Twelve (1817)
The Image of an Outstanding Family
Joseph’s mother and most of his siblings were not stellar examples of humble and
contrite souls and, consequently, fell in with those who were “given the lesser portion of the
word.”^6 As mentioned, Lucy Mack was a worldly woman, not by circumstance, but by her
desire. She longed to be accepted by the community and to have the things of comfort and
wealth. Also mentioned, she kept constant pressure on Joseph Sr. to aspire to a better
worldly standing and more wealth, which turned Joseph’s father to “the bottle.”^7
The LDS/Mormon historical slant on this period of Joseph’s young life makes it
appear that the Smiths were an outstanding family of the best character, but who were
simply down on their luck. This was not the case. Joseph Smith, Sr. drank way too much
and spent a great deal of the scarce money the family had on alcohol. As a result, before
deciding to leave his family, Joseph Sr. had amassed a sizeable debt at the local tavern. Lucy
had no idea how much Joseph had borrowed on credit, or for what. When the family
gathered their belongings together to move to New York, there were creditors there to see
them off, and the creditors were not happy.
A few weeks prior to the move to New York, Joseph Sr. had left his family, not to
abandon them this time, but to go in search for a place to live—at least that is what he told
Lucy. Of course he would tell Lucy this. If she had known the real truth, it would have sent
her into a fit of rage and further disparagement of her husband as a provider.
The truth was, this time Joseph left his family because his creditors were threatening
him physically and with court proceedings. Joseph Sr. ran from these responsibilities,
leaving his family at the mercy of those from whom he had borrowed. He knew the general
Christian ideals of the time would not allow a woman and her children to be harassed quite
the same way that they would have had he been around. So he gathered up his things and
moved on without paying his debts, hoping and believing that his family would endure the
temporary discomfort of the situation until they relocated.
As the incident is related in Lucy Mack’s biography, Joseph Sr. told her that he
shouldn’t leave, because “the situation of the family would not admit of his absence; besides,
he was owing some money that must first be paid.” Lucy then demonstrated who really
“wore the pants” in the Smith household:
I told him it was my opinion he might get both his creditors and debtors
together, and arrange matters between them in such a way as to give
satisfaction to all parties concerned.^8Lucy became the heroine of her own story by relating how she got the family
ready to move and then went through many personal hardships to get to New York
and reunite with her husband.
The accepted histories written about the early Smith family are far from true. The
Smith family did what many people did during that time of the development of the United
States of America: they moved when they couldn’t pay their debts and before their creditors
could take them to court. In those days, there weren’t many bank accounts, or paychecks to
be garnished. Many contracts were finalized with a handshake or a verbal promise, and the
rural poor rarely used bankruptcy as an option. Joseph Smith, Sr. was simply a terrible
businessman and a coward when it came to facing his creditors. Lucy was not such a
coward; however, she never knew the real extent of the debt that her husband had incurred.