtland Temple]] in 1836.]]
In January 1837, Smith and other churchleaders created a [[Joint-stock company|joint stock company]], called the [[Kirtland Safety Society]], to act as a quasi-bank; the company issued [[banknote]]s partly [[financial capital|capitalized]] by real estate. Smith encouraged his followers to buy the notes, in which he invested heavily himself. The bank failed within a month.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|pp=122–123}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=328–334}}</ref> As a result, Latter Day Saints in Kirtland suffered extreme high [[volatility (finance)|volatility]] and intense pressure from debt collectors. Smith was held responsible for the failure, and there were widespread defections from the church, including many of Smith's closest advisers.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=124}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=331–32, 336–39}}</ref>

The failure of the bank was one part of a series of internal disputes led to the demise of the Kirtland community.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|p=221}}</ref> Cowdery had accused Smith of engaging in a sexual relationship with a teenage servant in his home, [[Fanny Alger]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=322}}; {{Harvtxt|Compton1997|pp=25–42}}</ref> Construction of the Kirtland Temple had only added to the church's debt, and Smith was hounded by creditors.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=217, 329}}</ref> After a warrant was issued for Smith's arrest on a charge of [[banking fraud]], he and Rigdon fled for Missouri in January 1838.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=125}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=339–40}}; {{Harvtxt|Hill|1977|p=216}}</ref>

===Life in Missouri (1838–39)===
{{Main|Life of Joseph Smith from 1838 to 1839}}
By 1838, Smith had abandoned plans to redeem Zion in Jackson County, and instead declared the town of [[Far West, Missouri]], in [[Caldwell County, Missouri|Caldwell County]], as the new "Zion".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Hill|1977|pp=181–82}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=345, 384}}</ref> In Missouri, the church also took the name "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints", and construction began on a new temple.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=210, 222–23}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|p=628}}; {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=131}}</ref> In the weeks and months after Smith and Rigdon arrived at Far West, thousands of Latter Day Saints followed them from Kirtland.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=125}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=341–46}}</ref> Smith encouraged the settlement of land outside Caldwell County, instituting a settlement in [[Adam-ondi-Ahman]], in [[Daviess County, Missouri|Daviess County]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Walker |first=Jeffrey N. |date=2008 |title=Mormon Land Rights in Caldwell and Daviess Counties and the Mormon Conflict of 1838: New Findings and New Understandings |journal=BYU Studies |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=4–55 |jstor=43044611 |postscript=none }}; {{Cite journal |last=LeSueur |first=Stephen C. |date=Fall 2005 |title=Missouri's Failed Compromise: The Creation of Caldwell County for the Mormons |journal=Journal of Mormon History |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=113–144 |jstor=23289934 |postscript=none }}</ref>

Political and religious differences between old Missourians and newly arriving Latter Day Saint settlers provoked tensions between the two groups, much as they had in Jackson County. By this time, Smith's experiences with mob violence led him to believe that his faith's survival required greater militancy against [[anti-Mormonism|anti-Mormons]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|p=92}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=213}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=355}}</ref> Tensions between the Mormons and the native Missourians escalated quickly until, on August 6, 1838, non-Mormons in [[Gallatin, Missouri]], tried to prevent Mormons from voting, and a brawl ensued.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=357}}</ref> The election day scuffles initiated the [[1838 Mormon War]]. Non-Mormon [[vigilantism|vigilantes]] raided and burned Mormon farms, while [[Danites]] and other Mormons pillaged non-Mormon towns.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=134}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=96–99, 101}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=363}}</ref> In the [[Battle of Crooked River]], a group of Mormons attacked the Missouri state militia, mistakenly believing them to be anti-Mormon vigilantes. Governor [[Lilburn Boggs]] then [[Mormon Extermination Order|ordered]] that the Mormons be "exterminated or driven from the state".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=364–65}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|p=100}}</ref> On October 30, a party of Missourians surprised and killed seventeen Mormons in the [[Haun's Mill massacre]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=365–66}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|p=97}}</ref>

[[File:Liberty Jail by C.C.A. Christensen.png|thumb|left|alt=Men are shuffled into a small brick building|Smith was held for four months in Liberty jail.]]
The following day, the Mormons surrendered to 2,500 state troops and agreed to forfeit their property and leave the state.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=366–67}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=239}}</ref> Smith was immediately [[court martial|brought before a military court]], accused of [[treason]], and sentenced to be executed the next morning, but [[Alexander Doniphan]], who was Smith's former attorney and a brigadier general in the Missouri militia, refused to carry out the order.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=242, 344, 367}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=241}}</ref> Smith was then sent to a state court for a [[preliminary hearing]], where several of his former allies testified against him.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=369}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=225–26, 243–45}}</ref> Smith and five others, including Rigdon, were charged with treason, and transferred to the [[Liberty Jail|jail]] at [[Liberty, Missouri]], to await trial.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=369–70}}</ref>

Smith bore his imprisonment stoically. Understanding that he was effectively on trial before his own people, many of whom considered him a fallen prophet, he wrote a personal defense and an apology for the activities of his followers. "The [[keys of the kingdom]]", he wrote, "have not been taken away from us".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|pp=136–37}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=245–46}};{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=101–102}}</ref> Though he directed his followers to collect and publish their stories of persecution, he also urged them to moderate their antagonism toward non-Mormons.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=377–378}}</ref> On April 6, 1839, after a [[grand jury]] hearing in Daviess County, Smith and his companions escaped custody, almost certainly with the connivance of the sheriff and guards.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=375}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=253–255}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=382, 635–36}}; {{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Mormonism |title=Smith, Joseph: Legal Trials of Joseph Smith |year=1992 |last=Bentley |first=Joseph I. |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishing]] |location=New York |url=http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EoM/id/4208 |access-date=May 5, 2023 |isbn=0-02-879602-0 |pages=1346–1348 |editor-last=Ludlow |editor-first=Daniel H. |editor-link=Daniel H. Ludlow |title-link=Encyclopedia of Mormonism |oclc=24502140}}</ref>

===Life in Nauvoo, Illinois (1839–1844)===
{{main|Life of Joseph Smith from 1839 to 1844}}
Many American newspapers criticized Missouri for the Haun's Mill massacre and the state's expulsion of the Mormons.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=246–247, 259}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=398}}</ref> Illinois then accepted Mormon refugees who gathered along the banks of the [[Mississippi River]],<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=381}}</ref> where Smith purchased high-priced, swampy woodland in the hamlet of [[Commerce, Illinois|Commerce]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=383–384}}</ref> He attempted to portray the Mormons as an oppressed minority and unsuccessfully petitioned the [[Federal Government of the United States|federal government]] for help in obtaining [[Reparations (transitional justice)|reparation]]s.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=392–94,398–99}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=259–60}}</ref> During the summer of 1839, while Mormons in Illinois suffered from a [[malaria]] epidemic, Smith sent Young and other apostles to missions in Europe, where they made numerous converts, many of them poor factory workers.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=386, 409}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=258, 264–65}}</ref>

[[File:NauvooLegion.jpg|thumb|alt=On horseback, Smith leads soldiers bearing flags|Depiction of Smith at head of the [[Nauvoo Legion]]]]
Smith also attracted a few wealthy and influential converts, including [[John C. Bennett]], the Illinois [[quartermaster general]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=410–11}}</ref> Bennett used his connections in the [[Illinois state legislature]] to obtain an unusually liberal charter for the new city, which Smith renamed "[[Nauvoo, Illinois|Nauvoo]]".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=267–68}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=412,415}}</ref> The charter granted the city virtual autonomy, authorized a university, and granted Nauvoo ''[[habeas corpus]]'' power—which allowed Smith to fend off [[extradition]] to Missouri. Though Latter Day Saint authorities controlled Nauvoo's civil government, the city guaranteed [[freedom of religion|religious freedom]] for its residents.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=106–08}}</ref> The charter also authorized the [[Nauvoo Legion]], a militia whose actions were limited only by state and federal constitutions. Smith and Bennett became its commanders, and were styled [[Lieutenant General]] and [[Major General]] respectively. As such, they controlled by far the largest body of armed men in Illinois.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=271}}</ref> Smith appointed Bennett as Assistant President of the Church, and Bennett was elected Nauvoo's first mayor.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=410–411}}</ref>

[[File:NauvooTemple.jpg|left|thumb|alt=People enter and leave the ornate Nauvoo Temple|Smith planned the construction of the [[Nauvoo Temple]], which was completed after his death.]]
The early Nauvoo years were a period of doctrinal innovation. Smith introduced [[baptism for the dead]] in 1840, and in 1841 construction began on the [[Nauvoo Temple]] as a place for recovering lost ancient knowledge.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=448–49}}; {{Harvtxt|Park|2020|pp=57–61}}</ref> An 1841 revelation promised the restoration of the "fullness of the priesthood"; and in May 1842, Smith inaugurated a revised endowment or "first anointing".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|p=113}}</ref> The endowment resembled the rites of [[Freemasonry]] that Smith had observed two months earlier when he had been initiated "[[mason at sight|at sight]]" into the Nauvoo Masonic lodge.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=449}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=114–15}}</ref> At first, the endowment was open only to men, who were initiated into a special group called the [[Anointed Quorum]]. For women, Smith introduced the [[Relief Society]], a [[service club]] and [[fraternity|sorority]] within which Smith predicted women would receive "the keys of the kingdom".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|p=634}}</ref> Smith also elaborated on his plan for a Millennial kingdom; no longer envisioning the building of Zion in Nauvoo, he viewed Zion as encompassing all of North and South America, with Mormon settlements being "[[stake (Latter Day Saints)|stakes]]" of Zion's metaphorical tent.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=384,404}}</ref> Zion also became less a refuge from an impending [[tribulation]] than a great building project.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=415}}</ref> In the summer of 1842, Smith revealed a plan to establish the millennial Kingdom of God, which would eventually establish [[theocracy|theocratic]] rule over the whole Earth.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=111–12}}</ref>

It was around this time that Smith began secretly marrying additional wives, a practice called [[plural marriage]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=427–28}}</ref> He introduced the doctrine to a few of his closest associates, including Bennett, who used it as an excuse to seduce numerous women, wed and unwed.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=460}}{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=311–12}}</ref> When rumors of polygamy (called "spiritual wifery" by Bennett) got abroad, Smith forced Bennett's resignation as Nauvoo mayor. In retaliation, Bennett left Nauvoo and began publishing sensational accusations against Smith and his followers.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Ostling|Ostling|1999|p=12}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=461–62}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=314}}</ref>

