The Life of Joseph F. Smith 1838-1918
THE WORLD OF JOSEPH F. SMITH 1838 Joseph F. Smith born. Cherokee Trail of Tears. 1841 William Henry Harrison elected President, but dies after 31 days as President and was followed by John Tyler. 1845 James Polk elected President 1848 Gold discovered in California. French Revolution. 1849 Zachary Taylor elected President, but later died of heat stroke. Millard Fillmore finished his term. 1850 Brigham Young appointed governor of Utah Territory. 1853 Franklin Pierce elected President. 1857 James Buchanan elected President. 1861 Abraham Lincoln elected President and issues Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 to free the slaves. 1865 Abraham Lincoln assassinated and Andrew Johnson finishes his term. 1869 Ulysses S. Grant elected President. Union Pacific Railroad meets Central Pacific Railroad in Utah. 1876 Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone. 1877 Rutherford Hayes elected President. 1879 Thomas Edison invents the light bulb. 1881 James Garfield elected President, but is assassinated after serving six months, and Chester Arthur becomes President. 1885 Grover Cleveland elected President and reelected in 1893. 1889 Benjamin Harrison elected President. 1897 William McKinley elected President. He was assassinated in 1901 and succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt. 1909 William Taft elected President. 1913 Woodrow Wilson elected President. 1914 World War I begins. U.S. joins the war in 1917. 1916 Einstein s proposes his Theory of Relativity. 1918 Joseph F. Smith dies.
A SAD BEGINNING It was a cold December day in 1838. Mary Fielding Smith lay sick in her bed in Far West, Missouri. Her husband Hyrum and his brother, the Prophet Joseph, had been arrested and taken to jail. The man who arrested them told Mary she would never see her husband again. Heartsick at the thought of losing Hyrum, she tried to rest and prepare for the birth of her first child. A few days later, her baby boy was born. But Mary was too sick to even nurse the little boy. Mary s sister Mercy took care of the child and worried about her sister. Mercy worried about the mobs, too. Many of the Saints homes had been broken into by the mobs. Men with guns broke into houses claiming that they needed to search for guns. Mostly they just stole things from the Saints, broke furniture, and sometimes harmed the Saints. Suddenly, the door of the little house burst open. The men with guns stood there. They forced everyone but the baby into one area of the house. Then they broke into Mary s trunk, overturned the beds, and threw heavy quilts on top of the baby. When the mob departed, Mercy and Mary hurried to find the baby. They pulled the heavy quilts and bedding off, only to find him blue and nearly suffocated! But, he lived, and grew up to become Joseph F. Smith, sixth President of the Church. How do you think Mary and Mercy felt when the mobs broke into their house? sad scared confused cheerful lonely gbjuigvm!!!! depressed angry terrified happy grateful Mary did see her husband, Hyrum again. After some months recovering, she went to visit him in Liberty Jail. It was the first time Hyrum had seen little Joseph. Mary was still not well, and had come to the jail in a bed in the back of a wagon. But, soon she recovered. Mercy continued to help her care for Joseph, and for Hyrum s five older children. After Hyrum was released from jail, the Smith family moved to Nauvoo, Illinois.
LOSING A FATHER Little Joseph grew. He was not very big and was always pale because there was never enough food to eat. Still, he was a good boy and his parents loved him. He loved hearing his father sing hymns to him as they worked together. When Joseph was six years old, his father lifted him up, hugged him goodbye and kissed him. It was the last time little Joseph would ever see Hyrum. Hyrum and the Prophet Joseph Smith were killed a few days later in Carthage Jail in Illinois. Now Joseph would have to grow up without a father. Life was difficult for Mary Fielding Smith and her children. They were forced to leave their home in Nauvoo in 1846 with the other Saints who were driven out by the mobs. Joseph wasn t quite eight years old, and yet he was given the responsibility of driving one of the teams of oxen to Winter Quarters, Nebraska where the Saints were staying for the winter. There the family stayed until the spring of 1848. They had been too poor to afford enough oxen to cross the plains to the Salt Lake Valley the summer before. Now Mary Fielding Smith was determined to make the journey. Even though she didn t have a husband to do any of the hard labor and work along the trail, she had Joseph, and Hyrum s older children. They would all work together to reach the Valley. Salt Lake Valley where the pioneers settled. Winter Quarters, Nebraska where Joseph moved as a seven-year-old boy. Nauvoo, Illinois where Joseph lived as a child. Far West, Missouri where Joseph was born.
