Joseph Smith

Joseph Smith (1805–1844) was an American religious leader who founded the Latter Day Saint movement and published the Book of Mormon in 1830.

First Vision: Joseph Smith’s reported 1820 vision of God and Jesus Christ near his family’s home in New York. Smith described this vision as the beginning of his prophetic calling.
Doctrine and Covenants: A Latter Day Saint scripture containing revelations and other texts, many attributed to Joseph Smith. It preserves revelations Smith used to direct church organization and practice.
Emma Smith: Joseph Smith’s wife, a leader in the early Latter Day Saint community and a founding figure of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She supported Smith’s work while later rejecting the succession claims of Brigham Young.
Nauvoo, Illinois: An Illinois city that became the Latter Day Saints’ principal settlement under Joseph Smith in the early 1840s. Smith made Nauvoo a political and religious center before his death there.
Book of Mormon historicity: The debate over whether the Book of Mormon describes historical peoples and events in the ancient Americas. Competing accounts of the text’s origins divide religious belief and historical criticism of Smith.
Book of Mormon: A scripture published by Joseph Smith in 1830, presented as a record of ancient peoples in the Americas. Its publication established the movement’s distinctive scriptural foundation.
Pearl of Great Price: A Latter Day Saint scripture collection that includes texts attributed to Joseph Smith, including the Book of Abraham. Its contents show how Smith’s scriptural work extended beyond the Book of Mormon.
Oliver Cowdery: An early Latter Day Saint leader who served as Joseph Smith’s scribe during the production of the Book of Mormon. Cowdery’s role connects Smith’s translation account to a key early witness.
Nauvoo Expositor: A short-lived newspaper whose 1844 criticism of Joseph Smith led Nauvoo’s city council to order its press destroyed. The destruction of its press triggered the legal crisis preceding Smith’s death.
Book of Mormon witnesses: People who signed statements affirming that they saw or handled the plates associated with the Book of Mormon. Their testimony is central evidence in debates over Smith’s account of the book’s production.

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