117-639: Lucy Mack Smith (July 8, 1775 – May 14, 1856) was the mother of Joseph Smith , founder of the Latter Day Saint movement . She is noted for writing the memoir, Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations and was an important leader of the movement during Joseph's life. Lucy Mack was born on July 8, 1775, in Gilsum, New Hampshire , during an era of political, economic, and social change. The second half of
234-579: A competing "reform church" , and in the following month, at the county seat in Carthage , they procured indictments against Smith for perjury (as Smith publicly denied having more than one wife) and polygamy. 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. The paper alluded to Smith's theocratic aspirations, called for
351-655: A grand jury hearing in Daviess County, Smith and his companions escaped custody, almost certainly with the connivance of the sheriff and guards. Many American newspapers criticized Missouri for the Haun's Mill massacre and the state's expulsion of the Mormons. Illinois then accepted Mormon refugees who gathered along the banks of the Mississippi River , where Smith purchased high-priced, swampy woodland in
468-489: A 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." Smith said he recounted the experience to a Methodist minister, who dismissed the story "with great contempt". According to historian Steven C. Harper, "There is no evidence in the historical record that Joseph Smith told anyone but
585-526: A "moral mother" (Bloch, 118). Smith continued to educate her children in secular as well as spiritual matters. Dr. John Stafford of Palmyra, New York interviewed in 1880, remembered that Smith "had a great deal of faith that their children were going to do something great" and also recalled that Smith taught her ten children from the Bible. (Although Smith gave birth to eleven children, their first died shortly after childbirth in 1797.) Stafford did not comment on
702-460: A brigadier general in the Missouri militia, refused to carry out the order. Smith was then sent to a state court for a preliminary hearing , where several of his former allies testified against him. Smith and five others, including Rigdon, were charged with treason, and transferred to the jail at Liberty, Missouri , to await trial. Smith bore his imprisonment stoically. Understanding that he
819-750: A cosmology of many gods. Memorials to Smith include the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City the former Joseph Smith Memorial building on the campus of Brigham Young University as well as the Joseph Smith Building there, a granite obelisk marking Smith's birthplace, and a fifteen-foot-tall bronze statue of Smith in the World Peace Dome in Pune , India. Smith's death resulted in
936-462: 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. Before his death the Council also voted unanimously to elect Smith "Prophet, Priest, and King". The Council was likewise appointed to select a site for a large Mormon settlement in
1053-554: A family united in religious harmony come true. Joseph's project of "restoration" was thought of by his mother as a Smith family enterprise: as Jan Shipps has pointed out, Lucy Smith employs the pronouns "we", "ours", and "us" rather than simply referring to Joseph's particular role (Mormonism, 107). Smith took on the role as a mother figure to converts who were baptized into the Church of Christ . In Kirtland, Ohio , Smith shared her home with newly arrived immigrants, sometimes sleeping on
1170-621: A few wealthy and influential converts, including John C. Bennett , the Illinois quartermaster general . Bennett used his connections in the Illinois state legislature to obtain an unusually liberal charter for the new city, which Smith renamed " Nauvoo ". 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,
1287-450: A higher priesthood. Smith's authority was undermined when Cowdery, Hiram Page , and other church members also claimed to receive revelations. In response, Smith dictated a revelation which clarified his office as a prophet and an apostle , stating that only he had the ability to declare doctrine and scripture for the church. Smith then dispatched Cowdery, Peter Whitmer, and others on a mission to proselytize Native Americans . Cowdery
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#17327919629351404-532: A need to expand on site resources, increase seating, and add community gathering spaces. As of the census of 2010, there were 7,975 people, 3,255 households, and 2,175 families residing in the town. The population density was 236.6 inhabitants per square mile (91.4/km ). The racial makeup of the town was 96.7% White , 0.8% Black or African American , 0.4% Native American , 0.5% Asian , 0.1% Pacific Islander , 0.2% from other races , and 1.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.4% of
1521-574: 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 . During the council debate, Smith vigorously urged the council to order the press destroyed, not realizing that destroying a newspaper was more likely to incite an attack than any of the newspaper's accusations. Destruction of
1638-537: A new temple. In the weeks and months after Smith and Rigdon arrived at Far West, thousands of Latter Day Saints followed them from Kirtland. Smith encouraged the settlement of land outside Caldwell County, instituting a settlement in Adam-ondi-Ahman , in Daviess County . Political and religious differences between old Missourians and newly arriving Latter Day Saint settlers provoked tensions between
