Joseph Smith, Sr. (1771–1840) was the father of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Joseph Sr. was also one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's Golden Plates and was the first Presiding Patriarch of the early Latter Day Saint church.

Early Life

Joseph Smith, Sr. July 12, 1771 in Topsfield, Massachusetts to Asael Smith and Mary Duty . He married Lucy Mack in Tunbridge, Vermont on January 24, 1795, and had eleven children with her.

Smith tried his hands at several professions, including farmer, teacher, shop-keeper, cooper, and "money-digger" — none of which proved very successful. He moved his family to Palmyra, New York in 1816 and began to make payments on a farm located on the edge of neighboring Manchester Township. Work on a frame house at the farm was halted by the unexpected death of Smith's eldest son, Alvin in 1823. Smith subsequently failed to make payments on the farm. Lemuel Durfee purchased it as a favor to the family and allowed the Smiths to continue there as renters through 1830.

The Coming of the Book of Mormon

In the late 1820s, Smith's son, Joseph Jr., began to tell the family about Golden Plates, which he said contained a record of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas. In September of 1827, Joseph Jr. obtained the plates, which Joseph Sr. testified he felt and lifted while wrapped in cloth. In the next years Joseph Jr. claimed to translate the plates into English through the medium of divine inspiration. When the work was near completion, at the end of June 1829, Joseph Sr., and seven other men signed a joint statement, testifying that they had both lifted the plates and seen the engravings on the plates. Known as the "Testimony of the Eight Witnesses," this statement was published with the first edition of the Book of Mormon and has been a part of nearly all subsequent editions.

Joseph Smith Sr. was baptised as one of six founding members, when the Church of Christ (as the Latter Day Saint church was first known) was organized on April 6, 1830. When Joseph Jr. saw Joseph Sr. come up out of the water, he is reported to have cried, "Oh, my God! Have I lived to see my own father baptised into the true church of Jesus Christ!"

Presiding Patriarch

In January 1831, Joseph Smith Sr. and his family moved to the church's new headquarters in Kirtland, Ohio. He was ordained to be the church's first Presiding Patriarch on December 18, 1833. This high leadership office in the church was equated with Biblical Patriarchs from Adam to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. According to his ordination, he was given "keys of the patriarchal priesthood over the kingdom of God on earth, even the Church of the Latter Day Saints" (as the church had come to be known). As part of his new role, Joseph Smith Sr. presided in council meetings, ordained other patriarchs and administered Patriarchal Blessings. On December 6, 1834, Smith was also made an Assistant President of the church.

Far West and Nauvoo

Smith moved with his family to Far West, Missouri in 1838 and from there to the church's new heaquarters at Nauvoo, Illinois in 1839. Old age and illnesses had taken their toll and by the end of summer 1840, Smith realized he was dying. He called his family around him, administered patriarchal blessings, and then ordained his eldest surviving son, Hyrum to succeed to the office of Presiding Patriarch by right of lineage.

Joseph Smith, Sr. died on September 14, 1840, continuing to affirm his testimony in the Book of Mormon.

External links

• Grandpa Bill's General Authority Pages -- Joseph Smith, Sr.

References

• Irene M. Bates and E. Gary Smith, Lost Legacy: The Mormon Office of Presiding Patriarch, Urbana, Illinois, 1996.
• Lavina Fielding Anderson (ed.), Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, Salt Lake City, 2001.