By Mark L. McConkie
Editor’s Note: For years, Mark L. McConkie has combed the Church archives looking for those who knew Joseph Smith and left their recollections of him to produce a hefty treasure of a book. At over 500 pages with an accompanying CD containing more material, McConkie brings many voices together to tell us in their own words who Joseph was. It is the most complete collection of reminiscences of Joseph ever compiled, a landmark book. If you could sit around a fireside with a crowd of people who had all known Joseph personally and feel warmed and enlightened by their stories, this would be the equivalent of enjoying this remarkable work of love and scholarship. Meridian is excerpting passages beginning today with some of the Introduction and comments from a section on The Character and Personality of the Prophet Joseph Smith. We give you only a taste of a much larger banquet.
Introduction
The world must deal with the question of Joseph Smith. Was he a prophet? Did he see the Father and the Son? Was he commissioned of God? Is his testimony true? Did he receive priesthood and keys from John the Baptist, from Peter, James, and John, and from Moses, Elias and Elijah? Has every truth and power held by the ancient prophets and necessary for salvation been restored in our day? Is the Book of Mormon a revelation from God? Is it scripture like unto the Bible?
The questions Joseph Smith raises, and which continue to press our spirits, are no less numbered and no less important than they were when Joseph was alive. The testimonies here assembled contain answers-answers provided chiefly by Joseph’s family, friends, and associates. Who better to assess Joseph Smith and his ministry and mission than those who knew him well? This volume contains the testimonies of those who knew his character: they sat at his table, dined in his hall, slept on his floor, worked in his fields at his side, walked thousands of miles in his company, rode horses, carriages and even trains with him as a companion; these are those who schooled with him, endured poverty and persecution with him,
built temples and cities at his side, raised children with his, and, with him, saw children born and loved ones die. They knew his wife and children. These are the testimonies of those who heard him teach and preach, who talked with him of things great and small, and who watched as he mingled and ministered. In this volume we have testimonies of those who laughed and cried with him, who felt the touch of his hand and the sound of his voice, who heard him pray, bless, admonish, correct and be corrected. These are the people who were present when he received revelations or when he prophesied-and sometimes to individuals, sometimes in groups, sometimes to the world, and sometimes to a dispensation. These are the people who saw him heal the sick, speak wisdom such as they had never heard, and speak in and interpret tongues. These are the people who, with him, saw visions, angels and more. These are the people who saw his faith turn farmers, carpenters and artisans into apostles and prophets who performed miracles and became teachers and preachers whose words have been quoted into our present generation, with the promise that they would be quoted a thousand years and more. These are the people who knew him well-as well as any mortal might know another. They knew him in every particular and in every detail. Who then is better qualified to answer the weighty questions about Joseph Smith, his mission and ministry?.
The sheer weight of these testimonies demands a hearing. Consider but one illustration: more than one hundred separate witnesses.were present on August 8, 1844, when Brigham Young was transfigured and assumed both the voice and appearance of Joseph Smith-and they so testify. It is a miracle which is biblical in proportion, with astounding evidential implications. Similarly,
hundreds and hundreds heard Joseph prophesy or exercise spiritual gifts; sensitive souls know that in honesty they must attend to that testimony and that conclusion. Even the doubter should be impelled to at least hope that the frequent and compelling testimony of these people is true, for it brings with is so much promise.
The Character and Personality of the Prophet Joseph Smith
Jane Richards
The first time I ever saw Joseph Smith I recognized him from a dream I had had. He had such angelic countenance as I never saw before. He was then thirty-seven years of age, of ordinary appearance in dress and manner, a child-like appearance of innocence. His hair was of a light brown, blue eyes, and light complexioned. His natural demeanor was quiet, his character and disposition was formed by his life work, he was kind and considerate, taking a personal interest in all his people, considering every one his equal. We were regular in our attendance at the meetings, and [I] was always anxious to hear Brother Joseph.
[Joseph Smith] was one of the most engaging personalities it has ever been my good fortune to meet. As Prophet he seemed to understand, and was able to foretell the mysteries of the future with a marked degree of accuracy, and nearly as much readiness as the ordinary individual could relate the happenings of the past. As Seer and Revelator he was fearless and outspoken, yet humble, never considering that he was more than the mouthpiece through whom God spoke. As the leader of his people he was ever active and progressive but always modest and considerate of them and their trying circumstances. Socially he was an ideal of affability and always approachable to the humblest of his acquaintances.
John W. Hess
In the autumn of 1838 my father lived in Ray County, Missouri, near the Richmond Landing. Joseph the Prophet, in company with his brothers Hyrum and William and eleven others whose names I do not remember, had been up to Caldwell County to lay out the city of Far West. When they got to the Missouri River on their return to Kirtland, they found that the boats did not run on regular time on account of the river being low, and as they were compelled to wait for a steamer, they came to my father’s house near the landing and stayed there thirteen days. Father was the only Mormon in that part of the country.
