| Joseph Smith Sr. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 1stPresiding Patriarch | |
| December 18, 1833 (1833-12-18) – September 14, 1840 (1840-09-14) | |
| Called by | Joseph Smith Jr. |
| Successor | Hyrum Smith |
| Assistant Counselor in theFirst Presidency | |
| September 3, 1837 (1837-09-03) – September 14, 1840 (1840-09-14) | |
| Called by | Joseph Smith Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1771-07-12)July 12, 1771 Topsfield,Province of Massachusetts Bay |
| Died | September 14, 1840(1840-09-14) (aged 69) Nauvoo,Illinois, United States |
| Resting place | Smith Family Cemetery 40°32′25.98″N91°23′31.06″W / 40.5405500°N 91.3919611°W /40.5405500; -91.3919611 (Smith Family Cemetery) |
| Spouse(s) | Lucy Mack |
| Children | 11, including: Alvin Smith Hyrum Smith Joseph Smith Jr. Samuel H. Smith William Smith Katharine Smith Don Carlos Smith |
| Parents | Asael Smith |
Joseph Smith Sr. (July 12, 1771 – September 14, 1840) was the father ofJoseph Smith Jr., founder of theLatter Day Saint movement. Joseph Smith Sr. was also one of theEight Witnesses, the second of two groups of witnesses that stated that they had seen and handled thegolden plates, which his son, Joseph, said was his source material for theBook of Mormon. Smith was an original member of his son's church, theChurch of Christ, in 1830 when it was founded. In 1833, Smith became the church's firstpatriarch, and in 1837 became a member of theFirst Presidency of the church until his death in 1840.
Smith was born on July 12, 1771, inTopsfield,Massachusetts, toAsael Smith and Mary Duty. He marriedLucy Mack inTunbridge, Vermont, on January 26, 1796, and had 11 children with her.[1] Details of Smith's paternal line go back to his 3rd great-grandfather Robert Smith fromLincolnshire, England who settled inMassachusetts colony during thePuritan migration.[2] Some previous DNA testing on Smith's descendants had revealed some Irish roots.[3]
Smith was a Universalist in his early years and founded aUniversalist society inTopsfield, Massachusetts, in 1797 with his brother Jesse and father Asael.[4] While the society was short-lived, Smith maintained a philosophical, though not an institutional, tie to Universalism.[5] Like most 19th-century Americans, Smith was unaffiliated with any organized religion for much of his life.[6][7]
Smith practiced his Universalist beliefs through folk religion and magical beliefs, which included dream Interpretation and visionary experience, use of "divining rods" and "seer stones", as well as using magic to identify and dig for buried treasure.[8][9] Smith modeled each folk religion and magic tradition for all of his children. Most notably his son Joseph relied on all three categories of folk magic gifts as he shared his religious story of obtaining and translating the Book of Mormon.[10]
Smith, like his wife Lucy, struggled with depression. Lucy described her husbands depression as "deep periods of melancholy," which she said he "medicated" with alcohol.[11][12] Other contemporaries of Smith characterized his self-medication, more severely and chronically, as persistent alcohol abuse.[11][12][13][14] Folk magic also offered Smith less self-destructive and destabilizing comforts. In dreams he taught his family were visionary Smith saw resolution to the troubles that regularly overwhelmed him and Lucy in life.[11][15][16] Smith believed one such dream foreshadowed his own salvation.[11]
Smith tried his hands at several occupations, including farmer, teacher, and shop-keeper, none of which proved very successful.[1] He moved his family toPalmyra, New York, in 1816 and began to make payments on a farm located on the edge of neighboringManchester Township. Work on a frame house at the farm was halted by the unexpected death of Smith's eldest son,Alvin, in 1823.
