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Video transcript:
Son to a murdered father. Forced from his home in Missouri and Illinois. A pioneer of the West. A witness of the New York Draft Riots. And ultimately, a prophet of God.
Joseph F. Smith was born to Hyrum and Mary Fielding Smith on November 13th, 1838. He had a rough childhood and had to grow up very quickly. While still a baby, his family was forced from their home in Missouri, along with many other Saints. When he was 5, his father and uncle (Joseph Smith) were both murdered at Carthage jail. At 7, he and his family were forced out of Nauvoo. They traveled to Winter Quarters, where disease killed hundreds of people during the two winters they stayed there. At 9, he helped his widowed mother and siblings make the arduous journey across the plains to Utah.
In 1852, when Joseph was only 13 years old, his mother died. When he heard the news, “he turned deathly pale and fainted.” Though Joseph continued to have a solid support group, he was an orphan. These kinds of traumatic experiences take a toll. Joseph later wrote, “After my mother’s death, there followed 18 months … of perilous times for me. I was almost like a comet or fiery meteor, without attraction or gravitation to keep me balanced or guide me within reasonable bounds.” One researcher noted that it was likely during this time that Joseph “took up drink and tobacco” — two habits he later overcame, though not without struggle.
At 15 years old, Joseph was called to serve a mission to the Hawaiian Islands. Biographer Stephen Taysom noted that “Brigham Young did send young men on missions if he felt that their behavior was out of hand.” Joseph likely fit into this category. The mission was difficult and helped mature Joseph, but for most of his life, he struggled sometimes to control his emotions. In 1875, he wrote, “The worst enemy I have is my temper, and I fear no man but Joseph F. Smith.”
Between his first and second mission, in 1859, he married his first wife, Levira A. Smith. They had a rocky relationship. Joseph was often away for long periods of time on church assignments, and Levira likely suffered from major depressive disorder, including symptoms of anhedonia and psychomotor retardation. Long story short: Tensions rose. On occasion, they each said and did things they shouldn’t have. On one occasion, Joseph’s temper got the best of him, and got more physical with Levira than he should have. That kind of behavior was unfortunately more tolerable in the 1800s than it is today, but it was still a mistake, and you can pause and read more about it here. They argued and grew apart until their marriage ended in divorce in the late 1860s.
Joseph’s first child (a daughter named Josephine) came from his first plural wife, Jalina Lambson. Unfortunately, little “Jode” died at just shy of 3 years old. Joseph was absolutely crushed. Taysom wrote that “Jode’s life and death may have done a great deal to cool and bank JFS’s temper, at least as far as his family was concerned.”
Joseph’s 5 other marriages to 5 plural wives were successful. He had 48 children, 5 of whom were adopted. He loved his children dearly. In 1874, he wrote in his journal, “The richest of all my earthly joys is my precious children.” It seems to me that he yearned to give his children the parental love and affection that death had robbed him of. And yet, death still lurked in the shadows, ultimately taking 13 of Joseph’s children before his own death.
Joseph ended up serving 5 missions over his lifetime, either as a missionary or a mission president, for a total of 13 years. In July of 1863, Joseph arrived in New York City on his way home from a mission in England. He went to Barnum’s Museum and was having a good time in New York until he found himself in a bit of a sticky situation. The Saints in Utah largely sat the Civil War out, but in 1863, men in New York were being drafted into military service. For $300 (or about $7,500 today), you could buy your way out of service, but all this did was ensure that the poor people would be the ones to fight and die, and people weren’t happy about that.
Thus, the Lower Manhattan Draft Riots began—one of the deadliest insurrections in American history. And Joseph F. Smith was right there. He wasn’t harmed, but his descriptions of the things he observed are fascinating and terrifying to read. If you’ve seen [hopefully an edited version of] the very R-rated movie Gangs of New York, this was the riot portrayed at the end of the film around the Five Points.
Joseph was called as an apostle a few years later, in 1866, at the ripe old age of 28. He became the 6th president of the Church in October of 1901, after the passing of President Lorenzo Snow. Under his 17-year presidency, among many other things, membership nearly doubled, the Church finally made it out of debt, and Family Home Evening became a thing.
In 1906, 67-year-old Joseph visited Carthage Jail for the first time. While in the room where his father had been killed, someone pointed out the spot where Hyrum’s blood had stained the floor. Joseph sat on the bed and sobbed. His personal grief and losses, coupled with the horrors of World War I, perhaps make his incredible 1918 revelation on the redemption of the dead (AKA D&C 138) all the more meaningful.
Six of his children served in the war, and all of them actually came home alive. One of those sons, Samuel, recalled surprising his elderly father when he came home unexpectedly on leave: “I entered the Beehive House by way of the back door, then went through the kitchen and dining room to the large living room. On the far side of the living room, I saw Father standing in his bathrobe, a cane in his hand. When he saw me, he forgot about the cane and hurried over to me. He took me in his arms, hugging and kissing me, saying, ‘My boy, my boy.’”
Joseph died on November 19th, 1918, only 8 days after the end of World War I.
Of course, Joseph F. Smith was not the only latter-day prophet to have an absolutely wild life. And if you don’t believe me, you might want to learn a bit more about this guy over here. I’ll see you there. Have a great day!