By mid-1842, popular opinion in Illinois had turned against the Mormons. After an unknown assailant shot and wounded Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs in May 1842, anti-Mormons circulated rumors that Smith's bodyguard, [[Porter Rockwell]], was the gunman.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=468}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=323}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|p=113}}</ref> Though the evidence was circumstantial, Boggs ordered Smith's extradition. Certain he would be killed if he ever returned to Missouri, Smith went into hiding twice during the next five months, until the [[United States Attorney|U.S. Attorney]] for Illinois argued that his extradition would be unconstitutional.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=468–75}}</ref> (Rockwell was later tried and acquitted.) In June 1843, enemies of Smith convinced a reluctant [[Governor of Illinois|Illinois Governor]] [[Thomas Ford (politician)|Thomas Ford]] to extradite Smith to Missouri on an old charge of treason. Two law officers arrested Smith but were intercepted by a party of Mormons before they could reach Missouri. Smith was then released on a writ of ''habeas corpus'' from the Nauvoo municipal court.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=504–08}}</ref> While this ended the Missourians' attempts at extradition, it caused significant political fallout in Illinois.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=508}}</ref>

[[File:Joseph Smith daguerreotype.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=A daguerreotype of a man|According to researchers Ronald Romig and Lachlan Mackay, Smith posed for a [[daguerreotype]] by [[Lucian R. Foster]] sometime in 1844; the photograph was published in 2022 in the ''[[John Whitmer Historical Association|John Whitmer Historical Association Journal]]''.<ref name="daguerreotype">{{cite journal |last1=Romig |first1=Ronald |last2=Mackay |first2=Lachlan |date=Spring–Summer 2022 |title=Hidden Things Shall Come to Light: The Visual Image of Joseph Smith Jr. |journal=John Whitmer Historical Association Journal |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=28–60 |issn=0739-7852}}</ref><ref>There is disagreement among historians about the identification and provenance of this daguerrotype; for an overview of arguments and positions for and against, see {{cite news |last=Stack |first=Peggy Fletcher |date=July 29, 2022 |title='The Whole Affect Feels Off to Me' — Why Some Historians Doubt That's a Photo of Joseph Smith |work=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |url=https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2022/07/29/is-it-him-or-isnt-it-historians/}}</ref>]]

In December 1843, Smith petitioned [[United States Congress|Congress]] to make Nauvoo an independent territory with the right to call out federal troops in its defense.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=356}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=115–116}}</ref> Smith then wrote to the leading presidential candidates, asking what they would do to protect the Mormons. After receiving noncommittal or negative responses, he announced [[Joseph Smith 1844 presidential campaign|his own independent candidacy]] for [[president of the United States]], suspended regular proselytizing, and sent out the Quorum of the Twelve and hundreds of other political missionaries.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=118–119}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=514–515}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=362–364}}</ref> In March 1844 – following a dispute with a federal bureaucrat – he organized the secret [[Council of Fifty]], which was given the authority to decide which national or state laws Mormons should obey, as well as establish its own government for Mormons.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=519}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=120–22}}</ref> Before his death the Council also voted unanimously to elect Smith "Prophet, Priest, and King".<ref>{{cite magazine |date=March 20, 2020 |title=How Joseph Smith and the Early Mormons Challenged American Democracy |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/03/30/how-joseph-smith-and-the-early-mormons-challenged-american-democracy |access-date=April 18, 2023 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US}}</ref> The Council was likewise appointed to select a site for a large Mormon settlement in the [[Republic of Texas]], [[Oregon Country|Oregon]], or [[The Californias#Department of Mexico|California]] (then controlled by [[Centralist Republic of Mexico|Mexico]]), where Mormons could live under theocratic law beyond the control of other governments.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=517}}</ref>

===Death===
{{Main|Killing of Joseph Smith}}
[[File:Interior of Carthage Jail by C.C.A. Christensen (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|A 19th-century painting depicting the mob attack inside Carthage Jail]]
By early 1844, a rift developed between Smith and a half dozen of his closest associates.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=527–28}}</ref> Most notably, [[William Law (Latter Day Saints)|William Law]], his trusted counselor, and Robert Foster, a [[general officer|general]] of the Nauvoo Legion, disagreed with Smith about how to manage Nauvoo's economy.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=368–9}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|p=528}}</ref> Both also said that Smith had proposed marriage to their wives.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Ostling|Ostling|1999|p=14}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=369–371}}; {{Harvtxt|Van Wagoner|1992|p=39}};  {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=660–61}}</ref> Believing these men were plotting against his life, Smith excommunicated them on April 18, 1844.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=549, 531}}</ref> Law and Foster subsequently formed a [[True Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints|competing "reform church"]], and in the following month, at the [[county seat]] in [[Carthage, Illinois|Carthage]], they procured indictments against Smith for [[perjury]] (as Smith publicly denied having more than one wife) and polygamy.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=373}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=531, 538}}; {{Harvtxt|Park|2020|p=227}}</ref>

On June 7, the dissidents published the first (and only) issue of the ''[[Nauvoo Expositor]]'', calling for reform within the church but also appealing politically to non-Mormons.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=539}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=374}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|p=138}}</ref> The paper alluded to Smith's theocratic aspirations, called for a repeal of the Nauvoo city charter, and decried his new "doctrines of many Gods". (Smith had recently given his [[King Follett discourse]], in which he said that God was once a man, and that men and women could become gods.)<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=539}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=375}}; {{Harvtxt|Marquardt|1999|p=312}}; {{Harvtxt|Ulrich|2017|pp=113–114}}</ref> It also attacked Smith's practice of polygamy, implying that he was using religion as a pretext to draw unassuming women to Nauvoo to seduce and marry them.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Oaks|Hill|1975|p=14}}; {{Harvtxt|Davenport|2022|pp=147–148}}. The text of the [[wikisource:Nauvoo Expositor|''Nauvoo Expositor'' is available on Wikisource]].</ref>

Fearing the ''Expositor'' would provoke a new round of violence against the Mormons, the Nauvoo City Council declared the newspaper a public nuisance, and Smith ordered the Nauvoo Legion to assist the police force in destroying its [[printing press]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Park|2020|pp=228–230}}; {{Harvtxt|Marquardt|1999|p=312}}</ref> During the council debate, Smith vigorously urged the council to order the press destroyed,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Park|2020|pp=229–230}}</ref> not realizing that destroying a newspaper was more likely to incite an attack than any of the newspaper's accusations.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=541}}</ref>

[[File:Assassination of Joseph Smith.jpg|thumb|Smith was shot multiple times before and after falling from the window.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=394}}</ref>]]
Destruction of the newspaper provoked a strident call to arms from [[Thomas C. Sharp]], editor of the ''[[Warsaw Signal]]'' and longtime critic of Smith.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Ulrich|2017|p=114}}; {{Harvtxt|Park|2020|p=230}}</ref> Fearing mob violence, Smith mobilized the Nauvoo Legion on June 18 and declared [[martial law]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Park|2020|pp=231–232}}; {{Harvtxt|McBride|2021|pp=186–187}}</ref> Officials in Carthage responded by mobilizing a small detachment of the state militia, and Governor Ford intervened, threatening to raise a larger militia unless Smith and the Nauvoo City Council surrendered themselves.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Ostling|Ostling|1999|p=16}}</ref> Smith initially fled across the Mississippi River, but shortly returned and surrendered to Ford.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=546}}; {{Harvtxt|Park|2020|p=233}}</ref> On June 25, Smith and his brother [[Hyrum Smith|Hyrum]] arrived in Carthage to stand trial for inciting a riot.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Ostling|Ostling|1999|p=17}}; {{Harvtxt|Park|2020|p=234}}; {{Harvtxt|McBride|2021|p=191}}</ref> Once the Smiths were in custody, the charges were increased to treason, preventing them from posting [[bail]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Mormonism |title=Smith, Joseph: Legal Trials of Joseph Smith |year=1992 |last=Bentley |first=Joseph I. |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishing]] |location=New York |url=http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EoM/id/4208 |access-date=May 5, 2023 |isbn=0-02-879602-0 |pages=1346–1348 |editor-last=Ludlow |editor-first=Daniel H. |editor-link=Daniel H. Ludlow |title-link=Encyclopedia of Mormonism |oclc=24502140}}; {{Harvtxt|Oaks|Hill|1975|p=18}}; {{Harvtxt|Park|2020|p=234}}</ref> [[John Taylor (Mormon)|John Taylor]] and [[Willard Richards]] voluntarily accompanied the Smiths in [[Carthage Jail]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|McBride|2021|p=192}}</ref>

[[File:Death masks of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.png|thumb|left|The [[death mask]]s of Joseph Smith (left) and [[Hyrum Smith]] (right)]]

On June 27, 1844, an armed mob with blackened faces stormed [[Carthage Jail]], where Joseph and Hyrum were being detained. Hyrum, who was trying to secure the door, was killed instantly with a shot to the face. Smith fired three shots from a [[pepper-box]] pistol that his friend, [[Cyrus H. Wheelock]], had lent him, wounding three men,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Oaks|Hill|1975|p=52}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=393}}</ref> before he sprang for the window.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=549}}</ref> (Smith and his companions were staying in the jailer's bedroom, which did not have bars on the windows.) He was shot multiple times before falling out of the window, crying, "Oh Lord my God!" He died shortly after hitting the ground, but was shot several more times by an improvised [[firing squad]] before the mob dispersed.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=393–94}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=549–50}}</ref>

==Legacy==
{{Main|Legacy of Joseph Smith}}
[[File:JosephSmithGrave.jpg|thumb|left|Gravesite of Joseph, Emma, and Hyrum Smith, in Nauvoo, Illinois]]

===Immediate aftermath===
Following Smith's death, non-Mormon newspapers were nearly unanimous in portraying Smith as a religious fanatic.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=332, 557–59}}</ref> Conversely, within the Latter Day Saint community, Smith was viewed as a prophet, [[Latter Day Saint martyrs|martyred]] to seal the testimony of his faith.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=558}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=396–97}}</ref>