1755-457: A party of Missourians surprised and killed seventeen Mormons in the Haun's Mill massacre . The following day, the Mormons surrendered to 2,500 state troops and agreed to forfeit their property and leave the state. Smith was immediately 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
1872-441: A period of "rapid-fire translation". 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 . When the narrative described an institutional church and a requirement for baptism , Smith and Cowdery baptized each other. Dictation was completed about July 1, 1829. According to Smith, Moroni took back
1989-471: A period of acute suffering in body and mind, underwent his own religious conversion in 1810. In rural areas of northern New England , the proliferation of evangelical religious sects and the pre-Victorian emphasis on the family as a moral force were especially significant forces in Mack's life. Migrants to this area had taken with them the revolutionary spirit of political independence. They had also encouraged
2106-577: 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 . Joseph Smith was born on December 23, 1805, in Vermont , on the border between the villages of South Royalton and Sharon , to Lucy Mack Smith and her husband Joseph Smith Sr. , a merchant and farmer. He
2223-485: A relatively common practice in that time and place. Both his parents and his maternal grandfather reported having visions or dreams that they believed communicated messages from God. Smith said that, although he had become concerned about the welfare of his soul, he was confused by the claims of competing religious denominations. Years later, Smith wrote that he had received a vision that resolved his religious confusion. He said that in 1820, while he had been praying in
2340-531: 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.) 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. Fearing the Expositor would provoke
2457-428: A result, she emerges as a major influence in preparing them for their involvement in the founding of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After six years of marriage, Smith became very ill, was diagnosed with "confirmed consumption ," the disease from which her sisters Lovisa and Lovina had died, and was given up by the doctors (Smith, chap. 11). Smith did not feel prepared for death and judgment: "I knew not
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#17327919629352574-484: A revelation announcing that in order to redeem Zion, his followers would have to receive an endowment in the Kirtland Temple , 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. In January 1837, Smith and other churchleaders created a joint stock company , called
2691-786: A succession crisis within the Latter Day Saint movement. He had proposed several ways to choose his successor, but never clarified his preference. 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
2808-576: A symbol of continuity, assuming greater importance at that time because of the strained relationship between Young and one of Joseph's widows, Emma . Hosea Stout noted in his diary on February 23, 1845, that Smith spoke at a church meeting. She spoke "with the most feeling and heartbroken manner" of "the trials and troubles she had passed through in establishing the Church of Christ and the persecutions and afflictions which her sons & husband had passed through" (1:23). Smith also asked permission to speak at
2925-710: A type of magical supernaturalism common during the period. 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 . 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. The result of
3042-533: A voice advising her, "Seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you. Let your heart be comforted; ye believe in God, believe also in me." From that point on, Smith began a long search for a religion that would teach her the way of salvation. In so doing, she was following the precepts of her culture. During this post-revolutionary period, religious speakers constantly emphasized the "cultivation" of female piety so that women might more ably fulfill their role as
3159-588: A warrant was issued for Smith's arrest on a charge of banking fraud , he and Rigdon fled for Missouri in January 1838. By 1838, Smith had abandoned plans to redeem Zion in Jackson County, and instead declared the town of Far West, Missouri , in Caldwell County , as the new "Zion". In Missouri, the church also took the name "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints", and construction began on
3276-642: Is a town in southwestern Wayne County , New York , United States. The population was 7,975 at the 2010 census. The town is named after the ancient city Palmyra in Syria . The town contains a village also named Palmyra . The town is about 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Rochester, New York . The prehistoric Adena culture left mounds in the area. Palmyra was part of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase . The Town of Palmyra, originally called "Swift's Landing" after its founder John Swift and "District of Tolland,"
3393-457: Is a matter of debate. What is certain is that she never attempted the journey to Utah Territory : she remained in Nauvoo with her daughters, her daughter-in-law, Emma, and Emma and Joseph's sons ( Joseph III , David Hyrum , Alexander Hale , and Frederick G. W.) until her death in May 1856. Smith was a third cousin of Oliver Cowdery , who was a golden plates witness , a Book of Mormon scribe, and
