Mark L. McConkie - Remembering Joseph: Personal Recollections of Those Who Know the Prophet Joseph Smith

Remembering Joseph

Personal Recollections of Those Who Know the Prophet Joseph Smith

Mark L. McConkie

2003 Mark L. McConkie.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher, Deseret Book Company, P.O. Box 30178, Salt Lake City Utah 30178. This work is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The views expressed herein are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Church or of Deseret Book. Deseret Book is a registered trademark of Deseret Book Company.

Table of Contents

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 every 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 answersanswers 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 prophesiedsometimes to individuals, sometimes to 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 unto our present generation, with the promise that they would be quoted a thousand years and more. These are the people who knew him wellas 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?

Critics will claim that the very closeness of these people to Joseph disqualifies them from bearing an objective witness. But where is the objectivity of Peter, James, or John with regard to Jesus? They were the more qualified to testify of him precisely because they knew him as well as they did. Lazarus, the man born blind, and the ten lepers were perfect witnesses, but hardly objective. And in the realm of spiritual truththat realm where prophets residelet it be said that the Great Jehovah himself has a bias, a preference, and even favorites (see 1 Samuel 2:30; JST, Psalm 11:5; 1Nephi 17:35, 40; Helaman 15:4; D&C 76:1-19). It is the resounding testimony of the hundreds cited herein that Joseph Smith was divinely appointed, and they speak from the strength of being expert witnesses. The Holy Ghost, they repeatedly certify, gave them testimony of Joseph Smith, testimony that is strengthened and emboldened by their personal interactions with the Prophet.

The sheer weight of these testimonies demands a hearing. Consider but one illustration: more than one hundred separate witnesses (about twenty-five are included in chapter 6) were present on August 8, 1844, when Brigham Young was transfigured and assumed both the voice and appearance of Joseph Smithand 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; and when so many testimonies converge on the same conclusion, spiritually 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 it so much promise.

And thus the motive for this compilation.

Organization of the Work

A word about format: This work is divided into two parts, a compact disc that contains all the materials assembled, and the text itself, containing selections taken from the disc. In this book, the materials are arranged under broad topical headings. On the CD, the materials are arranged alphabetically by author and then are generally listed chronologically under an author's surname, beginning with the older entries first and working toward the more recent. This sometimes creates tiny confusions, as some documents lack dates, sometimes events are told in ways that cause dates to overlap or become artificial, and sometimes memory conflicts, even on occasion giving accounts of the same events in different years. As a general rule, however, advancing alphabetically and chronologically is quite workable. On the CD, entries are preceded by brief summaries of what the entries contain; these are my summaries and are not a part of the original manuscript from which the entries are copied. All entries are verbatim transcripts of the originals from which they were taken. Generally, the author given is the one who recorded or dictated the reminiscence; in a number of cases, however, a third party recorded or retold the story in third person. On occasion I have included personal experiences that Joseph Smith recorded himself (or dictated for inclusion in his history); these add a needed extra dimension to some of the stories.

The printed bibliography includes materials found in both the CD and the printed text. Individual quotations are referenced to the bibliography by a simple code. Interested readers will find the original source in the bibliography by going to the author's name and then to the specific year noted at the end of the quote. Where the author had more than one source in a given year, the sources are differentiated by the use of a suffix (a or b or c, and so forth). There are four exceptions to this rule: when the source is the Journal of Discourses, History of the Church, Collected Discourses, or Conference Report, these sources are identified by the abbreviations JD, HC, CD, and CR, respectively.

Because this work contains so many secondary sources, readers must read with both eyes open, holding themselves accountable for the usage made of the materials contained herein. Secondary sources have significant deficits. Family histories typically emphasize the roles of ancestors, and thus are more prone to color history than are many other sources. In their very nature, family histories tend to be less objective, less balanced, less concerned about such historical minutia as dates, contexts, and related events. On the other hand, such histories often convey a feeling for ancestors, and frequently for the Prophet Joseph Smith, that is far more compelling than what most historians are able to achieve. In that sense family histories may be more accurate. We must ever remember that there is beauty and power in innocence. After all, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were not professional historians, and there is much family history in the Book of Mormon.