Smith subsequently failed to make payments on the farm.[1] Lemuel Durfee purchased it as a favor to the family and allowed the Smiths to continue there as renters until 1830. In Palmyra–Manchester Smith and his sons, including Joseph Smith Jr., employed their folk magic practices in a number of treasure digging excavations during the 1820s.[17]
Smith's wife, Lucy, became involved with Presbyterianism. Joining the Presbyterian church did not dissuade Lucy away from folk religion and magic beliefs she shared with her husband. However, the differing religious affiliations Smith and Lucy held did cause her personal dissonance. In her own visionary dreaming experience, she said felt she received a divine witness that her husband would some day accept "the pure and undefiled Gospel of the Son of God."[18] When the older Smith was baptized into the Church of Christ, his son Joseph seemed to feel it was the culmination of Lucy's vision.[19] In the interim, Smith continued to have his own visionary dreams with highly symbolic content.
Smith wasbaptized when theChurch of Christ was formally organized on April 6, 1830. When the younger Joseph saw the older Smith come up out of the water, he is reported to have cried, "Oh! My God I have lived to see my own father baptized into the true church of Jesus Christ!"[19]
In January 1831, Smith and his family moved to the church's new headquarters inKirtland, Ohio. He was ordained to be the church's firstPresiding Patriarch on December 18, 1833. In reference to his father's role as patriarch of the church, Joseph likened his father toAdam, the first biblical patriarch: "So shall it be with my father; he shall be called a prince over his posterity, holding the keys of the patriarchal priesthood over the kingdom of God on earth, even the Church of the Latter Day Saints".[20]
As part of his new role, Smith presided in council meetings and administeredpatriarchal blessings. On September 3, 1837, Smith was also made an Assistant Counselor to his son in theFirst Presidency of the church. Smith was present at the first performance of theSecond Anointing ritual, the highest ordinance in theLatter Day Saint movement, which guarantees salvation and confers godhood.
Joseph hosted the first recorded version of this ritual in January 1833. During the meeting, Joseph washed the feet of all 12 men present. He paused to ask his father for apriesthood blessing before washing Smith's feet, in which Smith "[pronounced] upon [Joseph's] head that he should continue in his Priests office until Christ come."[21]
In the late 1820s, Smith's son, Joseph began to tell the family aboutgolden plates, which he said contained a record of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas. In September 1827, Joseph said he had obtained from an angel the plates and began translating them into English over the following years through the use of aseer stone, which he found previously during a treasure digging expedition. Joseph also said he translated using anUrim and Thummim, a device given to him by the sameangel who gave him the plates.
At the end of June 1829, as Joseph's dictation of what would become theBook of Mormon neared its completion, the older Smith and seven other men signed a joint statement, testifying that they had both lifted the plates and seen the engravings on the plates. Known as the "Testimony of the Eight Witnesses", the statement and another statement from theThree Witnesses were published with the first edition of the Book of Mormon and have been a part of nearly all subsequent editions.[16]
Smith moved with his family toFar West, Missouri, in 1838 and from there to the church's new headquarters atNauvoo, Illinois, in 1839. Old age and illnesses had taken their toll and by the end of summer 1840, Smith realized he was dying. He called his family around him to administer patriarchal blessings.
He blessed his wife: "Mother, do you not know that you are the mother of as great a family as ever lived upon the earth. ...they are raised up to do the Lord's work".[22] He blessed and ordained his eldest surviving son,Hyrum to succeed to the office ofPresiding Patriarch by right oflineage.
Smith died in Nauvoo on September 14, 1840.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link) Also known as Church of the Latter Day Saints andChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | ||
| First | Presiding Patriarch December 18, 1833 (1833-12-18) - September 14, 1840 (1840-09-14) | Succeeded by |
| Assistant Counselor in theFirst Presidency September 3, 1837 (1837-09-03) – September 14, 1840 (1840-09-14) Served alongside:Oliver Cowdery,Hyrum Smith, andJohn Smith | Succeeded by | |
| Three Witnesses |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Eight Witnesses | ||
| Additional Witnesses | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