After a public funeral and viewing of the deceased brothers, Smith's widow – who feared hostile non-Mormons might try to [[desecration|desecrate]] the bodies – had their remains buried at night in a secret location, with substitute coffins filled with [[sandbag]]s interred in the publicly attested grave.<ref name=":8">{{cite journal |last=Wiles |first=Lee |date=Summer 2013 |title=Monogamy Underground: The Burial of Mormon Plural Marriage in the Graves of Joseph and Emma Smith |journal=Journal of Mormon History |volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=vi–59 |doi=10.2307/24243852 |jstor=24243852 |s2cid=254486845 |postscript=none}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Bernauer |first=Barbara Hands |date=1991 |title=Still 'Side by Side'—The Final Burial of Joseph and Hyrum Smith |journal=John Whitmer Historical Association Journal |volume=11 |pages=17–33 |jstor=43200879 |postscript=none}}</ref> The bodies were later moved and reburied under an outbuilding on the Smith property off the Mississippi River.<ref name=":9">{{cite journal |last=Mackay |first=Lachlan |date=Fall 2002 |title=A Brief History of the Smith Family Nauvoo Cemetery |url=https://ensignpeakfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/MHS3.2Fall2002SmithFamilyNauvooCemetery.pdf |journal=Mormon Historical Studies |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=240–252}}</ref> Members of the [[Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints]] (RLDS Church), under the direction of then-RLDS Church president [[Frederick M. Smith]] (Smith's grandson) searched for, located, and disinterred the Smith brothers' remains in 1928 and reinterred them, along with Smith's wife, in Nauvoo at the [[Smith Family Cemetery]].<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":9" />

===Impact and assessment===
Modern biographers and scholars – Mormon and non-Mormon alike – agree that Smith was one of the most influential, charismatic, and innovative figures in American religious history.<ref name="innovative">{{Harvtxt|Bloom|1992|pp=96–99}}; {{Harvtxt|Persuitte|2000|p=1}}; {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=ix}}</ref> In a 2015 compilation of the 100 Most Significant Americans of All Time, [[Smithsonian (magazine)|''Smithsonian'']] ranked Smith first in the category of religious figures.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lloyd |first=R. Scott |date=January 9, 2015 |title=Joseph Smith, Brigham Young Rank First and Third in Magazine's List of Significant Religious Figures |work=Church News |url=https://www.thechurchnews.com/2015/1/9/23212603/joseph-smith-brigham-young-rank-first-and-third-in-magazines-list-of-significant-religious-figures}}</ref> In popular opinion, non-Mormons in the U.S. generally consider Smith a "charlatan, scoundrel, and heretic", while outside the U.S. he is "obscure".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Turner |first=John G. |date=May 6, 2022 |title=Why Joseph Smith Matters |url=https://themarginaliareview.com/why-does-joseph-smith-matter/ |url-status=live |magazine=Marginalia Review |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817102528/https://themarginaliareview.com/why-does-joseph-smith-matter/ |archive-date=August 17, 2022}}</ref>

Within the Latter Day Saint movement, Smith's legacy varies between denominations:<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=Launius |first=Roger D. |date=Winter 2006 |title=Is Joseph Smith Relevant to the Community of Christ? |journal=Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought |volume=39 |issue=4 |pages=58–67 |doi=10.2307/45227214 |jstor=45227214 |s2cid=254402921 |postscript=none |doi-access=free }}</ref> [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) and its members consider Smith the founding prophet of their church,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Oaks |first=Dallin H. |date=2005 |title=Joseph Smith in a Personal World |department=The Worlds of Joseph Smith: A Bicentennial Conference at the Library of Congress |journal=Brigham Young University Studies |volume=44 |issue=4 |pages=153–172 |jstor=43045057 |postscript=none }}</ref> on par with [[Moses]] and [[Elijah]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=vii}}; {{Harvtxt|Shipps|1985|p=37}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=xx}}; {{Harvtxt|Widmer|2000|p=97}}</ref> Meanwhile, Smith's reputation is ambivalent in the [[Community of Christ]], which continues "honoring his role" in the church's founding history but deemphasizes his human leadership.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Moore |first=Richard G. |date=Spring 2014 |title=LDS Misconceptions about the Community of Christ |url=https://ensignpeakfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/LDS-Misconceptions.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Mormon Historical Studies |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=1–23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120065445/https://ensignpeakfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/LDS-Misconceptions.pdf |archive-date=November 20, 2021}}</ref> Conversely, Woolleyite [[Mormon fundamentalism]] has deified Smith within a cosmology of many gods.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rosetti |first=Cristina |date=Fall 2021 |title=Praise to the Man: The Development of Joseph Smith Deification in Woolleyite Mormonism, 1929–1977 |url=https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/dial/article/54/3/41/291779/Praise-to-the-Man-The-Development-of-Joseph-Smith |journal=Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought |volume=54 |issue=3 |pages=41–65 |doi=10.5406/dialjmormthou.54.3.0041 |s2cid=246647004 |postscript=none |doi-access=free}}</ref> {{multiple image
| direction = horizontal
| header = Buildings named in honor of Smith
| header_align = center
| image1 = JSMB main.jpg
| width1 = 164
| caption1 = The [[Joseph Smith Memorial Building]] in [[Salt Lake City]]
| image2 = BYU_JSB.jpg
| width2 = 145
| caption2 = The [[Joseph Smith Building]] on the campus of [[Brigham Young University]]
}}

Memorials to Smith include the [[Joseph Smith Memorial Building]] in [[Salt Lake City]], Utah,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rockwell |first1=Ken |last2=Neatrour |first2=Anna |last3=Muir-Jones |first3=James |date=2018 |title=Repurposing Secular Buildings |url=https://exhibits.lib.utah.edu/s/religious-diversity-in-salt-lake-city/page/repurposing-secular-buildings |website=Religious Diversity in Salt Lake City |publisher=University of Utah}}</ref> the former Joseph Smith Memorial building on the campus of [[Brigham Young University]] as well as the current [[Joseph Smith Building]] there,<ref>{{cite web |last=Cook |first=Emily |date=June 18, 2018 |title=Joseph Smith Memorial Building (JSB) |url=https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/228 |access-date=December 22, 2022 |website=Intermountain Histories |language=en}}</ref> a [[Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial|granite obelisk]] marking Smith's birthplace,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Erekson |first=Keith A. |date=Summer–Fall 2005 |title=The Joseph Smith Memorial Monument and Royalton's 'Mormon Affair': Religion, Community, Memory, and Politics in Progressive Vermont |url=https://vermonthistory.org/journal/73/04_Erekson.pdf |journal=Vermont History |volume=73 |pages=118–151}}</ref> and a fifteen-foot-tall bronze statue of Smith in the World Peace Dome in [[Pune]], India.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last=Stack |first=Peggy Fletcher |date=November 26, 2022 |title=What's a Giant Statue of Mormonism's Joseph Smith Doing in India? |work=Salt Lake Tribune |url=https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2022/11/26/whats-giant-statue-mormonisms/}}</ref>

===Successors and denominations===
{{See also|Succession crisis (Latter Day Saints)|List of denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement}}
Smith's death resulted in a succession crisis within the Latter Day Saint movement.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|p=143}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=398}}</ref> He had proposed several ways to choose his successor, but never clarified his preference.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Shipps|1985|pp=83–84}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|p=143}}; {{Harvtxt|Davenport|2022|p=159}}</ref> The two strongest succession candidates were Young, senior member and president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Rigdon, the senior remaining member of the First Presidency. In a church-wide conference on August 8, most of the Latter Day Saints present elected Young. They eventually left Nauvoo and settled the [[Salt Lake Valley]], [[Utah Territory]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=556–557}}; {{Harvtxt|Davenport|2022|p=163}}</ref>

Nominal membership in Young's denomination, which became the LDS Church, surpassed 17 million in 2023.<ref>{{cite news |last=Walch |first=Tad |date=April 6, 2024 |title=Latter-day Saint membership passed 17.25 million in 2023, according to new church statistical report |work=Deseret News |url=https://www.deseret.com/faith/2024/04/06/latter-day-saint-mormon-membership-increased-this-much-in-2023-church-statistical-report/}}</ref> Smaller groups followed Rigdon and [[James J. Strang]], who had based his claim on a [[Letter of appointment (Mormonism)|letter of appointment]] ostensibly written by Smith but which some scholars believe was [[Forgery|forged]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=555–557}}</ref> Some hundreds followed [[Lyman Wight]] to establish a community in Texas.<ref>{{Harvtxt|McBride|2021|p=205}}</ref> Others followed [[Alpheus Cutler]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=198–09}}</ref> Many members of these smaller groups, including most of Smith's family,<ref>{{cite podcast |url=https://www.projectzionpodcast.org/podcast/519-cuppa-joe-theo-history-plano-period/ |title=Theo-History: Plano Period |website=Cuppa Joe |publisher=Project Zion Podcast |date=October 14, 2022 |time=1:52 and 9:47 |last=Peter |first=Karin |last2=Mackay |first2=Lachlan |last3=Chvala-Smith |first3=Tony}}</ref> eventually coalesced in 1860<ref>{{Cite web |last=Howlett |first=David J. |date=December 11, 2022 |title=Community of Christ |url=https://wrldrels.org/2022/12/11/21325/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110200318/https://wrldrels.org/2022/12/11/21325/ |archive-date=January 10, 2023 |website=World Religions and Spirituality Project |postscript=none}}</ref> under the leadership of [[Joseph Smith III]] and formed the RLDS Church (now the Community of Christ), which now has about 250,000 members.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 15, 2004 |title=Community of Christ |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Community-of-Christ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123023756/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Community-of-Christ |archive-date=January 23, 2023 |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |postscript=none}}</ref>

==Family and descendants==
{{See also|List of Joseph Smith's wives|Children of Joseph Smith}}

