A Young Man’s Search for Answers

THE morning sun shone brightly, filtering down through the trees to a boy kneeling in fervent prayer. Fourteen-​year-​old Joseph was confused by the religious tumult of his time. Traditional churches were racked with division. New sects were everywhere. Which group should he join? On bended knee he asked: “Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?”

Thus Joseph Smith described his early spiritual crisis. Little wonder he was confused. This was rural northeastern America in the early 19th century, a region ablaze with religious fervor.a Hope was sorely needed. Many farmers struggled with a life as hard as the rocky soil they plowed. Yearning for something better, they were tantalized by tales of buried Indian treasure. So they combed the hills, armed with magic seer stones, incantations, and divining rods. Local legends told of a great Indian civilization that perished in a terrible battle somewhere in New York State.

Popular preachers of the day fanned the fires of speculation, saying that the American Indians were descended from the lost ten tribes of Israel. In 1823, for example, Ethan Smith wrote the book View of the Hebrews; or the Tribes of Israel in America.

Golden Plates and a Prophet

Raised in this fertile climate of folklore and religious ardor was young Joseph Smith. His family too was caught up in the excitement. Joseph’s mother wrote of their experiencing healings, miracles, and visions. But when she and some of the children joined a church, Joseph refused to follow. Later, in his life story, he wrote of his prayer for help and the answer he received.

Joseph told of a vision in which God forbade him to join any of the sects because they were all in error. Then, one autumn day in 1823, the 17-​year-​old Smith told his family that an angel named Moroni had shown him a set of ancient golden plates. Four years later he claimed he was given the plates and the exclusive divine power to translate them, which required using a special stone called “a seer stone” and a pair of magic silver spectacles​—two smooth three-​cornered diamonds set in glass. It meant instant death for others to see the plates at that time, Smith warned.

Smith, who could read but not write well, dictated the “translation” of the plates to several scribes. Sitting behind a curtain, he related a story said to be compiled by a Hebrew man named Mormon. The plates were inscribed in “reformed Egyptian” writing, Smith explained, which was more compact than Hebrew. Mormon and his son Moroni were described as being among the last survivors of a people called the Nephite nation, fair-​skinned descendants of Hebrews said to have migrated to America about 600 B.C.E. to escape Jerusalem’s destruction.

The account relates that Jesus had appeared to this nation in America after his death and resurrection and had chosen 12 Nephite apostles. The Lamanites, a people also of Hebrew descent, were rebellious and warlike and so were cursed by God with dark skin. Mormon’s account principally chronicled the ongoing battles between these two nations. The Nephites grew wicked and eventually were annihilated by the Lamanites, who were ancestors of the American Indians.

According to Smith, Mormon’s son, now the spirit Moroni, had given him the record on golden plates and the commission leading to the restoration of Christ’s church. Smith soon had a following. A prosperous believer financed the publishing of Smith’s manuscript called The Book of Mormon. It appeared in print in the spring of 1830. Two weeks later, Joseph Smith announced his official title: “Seer, a Translator, a Prophet, an Apostle of Jesus Christ.” On April 6, 1830, the Mormon Church, or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-​day Saints, was born.b

Smith had a commanding presence that won the devotion of many converts. But his unconventional religion also made enemies. The fledgling church was hounded; its members fled from New York to Ohio and then to Missouri in search of its New Jerusalem. As prophet, Smith uttered revelation after revelation, pronouncing God’s will on matters ranging from financial donations to a divine mandate to take multiple wives. This latter revelation particularly spawned much persecution. Faced with suspicion and antagonism at every turn, the Mormons took up arms to defend themselves.

The intrigue and turmoil that marked the early years of Joseph Smith’s life never abated. Frontier towns, inundated with influxes of Smith’s followers, put up stiff resistance. They had use neither for another sacred book nor for a self-​proclaimed prophet. Then, in 1839, to the dismay of the local populace, the Mormons established a thriving colony, with its own mills, factory, university, and militia, in Nauvoo, Illinois. When hostilities erupted, Smith was arrested and jailed in Carthage, Illinois. There, on June 27, 1844, a mob raided the jail and shot and killed him.

The Church Survives Its Prophet

The story by no means ends with Joseph Smith’s death. Brigham Young, president of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, quickly assumed command and led many believers on a perilous journey to the Great Salt Lake valley in Utah, where the Mormon headquarters are to this day.c

The church founded by Joseph Smith continues to attract converts, with, according to LDS sources, some nine million members worldwide. It has spread far beyond its cradle in New York State to places as diverse as Italy, the Philippines, Uruguay, and Zaire. Despite continued antagonism, the remarkable Mormon Church has prospered. Is it, indeed, the restoration of true Christianity for which men of faith have waited?

[Footnotes]

[Picture Credit Line on page 17]

Photo: Courtesy Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-​Day Saints/​Dictionary of American Portraits/​Dover