Seven (1812)incarnation of Hyrum—who would one day complete the mission that Joseph started for the
inhabitants of this world. However, in order to remain focused on the subject of this
biography, this author will report on Hyrum and others only as they become critical to the
nature of Joseph’s notebook.
Catherine Smith
The only other significant event of 1812 that concerned the young Joseph was the
birth of his sister, Catherine Smith,^20 born July 28, 1812 in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
Catherine would provide Joseph with the opportunity of developing the tender love and
adoration a big brother has for a little sister. Their bond would last a lifetime. Unlike
Sophronia’s angst with Joseph receiving more attention than herself, Catherine looked up to
Joseph and never lost her deep-seated sisterly love for him.
While Catherine was very shy and disengaged in the affairs of the early church, she
was a great supporter of her mother, becoming even more outspoken after her death—
especially in defense of her mother’s disgust with Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball.
Catherine died on February 1, 1900 in Fountain Green, Illinois at the age of 87.^21
NOTES
(^1) Significant statues of Joseph Smith can be found at many LDS Church-owned properties
and Visitor Centers, as well as a 38-½ foot monument erected to him at the Smith family property in
Sharon (now Royalton), Vermont, where Joseph Smith was born.
(^2) See “Praise to the Man” and “Joseph Smith’s First Prayer,” in Hymns of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City: LDS Church, 1985), nos. 27 & 26, respectively.
(^3) In the coming chapters, those who had an impact on Joseph Smith’s work will be discussed.
(^4) See D&C, 124:125. See also DHC, 6:24. “Joseph Smith, whom God has raised up as a Prophet,
Seer, and Revelator unto His people.”
(^5) For an example of someone alive today with a similar sounding voice, see
http://marvelousworkandawonder.com/js/JosephSmithVoice.mov. (Marvelous Work and a
Wonder®, 2011, A Marvelous Work and a Wonder Purpose Trust, 6 Apr. 2011.)
(^6) This was expressed by Joseph in a letter to Emma Smith while in Liberty Jail in Missouri, “I
feel like Joseph in Egyept [sic] doth my friends yet live[?] [I]f they live do they remember me[?] have
they regard for me[?] if so let me know it in time of trouble.” (Letter, 21 Mar. 1839, in LDS Church
Archives. Letter can be viewed at “Documents | Joseph Smith Letter to Emma Smith from Liberty
Jail,” LDS.org, Intellectual Reserve, Inc., 2011, 29 Feb. 2012 http://www.josephsmith.net/. (Go to
“Resource Center | Documents | Emma Smith.)
Transcript found in Dean C. Jessee, “Joseph Smith Jr.—in His Own Words, Part 3,” Ensign,
Feb 1985: 6.
(^7) See John 6:66.
(^8) Matthew 13:55–7.
(^9) This fact has been noted (although inaccurately reported) by some of Joseph critics. See, e.g.,
William D. Morain, The Sword of Laban: Joseph Smith, Jr. and the Dissociated Mind (Washington, DC:
American Psychiatric Press, Inc., 1998) 39. “His slight limp in adult life would always be a reminder