3510-562: Is followed 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 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 of these
3627-596: Is part of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor . In 1823, the Town of Macedon was formed from part of Palmyra's territory as part of the creation of Wayne County from Ontario County. Palmyra is the birthplace of the Latter Day Saint movement . Founder Joseph Smith , whose family lived on a farm that straddled the line between Palmyra and Manchester , said he had been visited by God and Jesus Christ in 1820, an event known as
Lucy Mack Smith - Misplaced Pages Continue
3744-501: 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 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
3861-455: The 1838 Mormon War . Non-Mormon vigilantes raided and burned Mormon farms, while Danites and other Mormons pillaged non-Mormon towns. 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 ordered that the Mormons be "exterminated or driven from the state". On October 30,
3978-592: The Church of Christ , calling it a 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 communal 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
4095-600: The First Vision . In 1830 the Book of Mormon was first published in the village of Palmyra by E.B. Grandin , in the present Book of Mormon Historic Publication Site . Beginning in the early 20th century, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began buying and restoring many of the properties in the area associated with early church history. In 1997 the Smiths' log cabin was rebuilt on its original site and in 2000
4212-580: The Kirtland Safety Society , to act as a quasi-bank; the company issued banknotes partly capitalized by real estate. Smith encouraged his followers to buy the notes, in which he invested heavily himself. The bank failed within a month. As a result, Latter Day Saints in Kirtland suffered extreme high volatility and intense pressure from debt collectors. Smith was held responsible for the failure, and there were widespread defections from
4329-680: The Republic of Texas , Oregon , or California (then controlled by Mexico ), where Mormons could live under theocratic law beyond the control of other governments. By early 1844, a rift developed between Smith and a half dozen of his closest associates. Most notably, William Law , his trusted counselor, and Robert Foster, a general of the Nauvoo Legion, disagreed with Smith about how to manage Nauvoo's economy. Both also said that Smith had proposed marriage to their wives. Believing these men were plotting against his life, Smith excommunicated them on April 18, 1844. Law and Foster subsequently formed
4446-717: The Salt Lake Valley , Utah Territory . Nominal membership in Young's denomination, which became the LDS Church, surpassed 17 million in 2023. Smaller groups followed Rigdon and James J. Strang , who had based his claim on a letter of appointment ostensibly written by Smith but which some scholars believe was forged . Some hundreds followed Lyman Wight to establish a community in Texas. Others followed Alpheus Cutler . Many members of these smaller groups, including most of Smith's family, eventually coalesced in 1860 under
4563-424: The golden plates which told of the history of the early inhabitants of the American continent, Smith stopped going to Presbyterian meetings. She said, "We were now confirmed in the opinion that God was about to bring to light something upon which we could stay our minds, or that he would give us a more perfect knowledge of the plan of salvation and the redemption of the human family. This caused us greatly to rejoice,
4680-473: The 1830s, Smith sent out missionaries, published 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
4797-521: The Church, and Bennett was elected Nauvoo's first mayor. 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. An 1841 revelation promised the restoration of the "fullness of the priesthood"; and in May 1842, Smith inaugurated a revised endowment or "first anointing". The endowment resembled
Lucy Mack Smith - Misplaced Pages Continue
4914-469: The Latter Day Saint community, Smith was viewed as a prophet, martyred to seal the testimony of his faith. After a public funeral and viewing of the deceased brothers, Smith's widow – who feared hostile non-Mormons might try to desecrate the bodies – had their remains buried at night in a secret location, with substitute coffins filled with sandbags interred in the publicly attested grave. The bodies were later moved and reburied under an outbuilding on
5031-499: The Latter Day Saint movement, Smith's legacy varies between denominations: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and its members consider Smith the founding prophet of their church, on par with Moses and Elijah . 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. Conversely, Woolleyite Mormon fundamentalism has deified Smith within
5148-543: The Latter Day Saint newcomers for both political and religious reasons. Additionally, their rapid growth aroused fears that they would soon constitute a majority in local elections, and thus "rule the county." 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. Armed bands exchanged fire, killing one Mormon and two non-Mormons, until