The first of Smith's wives, Emma Hale, gave birth to nine children during their marriage, five of whom died before the age of two.<ref>Posterity tree in {{Harvtxt|Newell|Avery|1994|pp=12–13}}</ref> The eldest, Alvin (born in 1828), died within hours of birth, as did twins Thaddeus and Louisa (born in 1831).<ref>{{Harvtxt|Newell|Avery|1994|pp=27, 39}}</ref> When the twins died, the Smiths adopted another set of twins, [[Julia Murdock Smith|Julia]] and Joseph Murdock, whose mother had recently died in childbirth; the adopted Smith died of [[measles]] in 1832.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Newell|Avery|1994|pp=39, 43}}; {{Harvtxt|Jortner|2022|p=88}}; {{Cite web |title=Smith, Joseph Murdock |url=https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/person/joseph-murdock-smith |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518223510/https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/person/joseph-murdock-smith |archive-date=May 18, 2022 |access-date=January 5, 2022 |website=[[The Joseph Smith Papers]]}}</ref> In 1841, Don Carlos, who had been born a year earlier, died of malaria, and five months later, in 1842, Emma gave birth to a [[stillborn]] son.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Newell|Avery|1994|pp=102–103}}; {{Cite web |last=Rappleye |first=Christine |date=March 19, 2021 |title=Remembering Emma Hale Smith, the First President of the Relief Society |url=https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/remembering-emma-hale-smith-the-first-president-of-the-relief-society |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105220132/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/remembering-emma-hale-smith-the-first-president-of-the-relief-society |archive-date=January 5, 2023 |website=Church Newsroom |postscript=none}}</ref>

Joseph and Emma had five children who lived to maturity: adopted Julia Murdock, Joseph Smith III, David Hyrum Smith, Frederick Granger Williams Smith, and [[Alexander Hale Smith]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=554}}</ref> Some historians have speculated—based on journal entries and family stories—that Smith fathered children with his plural wives. However, in cases where DNA testing of potential Smith descendants from plural wives has been possible, results have been negative.{{efn|{{Cite book |last=Perego |first=Ugo |title=Persistence of Polygamy |chapter=Joseph Smith, the Question of Polygamous Offspring, and DNA Analysis |postscript=, in {{Harvtxt|Bringhurst|Foster|2010|pp=233–256}}}} Perego's summary of alleged children of Smith by polygamous wives lists fourteen (236). His chapter discusses six cases of DNA analysis in detail. Successful analyses disconfirmed paternity for Smith. However, Perego notes that for other alleged cases, issues such as insufficient data and "genealogical noise" make confident conclusions impossible. For more on DNA research and Smith's alleged paternity of children of women other than Emma Smith, also see: {{cite news |date=May 28, 2005 |title=Research focuses on Smith family |work=[[Deseret News]] |url=http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600137517,00.html  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060630162324/http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0%2C1249%2C600137517%2C00.html |archive-date=June 30, 2006}}; {{cite news |date=November 10, 2007 |title=DNA tests rule out 2 as Smith descendants: Scientific advances prove no genetic link |work=[[Deseret News]] |url=http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695226318,00.html  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113034023/http://deseretnews.com/article/1%2C5143%2C695226318%2C00.html |archive-date=November 13, 2007}}; {{cite journal|last1=Perego |first1=Ugo A. |title=Reconstructing the Y-Chromosome of Joseph Smith, Jr.: Genealogical Applications |date=Summer 2005 |url=http://mha.wservers.com/pubs/TOC/05_July_Journal_TOC.pdf |journal=[[Journal of Mormon History]] |volume=32 |issue=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060725191602/http://mha.wservers.com/pubs/TOC/05_July_Journal_TOC.pdf |archive-date=July 25, 2006 |last2=Myers |first2=Natalie M. |last3=Woodward |first3=Scott R. }}}}

After Smith's death, Emma was quickly alienated from Young and the LDS leadership.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=554}}; {{Harvtxt|Avery|Newell|1980|p=82}}</ref> Emma feared and despised Young, who in turn was suspicious of Emma's desire to preserve the family's assets from inclusion with those of the church. He also disliked her open opposition to plural marriage. Young excluded Emma from ecclesiastical meetings and from social gatherings.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=554}}</ref> When most Mormons moved west, Emma stayed in Nauvoo and married a non-Mormon, Major [[Lewis C. Bidamon]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Newell |first=Linda King |date=Fall–Winter 2011 |title=Emma's Legacy: Life After Joseph |department=2010 Sterling M. McMurrin Lecture |journal=John Whitmer Historical Association Journal |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=1–22 |jstor=43200523 }}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=554–55}}</ref> She withdrew from religion until 1860, when she affiliated with the RLDS Church headed by her son, Joseph III. Emma maintained her belief that Smith had been a prophet, and she never repudiated her belief in the authenticity of the Book of Mormon.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=555}}</ref>

=== Polygamy ===
{{see also|Origin of Latter Day Saint polygamy|Mormonism and polygamy|List of Joseph Smith's wives}}
By some accounts, Smith had been teaching a polygamy doctrine as early as 1831, and there is evidence that he may have been a polygamist by 1835.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Hill|1977|p=340}}; {{Harvtxt|Compton|1997|p=27}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=323, 326}}; {{Harvtxt|Ulrich|2017|pp=16, 404n48}}; {{Harvtxt|Davenport|2022|p=138}}</ref> Although the church had publicly repudiated polygamy, in 1837 there was a rift between Smith and Cowdery over the issue.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=323–25}}; {{Harvtxt|Hill|1977|p=188}}</ref> Cowdery suspected Smith had engaged in a relationship with Fanny Alger, who worked in the Smith household as a serving girl.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Ulrich|2017|p=404n48}}; {{Harvtxt|Compton|1997|p=26}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=323–326}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|2008|pp=38–39 n.81}}</ref> Smith did not deny having a relationship, but he insisted that he had never admitted to [[adultery]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=325}}</ref> "Presumably," historian Bushman argues, "because he had married Alger" as a plural wife.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=323–25}}. See also {{Cite book |last=Bradley |first=Don |title=Persistence of Polygamy |chapter=Mormon Polygamy Before Nauvoo? The Relationship of Joseph Smith and Fanny Alger |postscript=, in {{Harvtxt|Bringhurst|Foster|2010|pp=14–58}}}} and {{Harvtxt|Park|2020|pp=62–63}} for other perspectives on the Smith-Alger relationship.</ref>

In April 1841, Smith secretly wed Louisa Beaman,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Park|2020|pp=61–62}}</ref> and during the next two-and-a-half years he secretly married or was sealed to [[List of Joseph Smith's wives|about thirty or forty additional women]].{{efn|name=Polygamy}} Ten of his plural wives were between the ages of fourteen and twenty; others were over fifty.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Compton|1997|p=11}}; {{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=154}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=334–43}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=492–498}}</ref> Ten were already married to other men, though some of these polyandrous marriages were contracted with the consent of the first husbands.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=439}}</ref> Evidence for whether or not and to what degree Smith's polygamous marriages involved sex is ambiguous and varies between marriages.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Van Wagoner|1992|p=73n3}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=418–419}}; {{Harvtxt|Park|2020|pp=67, 104–105}}</ref> Some polygamous marriages may have been considered solely religious marriages that would not take effect until after death.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Foster|1981|p=159}}; {{Harvtxt|Compton|1997|pp=171–179, 558}}; {{cite book |last1=Hales |first1=Brian C. |title=Persistence of Polygamy |pages=129–130 |chapter=Joseph Smith and the Puzzlement of <nowiki>'</nowiki>Polyandry<nowiki>'</nowiki> |postscript=, in {{Harvtxt|Bringhurst|Foster|2010|pp=99–152}}}} as well as {{Harvtxt|Hales|2013|pp=1:418–425, 2:282}}; {{Harvtxt|Park|2020|p=67}}</ref> In any case, during Smith's lifetime, the practice of polygamy was kept secret from both non-Mormons and most members of the church.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=491}}; {{Harvtxt|Park|2020|pp=61, 67}}; {{Harvtxt|Davenport|2022|pp=131, 136–137}}</ref> Polygamy caused a breach between Smith and his first wife, Emma;<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=494–495}}</ref> historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich summarizes by stating that "Emma vacillated in her support for plural marriage, sometimes acquiescing to Joseph's [[Sealing (Latter Day Saints)|sealings]], sometimes resisting."<ref>{{Harvtxt|Ulrich|2017|p=89}}; see {{Harvtxt|Park|2020|pp=193–194}} for a concurring assessment.</ref>

==Revelations==
[[File:Golden Plates with Urim and Thummim.jpg|thumb|upright|An artistic representation of the golden plates with the Urim and Thummim connected to a breastplate, based on descriptions by Smith and others]]
According to Bushman, the "signal feature" of Smith's life was "his sense of being guided by revelation". Instead of presenting his ideas with logical arguments, Smith dictated authoritative scripture-like "revelations" and let people decide whether to believe,<ref name="Bushmanxxi">{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=xxi}}</ref> doing so with what Peter Coviello calls "beguiling offhandedness".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Coviello|2019|p=59}}</ref> Smith and his followers treated his revelations as being above teachings or opinions, and he acted as though he believed in his revelations as much as his followers.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=xxi,173}}</ref><ref>{{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|p=viii, xvii}}</ref> The revelations were written as if God himself were speaking through Smith, often opening with words such as, "Hearken O ye people which profess my name, saith the Lord your God."<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=xx, 129}}</ref>

===Book of Mormon===
{{main|Book of Mormon}}
The Book of Mormon has been called the longest and most complex of Smith's revelations.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=105}}</ref> Its language resembles the [[King James Version]] of the Bible, as does its organization as a compilation of smaller books, each named after prominent figures in the narrative.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Maffly-Kipp |first=Laurie |url=https://archive.org/details/bookofmormon0000unse_a5g8/ |title=The Book of Mormon |publisher=Penguin |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-14-310553-4 |series=[[Penguin Classics]] |location=New York |pages=vi–xxxii |chapter=Introduction |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/bookofmormon0000unse_a5g8/page/n7/}}</ref> It tells the story of the rise and fall of a Judeo-Christian religious civilization in the [[Western Hemisphere]],<ref name="Bushman86">{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=85–87}}; {{Harvtxt|Jortner|2022|p=48}}</ref> beginning about 600 BC and ending in the fifth century.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=85}}</ref> The book explains itself to be largely the work of [[Mormon (Book of Mormon)|Mormon]], a Nephite prophet and military figure. Christian themes permeate the work.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=108}}; {{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|pp=122–23, 161, 311, 700}}</ref>
{{external media| float = left| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?173516-1/joseph-smith Presentation by Remini on ''Joseph Smith'', October 19, 2002], [[C-SPAN]]}}
Some scholars have considered the Book of Mormon a response to pressing cultural and environmental issues in Smith's day.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2004|p=48}}{{Nbsp|1}}</ref> Historian Dan Vogel regards the book as autobiographical in nature, reflecting Smith's life and perceptions.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|pp=xviii–xix}}</ref> Biographer [[Robert V. Remini]] calls the Book of Mormon "a typically American story" that "radiates the revivalist passion of the Second Great Awakening."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Remini |first=Robert V. |date=2005 |title=Biographical Reflections on the American Joseph Smith |department=The Worlds of Joseph Smith: A Bicentennial Conference at the Library of Congress |journal=Brigham Young University Studies |volume=44 |issue=4 |pages=21–30 |jstor=43045047 |issn=0007-0106}}</ref> Brodie suggested that Smith composed the Book of Mormon by drawing on sources of information available to him, such as the 1823 book ''[[View of the Hebrews]].''<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=46–48, 57–73}}.</ref> Other scholars argue the Book of Mormon is more biblical in inspiration than American. Bushman writes that "the Book of Mormon is not a conventional American book" and that its structure better resembles the Bible.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2004|pp=58–59}}</ref> According to historian [[Daniel Walker Howe]], the book's "dominant themes are biblical, prophetic, and patriarchal, not democratic or optimistic" like the prevailing American culture.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Howe|2007|p=314}}</ref> Shipps argues that the Book of Mormon's "complex set of religious claims" provided "the basis of a new mythos" or "story" which early converts accepted and lived in as their world, thus departing from "the early national period in America into a new dispensation of the fulness of times".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Shipps|1985|pp=35–36}}</ref>

