Joseph Smith Biography

(Grace) #1

Without Disclosing My True Identity


Joseph Jr.’s Love for his Father


At the time, Joseph Jr. seldom said anything, but took it all in. Joseph Sr.’s abject
humility, when he possessed it, and his humiliation, when he didn’t, turned Joseph Jr.’s
heart toward his father. His tender love for his father created a dissonance within
himself when it came to distinguishing between the respect he had for his brother and
mother, and the protective feelings he had for his father. Even the most conservative
contemporary Mormon biographers characterize the religious difference between Lucy
and Joseph Sr. as “turbulen[t]. ...both stood along the [opposite] edges of church life.
...Lucy always hoped she could find a church or minster to suit her, [while] Joseph Sr.
thought the churches were corrupt.”^9 What they didn’t know, nor would they have
reported honestly if they had known, is that Joseph Jr. was much closer to his father than
his mother. As the young Joseph matured, he found ways to protect his father,^10 not only
from his mother’s “strength,” but from the society within which Joseph Sr. struggled all
his life to gain value as a man.


Don Carlos Smith


During the eleventh year of Joseph Jr.’s life, advanced human beings intervened and
placed a human essence into a Smith infant who would balance out the family’s weaknesses
and strengths. Don Carlos Smith was born March 25, 1816^11 in Norwich, Vermont. Don
Carlos was the spitting image of his father, both physically and in personality.


Learning to Deal with Different Personality Types


While developing as a true messenger who would be forced to confront different
personality types while performing his mission, Joseph needed a good balance of both Type
A personalities (impatient, controlling, focused on status, competitive, ambitious,
aggressive) and Type B personalities (patient, relaxed, easy-going) with which to associate
and learn. He would have to relate to and deal with both types during his mission. Lucy
Mack, Alvin, Sophronia, and William provided the Type A, while Joseph Sr., Hyrum,
Samuel, and Don Carlos provided the Type B contrast.


Lucy Smith


Joseph’s youngest sister, Lucy, was born in 1821, after which time Joseph no longer
needed to learn how to understand free will and how it shaped personalities. By that time,
he had a much greater understanding of all humanity. However, Lucy’s Type A personality
would become a great support to her older brother during his many persecutions.


Stress Under Pressure


Serving in their roles in support of Joseph, the gentle-natured Smiths (Type B
personalities) experienced great amounts of stress during the tumultuous times of the early
Church. They couldn’t bear seeing their son and brother despised and betrayed by his
closest friends, or by his enemies outside of the church. This constant stress led to Joseph
Sr.’s death at the age of 69. He was graciously and mercifully (with advanced intervention)

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