A 21st-century world can’t meet the Prophet Joseph Smith, but they can read the words of those who did.

And from them, we can learn a lot about Joseph Smith, the Prophet.

KJZZ Television, in cooperation with the Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, presents this weekly series highlighting the research of scholars and historians as they prepare for the publication of The Joseph Smith Papers. And now your host, Glenn Rawson.

Despite Joseph's relative obscurity,

he managed to provoke most people who met him one way or the other.

They either loved him or they hated him,

but there were very few who were indifferent.

Even those who were not his friends sensed something about him and commented on it,

such as this that was written in a newspaper in Lewiston, Illinois, about a month after the Prophet's martyrdom by a man we know only as H. M.:

“But notwithstanding the charges made against him, he was a remarkable man, and he has left the impression of his genius upon the age in which he lived.

He has carved out for himself a title to a page in the history of his country, and his name will be remembered for good or for evil when the names of half the ephemeral statesmen of the age will be forgotten. Very clearly within

a very short period of time, there was a recognition once Joseph Smith was gone that he was a significant figure, a significant character.”

H. M. refers to him as genius.

And note that there was a passage in there that his name would be known for good or for evil. That’s familiar.

It is familiar. The angel Moroni said to him the very same thing 20 years earlier when Joseph Smith first received an encounter from the angel, who plotted out in some ways the course of his life.

Joseph was a strong man with challenging ideas.

He got into people’s hearts, and he caused a reaction.

Now, while some people came to Joseph open and willing to listen;

others were darkened, jaded, if you will, by rumor and slander,

making it difficult for them ever to see Joseph in an objective light.

In November of 1840, a man by the name of Daniel P. Kidder—k-i-d-d- e-r—visited Joseph Smith in Nauvoo. Daniel P. Kidder, who was a clergyman,

he kept a diary account of his experience with Joseph Smith: “His temperament, nervo lymphatic excessive, perceptive faculties, retreating forehead. His deportment bears every shade between the sanctimonious and the outlandish. Has a fondness for mingling and cracking jokes with the crew,

asks blessings at the table, and rails at almost every description of piety under some form. He is a great boaster of humility and kindness but is actually pugnacious,

querulous, and abusive in the extreme. Has a mere smattering of Hebrew

and other more common branches of learning with as much braggadocio

as any man living. Is called by his dupes ‘Brother Joseph,’ ‘President Smith,’ etc.” He was real fond of him.

No, that's a point of view, and it's an honest representation of how one man takes Joseph Smith upon meeting him.

Now, I want to contrast this with somebody who meets him at the same time, William Clayton,

one of the first British converts to emigrate to the United States and eventually to Nauvoo:

“We have had the privilege of conversing with Joseph Smith Jr.,

and we are delighted with his company.

We had a privilege of ascertaining in a great measure from whence all the evil reports have arisen

and hitherto have every reason to believe him innocent.

He is not an idiot. And note that he has underscored the word not he is not an idiot, but a man of sound judgment

and possessed of abundance of intelligence.

And while you listen to his conversation,

you receive intelligence which expands your mind

and causes your heart to rejoice.

He is very familiar and delights to instruct the poor Saints.

I can converse with him just as easy as I can with you.

And with regard to being willing to communicate instruction, he says, ‘I receive it freely, and I will give it freely.’

He is willing to answer any question I have put to him

and is pleased when we ask him questions.

He seems exceedingly well versed in the scriptures

And whilst conversing upon any subject, such light and beauty as revealed, I never saw before.

If I had come from England purposely to converse with him a few days, I would have considered myself well paid for my trouble.” Now, contrast two people meeting Joseph Smith at the same time.That is the kind of experience that is revealed in the documentation,

the contemporary documentation surrounding the Prophet Joseph Smith’s life. Let me give you another example.

A month before Joseph Smith was killed,

he was visited by a man named Josiah Quincy and his cousin,

Charles Francis Adams, the son of President John Quincy Adams.

They had gone by riverboat up the Mississippi River and had docked there in Nauvoo. I want to read you something from Charles Francis Adams’ diary

about what he says about Joseph Smith.

“May the 15th, Wednesday, 1844.

At the door of a two-story wooden house with a signpost before it,

we stopped and were introduced to the celebrated Joe Smith,

a middle-aged man with a shrewd

but rather ordinary expression of countenance,

unshaved and inclosed, neither very choice nor neat.

The whole air of the man was that of a frank

but not coarse vulgarity.

There is a mixture of shrewdness and extravagant self-conceit,

of knowledge and ignorance,

of wisdom and folly in his whole system of this man that I am somewhat at a loss to find definitions for it.”

So here's an encounter then from someone coming

that must be Charles Francis— Charles Francis Adams,

who becomes a real player as a statesman in America in the in the post–Civil War period.