At that time Joseph was studying Greek and Latin, and when he got tired studying he would go and play with the children in their games about the house, to give himself exercise.
Then he would go back to his studies as before. I was a boy then about fourteen years old. . . .
I relate this to show the kindness and simplicity of his nature. I never saw another man like Joseph. There was something heavenly and angelic in his looks that I never witnessed in the countenance of any other person. During his short stay I became very much attached to him, and learned to love him more dearly than any other person I ever met, my father and mother not excepted.
The next time I saw the Prophet was at the Richmond courthouse, in chains, after the surrender of the city of Far West. I used to walk six miles every day to see him during his stay in Richmond Jail. Although a boy of about fourteen years, I became convinced beyond doubt that he was a prophet of God, and that testimony has never left me.
Edwin Holden
In 1838 Joseph and some of the young men were playing various outdoor games, among which was a game of ball. By and by they began to get weary. He saw it, and calling them together he said: “Let us build a log cabin.” So off they went, Joseph and the young men, to build a log cabin for a widow woman. Such was Joseph’s way, always assisting in whatever he could.Margaret Clawson
I have heard mother [Margaret Clawson] tell a little incident about the Prophet: Soon after we went to Nauvoo, she had occasion to do a little shopping, and on her way to the store, she passed the Mansion House. The Prophet was standing on the lawn conversing quite earnestly with several very elegant Gentile gentlemen. As she passed along, very naturally she looked at the Prophet. She knew him, but he did not know her. All at once he reached his arm over the fence, grasped her by the hand, and gave her a hearty shake. He did not hesitate in his conversation with the gentlemen but kept right on talking, and mother passed on. I need not say she was delighted. I am sure he divined what a noble-spirited woman she was.
William Taylor
My first acquaintance with the Prophet Joseph Smith began in this way. It was on my nineteenth birthday, he appeared at my father’s house in the woods, accompanied by my brother, John Taylor, [afterward President John Taylor,] S. Roundy, and J. D. Parker, about the middle of the night, September 2, 1842. How they ever found their way in the darkness is a mystery, for I, who was very familiar with the country, could not have come by so circuitous a route even in the daylight.
Late in the night the Prophet had gone to my brother John’s house in Nauvoo and said to him:
“I want you to go with me to your father’s.”
My brother said: “But I can’t go, Brother Joseph; I am sick in bed!”
The Prophet replied:
“I’ll come in and help you dress, and you’ll find no inconvenience from going out.”
So Brother John got up, dressed, and started out with him, and by the time they reached our home, none of us could tell that he had been the least sick.
So Brother John got up, dressed, and started out with him, and by the time they reached our home, none of us could tell that he had been the least sick.
The four stayed at our house a few days and then the Prophet sent the other three back to Nauvoo to see if anything was going wrong at that place. In a few days they returned. During their absence the Prophet and I spent most of our time during the day in the woods, near our house on the Henderson bottom, walking around, shooting squirrels sometimes, or doing anything we could to amuse ourselves. I was the Prophet’s only companion in these tramps through the woods, and I have often thought it strange, that though there were many people in that part of the country we never met anyone when we were out.
I do not remember exactly how long the Prophet remained at our home, but it seems to me it was about two weeks, but in this short period, owing to the nature of the circumstances surrounding us, I had more real close association with him than I would have had in a lifetime under different conditions. It is impossible for me to express my feelings in regard to this period of my life. I have never known the same joy and satisfaction in the companionship of any other person, man or woman, that I felt with him, the man who had conversed with the Almighty. He was always the most companionable and lovable of men-cheerful and jovial! Sometimes on our return home in the
evening after we had been tramping around in the woods, he would call out:
“Here, mother, come David and Jonathan.”
Much has been said of his geniality and personal magnetism. I was a witness of this-people, old or young, loved him and trusted him instinctively.
I said to him once:
“Brother Joseph, don’t you get frightened when all those hounding wolves are after you?”
And he answered:
“No, I am not afraid; the Lord said he would protect me, and I have full confidence in his word.”
I knew the danger, and whatever happened to him would happen to me, but I felt no more fear than I now feel. There was something superior to thoughts of personal safety.
Life or death was a matter of indifference to me while I was the companion of the Lord’s anointed!
He said to me often:
“I’ll never forsake you, William,” and I knew he wouldn’t.
Mary F. Adams
While [Joseph] was acting as mayor of the city, a colored man called Anthony was arrested for selling liquor on Sunday, contrary to law. He pleaded that the reason he had done so was that he might raise the money to purchase the freedom of a dear child held as a slave in a southern state. He had been able to purchase the liberty of himself and wife and now wished to bring his little child to their new home. Joseph said,
“I am sorry, Anthony, but the law must be observed, and we will have to impose a fine.”
The next day Brother Joseph presented Anthony with a fine horse, directing him to sell it, and use the money obtained for the purchase of the child.