5265-480: The Missouri period when Joseph Jr. and Hyrum were imprisoned in Liberty Jail , Lucy Smith was a leader in her family and church. In Nauvoo, Illinois , Smith became isolated in caring for her dying husband and her role in the church therefore diminished. Her husband's dying blessing on her was to reaffirm her role and status: "Mother, do you not know that you are the mother of as great a family as ever lived upon
5382-490: 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. 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 U.S. Attorney for Illinois argued that his extradition would be unconstitutional. (Rockwell
5499-540: The Nauvoo City Council surrendered themselves. Smith initially fled across the Mississippi River, but shortly returned and surrendered to Ford. On June 25, Smith and his brother Hyrum arrived in Carthage to stand trial for inciting a riot. Once the Smiths were in custody, the charges were increased to treason, preventing them from posting bail . John Taylor and Willard Richards voluntarily accompanied
5616-525: The October 1845 general conference in Nauvoo. After she had recited the sufferings of her family on behalf of the church, she asked if they considered her a mother in Israel. Young formally conferred this title on Smith by saying: "All who consider Mother Smith as a mother in Israel, signify by saying 'yes.' One universal 'yes' rang throughout" ( History of the Church 7:470-71). Smith did not comment about
5733-511: The Revolutionary War. Even though Solomon Mack was not committed to any religious belief system, he appreciated the diligence of his wife in attending to the spiritual and educational needs of their children. "All the flowery eloquence of the pulpit," he said, could not match the influence of his wife on their children (chap. 1). Mack's mother, Lydia Gates Mack, was an example of the kind of "moral mother" increasingly celebrated during
5850-664: The Smith property off the Mississippi River. 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 . Modern biographers and scholars – Mormon and non-Mormon alike – agree that Smith
5967-504: The Smiths in Carthage Jail . 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, before he sprang for the window. (Smith and his companions were staying in
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#17327919629356084-716: The adopted Smith died of measles in 1832. 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. 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 . 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. Palmyra (town), New York Palmyra ( / ˌ p æ l ˈ m aɪ r ə / )
6201-511: The appointment of J. J. Strang" as Joseph's successor. However, Smith later addressed church members at the October 1844 general conference and stated that she hoped all her children would accompany the Latter Day Saints to the west, and if they did, she too would go. Young said: "We have extended the helping hand to Mother Smith. She has the best carriage in the city, and, while she lives, shall ride in it when and where she pleases" ( Millennial Star , vol. 7, p. 23). At this time, Smith became
6318-405: The average family size was 2.92. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 20, 5.6% from 20 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 30.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.9 males. The median income for a household in the town
6435-438: The breakdown of the old order of religious domination. "The grip of colonial religious culture was broken and a new American style of religious diversity came into being." Such a setting became fertile ground for religious experimentation and the birth of uniquely American religious sects, some of which "undertook to redefine social and economic order through the model of the extended family." Without stable institutional structures,
6552-676: The church built the Palmyra New York Temple on a portion of the former Smith farm. According to the United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 33.7 square miles (87.3 km ), of which 33.5 square miles (86.7 km ) is land and 0.2 square mile (0.5 km ) (0.62%) is water. The Erie Canal passes across the county, through the Village of Palmyra. The multi-use, recreational Erie Canal Heritage Trail continues along
6669-653: The church hierarchy. Converts poured into Kirtland. By the summer of 1835, there were fifteen hundred to two thousand Latter Day Saints in the vicinity, many expecting Smith to lead them shortly to the Millennial kingdom. Though his mission to the Native Americans had been a failure, 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
6786-470: The church, including many of Smith's closest advisers. The failure of the bank was one part of a series of internal disputes led to the demise of the Kirtland community. Cowdery had accused Smith of engaging in a sexual relationship with a teenage servant in his home, Fanny Alger . Construction of the Kirtland Temple had only added to the church's debt, and Smith was hounded by creditors. After
6903-586: The church. Hyrum had been Joseph's chosen successor, and it was unclear who should lead when both were killed. While Smith initially supported the leadership claims of James Strang , ultimately a majority of Latter Day Saints sided with the leadership of Brigham Young and the other members of the Quorum of the Twelve . James Strang published a statement allegedly signed by Smith, her son William, and her three daughters, certifying that "the Smith family do believe in
7020-486: The city guaranteed religious freedom for its residents. 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. Smith appointed Bennett as Assistant President of