I want to contrast that with the with the statements that were made by John M. Bernhiesel. John M. Bernhiesel had converted to the Church in the early 1840s in New York City,

where he was a practicing physician. Just two weeks before Joseph was killed, John M. Bernhiesel wrote a letter to the governor of Illinois, Thomas Ford. This letter is dated the 14th of June 1844:

“Having been a border in General Smith’s family for more than nine months

and having therefore had abundant opportunities of contemplating his character and observing his conduct,

I have concluded to give you a few of my impressions of him.

General Joseph Smith is naturally a man of strong mental powers

and is possessed of much energy and decision of character,

great penetration and a profound knowledge of human nature.

He is a man of calm judgment, enlarged views,

and is eminently distinguished by his love of justice.

He is kind and obliging, generous and benevolent,

sociable and cheerful, and is possessed of a mind of a contemplative

and reflective nature.

He is honest, frank, fearless, and independent and as free from dissimulation as any man to be found.

Dissimulation means you a pretender,

but it is in the gentle charities of domestic life as the tender

and affectionate husband and parent,

the warm and sympathizing friend that the prominent traits of his character are revealed

and his heart is felt to be keenly alive to the kindest and softest emotions of which human nature is susceptible.

He is a true lover of his country and a bright and shining example of integrity and moral excellence in all the relations of life.

As a religious teacher as well as a man,

he is greatly beloved by his people.

It is almost superfluous to add that the numerous ridiculous and scandalous reports in circulation respecting him have not the least foundation in truth.” I think that’s really important that our readers and our viewers understand that there are going to be people who are going to bring contrasting points of view.

Some will never be able to see the good in Joseph.

Some will never be able to see

the nature of what he was trying to do, because they only see him in this negative light, which some people bring at the very outset,

who have little ambition or interest in trying to see him in balance.

So what was it about the Prophet Joseph Smith that so affected people? Well,

as we study these contemporary accounts more closely,

the character and the personality of Joseph begins to emerge, especially when we look at those accounts given by his neighbors. We see how it was that he made such an unusual impression upon people.

I want to make a couple of points about some other people who

are contemporaries of Joseph Smith,

who I think saw him in a light that reveals the kind of character that we see in Joseph Smith.

Based upon our study of the documents, I want to read two passages from individuals who knew him in 1843.

One of them was a man by the name of George Washington Taggart. George Washington Taggart and his family became Latter-day Saints in southern New Hampshire in 1842.

They emigrated the following year to Nauvoo,

George Washington Taggart, along with his wife,

his parents, and his youngest brother, Oliver.

On the tenth of September 1843,

George Washington Taggart picked up the pen and he said this about Joseph Smith:

“He (Joseph Smith) is a young- looking man of his age, which is near 38 years and one of

the finest-looking men there is in the country.

And he does not pretend to be a man without failings and follies. He is a man that you could not help liking as a man.

Setting aside the religious prejudice which the world has raised against him,

he is one of the warmest patriots and friends of his country

and laws that you ever heard speak on the subject.

Neither is he puffed up with his greatness, as many suppose, but on the contrary, is familiar with

any decent man and is ready to talk upon any subject that anyone wishes, and I assure you it would make you wonder to hear him talk and see the information which comes out of his mouth.

And it is not in big words either,

but that which anyone can understand.”

Just a month later, John Needham,

who had emigrated from England to Nauvoo,

a letter that was written by him back to his friends and family in England was published in the Millennial Star in October of 1843. John

Needham said: “Joseph Smith is a great man, a man of principle,

a straightforward man; no saints long-faced fellow,

but quite the reverse.Indeed, some stumble because he is such a straightforward, plainspoken,

cheerful man, but that makes me love him the more.” Joseph had a pleasing personality. People liked him.

And the reason for that, at least in part, Joseph said of himself that he had a native, cheery disposition.

He once said, “I don’t care what a man’s character is,

if he is my friend, I'll be a friend to him and preach the gospel to him.” To the Saints in Nauvoo,

he once said in a sermon,

“I do not dwell upon your faults,

and you shall not upon mine. Charity, which is love, covereth a multitude of sins,

and I have often covered up all the faults among you.”

Joseph Smith was able to engage the people whom he served and whom he loved in a way

that won their fealty, won their devotion and their commitment to him all of the rest of their lives.

And I think it's important for us to understand that these declarations about Joseph Smith are not from people who live a continent away,

lived in another state.

These were the people who lived among him, who knew him.

I think we can demonstrate that the people who had these strong impressions of Joseph Smith were not dupes, were not people who were of low caliber and low character. Indeed,

I think we can make the case that these statements of these people are from intelligent people who have made a commitment, a significant life commitment toward their association with the Church and used Joseph Smith as the gauge by which they would feel comfortable about their future commitment. If you were to encapsulate, what was that characteristic about Joseph that drew the magnetised people to him?

I think it was the composition of his entire personality.

He had had experiences with the divine.

He never behaved in any other way to suggest that he had not been commissioned like he said that he was. That coupled with this native

warm, friendly temperament, I think just captured people. They had such a remarkable example of a man who really loved his people, who led them, who forgave them,

who understood them, who could stand by them.