DANGER ON THE TRAIL Unscramble the words below to find out what dangers young Joseph F. Smith and his family had to face on the trail West. siniand ksicsnes dheta tho uns sanesk olst ttleca When Joseph was eight and living in Winter Quarters, he and another boy were given the job of watching the cattle out on the prairie. While the boys were watching the cattle graze, some Indians rode up. They were going to steal the cattle! Joseph s friend ran to get help, but Joseph got on his horse and rode towards the cattle. He knew that if he could scatter the cattle, the Indians wouldn t be able to catch them. The Saints needed those cattle for their trip to the Salt Lake Valley. Joseph was scared when he saw two Indians ride up on either side of him. Each of them grabbed one of Joseph s arms, lifted him off of his horse and threw him to the ground! Then they took off with his horse. Meanwhile the other boy had brought help. Men rode into the field and chased the Indians away. The cattle were saved, but poor Joseph lost his horse! Draw a picture of little Joseph and the Indians below.
A MOTHER S FAITH Joseph loved his mother. She was a good example of faith and devotion to God. She trusted the Lord to guide her family and protect them through the long journey to the Salt Lake Valley. Along the journey, one of the oxen fell sick. If the oxen died, there would be no way to complete the journey. There were no spare oxen. Mary asked her brother Joseph Fielding and Brother James Lawson to please give the ox a blessing of healing so that she and her family could complete their journey. The two men agreed. They anointed the ox with consecrated oil and laid their hands on its head. They blessed it to be healed. A few minutes later, the ox got up and went on pulling the wagon as if it had never been sick! Joseph and his family made it safely to Salt Lake, where Joseph was put in charge of watching the family s cattle and sheep. He often worked alone at night with wolves all around. The sheep dog that was supposed to help him guard the sheep was so frightened that he would curl up at Joseph s feet at the sound of the wolves howling. Though only ten years old, Joseph tenderly and bravely took care of the animals. Not one animal was ever lost on Joseph s watch. Sadly, Joseph s mother died when he was just fourteen. She had been a constant source of faith and strength to him. She had raised him and the other children well. They had strong testimonies and faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How was Joseph s faith and testimony strengthened by his mother s faith? Why do you think ten-year-old Joseph was so brave against the wolves?
THE CHALLENGE OF HAWAII When Joseph F. Smith was fifteen years old, he was ordained an elder and sent on a mission. He went to the Sandwich Islands, which are now called Hawaii, and are part of the United States. But in those days, the Sandwich Islands were remote South Sea islands that took months to journey to. The Polynesian people did not speak English, and Joseph had to learn their language. He was determined to do so as quickly as possible so that he could teach the Gospel. Shortly after he arrived on the islands, Joseph got very sick. It took a long time to recover, but Joseph used the time to study the language of the people. Within 100 days, he was speaking the language fluently! While in the islands, his straw hut burned down. Another was destroyed by a flood. He was often ill. He must have felt homesick and culture shock. But Joseph had been taught as a child to face hardship. He wrote home, I know that the work in which I am engaged is the work of the living and true God, and I am ready to bear my testimony of the same, at any time, or at any place, or in whatsoever circumstances I may be placed; and hope and pray that I ever may prove faithful in serving the Lord, my God (Life of Joseph F. Smith, pg. 176). How do you think Joseph s childhood prepared him for the trials of his mission? How do you think Joseph s faith was strengthened during his mission in Hawaii? Joseph F. Smith served his first mission to the Sandwich Islands when he was just 15. He later served in England and then back to the Sandwich Islands.
THE FIGHTING APOSTLE Joseph F. Smith returned from Hawaii after a long three years there as a missionary. Just the journey home required months and months at sea. He and his companions were exhausted as they got closer to home. Unfortunately, their trials weren t over. They ran into a group of men who had sworn to kill any Mormon they saw. The leader of the group saw Joseph and asked him roughly, Are you a Mormon? Joseph saw the man s gun. He knew that the man planned to use it. Still, he held his head high and said, Yes, siree; dyed in the wool; true blue, through and through! What does that mean? Dyed in the wool is an expression used to describe someone that is totally committed to something. True blue means loyal forever. Joseph was saying that he was a Mormon who was totally committed and loyal. What do you think happened to Joseph? The man was shocked at Joseph s honest and sincere reply. He wasn t sure what to say. So, he shook Joseph s hand and praised him for his courage! The man and his friends rode off and left Joseph and his companions in peace! For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. Romans 1:16 Read the words of the Apostle Paul in the box on the left. Paul was bold and always spoke up for the truth. Joseph F. Smith was like Paul. He was not ashamed of the Gospel. He spoke out boldly against the enemies of the Church. He fought for the rights and privileges of the Saints. Later in his life, he became known as the fighting apostle because he had always fought for the cause of truth. Joseph was ordained a seventy when he returned from the Sandwich Islands. A year later he was made a high priest and stake high councilor. At age twenty-one, he married, but left a year later to serve a mission to Great Britain. After being home again for only a few months, he was once again sent to the Sandwich Islands, where he served as an assistant to two apostles. Later, he was ordained an apostle himself. Even though Joseph was separated from his family to do the work of God s kingdom, he missed them and loved them. He later said, The riches of all my earthly joy is in my precious children (Life of Joseph F. Smith, pg. 449).