[[File:JosephSmithTranslating.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Smith sitting on a wooden chair with his face in a hat|According to some accounts, Smith dictated most of the Book of Mormon by looking into a seer stone placed in a stovepipe hat.]]
Smith never fully described how he produced the Book of Mormon, saying only that he translated by the power of God and implying that he had read its words.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=72}}</ref> The Book of Mormon itself states only that its text will "come forth by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof".<ref>Book of Mormon, [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/bofm-title/1 title page].</ref> Accordingly, there is considerable disagreement about the actual method used. For at least some of the earliest dictation, Smith's compatriots said he used the "Urim and Thummim", a pair of seer stones he said were buried with the plates.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=57}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=66}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=169–70}}</ref> However, people close to Smith said that later in the process of dictation, he used a chocolate-colored stone he had found in 1822 that he had used previously for treasure hunting.{{efn|{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=171–73}} writes that witnesses said that Smith shifted from the Urim and Thummim to the single brown seer stone after the loss of the earliest [[Lost 116 pages|116 manuscript pages]]; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=70, 578n46}} notes that "Lucy Smith said that Joseph received the interpreters again on September 22, 1828" but that "Although the assertion clashes with other accounts, David Whitmer said Moroni did not return the Urim and Thummum… Instead Joseph used a seerstone for the remaining translation"; {{Harvtxt|Jortner|2022|p=42}} follows Lucy Smith's account and writes of "the removal and subsequent restoration of the Urim and Thummum by an angel".}} [[Joseph Knight Sr.|Joseph Knight]] said that Smith saw the words of the translation while, after excluding all light, he gazed at the stone or stones in the bottom of his hat, a process similar to [[divination|divining]] the location of treasure.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=71–72}}; {{Harvtxt|Marquardt|Walters|1994|pp=103–04}}; {{Harvtxt|Van Wagoner|Walker|1982|pp=52–53}}</ref> Sometimes, Smith concealed the process by raising a curtain or dictating from another room; at other times he dictated in full view of witnesses while the plates lay covered on the table or were hidden elsewhere.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=62}}; {{Harvtxt|Van Wagoner|Walker|1982|p=53}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=71–72}}; {{Harvtxt|Marquardt|Walters|1994|pp=103–04}}</ref>

===Bible revision===
{{main|Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible}}
{{see also|Book of Moses}}
In June 1830, Smith dictated a revelation in which Moses narrates a vision in which he sees "worlds without number" and speaks with God about the purpose of creation and the relation of humankind to deity.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Givens|Hauglid|2019|p=37}}, quoting {{Sourcetext|source=The_Pearl_of_Great_Price_(1913)|book=Moses|chapter=1|verse=3}}</ref> This revelation initiated a [[Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible|revision of the Bible]] which Smith worked on sporadically until 1833 but which remained unpublished until after his death.<ref name="Bushman142">{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=132, 142}}; {{Harvtxt|Givens|Hauglid|2019|p=32}}</ref> He may have considered it complete, though according to Emma Smith, the biblical revision was still unfinished when Joseph died.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Givens|Hauglid|2019|pp=32–33}}</ref>

In the course of producing the Book of Mormon, Smith declared that the Bible was missing "the most plain and precious parts of the gospel".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Givens|Hauglid|2019|p=31}}</ref> He produced a "new translation" of the Bible, not by directly translating from manuscripts in another language, but by amending and appending to a [[King James Bible]] in a process which he and Latter Day Saints believed was guided by inspiration; Smith asserted his translation would correct lacunae and restore what the contemporary Bible was missing.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=133}}; {{Harvtxt|Givens|Hauglid|2019|pp=31–32}}</ref> While many changes involved straightening out seeming contradictions or making small clarifications, other changes added large interpolations to the text.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Hill|1977|p=131}}; {{Harvtxt|Givens|Hauglid|2019|p=32}}</ref> For example, Smith's revision nearly tripled the length of the first five chapters of [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] into a text called the Book of Moses.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=138}}</ref>

===Book of Abraham===
{{main|Book of Abraham}}
{{see also|Joseph Smith's views on Black people|Curses of Cain and Ham and the LDS Church|Mormon teachings on skin color|Mormonism and slavery}}

In 1835, Smith encouraged some Latter Day Saints in Kirtland to purchase [[Joseph Smith Papyri|rolls of ancient Egyptian papyri]] from a traveling exhibitor. He said they contained the writings of the ancient patriarchs Abraham and [[Book of Joseph|Joseph]]. Over the next several years, Smith dictated to scribes what he reported was a revelatory translation of one of these rolls, which was published in 1842 as the [[Book of Abraham]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=170–75}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=286, 289–290}}</ref> The Book of Abraham speaks of the founding of the Abrahamic nation, astronomy, cosmology, lineage and priesthood, and gives another account of the creation story.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=157, 288–290}}</ref> The papyri associated with the Book of Abraham were thought to have been lost in the [[Great Chicago Fire]], but several fragments were rediscovered in the 1960s. [[Egyptology|Egyptologists]] have subsequently determined them to be part of the Egyptian [[Breathing Permit of Hôr|Book of Breathing]] with no connection to Abraham.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wilson |first=John A. |date=Summer 1968 |title=A Summary Report |department=The Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri: Translations and Interpretations |journal=Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=67–88 |doi=10.2307/45227259 |jstor=45227259 |s2cid=254343491 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ritner |first=Robert K. |title=Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham: A Response |url=https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/Research_Archives/Translation%20and%20Historicity%20of%20the%20Book%20of%20Abraham%20final-2.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221105012913/https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/Research_Archives/Translation%20and%20Historicity%20of%20the%20Book%20of%20Abraham%20final-2.pdf |archive-date=November 5, 2022 |access-date=January 25, 2018 |website=University of Chicago}}</ref>

In his revisions of the Bible, and production of the Book of Abraham he taught that [[Black people and Mormonism|Black people]] were cursed by God with the [[Curses of Cain and Ham and the LDS Church|curses placed on Cain and Ham]], and linked the two curses by positioning Ham's Canaanite posterity as matrilinear descendants of [[Cain]].<ref name=Marks>{{cite journal |last1=Stuart Bingham |first1=Ryan |title=Curses and Marks: Racial Dispensations and Dispensations of Race in Joseph Smith's Bible Revision and the Book of Abraham |journal=[[Journal of Mormon History]] |date=July 2015 |volume=41 |issue=3 |pages=22–57 |doi=10.5406/jmormhist.41.3.22 |jstor=10.5406/jmormhist.41.3.22 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/jmormhist.41.3.22| via=[[JSTOR]]}}</ref>{{rp|22,29,31,54–57}} In another book of the [[Pearl of Great Price (Mormonism)|Pearl of Great Price]] the descendants of Cain are described as [[Mormon teachings on skin color|dark-skinned]].<ref name="Harris2015">{{cite book|last1=Harris|first1=Matthew L.|last2=Bringhurst|first2=Newell G.|title=The Mormon Church and Blacks: A Documentary History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pn20CgAAQBAJ|date=2015|publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]] |location= Chicago|isbn= 978-0-252-08121-7 |via=[[Google Books]]| url-access=limited}}</ref>{{rp|11—12,128}} He referred to the curses as a justification for [[Mormonism and slavery|slavery]].<ref name="Reeve 2015">{{cite book|last1=Reeve|first1=W. Paul|author-link=W. Paul Reeve|title=Religion of a Different Color: Race and the Mormon Struggle for Whiteness|date=2015|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=95j4BQAAQBAJ|location=New York, New York|isbn=978-0-19-975407-6| via=[[Google Books]]|url-access=limited}}</ref>{{rp|126}}<ref name=JSHamCurse>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Joseph |title=For the Messenger and Advocate |journal=[[Messenger and Advocate|The Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate]] |date=April 1836 |volume=2 |issue=7 |page=290 |url=https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/letter-to-oliver-cowdery-circa-9-april-1836/2|quote=[<span class="ltr">I</span>]t remains as a lasting monument of the decree of Jehovah, to the shame and confusion of all who have cried out against the South, in consequence of their holding the sons of Ham in servitude. 'And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.' ... (Gen. 9:25-26). Trace the history of the world from this notable event down to this day, and you will find the fulfillment of this singular prophecy. [<span class="ltr">T</span>]he curse is not yet taken off from the sons of Canaan, neither will be until it is affected by as great a power as caused it to come; and the people who interfere the least with the purposes of God in this matter, will come under the least condemnation before Him ....|via=[[The Joseph Smith Papers]]}}</ref><ref name=Marks/>{{rp|27}}

===Other revelations===
{{see also|Book of Commandments|Doctrine and Covenants}}
{{quote box|quote = [The Holy Spirit] may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon; those things that were presented unto your minds by the Spirit of God, will come to pass.| source = —Joseph Smith<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=388}}</ref> | width = 25% |salign = right}}
According to Pratt, Smith dictated his revelations, which were recorded by a scribe without revisions or corrections.<ref name="Bushman130">{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=130}}</ref> Revelations were immediately copied and then circulated among church members. Smith's revelations often came in response to specific questions. He described the revelatory process as having "pure Intelligence" flowing into him. Smith, however, never viewed the wording to be infallible. The revelations were not God's words verbatim, but "couched in language suitable to Joseph's time".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=174}}</ref> In 1833, Smith edited and expanded many of the previous revelations, publishing them as the [[Book of Commandments]], which later became part of the [[Doctrine and Covenants]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=5–6, 9, 15–17, 26, 30, 33, 35, 38–42, 49, 70–71, 88, 198}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=141}}</ref>

