Joseph Smith: Prophet, Polygamist, or Perpetrator?

On July 27, 1844 at 5:00 PM, Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were sitting in a cell at Carthage Jail. Suddenly Dr. William Richards, Smith’s private secretary, noticed through the window a mob of about a hundred armed men. The mob passed the guards and entered the prison. They all came through the door, and while Hyrum was retreating, he was shot and fell on the floor. Moments later, Smith wept for his brother and then tried to jump out of the window. However two bullets pierced him. As he fell into his murderer’s arms, he exclaimed, “Oh Lord, my God!” (“Joseph Smith’s Death”). Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon religion and polygamist, was dead. He stood up for what he believed and, like Dr. Stockmann of An Enemy of the People, was shunned by many people in his own country.

Joseph Smith Jr. spent most of his childhood near nineteenth century Palyma, New York. This region was called the “burned-over” district due to its frequent and violent Protestant revivals (Scott; “Perspectives”). In most of the United States, Protestants found themselves rivaling with other denominations, such as Catholics, Jews, and Puritans (Collins Para. 3). This had been going on since after the Revolutionary War and the ratification of the first amendment, which gives freedom of religion (Collins Para. 8).

However, Smith did not join any religious group because he claimed God and Jesus told him not to join any of the sects around him. Then he claimed that in 1823 he encountered an angel who told him of a new Bible located in the western world. Four years later he found this Bible in New York on golden plates and began translating them from “reformed Egyptian” with seer stones and divination tools (Carruth 173; Marty 60-61). The plates had a history of American Indians who described themselves as being descendants of ancient Hebrews, who had sailed to North American through the Pacific around 600 BCE (Britannica 896; Who2?). Smith published his writings in July 1830 as the Book of Mormon, which he offered as scientific evidence of his divine calling (Britannica 896; Carruth 173). Many non-Mormon scholars consider the book as a collection of local legends from Native Americans, Smith’s autobiography, and current religious and political controversies (Britannica 896). A big theme in this book was the idea of polygamy, or marriage with more than one wife (Scott Para. 6; “Polygamy,” def. 1).

On April 6, 1830 Joseph Smith founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or Mormons (Carruth 173). He claimed the church he organized restored ancient, primitive Christian religion, though the practices combined elements of Jewish and Christian mysticism (Britannica 896). Later the church grew rapidly and Smith moved his community several places before finally settling in Commerce, Illionis in 1839 (Marty 61; Britannica 896). They purchased the land and renamed it Nauvoo, which was designed to be the capital of the faith (Adams 2:327). Smith served as the mayor and commander of the region (Britannica 896). By 1844, Nauvoo already had over ten thousand people (“Perspectives”).

At first, Illinois neighbors welcomed the community. But as the Mormons were gaining more economic power, people became afraid of them. People began to think of Smith suspiciously. In 1844, Smith revealed his plan for turning Earth into a kingdom of God with him as king and announcing his candidacy for president of the United States. Smith became hated and undesirable by many people for trying to become very powerful (Scott Para. 7). Smith was also being accused of polygamy. In fact, it was believed he had up to 50 wives, but he only publicly acknowledged his first, Emma Hale (Marty 61).

Even some Mormons betrayed Smith. On June 7, 1844, the Nauvoo Expositor badly criticized Smith, saying things like, “…With Joseph Smith, and many other official characters in the Church, they [prayers] are words without any meanings…, throwing aside the existence of a God; …In Nauvoo, a place professoring to be nucleus of the world…Joseph Smith has established an inquisition; …We further believe the effort now being made by Joseph Smith for political power and influence is not commendable by God; …Joseph Smith…has two indicates against him, one for fornication and adultery, another for perjury” (Marty 61; “Nauvoo Expositor Excerpts”). For this, Smith had the press destroyed and the Expositor editor fired. Because of this incident, not only did people think of him as enemy even more, he and his brother Hyrum were arrested and put in confinement in a jail in Carthage, Illinois (Marty 61).

Smith did not believe he was guilty of anything. On June 27, 1844, he wrote to Emma from jail, “As more treason, I know that I have not committed any, and they cannot prove anything of the skin so you need not have any fears that anything can happen to us on that account (“Death”). Illinois Governor Thomas Ford promised to protect Smith, but these promises were not good enough (“Church” III.B; Britannica 896). On the same day Smith wrote that letter to Emma, a mob of armed men with covered faces broke into the jail and murdered Joseph and Hyrum. John Taylor, the third president of the Mormon Church, said, “I shall never forget the deep feeling of sympathy and regard manifested in the countenance of Brother Joseph as he drew nigh to Hyrum, and leaning over him, exclaimed, ‘Oh! my poor, dear brother Hyrum!’ He, however, instantly arose, and with a firm, quick step, and a determined expression of countenance, approached the door, and pulling the G-shooter left by Brother Wheeback from his pocket opened the door slightly, and snapped the pistol six successive times; only three of the barrels, however, were discharged. I afterwards understood that two or three were wounded by these discharged, two of who I am informed died (“Death”).