7137-596: The conversion of family members" (121). Smith took the initiative in trying to involve her family in seeking the "true church." In light of Joseph Sr.'s indifference, she sought consolation in prayer that the gospel would be brought to her husband and was reassured by a dream that her husband would be given "the pure and undefiled Gospel of the Son of God" (56). About this time, Joseph Sr. began having dreams with symbolic content that were interpreted as being related to his ambivalence about religious faith. These dreams continued after
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#17327919629357254-569: 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. Smith made his last visit to the hill shortly after midnight on September 22, 1827, taking Emma with him. This time, he said he successfully retrieved the plates. Smith said Moroni commanded him not to show
7371-404: The difficulties she encountered with church leaders during the transitional period—troubles which, without doubt, were exacerbated by her son William 's refusal to be subservient to Young—but they are suggested in the few letters and second-hand accounts that have survived (Quaife, 246–48). Whether Smith again shifted her support from Young to Strang in the year following the October 1845 conference
7488-510: The earth. ... They are raised up to do the Lord's work" (chap. 52). Smith's eldest child, Alvin , died November 19, 1823. Her next two sons Joseph and Hyrum were killed on June 27, 1844, in Carthage, Illinois . When Smith saw the bodies of her martyred sons, she cried "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken this family?" (chap. 54). About one month later, her son Samuel died after a month of illness brought on by exposure and other events incident to
7605-505: The eighteenth century had seen a slowly evolving shift of responsibilities within the American family. Even though the American Revolutionary War would accelerate that shift, the initial impetus came from the changing economic scene. According to women's historian Linda Kerber , the growing market economy and "industrial technology reshaped the contours of domestic labor" (7). This shift toward commercialism pushed
7722-452: The end of June, Smith deescalated the confrontation, sought peace with Jackson County's residents, and disbanded Zion's Camp. Nevertheless, Zion's Camp transformed Latter Day Saint leadership because many future church leaders came from among the participants. After the Camp returned to Ohio, Smith drew heavily from its participants to establish various governing bodies in the church. He gave
7839-448: The existence of the golden plates. Harris persuaded Smith to let him take 116 pages of manuscript to Palmyra to show a few family members, including his wife. While Harris had the manuscript in his possession—of which there was no other copy—it was lost. 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. Smith said that as punishment for his having lost
7956-477: The family thus became the "crucible" for forming "primary identity, socialization, and cultural norms for rural life" (Marini, 7, 56, 31). Mack was a product of this environment. Lucy Mack married Joseph Smith Sr. , in January 1796, bringing a wedding gift of $ 1,000 from her brother, Stephen Mack , and his business partner, John Mudget. Lucy Smith assumed the responsibility for the moral and religious guidance of her children as well as for their secular education. As
8073-620: The family's move to Palmyra, New York , until he had had seven in all; Lucy remembered five well enough to quote in detail. Smith's efforts to find the true religion continued in Palmyra. She went from sect to sect; sometime after 1824, she and three of her children— Hyrum , Samuel , and Sophronia—joined Western Presbyterian Church , the only church with a meetinghouse in Palmyra. Although Smith longed for her family to be united in their religious faith, she could not persuade her husband nor her son Joseph to join them. In 1827, when Joseph obtained
8190-402: The father's work farther away from the home, with the result that the mother now took over the father's former role of final responsibility for the children's education and for their moral and religious training (Bloch, 113). Magazines and educational publications heralded mothers as "the chief transmitters of religious and moral values" (Bloch, 101). Mack was proud of her father's involvement in
8307-486: The floor herself when the house was full. She participated in missionary work and at one time stood up to a Presbyterian minister in defense of her faith. When Joseph made his father the church's first patriarch in December 1833, he emphasized the familial nature of the early Mormon movement. Likening his father to Adam , Joseph said, "So shall it be with my father; he shall be called a prince over his posterity, holding
8424-644: The frontier hamlet of Independence the "center place" of Zion . For most of the 1830s, the church was effectively based in Ohio. 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. 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, tarred and feathered them, and left them for dead. In Jackson County, existing Missouri residents resented