Smith gave varying types of revelations. Some were temporal, while others were spiritual or doctrinal. Some were received for a specific individual, while others were directed at the whole church. An 1831 revelation called "The Law" contained directions for missionary work, rules for organizing society in Zion, a reiteration of the [[Ten Commandments]], an injunction to "administer to the poor and needy" and an outline for the [[law of consecration]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=106–7}}; {{cite web|title=D&C 42|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/42?lang=eng}}</ref> An 1832 revelation called "The Vision" added to the fundamentals of sin and atonement, and introduced doctrines of life after salvation, [[Exaltation (Mormonism)|exaltation]], and a heaven with [[degrees of glory]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=117–18}}; {{cite web|title=D&C 76|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/76?lang=eng}}</ref> Another 1832 revelation was the first to explain [[Priesthood (Latter Day Saints)|priesthood]] doctrine.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=202–205}}; {{cite web|title=D&C 84|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/84?lang=eng}}</ref>

In 1833, at a time of [[temperance movement|temperance]] agitation, Smith delivered a revelation called the "[[Word of Wisdom]]", which counseled a diet of wholesome herbs, fruits, grains and a sparing use of meat. It also recommended that Latter Day Saints avoid "strong" alcoholic drinks, tobacco, and "hot drinks" (later interpreted to mean tea and coffee).<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=166}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=212–213}}; {{cite web|title=D&C 89|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/89?lang=eng}}</ref> The Word of Wisdom was originally framed as a recommendation rather than a commandment and was not strictly followed by Smith and other early Latter Day Saints,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=289}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=213}}; {{Harvtxt|Ostling|Ostling|1999|pp=177–78}}</ref> though it later became a requirement in the LDS Church.

Before 1832, most of Smith's revelations concerned establishing the church, gathering followers, and building the city of Zion. Later revelations dealt primarily with the priesthood, endowment, and exaltation.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=193–195}}</ref> The pace of formal revelations slowed during the autumn of 1833 and again after the dedication of the Kirtland Temple.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=159–60}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=229,310–322}}</ref> Smith moved away from formal written revelations spoken in God's voice, and instead taught more in sermons, conversations, and letters.<ref name="Bushman419">{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=419}}</ref> For instance, the doctrines of baptism for the dead and the nature of God were introduced in sermons, and one of Smith's most famed statements, about there being "no such thing as immaterial matter", was recorded from a casual conversation with a Methodist preacher.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=419, 421–3}}</ref>

==Views and teachings==
{{Main|Teachings of Joseph Smith}}
[[File:Joseph Smith first vision stained glass.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Two heavenly beings stand in the air conversing with the young Smith|Smith described Jesus and God the Father as two distinct physical beings.]]

===Cosmology and theology===
{{See also|Mormon cosmology|God in Mormonism}}
Smith taught that all existence was [[materialism|material]], including a world of "spirit matter" so fine that it was invisible to all but the purest mortal eyes.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=419–20}}; {{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|pp=3–5}}</ref> Matter, in Smith's view, could be neither created nor destroyed; the [[creationism|creation]] involved only the reorganization of existing matter. Like matter, Smith saw "intelligence" as co-eternal with God, and he taught that human spirits had been drawn from a [[Premortal life (Latter Day Saints)|pre-existent]] pool of eternal intelligences.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Widmer|2000|p=119}}</ref> Nevertheless, according to Smith, spirits could not experience a "fullness of joy" unless joined with corporeal bodies. Therefore, the work and glory of God was to create worlds across the cosmos where inferior intelligences could be embodied.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=420–21}}; {{Harvtxt|Bloom|1992|p=101}}</ref>

Smith taught that God was an advanced and glorified man,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Widmer|2000|p=119}}; {{Cite book |last1=Alexander|first1=Thomas |title=Line Upon Line |year=1989 |chapter=The Reconstruction of Mormon Doctrine: From Joseph Smith to Progressive Theology|page=59|postscript=, in {{Harvtxt|Bergera|1989|p=|pp=53–66}}}}; {{Harvtxt|Bloom|1992|p=101}}</ref> embodied within time and space.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=421}}; {{Harvtxt|Bloom|1992|p=101}}</ref> He publicly taught that God the Father and Jesus were distinct beings with physical bodies.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=106}}; {{Harvtxt|Givens|2014|p=95}}; {{Harvtxt|Coviello|2019|p=59}}</ref> Nevertheless, he conceived of the [[Holy Spirit]] as a "personage of Spirit".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bartholomew |first=Ronald E. |date=2013 |title=The Textual Development of D&C 130:22 and the Embodiment of the Holy Ghost |journal=BYU Studies Quarterly |volume=52 |issue=3 |pages=4–24 |jstor=43039922 |postscript=none }}; {{Harvtxt|Givens|2014|p=96}}</ref> Smith extended this materialist conception to all existence and taught that "all spirit is matter", meaning that a person's embodiment in flesh was not a sign of fallen carnality, but a divine quality that humans shared with deity. Humans are, therefore, not so much God's creations as they are God's "kin".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Coviello|2019|pp=65–68}}</ref> There is also considerable evidence that Smith taught, at least to limited audiences, that God the Father was accompanied by [[Heavenly Mother (Mormonism)|God the Mother]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Paulsen |first1=David L. |last2=Pulido |first2=Martin |date=2011 |title='A Mother There': A Survey of Historical Teachings about Mother in Heaven |journal=Brigham Young University Studies |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=70–97 |jstor=43044842 |issn=0007-0106 |postscript=none}}</ref> In this conception, God fully understood is plural, embodied, gendered, and both male and female.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ostler |first=Blair |date=Winter 2018 |title=Heavenly Mother: The Mother of All Women |url=https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/dial/article/51/4/171/252471/Heavenly-Mother-The-Mother-of-All-Women |journal=Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought |volume=51 |issue=4 |pages=171–182 |doi=10.5406/dialjmormthou.51.4.0171 |s2cid=214816567 |postscript=none|doi-access=free }}; {{Cite journal |last=Toscano |first=Margaret |date=Spring 2022 |title=In Defense of Heavenly Mother: Her Critical Importance for Mormon Culture and Theology |url=https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/dial/article/55/1/37/297588/In-Defense-of-Heavenly-Mother-Her-Critical |journal=Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=37–68 |doi=10.5406/15549399.55.1.02|s2cid=247971894 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Through the gradual acquisition of knowledge, according to Smith, those who received exaltation could eventually become like God.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Larson|1978|pages=201, 205}}; {{Harvtxt|Widmer|2000|p=119}}</ref> These teachings implied a vast hierarchy of gods, with God himself having a father.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Widmer|2000|p=119}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=535, 544}}</ref> In Smith's cosmology, those who became gods would reign, unified in purpose and will, leading spirits of lesser capacity to share immortality and eternal life.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=455–56, 535–37}}</ref>

In Smith's view, the opportunity to achieve godhood (also called exaltation) extended to all humanity. Those who died with no opportunity to accept [[Ordinance (Latter Day Saints)#Saving ordinances|saving ordinances]] could achieve exaltation by accepting them in the afterlife through proxy ordinances performed on their behalf.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=422}}</ref> Smith said that children who died in their innocence would be guaranteed to rise at the resurrection and receive exaltation. Apart from those who committed the [[eternal sin]], Smith taught that even the wicked and disbelieving would achieve a degree of glory in the afterlife.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=199}}</ref>

===Religious authority and ritual===
{{See also|Priesthood (Latter Day Saints)|Mormonism and Freemasonry|Endowment (Latter Day Saints)}}
Smith's teachings were rooted in [[dispensationalism|dispensational]] [[restorationism]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|p=33}}</ref> He taught that the Church of Christ restored through him was a [[Eschatology|latter-day]] restoration of the early Christian faith, which had been lost in the [[Great Apostasy]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Remini|2002|p=84}}</ref> At first, Smith's church had little sense of hierarchy, and his religious authority was derived from his visions and revelations.<ref name="Quinn 1994 7">{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|p=7}}</ref> Though he did not claim exclusive prophethood, an early revelation designated him as the only prophet allowed to issue commandments "as Moses".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=7–8}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=121, 175}}; {{Harvtxt|Phelps|1833|p=67}}</ref> This religious authority included economic and political, as well as spiritual, matters. For instance, in the early 1830s, Smith temporarily instituted a form of [[religious communism]], called the [[United Order]], that required Latter Day Saints to give all their property to the church, to be divided among the faithful.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=106, 112, 121–22}}</ref> He also envisioned that the theocratic institutions he established would have a role in the worldwide political organization of the Millennium.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=111–12, 115}}</ref>

By the mid-1830s, Smith began teaching a hierarchy of three priesthoods—the [[Melchizedek priesthood (Latter Day Saints)|Melchizedek]], the [[Aaronic priesthood (Latter Day Saints)|Aaronic]], and the [[Patriarchal priesthood|Patriarchal]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=27–34}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=264–65}}</ref> Each priesthood was a continuation of biblical priesthoods through lineal succession or through ordination by biblical figures appearing in visions.<ref name="Quinn 1994 7"/> Upon introducing the Melchizedek or "High" Priesthood in 1831, Smith taught that its recipients would be "endowed with power from on high", fulfilling a desire for a greater holiness and an authority commensurate with the New Testament [[Apostles in the New Testament|apostles]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=111}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=156–60}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1994|pp=31–32}}; {{harvtxt|Prince|1995|pp=19, 115–116, 119}}</ref> This doctrine of endowment evolved through the 1830s until, in 1842, the Nauvoo endowment included an elaborate ceremony containing elements similar to those of Freemasonry<ref>{{Harvtxt|Ostling|Ostling|1999|pp=194–95}}; {{Harvtxt|Prince|1995|pp=31–32, 121–31, 146}}</ref> and the Jewish [[Kabbalah]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=451}}</ref> Although the endowment was extended to women in 1843, Smith never clarified whether women could be ordained to priesthood offices.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Prince|1995|pp=140, 201}}</ref>

