On June 27, 1844, at about 5 o'clock in the afternoon, Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were assassinated by enemies of the Church in the county jail at Carthage, Illinois. John Taylor, severely wounded at the same time, later called the Smith brothers "martyrs of religion" and declared that the Restoration of the gospel had "cost the best blood of the nineteenth century." These faithful souls personified the Savior's teaching: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
"God is my friend," wrote Joseph Smith to his wife in 1832. "In him I shall find comfort. I have given my life into his hands. I am prepared to go at his call. I desire to be with Christ. I count not my life dear to me, only to do his will." Days before his death in 1844, the Prophet reiterated: "I am ready to be offered a sacrifice for this people."
Leaving Nauvoo for Carthage, Joseph said, "I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men." The Prophet humbly acknowledged, "I am a lover of the cause of Christ." (
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Joseph Smith Jr. was born December 23, 1805, the fifth of eleven children of Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith. "I was born . . . of goodly parents," said Joseph, "who spared no pains to instruct me in the Christian religion." His parents stressed personal religion and encouraged Joseph to seek his "soul's salvation" in Jesus Christ.
Joseph Smith's parents loved the Lord. Lucy eventually joined one of the local churches, but continued to search for something more. "I therefore determined," said Lucy, "to examine my Bible, and, taking Jesus and his disciples for my guide, to endeavor to obtain from God which man could neither give nor take away."
Joseph's father, Joseph Smith Sr., found peace in Bible study and seeking God in prayer. Under his leadership, the family met morning and evening for prayer, hymns, and scripture reading. At times Joseph Sr. taught his children "in his own home school and used the Bible as a text."
The devotion to God that Joseph saw in his parents strengthened his confidence and faith to seek divine truth. (
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Joseph Smith, a youth of 14, saw God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ in a personal visitation in the spring of 1820. Through him, until his Martyrdom at Carthage Jail in 1844, came the unfolding of the "greatest gospel dispensation of all time." The Lord described the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and His Church as "a marvelous work among the children of men."
Joseph Smith—as prophet, teacher, and beloved leader of the Saints—was the prophet of the Restoration. His ministry was filled with events that molded him into a prophet. Through his ministry, what was then a small band of believers in 1830, has become a worldwide Church today. He accomplished his work without the advantages of schooling, property, or family prominence. The cause of Christ he championed has never taken a step backward. (
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When he first visited Joseph Smith, the angel Moroni told him that his "name should be had for good and evil among all nations." Years later the Lord encouraged Joseph: "Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days."
Few have confronted more antagonism and trials than did Joseph Smith. He was besieged with dozens of unjustified lawsuits and was often in jeopardy of his life. He was poisoned, beaten, tarred, unjustly imprisoned, and once sentenced to die by firing squad. He and Emma seldom had a home of their own, and six of their children died in infancy. Financial difficulties continually plagued the family.
"As for the perils which I am called to pass through," Joseph reflected, "they seem but a small thing to me, as the envy and wrath of man have been my common lot all the days of my life. It all has become a second nature to me; and I feel, like Paul, to glory in tribulation; for to this day has the God of my fathers delivered me out of them all." (
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