8541-587: The golden plates for himself, property they believed should be jointly shared. After they ransacked places where they believed the plates might have been hidden, Smith decided to leave Palmyra. In October 1827, Smith and Emma permanently moved to Harmony, aided by a relatively prosperous neighbor, Martin Harris , who began serving as Smith's scribe in April 1828. Although he and his wife, Lucy, were early supporters of Smith, by June 1828 they began to have doubts about
8658-464: The ground, and speaking in tongues . Rigdon's followers were practicing a form of communalism . Smith brought the Kirtland congregation under his authority and tamed ecstatic outbursts. He had promised church elders that in Kirtland they would receive an endowment of heavenly power, and at the June 1831 general conference , he introduced the greater authority of a High ("Melchizedek") Priesthood to
8775-475: The hamlet of Commerce . He attempted to portray the Mormons as an oppressed minority and unsuccessfully petitioned the federal government for help in obtaining reparations . 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. Smith also attracted
8892-519: The hostility of those who remembered the 1826 Chenango County trial. After Cowdery baptized several new church members, Smith's followers were threatened with mob violence. Before Smith could confirm the newly baptized, he was arrested and charged with being a "disorderly person." Although he was acquitted , both he and Cowdery fled to Colesville to escape a gathering mob. Smith later claimed that, probably around this time, Peter , James , and John had appeared to him and had ordained him and Cowdery to
9009-417: 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. Following Smith's death, non-Mormon newspapers were nearly unanimous in portraying Smith as a religious fanatic. Conversely, within
9126-502: The keys of the patriarchal priesthood over the kingdom of God on earth, even the Church of the Latter Day Saints" (qtd. in Bates and Smith, 34). In this calling, "Father Smith" was to give patriarchal blessings to the Latter Day Saints; when he attended the blessing meetings, he insisted that his wife accompany him (chap. 44). On at least one occasion, Lucy Smith added her blessing or confirmed what had already been received (Crosby). During
9243-415: The kingdom". 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 " stakes " of Zion's metaphorical tent. Zion also became less a refuge from an impending tribulation than a great building project. In the summer of 1842, Smith revealed a plan to establish
9360-502: The last decades of the eighteenth century. Mack's older brother, Jason, became a "seeker" and eventually formed his own religious community; her two older sisters each had a visionary confirmation that their sins were forgiven and that God called them to "witness" to others of the need for repentance. Such gestures of piety were expected in the highly charged revivalist climate of the day. As historians have noted, clergymen "encouraged people to induce 'visions'" (Buel, 11). Mack's father, after
9477-562: The leadership of Joseph Smith III and formed the RLDS Church (Community of Christ), which has about 250,000 members. 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. The eldest, Alvin (born in 1828), died within hours of birth, as did twins Thaddeus and Louisa (born in 1831). When the twins died, the Smiths adopted another set of twins, Julia and Joseph Murdock, whose mother had recently died in childbirth;
9594-498: 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 canonized by denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement, which continue to treat them as scripture . Smith's teachings discuss God's nature, cosmology , family structures, political organization, and religious community and authority. Mormons generally regard Smith as
9711-635: The manuscript, Moroni returned, took away the plates, and revoked his ability to translate. During this period, Smith briefly attended Methodist meetings with his wife, until a cousin of hers objected to inclusion of a "practicing necromancer " on the Methodist class roll. Smith said that Moroni returned the plates to him in September 1828, and he then dictated some of the book to his wife Emma. In April 1829 he met Oliver Cowdery , who had also dabbled in folk magic; and with Cowdery as scribe, Smith began
9828-674: The millennial Kingdom of God, which would eventually establish theocratic rule over the whole Earth. It was around this time that Smith began secretly marrying additional wives, a practice called plural marriage . 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. 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. By mid-1842, popular opinion in Illinois had turned against
9945-489: 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. During the 1830s, Smith orally described the vision to some of his followers, though it was not widely published among Mormons until the 1840s. This vision later grew in importance to Smith's followers, who eventually regarded it as the first event in the restoration of Christ's church to Earth . Smith himself may have originally considered
10062-469: The murders of Joseph and Hyrum. Of this time, Smith recalls, "I was left desolate in my distress. I had reared six sons to manhood, and of them all, one only remained, and he too far distant to speak one consoling word to me in this trying hour" (chap. 54). William , the surviving son, was on a mission in New York when his brothers died. After the death of Joseph and Hyrum, a crisis of leadership gripped