ACROSTIC POEM You have read several stories now about Joseph F. Smith. He was a great prophet of God. What made him such a good leader? What made him strong even when he had trials? How did he grow up to be such a good man when he lost his father at age six and his mother as a teenager? It s your job to think about his life and what made him great. Write some words in the box below that describe him. Then use those words and your thoughts to write an acrostic poem about Joseph F. Smith. An acrostic poem doesn t have to rhyme, but the first letters of each line spell out another word or phrase. Read the example poem below about Brigham Young and then write your own about Joseph F. Smith. Bearer of truth Ready to lead Ideal father Great speaker Heard God s call Always loyal Man of God J O S E P H
COMPARING THE PROPHETS Choose two of the latter-day prophets that you have learned about so far. Go back and review their lives. Then use the circles below to compare and contrast them. Use the area where the two circles overlap to write things that the two prophets have in common, like: they were both born in New England or they both traveled West in the wagon trains with the pioneers. Use the rest of the circle to write ways in which they were different.
PROPHET REVIEW You ve read about six prophets now, so it s time to see what you ve learned! Use the clues below to complete the crossword. ACROSS 2. wanted to be a military man, but he went to college instead. Later he moved to Nauvoo to study Hebrew. 5. was a carpenter in New York. 6. felt he should move to America from his homeland to preach God's word. 2 1 3 4 DOWN 1. suffered from typhoid fever and had to have part of his leg removed. 3. drove an ox cart across the plains even though he was just ten years old. 4. was chased by a bull who had stolen a pumpkin. He had many, many accidents as a child. 5 6
TEACHINGS OF PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH Read these teachings from President Joseph F. Smith. Select one and research what the scriptures say about that topic. You can use the Index or Topical Guide in your scriptures. Then prepare a presentation for your family. Tell them what you have learned! President Joseph F. Smith said: The Holy Spirit of God has spoken to me not through the ear, not through the eye, but to my spirit, to my living and eternal part, and has revealed unto me that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. I testify to you that I know that my Redeemer lives. Furthermore, I know that I shall see Him on this earth, and that I shall see Him as He is. For He is coming to visit the earth again; not as He came before, but in power and great glory. The Book of Mormon [is] a book of scripture that was translated by the gift and power of God, for the voice of God declared to the three witnesses that it had been translated by the gift and power of God and that it was true. The three witnesses declared and testified to its truth, and eight other witnesses, besides the Prophet Joseph, declared that they beheld the plates and handled them, and saw the engravings on them, and that they do know that Joseph Smith did have the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated. A missionary should have in himself the testimony of the Spirit of God the witness of the Holy Ghost. Men are not converted by eloquence or oratory; they are convinced when they are satisfied that you have the truth and the Spirit of God.
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH S WORDS Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. I testify to you that I know that my Redeemer lives.
FAMILY CONNECTION: JOSEPH F. SMITH FOLLOW THE TRAIL In Family Home Evening, review the life of Joseph F. Smith as you follow the trail of the pioneers. Have family members sit or stand in three groups. One is Nauvoo, one is Winter Quarters, and one is Salt Lake. Each group has to report on what happened to young Joseph F. in each of those places. Give each group a few minutes to think and talk about what happened to Joseph F. in their assigned location. Then starting with the Nauvoo group, tell the stories of Joseph F. s childhood. SALT LAKE VALLEY WINTER QUARTERS NAUVOO GROUP #1 NAUVOO: Joseph said goodbye to his father Hyrum, at age eight left Nauvoo with his family and drove a wagon team to Winter Quarters. GROUP #2 WINTER QUARTERS: Joseph tried to save the cattle from the Indians and lost his horse, watched as the family ox was healed on the plains, drove one of the family wagons all the way to the Salt Lake Valley at age ten. GROUP #3 SALT LAKE VALLEY: Joseph was in charge of the family livestock, his mother died when Joseph was fourteen, Joseph served a mission to Hawaii at age 15.