The Early History of Joseph Smith

by Robert Rosskopf

Joseph Smith was a farm boy with a 3rd grade education who was raised to believe in Christ and study the scriptures. He came to a point in his life where he wanted to know which of all the churches was true; that he might know which he should join. After attending the various churches, and listening to their varied viewpoints, he realized that he could never figure it out on his own; so he decided ask God.
He hiked to a secluded spot in a nearby grove of trees, knelt down, and for the first time, prayed to God. He was immediately attacked by some unseen being who exerted such tremendous influence that he could no longer pray out loud. Praying silently, yet with all of his might, he was eventually released from the power of this adversary when a pillar of light appeared directly over his head. In the light appeared two glorious personages; one of them pointed to the other and said, "This is my beloved son; hear him."
Joseph learned that the creeds of the various churches were abominations and that the doctors of religion were corrupt. He was commanded to join none of various churches. When Joseph shared his experience with others, they told him it was of the devil, and ridiculed him.
Several years later Joseph was praying in his room, when an angel appeared to him. The angel introduced himself as Moroni, and told Joseph about a book that was buried in a hill near his farm. He told Joseph that he would be allowed to retrieve the book, if he remained faithful, and translate it into English with the gift and power of God. He was also told that his name would be had for good and evil among all men.
After meeting with the angel every year for four years, Joseph was allowed to remove the book and translate it into English. After the translation was complete, he was allowed to show the book to three witnesses; David Whitmer, Martin Harris and Oliver Cowdery saw the book written on gold plates, and the angel Moroni, and heard the voice of God proclaim the translation to be correct. Later others were also allowed to see it and thumb through its pages. Their testimonies can be found in the preface to the Book of Mormon.
Persecution heated up as Joseph Smith and many others testified to the divinity of the work. On one occasion, after Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery had been traveling all night to escape the designs of a mob of men, they encountered three resurrected beings who indentified themselves as Peter, James, and John - apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter, James and John ordained Joseph and Oliver to the Melchizedek Priesthood. This priesthood is the same priesthood that Christ and his apostles shared. With this authority, Joseph Smith proceeded to establish the church of Jesus Christ upon the earth. Despite severe persecution (and maybe partly because of it), the church quickly grew from the first six members to thousands of members, creating quite a stir in the United States and England. Whole congregations sometimes accepted the Book of Mormon and joined the fledgling church.