10179-488: The new organization dramatically. After Rigdon visited New York, he soon became Smith's primary assistant. 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. When Smith moved to Kirtland in January 1831, he encountered a religious culture that included enthusiastic demonstrations of spiritual gifts , including fits and trances, rolling on
10296-462: The newspaper provoked a strident call to arms from Thomas C. Sharp , editor of the Warsaw Signal and longtime critic of Smith. Fearing mob violence, Smith mobilized the Nauvoo Legion on June 18 and declared martial law . 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
10413-450: The old settlers forcibly expelled the Latter Day Saints from the county. After petitions to Missouri governor Daniel Dunklin for aid were unsuccessful, Smith organized and led a small paramilitary expedition, called Zion's Camp , to aid the Latter Day Saints in Missouri. 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
10530-430: The original Second Elder and Assistant President of the Church . Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement . 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
10647-473: The plates once Smith finished using them. The completed work, titled the Book of Mormon , was published in Palmyra by printer Egbert Bratt Grandin and was first advertised for sale on March 26, 1830. Less than two weeks later, on April 6, 1830, Smith and his followers formally organized the Church of Christ , and small branches were established in Manchester, Fayette, and Colesville, New York . The Book of Mormon brought Smith regional notoriety and renewed
10764-478: The plates the next morning, but was unsuccessful because Moroni returned and prevented him. 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. Meanwhile, Smith's family faced financial hardship, due in part to the death of his oldest brother Alvin . Family members supplemented their meager farm income by hiring out for odd jobs and working as treasure seekers,
10881-430: The plates to anyone else, but to translate them and publish their translation. He also said the plates were a religious record of Middle-Eastern indigenous Americans and were engraved in an unknown language, called reformed Egyptian . He told associates that he was capable of reading and translating them. Although Smith had abandoned treasure hunting, former associates believed he had double crossed them and had taken
10998-409: The population. There were 3,255 households, out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.1% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and
11115-617: The proceeding remains unclear because primary sources report conflicting outcomes. While boarding at the Hale house, located in the township of Harmony (now Oakland ) in Pennsylvania , Smith met and courted Emma Hale . When he proposed marriage, her father, Isaac Hale, objected; he believed Smith had no means to support his daughter. Hale also considered Smith a stranger who appeared "careless" and "not very well educated." Smith and Emma eloped and married on January 18, 1827, after which
11232-399: The public with a collection of books, magazines, videos, audiobooks, video games, and local references that may be borrowed or viewed. The library also hosts a variety of community events year round. Free wireless internet and computer access are available on site. In 2011, the library moved to its current location in the renovated Garlock Packing Company Building. The move was prompted by
11349-502: The right to call out federal troops in its defense. 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 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. In March 1844 – following
11466-592: The rites of Freemasonry that Smith had observed two months earlier when he had been initiated " at sight " into the Nauvoo Masonic lodge. 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 sorority within which Smith predicted women would receive "the keys of
11583-455: The spiritual precepts they thus garnered but rather on the children's educational achievements. Joseph Jr. had been "quite illiterate," he said, but "after they began to have school at their house, he improved greatly" (Vogel 2:122). Smith's ambitions for, and faith in, her children's abilities were not unusual for a mother of that time. Linda Kerber tells how the republican mother was to "encourage in her sons civic interest and participation. She
11700-424: The sweetest union and happiness pervaded our house, and tranquility reigned in our midst" (Smith, chap. 19). Much of Smith's attention during this period was directed towards the hope that her family would be the instrument in bringing salvation to the whole human family. When Joseph went on to establish what he taught was the restoration of the original Christian church, it was the means of making his mother's dream of
11817-486: The towpath of the Erie Canal as well. The south town line is the border of Ontario County . New York State Route 21 (north-south) intersects New York State Route 31 (east-west) in Palmyra village. The Palmyra-Macedon High School , Palmyra-Macedon Middle School and Palmyra-Macedon Primary School are all located within Palmyra. The Palmyra Community Library is a Board of Regents chartered library that serves
11934-487: 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-Mormons . 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. The election day scuffles initiated