Sister Adams says how well she remembers the feeling of sorrow that pervaded the city, when the two brothers were lying dead in the Mansion House. She, with the rest of the children, were not permitted to go in the streets owing to the crowd of people who thronged the city, coming and going by steamboat and carriages, and all with grieving hearts for the departed loved ones (1906; see also Walker, 1943, pp. 8-9, for a similar account of these events).
Celia A. Keys
One time shortly after they moved to Brush Creek, Celia was working in her garden. She looked up; there were several Indians coming toward their little sod house. She hurried to the house-for she had a small baby in the cradle. The Indians came in without knocking. They kept saying, “Beeskit! Beeskit!” meaning bread. Celia had very little bread, but when she refused, the leader of the group menaced the baby with a knife. For a minute she thought she would throw a kettle of hot water. Then she remembered:
Several years before when she was a little child in Nauvoo, she was alone on the street. A large group of Indians rode down the street yelling. She was crying with fright when the Prophet Joseph Smith picked her up and set her before him on his large white horse. He told her not to be afraid of the Indians. He said, “I promise you that if you will never harm the Indians, they will never harm you, nor any of your descendants.”
Celia gave them the bread she had, and they left in peace.
Andrew Workman
A few days after this I was at Joseph’s house; he was there, and several men were sitting on the fence. Joseph came out and spoke to us all. Pretty soon a man came up and said that a poor brother who lived out some distance from town had had his house burned down the night before. Nearly all of the men said they felt sorry for the man. Joseph put his hand in his pocket, took out five dollars, and said, “I feel sorry for this brother to the amount of five dollars; how much do you feel sorry?”
Wandle Mace
Such was Joseph the great prophet of the last days as he often joined us on the temple grounds, when we were sure of a rare treat if we could get him to talk to us. Someone present being in a hurry to hear him would say, “Brother Joseph talk to us.” He would say, “What do you want me to talk about, start something.” Soon a conversation would bring out some question for Joseph to answer, and then I could lean back and listen. Ah, what pleasure this gave me; he would unravel the scriptures and explain doctrine as no other man could. What had been mystery he made so plain it was no longer mystery.
Sarah M. Pomeroy
My father, Thomas Colborn, a member of Zion’s Camp and well acquainted with the Prophet Joseph, moved from the state of New York to Nauvoo with his family in the spring of 1843. I was then in my ninth year. Upon arriving there, we camped down by the river in a little log cabin, near the Hilbert stone house. The day after our arrival, I was out in the yard when a gentleman rode up and inquired for Thomas Colborn. Of course I did not know who it was, but there was something so noble and dignified in his appearance that it struck me forcibly.
My father soon came out and shook him cordially by the hand, and called him Brother Joseph. I knew then it was the Prophet. Father invited him in and he alighted and followed him into the house. He soon told his errand.
It was quite an exciting time just then. The Prophet had been falsely accused of an attempt to murder Governor Boggs of Missouri. The mobbers had tried every means to take him, and had made their boast that if they got him, he never should return alive. Porter Rockwell, a firm friend of Joseph’s, had been kidnapped and taken to Missouri as an accomplice, and was about to have his trial, but money was scarce wherewith to pay the lawyers’ fees. Joseph requested my father to lend him $100.00 to pay the lawyer who defended Porter Rockwell. He explained the situation, and father freely counted out the money. “This shall be returned within three days, if I am alive,” said the Prophet, and departed.
My aunt, father’s sister, who was camped with us, was quite wrathy, and called my father very foolish and unwise.
“Don’t you know, Thomas,” said she, “you will never see a cent of that money again. Here are your family without a home, and you throw your money away.”
“Don’t worry, Katie,” father replied, “if he cannot pay it, he is welcome to it.”
This conversation was held before us children, and I thought seriously about it. Would he pay it, or would he not? But I had strong faith that he would.
The day came when it was to be paid. A cold, wet, rainy day. The day passed. Night came; 9 o’clock, 10 o’clock, and we all retired for the night. Shortly after there was a knock at the door. Father arose and went to it, and there in the driving rain stood the Prophet Joseph.
“Here, Brother Thomas, is the money.” A light was struck, and seated at the table, he counted out the $100.00 in gold.
He said, “Brother Thomas, I have been trying all day to raise this sum, for my honor was at stake. God bless you.”
My aunt had nothing to say. She afterwards left the Church.
My testimony is that Joseph Smith was truly a prophet of God. This incident I have related strengthened my testimony.
George A. Smith
Cousin Joseph [Smith] came to see me. I told him I was almost discouraged, being afraid that my joints would be drawn out. He told me I should never get discouraged, whatever difficulties might surround me. If I were sunk into the lowest pit of Nova Scotia and all the Rocky Mountains piled on top of me I ought not to be discouraged, but hang on, exercise faith, and keep up good courage, and I should come out on top of the heap.
Remembering Joseph
Personal Recollections of Those Who Knew the Prophet Joseph Smith
Deseret Book
529 pages
Copyright Deseret Book. Published with permission.
2004 Meridian Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
