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In 1836 Maria Monk published a shocking and scandalous exposé of a Catholic nunnery in Montreal. She claimed that nuns were being sexually exploited by the priests and that any offspring from these encounters were disposed of in the cellar — all kinds of horrible, awful things. But the thing is… Maria lied. And she was exposed, in part, by her mother, who revealed that Maria had never been a nun. Interestingly, she explained that as a child, Maria had a slate pencil jammed into her skull and was thereafter “frequently deranged in her head.” In Maria’s case, family testimony went a long way in crippling her credibility.
Almost 600 miles away, Joseph Smith was making claims that were arguably even more shocking: That he had been visited by God and had been led by an angel to an ancient book which he had translated by the gift and power of God into the Book of Mormon. What did Joseph’s family think about his claims? Did they believe him? Or, like Maria’s mother, did any of them try to expose him or cripple his credibility? Let’s take a look at some of the things they said:
Joseph’s oldest brother, Alvin, died at 25 years old in 1823. Joseph had been told about the golden plates at this point but hadn’t yet retrieved them. Some of Alvin’s dying words to Joseph were, “I want you to be a good boy and do everything that lies in your power to obtain the Record.” According to Joseph’s mother, “Alvin manifested if such could be the case, greater zeal and anxiety in regard to the Record … than any of the rest of the family….” She went on to explain that he was so zealous about the plates that after he died, they couldn’t talk about them for a while because it would remind them of Alvin.
Alvin believed his little brother, as did the next-oldest sibling, Hyrum. Hyrum was one of the 8 witnesses privileged to see and handle the golden plates, and he was in step with Joseph from Palmyra all the way to Carthage, where he was murdered alongside Joseph. As Ronald Esplin noted, “From the beginning, he believed Joseph— and he believed in him.”
Joseph had 3 sisters: Sophronia, Katherine, and Lucy. They all believed their brother was telling the truth. A missionary visited the sisters in 1856 and afterward wrote in a private letter, “They testified that they knew that their brother Joseph was a prophet of God.” After Sophronia died, her obituary read that “She was ever ready to bear her testimony to the truth of the work….”
Katherine’s grandson remembered her saying that she had “hefted those plates [while covered] and found them very heavy like gold and also rippled her fingers up the edge of the plates and felt that they were separate metal plates and heard the tinkle of sound that they made.” A few years before her death, Katherine wrote, “I desire, before I pass away, to place my testimony on record. I have been a member of this church ever since its first organization … I can testify to the fact of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and also to its truth … while I can, I will bear my testimony to the truth of the latter-day work … I know that it is true.”
Joseph’s brother, William, recalled, “Knowing that [Joseph] was very young, that he had not enjoyed the advantages of a common education; and knowing too, his whole character and disposition, they [his family] were convinced that he was totally incapable of arising before his aged parents, his brothers and sisters, and so solemnly giving utterance to anything but the truth. All of us, therefore, believed him….”
On another occasion, he added, “All believed it was true, father, mother, brothers and sisters. You can tell what a child is. Parents know whether their children are truthful or not … Father knew his child was telling the truth.”
After Joseph brought the covered plates home for the first time, William remembered, “We handled them and could tell what they were. They were not quite as large as this Bible. Could tell whether they were round or square. Could raise the leaves this way (raising a few leaves of the Bible before him). One could easily tell that they were not stone, hewn out to deceive, or even a block of wood.”
Joseph’s brother, Samuel, was another one of the 8 Witnesses. He served six missions for the Church. His efforts actually led to the baptism of Brigham Young. Samuel gave Brigham’s brother, Phineas, his first Book of Mormon and told him, “I know the book to be a revelation from God, translated by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, and that my brother Joseph Smith, Jun., is a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator.” Tragically, Samuel got sick and died only about one month after Joseph and Hyrum were killed. Samuel believed his older brother, and he was all in.