Smith taught that the High Priesthood's endowment of heavenly power included the sealing powers of Elijah, allowing High Priests to perform ceremonies with effects that continued after death.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|pp=30, 194–95, 203, 208}}</ref> For example, this power would enable proxy baptisms for the dead and marriages that would last into eternity.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|pp=221, 242–43}}; {{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|pp=236}}</ref> Elijah's sealing powers also enabled the [[second anointing]], or "fulness{{sic}} of the priesthood", which, according to Smith, sealed married couples to their exaltation.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|pp=256, 294}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=497–98}}</ref>

===Theology of family===
During the early 1840s, Smith unfolded a theology of family relations, called the "New and Everlasting Covenant", that superseded all earthly bonds.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Foster|1981|pp=161–62}}</ref> He taught that outside the covenant, marriages were simply matters of contract, and that in the afterlife, individuals who were unmarried or who married outside the covenant would be limited in their progression towards Godhood.<ref name="Foster 1981 145">{{Harvtxt|Foster|1981|p=145}}</ref> To fully enter the covenant, a man and woman must participate in a "first anointing", a "sealing" ceremony, and a "second anointing" (also called "sealing by the Holy Spirit of Promise").<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=497–98}}; {{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|pp=256–57}}</ref> When fully sealed into the covenant, Smith said that no sin nor blasphemy (other than murder and apostasy<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|p=257}}</ref>) could keep them from their exaltation in the afterlife.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=497–98}}</ref> According to a revelation Smith dictated, God appointed only one person on Earth at a time—in this case, Smith—to possess this power of sealing.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Davenport|2022|p=143}}, quoting [[s:The Doctrine and Covenants/Section 132#7|D&C 132:7]].</ref> According to Smith, men and women needed to be sealed to each other in this new and everlasting covenant (also called "celestial marriage") in order to be exalted in heaven after death and that such celestial marriage, perpetuated across generations, could reunite extended families of ancestors and descendants in the afterlife.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Foster |first1=Craig L. |title=Persistence of Polygamy |chapter=Doctrine and Covenants Section 132 and Joseph Smith's Expanding Concept of Family |postscript=, in {{Harvtxt|Bringhurst|Foster|2010|pp=87–98}}}}</ref>