12051-453: The vision to be a personal conversion. According to Smith's later accounts, while praying one night in 1823, he was visited by an angel named 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 set of interpreters composed of two seer stones set in a frame, which had been hidden in a hill near his home. Smith said he attempted to remove
12168-521: The ways of Christ, besides there appeared to be a dark and lonesome chasm between myself and the Saviour, which I dared not attempt to pass." By making a gigantic effort, she perceived "a faint glimmer of light." She spent the night pleading with the Lord to spare her life so she could bring up her children ( Alvin and Hyrum ) and "be a comfort" to her husband. She vowed that, if her life was spared, she would serve God with all her heart, whereupon she heard
12285-566: The welfare of her children, both here and hereafter: "She prevailed on us to attend the meetings [the Methodist revival being preached by George Lane], and almost the whole family became interested in the matter and seekers after truth. ... My mother continued her importunities and exertions to interest us in the importance of seeking for the salvation of our immortal souls, until almost all of the family became either converted or seriously inclined" (Vogel 1:494–95). Smith's piety and principles were major moral influence in her children's lives, but she
12402-502: Was $ 47,102, and the median income for a family was $ 57,770. Males had a median income of $ 40,742 versus $ 36,087 for females. The per capita income for the town was $ 23,569. About 14.5% of families and 16.7% of the population were below the poverty line , including 27.5% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over. There were 3,543 housing units at an average density of 105.1 per square mile (40.6/km ). 8.1% of housing units were vacant. There were 3,255 occupied housing units in
12519-467: Was a hotbed of religious enthusiasm during the Second Great Awakening . Between 1817 and 1825, there were several camp meetings and revivals in the Palmyra area. Smith's parents disagreed about religion, but the family was caught up in this excitement. Smith later recounted that he had become interested in religion by age 12, and as a teenager, may have been sympathetic to Methodism . With other family members, he also engaged in religious folk magic ,
12636-464: 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. 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
12753-462: Was also concerned about her husband's spiritual well-being. New England ministers declared that a wife's conversion could also help her perform "her great task of bringing men back to God" (Welter, 162). Various publications of the early nineteenth century pointed out: Religion or piety was the core of women's virtue, the source of her strength. Religion belonged to woman by divine right, a gift of God and nature. This "peculiar susceptibility" to religion
12870-408: Was created in 1789. The sole local encounter between natives and white settlers that resulted in deaths occurred that same year. The present name was adopted in 1796, reportedly to impress a new school teacher. There were almost one thousand people in the town in 1800. The Erie Canal was completed up to Palmyra in 1822, although the canal was not completed to its western terminus until 1825. Palmyra
12987-428: 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". Though he directed his followers to collect and publish their stories of persecution, he also urged them to moderate their antagonism toward non-Mormons. On April 6, 1839, after
13104-505: Was given her for a reason: "the vestal flame of piety, lighted tip by Heaven in the breast of woman" would throw its beams into the naughty world of men (Welter, 152). According to Nancy Woloch , "Female converts outnumbered male converts three to two in the Second Great Awakening in New England. ... By 1814, for instance, women outnumbered men in the churches and religious societies in rural Utica, and they could be relied upon to urge
13221-474: 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 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
13338-640: Was later tried and acquitted.) In June 1843, enemies of Smith convinced a reluctant Illinois Governor 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. While this ended the Missourians' attempts at extradition, it caused significant political fallout in Illinois. In December 1843, Smith petitioned Congress to make Nauvoo an independent territory with
13455-450: Was one of eleven children. At the age of seven, Smith had a bone infection and, after receiving surgery, used crutches for three years. 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 , and took out a mortgage on a 100-acre (40 ha) farm in the townships of Palmyra and Manchester . The region
13572-406: Was one of the most influential, charismatic, and innovative figures in American religious history. In a 2015 compilation of the 100 Most Significant Americans of All Time, Smithsonian ranked Smith first in the category of religious figures. 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". Within
13689-414: Was to educate her children and guide them in the paths of morality and virtue" (283). Nancy Woloch, notes that ministers, after "discarding predestination as an axiom, now suggested that mothers, not God, were responsible for their children's souls" (121). Smith took such responsibilities seriously in her own family. William Smith later affirmed that his mother was a very pious woman and much interested in
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