Joseph’s youngest brother, Don Carlos, also served multiple missions and was heavily involved in the Church. He was baptized at the first conference of the Church in 1830. A guy named James Rollins remembered that the day after Don Carlos moved to Kirtland, he was so exhausted that he fell asleep in a church meeting. But, according to Rollins, “after several had spoken, he awoke and arose and bore as strong a testimony as I ever heard of the truth of the work.” Don Carlos died young, at 25 years old, in 1841. In life, he was also all in.
Joseph’s mother, Lucy Mack, was fiercely loyal to her son. On one occasion, the Smiths were unexpectedly visited by a debt collector in Coleville, New York. They could not fully pay the debt in cash, so Lucy offered her gold beads to make up the rest. The collector refused and gave them two options: Joseph Sr. could be arrested, or the whole debt could be forgiven if they would simply toss some copies of the Book of Mormon in the fireplace. Lucy replied, “Now, here, sir … because God has raised up my son to bring forth a book, which was writen [sic] for the salvation of the souls of men … you have come here to distress me by taking my husband to jail; and you think, by this, that you will compel us to deny the work of God and destroy a book which was writen by the gift and power of god. But sir, we shall not burn the Book of Mormon nor deny the inspiration of the Almighty.” Joseph Sr. (who was also one of the 8 Witnesses) was subsequently jailed for 30 days. While in jail, he shared the gospel with two other prisoners, who he later baptized.
Joseph’s whole family—the people who arguably knew him better than anyone else—fully believed throughout their entire lives that he was, in all reality, a prophet of God. Do with this information whatever makes the most sense to you. Personally, I see three options: Members of Joseph’s family either lied, were somehow tricked, or were simply telling the truth. Looking at their lives and experiences, I find the first two options profoundly hard to believe. I think they believed Joseph because Joseph was telling the truth. Check out this video while you’re here, and have a great day!
— Suggested reading:
- “United by Faith: The Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith Family,” edited by Kyle R. Walker
- “Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses,” by Richard Lloyd Anderson.
— Biography of Lucy Smith via the Joseph Smith Papers Project: http://bit.ly/41UCPLH
— Biography of Don Carlos Smith via the Joseph Smith Papers Project: https://bit.ly/3yGB5bL
— Biography of Katherine Smith via the Joseph Smith Papers Project: https://bit.ly/3Jrp400
— Biography of William Smith via the Joseph Smith Papers Project: https://bit.ly/3yGBMln
— Biography of Samuel Smith via the Joseph Smith Papers Project: https://bit.ly/3l1si0H
— Biography of Sophronia Smith via the Joseph Smith Papers Project: https://bit.ly/3Zx6EjU
— Biography of Alvin Smith via the Joseph Smith Papers Project: http://bit.ly/3ZQHwnT
— “Family of Joseph Smith Sr., and Lucy Mack Smith,” via the Church’s website: http://bit.ly/3SQ6EZO
— “What were Joseph Smith’s sisters like, and what happened to them after the martyrdom?” by Richard Lloyd Anderson, via the Church’s website: http://bit.ly/3YwHNLG
— “Joseph Smith’s Brothers: Nauvoo and After,” by Richard Lloyd Anderson, via the Church’s website: http://bit.ly/3F9ZE4t
— “Katharine Smith Salisbury Statements as a Witness” via Witnesses of the Book of Mormon: https://bit.ly/3IZxMRG
— “Samuel H. Smith: Faithful Brother to Joseph and Hyrum,” via the Church’s website: http://bit.ly/3L4T2b8
— Jan. 18, 1838 letter from Don Carlos Smith to George A. Smith: https://bit.ly/3YG34ms
— “Hefted and Handled: Tangible Interactions with Book of Mormon Objects,” by Anthony Sweat (BYU Studies): http://bit.ly/3lIfoQH
— “The Three Sisters of the Prophet Joseph Smith,” by Mary Salisbury Hancock, in The Saints’ Herald, January 1954 (in three parts): Part I: https://bit.ly/3FfINgr Part II: https://bit.ly/3mH3R9h Part III: https://bit.ly/3ZCdQvd