[[File:Joseph Smith, Jr. profile by Bathsheba Smith circa 1843.jpg|thumb|upright|Profile portrait of Smith, by [[Bathsheba W. Smith]], created circa 1843]]
Plural marriage, or polygamy, was Smith's "most famous innovation", according to historian Matthew Bowman.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Bowman |first=Matthew |date=March 3, 2016 |editor-last=Butler |editor-first=Jon |title=Mormonism |url=https://oxfordre.com/americanhistory/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.001.0001/acrefore-9780199329175-e-326 |website=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.013.326|isbn=978-0-19-932917-5 }}</ref> Once Smith introduced polygamy, it became part of his "Abrahamic project," in the phrasing of historian [[Benjamin Park]], wherein the solution to humanity's chaos would be found through accepting the divine order of the cosmos, under God's authority, in a "fusion of ecclesiastical and civic authority".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Park|2020|pp=91–92, 105, 153}}</ref> Smith also taught that the highest level of exaltation could be achieved through polygamy, the ultimate manifestation of the New and Everlasting Covenant.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Foster|1981|pp=206–11}}; {{Harvtxt|Compton|1997|pp=11, 22–23}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|2008|pp=356}}; {{Harvtxt|Brooke|1994|p=255}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=300}}</ref> In Smith's theology, marrying in polygamy made it possible for practitioners to unlearn the Christian tradition which identified the physical body as carnal, and to instead recognize their embodied joy as sacred.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Coviello|2019|pp=56–57, 68–69, 82–88}}</ref> Smith also taught that the practice allowed an individual to transcend the angelic state and become a god, accelerating the expansion of one's heavenly kingdom.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bloom|1992|p=105}}; {{Harvtxt|Foster|1981|p=145}}; {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=300}}; {{Harvtxt|Coviello|2019|pp=56–57}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[History of the Latter Day Saint movement]]
* [[List of founders of religious traditions]]
* [[Miracles of Joseph Smith]]
* [[Mormonism in the 19th century]]
* [[Outline of Joseph Smith]]
* [[Smith family (Latter Day Saints)]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{Refbegin|colwidth=30em}}
*{{cite book |last1=Arrington |first1=Leonard |last2=Bitton |first2=Davis |title=The Mormon Experience: A History of the Latter-day Saints |date=1979 |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |location=New York, NY |isbn=0-394-46566-0}}.
*{{cite journal |last1=Avery |first1=V.T. |last2=Newell |first2=L.K. |title=The Lion and the Lady: Brigham Young and Emma Smith |journal=Utah Historical Quarterly |volume=48 |year=1980 |pages=81–97 |issue=1 |doi=10.2307/45060927 |jstor=45060927 |s2cid=254428549 |url=http://utahhistory.sdlhost.com/#item/000000031000669/view |access-date=September 24, 2013 |archive-date=October 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20131021165803/http://utahhistory.sdlhost.com/#item/000000031000669/view }}
*{{cite book |editor-last=Bergera |editor-first=Gary James |title=Line Upon Line: Essays on Mormon Doctrine |location=Salt Lake City, UT |url-access=registration |publisher=Signature Books |year=1989 |url=https://archive.org/details/lineuponlineessa0000unse |isbn=0-941214-69-9}}
*{{cite book |last=Bloom |first=Harold |author-link=Harold Bloom |url-access=registration |title=The American Religion: The Emergence of the Post-Christian Nation |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York, NY |edition=1st |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-671-67997-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/americanreligio000bloo}}
*{{Cite book |title=The Persistence of Polygamy: Joseph Smith and the Origins of Mormon Polygamy |publisher=John Whitmer Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-934901-13-7 |editor-last=Bringhurst |editor-first=Newell G. |location=Independence, MO |editor-last2=Foster |editor-first2=Craig L.}}
*{{cite book |last=Brodie |first=Fawn M. |author-link=Fawn M. Brodie |title=No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |location=New York, NY |edition=2nd |year=1971 |isbn=0-394-46967-4 |title-link=No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith}}
*{{cite book |last=Brooke |given=John L. |title=The Refiner's Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1644–1844 |year=1994 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=New York, NY |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eyvftt-1F_kC |isbn=0-521-34545-6}}
*{{Cite book |last=Bushman |first=Richard Lyman |url=https://archive.org/details/believinghistory0000bush |title=Believing History: Latter-day Saint Essays |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |year=2004 |isbn=0-231-13006-6 |editor-last=Neilson |editor-first=Reid L. |location=New York, NY |editor-last2=Woodworth |editor-first2=Jed |url-access=registration}}
*{{cite book |last=Bushman |first=Richard Lyman |author-link=Richard Bushman |title=Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling |year=2005 |place=New York, NY |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |isbn=1-4000-4270-4 |title-link=Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling}}
*{{cite book |last=Bushman |first=Richard Lyman |title=Mormonism: A Very Short Introduction |volume=183 |year=2008 |series=[[Very Short Introductions]] |place=New York, NY |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-531030-6}}
*{{cite book |last=Compton |first=Todd |author-link=Todd Compton |title=In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith |publisher=Signature Books |location=Salt Lake City, UT |year=1997 |isbn=1-56085-085-X}}
*{{Cite book |last=Coviello |first=Peter |title=Make Yourselves Gods: Mormons and the Unfinished Business of American Secularism |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-226-47433-5 |series=Class 200}}
*{{Cite book |last=Davenport |first=Stewart |title=Sex and Sects: The Story of Mormon Polygamy, Shaker Celibacy, and Oneida Complex Marriage |publisher=University of Virginia Press |year=2022 |isbn=978-0-8139-4705-1 |location=Charlottesville, VA}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Easton-Flake |first1=Amy |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/book/77401 |title=Producing Ancient Scripture: Joseph Smith's Translation Projects in the Development of Mormon Christianity |last2=Cope |first2=Rachel |publisher=University of Utah Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-60781-743-7 |editor-last=MacKay |editor-first=Michael Hubbard |location=Salt Lake City, UT |pages=105–134 |chapter=Reconfiguring the Archive: Women and the Social Production of the Book of Mormon |editor-last2=Ashurst-McGee |editor-first2=Mark |editor-last3=Hauglid |editor-first3=Brian M. |chapter-url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/282/edited_volume/chapter/2684163}}
*{{cite book |last=Foster |first=Lawrence |title=Religion and Sexuality: The Shakers, the Mormons, and the Oneida Community |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1981 |place=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-252-01119-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/religionsexualit0000fost}}
*{{Cite book |last=Givens |first=Terryl L. |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/8939 |title=Wrestling the Angel: The Foundations of Mormon Thought: Cosmos, God, Humanity |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-979492-8 |location=New York, NY |language=en |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199794928.001.0001}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Givens |first1=Terryl |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/34928 |title=The Pearl of Greatest Price: Mormonism's Most Controversial Scripture |last2=Hauglid |first2=Brian M. |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-19-060386-1 |location=New York, NY |language=en |doi=10.1093/oso/9780190603861.001.0001 |ol=28940280M}}
*{{Cite book |last=Hales |first=Brian C. |title=Joseph Smith's Polygamy |publisher=Greg Kofford |year=2013 |volume=1–3 |location=Salt Lake City, UT |others=With the assistance of Don Bradley}}
*{{Cite book |last=Harper |first=Steven C. |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/35084 |title=First Vision: Memory and Mormon Origins |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-19-932947-2 |location=New York, NY |language=en |doi=10.1093/oso/9780199329472.001.0001}}
*{{cite book |last=Hill |first=Donna |title=Joseph Smith: The First Mormon |year=1977 |place=Garden City, NY |url-access=registration |publisher=Doubleday & Co. |isbn=0-385-00804-X |url=https://archive.org/details/josephsmithfirst00hill}}
*{{cite book |last=Hill |first=Marvin S. |author-link=Marvin S. Hill |url-access=registration |title=Quest for Refuge: The Mormon Flight from American Pluralism |year=1989 |publisher=Signature Books |location=Salt Lake City, UT |url=https://archive.org/details/questforrefugemo00hill |isbn=978-0-941214-70-4}}
*{{Cite book |last=Howe |first=Daniel Walker |title=What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848 |title-link=What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-19-507894-7 |series=[[Oxford History of the United States]] |location=New York, NY |author-link=Daniel Walker Howe}}
*{{Cite book |last=Jortner |first=Adam |title=No Place for Saints: Mobs and Mormons in Jacksonian America |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-4214-4176-4 |series=Witness to History |location=Baltimore, MD}}
*{{cite journal |last=Larson |first=Stan |author-link=Stan Larson |title=The King Follett Discourse: A Newly Amalgamated Text |journal=Brigham Young University Studies |volume=18 |issue=2 |year=1978 |pages=193–208 |jstor=43040756}}
*{{cite book |last=Mack |first=Solomon |title=A {{Sic|Narraitve|nolink=y}} of the Life of Solomon Mack |publisher=Solomon Mack |location=Windsor, VT |year=1811 |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Narrative_of_the_Life_of_Solomon_Mack |oclc=15568282}}
*{{cite book |last1=Marquardt |first1=H. Michael |last2=Walters |first2=Wesley P |author2-link=Wesley P. Walters |title=Inventing Mormonism |year=1994 |publisher=Smith Research Associates |location=San Francisco, CA |isbn=1-56085-108-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Marquardt |first=H. Michael |title=The Joseph Smith Revelations: Text and Commentary |publisher=Signature Books |location=Salt Lake City, UT |year=1999 |isbn=978-1-56085-126-4}}
*{{Cite book |last=McBride |first=Spencer W. |title=Joseph Smith for President: The Prophet, the Assassins, and the Fight for American Religious Freedom |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-19-090941-3 |location=New York, NY |doi=10.1093/oso/9780190909413.001.0001}}
*{{cite book |last1=Newell |first1=Linda King |author-link=Linda King Newell |last2=Avery |first2=Valeen Tippetts |author2-link=Valeen Tippetts Avery |title=Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith |edition=2nd |publisher=University of Illinois Press |location=Urbana, IL |year=1994 |isbn=0-252-06291-4 |title-link=Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith}}
*{{cite book |last1=Oaks |first1=Dallin H. |last2=Hill |first2=Marvin S. |author1-link=Dallin H. Oaks |author2-link=Marvin S. Hill |title=Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith |publisher=University of Illinois Press |location=Urbana, IL |year=1975 |isbn=0-252-00554-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/carthageconspira00oaks}}
*{{cite book |last1=Ostling |first1=Richard |last2=Ostling |first2=Joan K. |author1-link=Richard and Joan Ostling |author2-link=Richard and Joan Ostling |title=Mormon America: The Power and the Promise |publisher=HarperSanFrancisco |location=San Francisco, CA |year=1999 |isbn=0-06-066371-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/mormonamericapow00ostl}}
*{{Cite book |last=Park |first=Benjamin E. |title=Kingdom of Nauvoo: The Rise and Fall of a Religious Empire on the American Frontier |publisher=Liveright |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-324-09110-3 |location=New York, NY}}
*{{cite book |last=Persuitte |first=David |title=Joseph Smith and the Origins of the Book of Mormon |year=2000 |publisher=McFarland & Co. |location=Jefferson, NC |isbn=0-7864-0826-X}}
*{{cite book |editor-last=Phelps |editor-first=W.W. |editor-link=W. W. Phelps (Mormon) |title=A Book of Commandments, for the Government of the Church of Christ |place=[[Independence, Missouri|Zion]] |publisher=William Wines Phelps & Co. |year=1833 |url=http://www.irr.org/mit/BOC/default.html |oclc=77918630 |access-date=October 11, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120520135750/http://irr.org/mit/boc/default.html |archive-date=May 20, 2012 }}
*{{cite book |last=Prince |first=Gregory A |year=1995 |title=Power From On High: The Development of Mormon Priesthood |publisher=Signature Books |location=Salt Lake City, UT |isbn=1-56085-071-X}}
*{{cite book |last=Quinn |first=D. Michael |author-link=D. Michael Quinn |title=The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power |publisher=Signature Books |location=Salt Lake City, UT |year=1994 |isbn=1-56085-056-6}}
*{{cite book |last=Quinn |first=D. Michael |author-link=D. Michael Quinn |title=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View |publisher=Signature Books |location=Salt Lake City, UT |edition=2nd |year=1998 |isbn=1-56085-089-2}}
*{{cite book |last=Remini |given=Robert V. |author-link=Robert V. Remini |title=Joseph Smith |year=2002 |publisher=Penguin Group |series=Penguin Lives |location=New York, NY |isbn=0-670-03083-X |url=https://archive.org/details/josephsmith00remi}}
*{{cite book |last=Shipps |first=Jan |title=Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition |year=1985 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |location=Urbana, IL |isbn=0-252-01417-0}}
*{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=George D. |title=Nauvoo Roots of Mormon Polygamy, 1841–46: A Preliminary Demographic Report |journal=[[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought]] |volume=27 |issue=1 |year=1994 |pages=1–72 |doi=10.2307/45228320 |jstor=45228320 |s2cid=254329894 |url=https://dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V27N01_13.pdf}}
*{{cite book |last=Smith |first=George D |title=Nauvoo Polygamy: "...&nbsp;But We Called It Celestial Marriage" |year=2008 |publisher=Signature Books |location=Salt Lake City, UT |isbn=978-1-56085-201-8}}
*{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Joseph Jr. |chapter=History of the Life of Joseph Smith |year=1832 |chapter-url=http://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_the_Life_of_Joseph_Smith&oldid=314384 |editor-last=Jessee |editor-first=Dean C |editor-link=Dean C. Jessee |title=Personal Writings of Joseph Smith |place=Salt Lake City, UT |publisher=Deseret Book |isbn=1-57345-787-6 |publication-date=2002}}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Smith |editor1-first=Joseph Jr. |editor2-last=Cowdery |editor2-first=Oliver |editor2-link=Oliver Cowdery |editor3-last=Rigdon |editor3-first=Sidney |editor3-link=Sidney Rigdon |editor4-last=Williams |editor4-first=Frederick G. |title=Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God |place=Kirtland, Ohio |publisher=F. G. Williams & Co |year=1835 |url=http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/doctrine-and-covenants-1835?dm=image-and-text&zm=zoom-inner&tm=expanded&p=9&s=undefined&sm=none |oclc=18137804}} See [[Doctrine and Covenants]].
*{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Lucy Mack |author-link=Lucy Mack Smith |title=Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations |place=Liverpool |publisher=S.W. Richards |year=1853 |url=http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/u?/NCMP1820-1846,17387 |oclc=4922747}} See [[The History of Joseph Smith by His Mother]]
*{{Cite book |last=Turner |first=John G. |url=https://archive.org/details/brighamyoungpion0000turn |title=Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-674-04967-3 |location=Cambridge, MA |language=English |url-access=registration |via=[[Internet Archive]] |oclc=894538617}}
*{{Cite book |last=Ulrich |first=Laurel Thatcher |title=A House Full of Females: Plural Marriage and Women's Rights in Early Mormonism, 1835–1870 |publisher=[[Alfred A. Knopf]] |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-307-74212-4 |location=New York, NY}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Van Wagoner |first1=Richard S. |author-link=Richard S. Van Wagoner |last2=Walker |first2=Steven C. |title=Joseph Smith: The Gift of Seeing |journal=[[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought]] |volume=15 |issue=2 |year=1982 |pages=48–68 |doi=10.2307/45225078 |jstor=45225078 |s2cid=254395171 |url=https://dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V15N02_50.pdf}}
*{{cite book |last=Van Wagoner |first=Richard S. |author-link=Richard S. Van Wagoner |title=Mormon Polygamy: A History |url=https://archive.org/details/mormonpolygamyhi0000vanw |publisher=Signature Books |location=Salt Lake City, UT |year=1992 |edition=2nd |isbn=978-0-941214-79-7}}
*{{cite book |last=Vogel |first=Dan |author-link=Dan Vogel |title=Joseph Smith: The Making of a Prophet |year=2004 |publisher=Signature Books |location=Salt Lake City, UT |isbn=1-56085-179-1}}
*{{cite book |last=Widmer |first=Kurt |title=Mormonism and the Nature of God: A Theological Evolution, 1830–1915 |location=Jefferson, NC |publisher=McFarland |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-7864-0776-7}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Library resources box |by=yes |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Joseph Smith }}
* {{Gutenberg author |id=12| name=Joseph Smith, Jr.}}
* {{Internet Archive author |search=( ("Joseph Smith" OR "Smith, Joseph") AND (1805–1844)) |dname=Joseph Smith}}
* {{Librivox author |id=1474 |title=Joseph Smith}}
* [https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/landing/joseph-smith-prophet-of-god Official LDS Church site about Joseph Smith]
* [http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/ JosephSmithPapers.org]—An LDS Church project compiling [[primary source|primary]] documents relating to Joseph Smith
* [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/mormon-founder-joseph-smith-s-photo-discovered-by-descendant-after-nearly-180-years/ar-AAZPBaj?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=203fef5f65494075ae52e42fa4f913a8 Recently-discovered photo of Smith]

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{{Subject bar
| portal1     = Biography
| portal2     = Latter Day Saint movement
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Joseph}}
[[Category:Joseph Smith| ]]
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[[Category:Deaths by firearm in Illinois]]
[[Category:Dispensationalism]]
[[Category:Doctrine and Covenants people]]
[[Category:Editors of Latter Day Saint publications]]
[[Category:Founders of new religious movements]]
[[Category:History of the Latter Day Saint movement]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saint martyrs]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saint missionaries in Canada]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saint missionaries in the United States]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saints from Illinois]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saints from Missouri]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saints from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saints from Ohio]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saints from Vermont]]
[[Category:Lynching deaths in Illinois]]
[[Category:Mayors of Nauvoo, Illinois]]
[[Category:Miracle workers]]
[[Category:Mormon mystics]]
[[Category:Nauvoo Legion]]
[[Category:People from Ontario County, New York]]
[[Category:People from Palmyra, New York]]
[[Category:People from Windsor County, Vermont]]
[[Category:People murdered in Illinois]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Church (LDS Church)]]
[[Category:Prophet-Presidents of the Community of Christ]]
[[Category:Prophets in Mormonism| Smith]]
[[Category:Religious leaders from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Religious leaders from Vermont]]
[[Category:Seership in Mormonism]]
[[Category:Smith family (Latter Day Saints)]]
[[Category:Tarring and feathering in the United States]]
[[Category:Treasure hunters]]
[[Category:Victims of religiously motivated violence in the United States]]