Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

About the Author

Joseph Smith, Jr., was the fourth of nine children in a family of modest means. His father and mother, Joseph and Lucy Smith, moved their family from Sharon, Vermont, only a few years after his birth. They subsequently moved several times before finally settling in Palmyra, New York, in 1816. In Palmyra, Smith’s mother joined a local Presbyterian congregation, but his father remained unaffiliated with any denomination or sect, choosing instead to test them all for any signs of what he considered to be religious truth. As such, Smith was introduced to numerous theological systems and religious practices but felt no firm obligation to any of them. This openness was further compounded by the family hobby of fortune hunting. Smith took several trips with his family and then with a group of friends to find buried treasure in the hills surrounding their farm in the hope of discovering the hidden secrets of America’s mythic past.

In the early 1820s, Smith reported that his religious searching had come to an end. He had been chosen by God to be both a prophet and priest of the true religion. This calling involved the miraculous translation of the Book of Mormon and the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ on earth. This new movement was later renamed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because Smith was convinced that the earth was in its final stage before its destruction and ultimate judgment by God. Under Smith’s direction, the LDS church attempted to restore both the early Christian church and numerous practices and concepts of ancient Israel.

Smith chose to move his followers several times after they faced persecution from the local populace. He was once even tarred and feathered while being dragged out of his home. Smith’s teachings and actions often fueled the growing anti-Mormon sentiment; he intentionally presented himself and his movement as diametrically opposed to the cultural, political, and religious status quo. Consequently, controversy and even violence followed Smith and his followers to Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. This violent opposition eventually culminated in the murder of Smith and his brother, Hyrum, by an angry mob in Carthage, Illinois. The brothers were dragged from their jail cell—where they had been arrested for shutting down and then destroying a local printer that had been critical of the Mormons—and subsequently killed in cold blood. Although the tragic death of their founder and leader devastated the Mormon community, they saw his death in the same way that they had imagined their entire history of persecution: a sign that they were indeed being faithful to the true message of Jesus Christ.