Joseph Smith was considered a martyr, or someone who suffers for his beliefs by his followers (Britannica 896; “Martyr” Def. 1). After his death, the church went separate ways and many leaders backed down from their positions (Britannica 896; “Church” III.B). A small group, led by the eldest of Smith’s surviving sons, moved to Independence, Missouri, and formed the Reorganized Latter-day Saints (Britannica 896; “Perspectives”). This group, led by Joseph Smith III starting in 1860, did not practice polygamy nor considered themselves Mormon. In 2001, they became the Community of Christ with a membership of two hundred fifty thousand people (“Church” III.B).

The majority, still called Mormons, moved to Great Salt Lake, Utah. The Mormons struggled because many still hated them. They were restricted to trade and thought of as not loyal to their neighbors (“Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints” III.C). For example, in 1857 the Mormons refused to obey federal law so troops were ordered to Utah. In the same year in autumn, two emigrant companies were on their way to California and were massacred by Indians led by a few Mormons. The Mormons got the entire blame of the incident. Rumors evolved saying that the entire group was Mormon, and they were disguised as Indians (Adams 3:80). Several months later, the government and the Mormons made peace after extensive negotiations (Adams 3:81).

In 1890, Mormon president Wilford Woodruff issued a proposal traditionally seen as the end of polygamy, which was still being practiced by some Mormons. Within a few years, Mormons entered the American mainstream (“Church” III.C). Today there are eleven million members of the Mormon Church. Before World War II, they were most prominent in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Scandinavia, but more recently the religion is growing rapidly in developing countries such as Mexico and South Korea (“Church” I).

Mormonism is considered a Christian religion because it is based on the idea that restoring the church was necessary (“Church” II). According to the official Mormon site, Joseph Smith is considered a prophet (“Joseph Smith”). The site explains a prophet “communicates with God’s will to all people, is a special witness for Jesus Christ, testifying of His divinity, teaches the gospel and interprets the word of God, calls the unrighteous to repentance, receives revelations and directions from the Lord, [and] may see into the future in order to warn the world of coming events” (“Prophets”). However Mormons worship Jesus Christ, not Smith (Hinkley Para. 9).

Joseph Smith was no doubt an enemy of the people, the people being the majority of the United States. He did things that made people angry and violent. However it didn’t stop him from continuing to do what he thought was the right thing to do. I don’t believe what Joseph Smith claimed he encountered was true. Many others don’t either. Therefore this makes Joseph Smith an enemy of the people.

Works Cited

Secondary Sources

Adams, James Truslow. An Album of American History. 3 vols, 1945.

Adams, James Truslow. An Album of American History. 3 vols, 1946.

“Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints” Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Standard 2004. CD-ROM. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2003.

Collins, Tom. “Religion in Nineteenth Century America” 2000. 2 Jan 2006. <http://www.rsiss.net/religinamerica/19centuryamerica.html>

Gorton Carruth and Associates. The Encyclopedia of American Facts and Dates. 6^th ed, 1972.

 “Joseph Smith” 2005. Mormon.org. 1 Dec 2005. <http://www.mormon.org/learn/0,8672,957-1,00.html>

“Joseph Smith” Who2? Biographies. Who2? 2005. Answers.com 18 Oct. 2005. <http://www.answers.com/topic/josephsmith>

“Joseph Smith’s Death” Utah Lighthouse Ministry. 9 Nov 2005. <http://www.utlm.org/onlineresources/josephsmithsdeath.htm>

Marty, Martin E. “SMITH, Joseph.” The Encyclopedia Americana. 1999.

The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 15^th ed. 1988.

“New Perspectives on the West – Joseph Smith” 2001. PBS. 9 Nov 2005. <http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/s_z/smith.htm>

“Prophets” 2005. Mormon.org. 1 Dec 2005. <http://www.mormon.org/learn/0,8672,957-1,00.html>

Scott, Donald. “Mormonism and the American Mainstream.” 2 Jan 2006. <http://www.nhc.rtp.nc.us:8080/tserve/nineteen/nkeyinfo/nmormon.htm>

Rev Skeat, Walter W. “Martyr” An Etymological Dictionary of the English Dictionary, 1963.

Rev Skeat, Walter W. “Polygamy” An Etymological Dictionary of the English Dictionary, 1963.

Primary Sources

Hinkley, Gordon B. “First Presidency Message: Joseph Smith Jr.—Prophet of God, Mighty Servant” 2005. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 1 Dec 2005. http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,2043-1-3294-1,00.html

“Nauvoo Expositor Excerpts” 1844. Utah Lighthouse Ministry. 9 Nov 2005. <http://www.utlm.org/onlineresources/nauvooexpositor.htm>

“Joseph Smith’s Death” Utah Lighthouse Ministry. 9 Nov 2005. <http://www.utlm.org/onlineresources/josephsmithsdeath.htm>