Who Was Joseph Smith?
A careful examination of the man who founded the Latter-day Saint movement, his claims, his character, and his criminal record.
From Glass-Looker to Prophet
Joseph Smith was born in Sharon, Vermont, in 1805. His family moved to the Palmyra area of New York in 1817. As a young man, Smith became involved in the folk magic practice of "glass-looking" or treasure-seeking, using what he called a "seer stone" placed inside a hat to claim he could locate buried treasure underground.
In 1826, at age 20, Smith was brought before a court in Bainbridge, New York, on the charge of being a "disorderly person" for charging money to look for hidden treasure with his stone. Court testimony from the trial records Smith himself admitting he had a stone he looked at to find lost items and buried treasure, though he said he had "pretty much given it up" because it was injuring his eyes.
This same method of placing a stone in a hat and looking into it is what Smith later described as the method by which he "translated" the Book of Mormon, a detail that the LDS Church has only recently acknowledged after decades of portraying the translation as Smith reading directly from gold plates with special spectacles.
Smith claimed that in 1820 he had a vision in which God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and told him that all existing churches were wrong. In 1823, he claimed an angel named Moroni directed him to buried golden plates, which he said he retrieved in 1827 and translated into the Book of Mormon, published in 1830.
A Theology That Evolved Over Time
One of the most significant problems with Smith's prophetic claims is that his theology did not remain consistent. His earliest writings, including the Book of Mormon (1830) and early revelations, reflected a broadly monotheistic and trinitarian view of God. The Book of Mormon declares God is "unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity" (Moroni 8:18), that He is "the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Mormon 9:9), and that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are "one God" (2 Nephi 31:21).
Yet by 1844, Smith was publicly teaching a radically different theology. In his King Follett Discourse, delivered just months before his death, he declared:
Smith openly acknowledged this contradicted what his followers had previously believed: "We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see."
This is an extraordinary admission. The Book of Mormon, which Smith published in 1830, taught that God was unchangeable from all eternity. Fourteen years later, Smith stood before his congregation and "refuted" that very idea, teaching instead that God had once been a mortal man.
“For I am the LORD, I change not.” (Malachi 3:6)“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” (Psalm 90:2)Encounters with the Law
The LDS Church presents Joseph Smith as a persecuted prophet who suffered unjustly at the hands of his enemies. While religious persecution is a real phenomenon in history, the full legal record tells a more complex story. Smith was involved in approximately twenty-one documented criminal cases across four states between 1826 and 1844, involving charges ranging from disorderly conduct to assault, conspiracy to murder, adultery, and treason.
Charged as a "Disorderly Person"
Smith was brought to court for glass-looking, the practice of charging money to use a seer stone to find buried treasure. Court testimony, including Smith's own admissions, described his use of a stone to look for hidden things underground.
Charged Again as a "Disorderly Person"
After publishing the Book of Mormon, Smith was again charged under New York's statute for "pretending to tell fortunes, or where lost or stolen items may be found." He was acquitted after two trials.
Assault Charges and Conspiracy Allegations
Smith was charged with assaulting his brother-in-law Calvin Stoddard, knocking him down and striking him repeatedly. A separate incident involved Smith assaulting a visiting minister. In 1837, he was charged with conspiracy to murder Grandison Newell, with witnesses testifying that Smith said Newell "should be put out of the way" and that "it was the will of God." The murder charge was ultimately dismissed.
Armed Confrontation and Treason
Smith led an armed group of over a hundred men to surround the home of Justice of the Peace Adam Black. After the 1838 Mormon War, Smith was charged with treason against Missouri, jailed in Liberty Jail, and later escaped custody while being transferred to another county.
Conspiracy in the Boggs Assassination Attempt
Smith and Porter Rockwell were charged in connection with the attempted assassination of former Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs. Smith went into hiding for months before surrendering. The case was ultimately dismissed.
Multiple Assault Charges
Smith was charged with assaulting county tax assessor Walter Bagby, grabbing him by the throat and striking him. He was found guilty and fined. In a separate incident, Smith was charged with beating a Warsaw resident with a cane.
Indicted for Adultery and Perjury
A grand jury indicted Smith for adultery and fornication with Maria Lawrence, related to his secret practice of polygamy. A separate indictment was issued for perjury.
Destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor and Final Charges
As mayor, Smith ordered the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor newspaper and its press after it published criticisms of his leadership and the practice of plural marriage. He was charged with inciting a riot. After declaring martial law and mobilizing a militia of approximately 5,000 men, he was additionally charged with treason against Illinois. Unable to post bail on the treason charge, Smith was held in Carthage Jail, where he was killed by a mob on June 27, 1844.