How Can We Know What to Believe about Joseph Smith’s Personal Character?

In his first interview with the angel Moroni, Joseph Smith was told that his “name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people” (Joseph Smith—History 1:33). Joseph, who was only 17 years old at the time, must surely have been startled by such a revelation.¹ What about his life would simultaneously evoke such devotion and derision? Moreover, how can honest seekers of the truth know what to really believe about his personal character in the face of these competing perspectives?

Through the efforts of The Joseph Smith Papers project, numerous historical documents pertaining to the prophet’s life and ministry have recently been made available to the general public.² Now, more than ever before, Joseph Smith’s life is on full display before the world.

In his own statements, Joseph acknowledged that he was not a perfect man. In response to allegations of misconduct, he confessed that as a youth he “fell into many foolish errors … [and] diverse temptations.”³ However, he clarified that these were not “great or malignant sins”⁴ but rather that he had “a light, and too often, vain mind, exhibiting a foolish and trifling conversation.”⁵ On one occasion, Joseph explained, “Although I do wrong, I do not the wrongs that I am charged with doing.”⁶

Joseph’s Christian piety and moral character can be demonstrated through a number of personal documents. In an 1832 letter to his wife Emma, Joseph reported that “the Lord assisting me, I have visited a grove … almost every day … to give vent to all the feelings of my heart in meditation and prayer.”⁷ Writing from a hotel room in New York City several months later, Joseph mentioned that rather than sightseeing, he preferred “reading and praying and holding communion with the Holy Spirit.”⁸ After surveying these and other personal documents, historian Richard Anderson explained, “The early Joseph is above all the Joseph of faith, of great humility, and of constant prayer.”⁹

Reports from those who knew Joseph Smith intimately help confirm the evidence of his moral uprightness from his private documents. For instance, Joseph’s brother William remembered how their family responded after Joseph told them about his visit from the angel Moroni.

The whole family were melted to tears, and believed all he said. Knowing that he was very young, that he had not enjoyed the advantages of a common education; and knowing too, his whole character and disposition, they were convinced that he was totally incapable of arising before his aged parents, his brothers and sisters, and so solemnly giving utterance to anything but the truth. All of us, therefore, believed him.¹⁰

Anderson explained, “Two parents, five brothers, and three sisters of the Prophet Joseph Smith were living at the time of the coming of Moroni, and each became a devout believer in the reality of the revelations. They comprise a virtual jury qualified to evaluate the consistency of Joseph’s early story and his personal believability in telling it. Without dissent, these eleven gave total acceptance.”¹¹ Dozens of other testimonials come from those who witnessed the prophet’s integrity and goodness throughout the remainder of his life.¹²

Another mark of Joseph Smith’s sincere and noble character was his willingness to suffer persecution and even death for his beliefs and for those he loved. In a British newspaper, a non-LDS columnist remarked in 1851 that Joseph Smith

lived for fourteen years amid vindictive enemies, who never missed an opportunity to vilify, to harass, and to destroy him; and he died at last an untimely and miserable death, involving in his fate a brother to whom he was tenderly attached. If anything can tend to encourage the supposition that Joseph Smith was a sincere enthusiast … it is the notability that unless supported by such feelings [of sincere belief], he would have renounced the unprofitable and ungrateful task, and sought refuge from persecution and misery in private life and honorable industry.¹³

Finally, there are revelations from the Lord Himself that confirm Joseph Smith was divinely chosen as a prophet and that he remained the Lord’s servant until the end of his life. In 1841, the Lord stated, “Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant Joseph Smith, I am well pleased with your offering and acknowledgments, which you have made; for unto this end have I raised you up, that I might show forth my wisdom through the weak things of the earth. Your prayers are acceptable before me.”¹⁴

And in 1843, the Lord declared, “I say unto you, my servant Joseph … I seal upon you your exaltation, and prepare a throne for you in the kingdom of my Father, with Abraham your father. Behold, I have seen your sacrifices, and will forgive all your sins.”¹⁵