THIRTY-ONE
(1836)
Joseph’s and Emma’s son, Frederick, was born. The early LDS Saints hardened their hearts and
minds and rejected the true gospel of Christ. Modern-day Saints have done the same. The
first temple was given to and dedicated for the people because they desired it. Joseph made
certain that the Saints accepted responsibility for looking beyond the mark.Frederick Granger Williams Smith
The only bright spot for Joseph and Emma during 1836 was the birth of their second
son, Frederick Granger Williams Smith, born on June 20th in Kirtland.^1 At that time, Timothy
shared in the joy that Joseph felt in reminiscing with Joseph about his own son, Jonas, born near
the same time many, many years previous. Although Timothy’s mortal body was changed, his
mortal mind remains fully capable of remembering his mortal experiences as a father before he
was “translated.”
Reflecting Back on Jonas’ Life
The way in which the Book of Mormon text presents the names of the twelve men
Christ chose as his disciples could cause one to make an erroneous assumption: one might
be led to believe that the “Jonas” mentioned was Nephi’s son.^2 He was not. Jonas was
Timothy’s teenage son, conceived when Timothy was a teenager himself and unmarried to
Jonas’ very young mother. When Christ chose them as his disciples among the ancient
American inhabitants, Jonas was about the same age that Joseph was when he received the
First Visitation and Timothy was in his early thirties.
On rare occasion, Timothy would remember his son Jonas. When Joseph announced
the birth of Frederick, Timothy’s mind reflected back on the many times he preached the
gospel with his son. Timothy watched his son grow old and die while he remained vibrant
and young. In spite of the uniqueness of their ages and relationship, the father and son
stayed very close throughout Jonas’ mortal life.
“The Leaven of Iniquity Ferments and Spreads”
During 1836, the early Saints were far from being a peaceful people “of one heart
and one mind.”^3 LDS history reports that Joseph wrote the following:
But notwithstanding the gratitude that fills my heart on retrospecting the
past year, and the multiplied blessings that have crowned our heads, my
heart is pained within me, because of the difficulty that exists in my father’s
family. The devil has made a violent attack on my brother William and
Calvin Stoddard, and the powers of darkness seem to lower over their minds,
and not only over theirs, but they also cast a gloomy shade over the minds of
my brethren and sisters, which prevents them from seeing things as they