He was one among his people

and was completely devoted to them to the point where very clearly he was willing to give his life for them. Now, some might argue that, of course, those who followed Joseph were impressed by him,

but many non-Mormons were impressed as well.

Some of them spoke glowingly of Joseph,

even though they couldn't bring themselves to accept him as a prophet.

It wasn’t just Latter-day Saints who were taken by this person, by his personality, by really a charismatic mantle which he acquired and which I think he wore very well.

One of the people who have commented on this was his attorney when he was in the Liberty Jail.

And because he was there for four and a half months, languishing during a very cold, lousy winter in 1838, 39,

one might say, “Well, maybe he wasn’t much of a lawyer.”

His name was Peter Burnett. And after emigrating from Missouri to California,

became the first elected governor of the state of California.

After criticizing Joseph Smith's lack of education and his manner of speaking, he said this:

“But with all these drawbacks,

he was much more than an ordinary man.

He possessed the most indomitable perseverance,

was a good judge of men,

and deemed himself born to command, and he did command.

His views were so strange and striking,

his manner so earnest and apparently so candid that you could not but be interested.

There was a kind of familiar look about him that pleased you.

He was very courteous and discussion,

readily admitting that he did not intend to controvert

and would not oppose you abruptly,

but had due deference to your feelings. He was a gentleman.

He had the capacity for discussing a subject in different aspects and

for proposing many original views, even of ordinary matters.

His illustrations were his own.

He had great influence over others.

As an evidence of this, I will state that on Thursday, just before I left to return to Liberty, which was near the time of Joseph Smith's incarceration,

I saw him out among the crowd, conversing freely with everyone

and seeming to be perfectly at ease.

In the short space of five days,

he had managed so to mollify his enemies that he could go unprotected among them without the slightest danger.”

Now, that's a pretty significant personality. That's a strong person.

Another individual who encountered Joseph Smith, who I think left us a very interesting expression,

was John Reynolds. John Reynolds was elected governor of Illinois in 1830, later resigned to run for

the U.S. Congress, and he was elected.

Now, John Reynolds said a number of uncomplimentary things about Joseph,

but he summarized it by saying this: “No one can foretell the destiny of this sect,” speaking of the Church,

“and it would be blasphemy at this day to compare its founder to the Savior. But nevertheless, it may become veritable history in a thousand years that the standing and character of Joseph Smith as a prophet may rank equal to any of the prophets who have preceded him.”

How can he say unkind things about him and say something like that? It is the case that many people already had opinions formed about Joseph long before they met him. They had dismissed him previous to any encounter with him.

Nevertheless, a man like John Reynolds, who had these preconceived notions about him,

recognized the remarkable nature of this unique man, Joseph Smith.

And I think it's important to realize that men like John Reynolds, men like Peter Bernhardt,

saw through this sometimes cloudy mist that had been created by those whose objective was to just diminish him, diminish the work that he was doing to see someone of real substance and a real character.

Again, Josiah Quincy was with Charles Francis Adams when they encountered Joseph Smith in May of 1844.

Later, Josiah Quincy left a memoir,

and he said some things that were not very complimentary about Joseph. And still, he said, this is what is now a famous saying:

“It is by no means improbable that some future textbook for the use of generations yet unborn will contain a question something like this.

What historical American of the 19th century has exerted the most powerful influence upon the destinies of his countrymen?

And it is by no means impossible that the answer to that interrogatory may be thus written.

Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet.

And the reply, absurd as it doubtless seems to most men now living,

may be an obvious commonplace to their descendants.”

After the prophet was murdered at Carthage Jail,

John Taylor wrote the following about Joseph's personal legacy to the future. He said that “his innocent blood would touch the hearts of honest men among all nations and that he left a fame and a name that cannot be slain.”

Well, it’s now 164 years since Joseph was killed at Carthage,

and scholars and laymen alike are looking closely at the life of the Prophet Joseph and trying to explain him.

And what they're saying is interesting.

In the year 2005, of all places in Sydney, Australia,

a conference was held celebrating the 200th birthday of Joseph Smith.

A historian of religion, a scholar of world faiths at Griffith University in Australia,

Professor Wayne Hudson said some very interesting things about Joseph, only an excerpt of which I will read.

“I argue that there are grounds for construing Joseph Smith as a genuine prophet of world historical importance.

A case can be made that the world church has much to learn from the astonishing achievements of Joseph Smith.

Indeed, taking respectful account of this one human being may make possible major advances in multifaith dialogue,

including dialogue with Islam.

Joseph Smith was an outstanding American religious leader

and visionary who has still not received

the universal recognition he deserves,

partly because sectarian and secular prejudices have prevented many scholars from grasping the astounding religious reality manifested in Joseph Smith and his revelations, above all, the Book of Mormon.”

That is a very interesting point of view from a scholar coming from the outside looking at Joseph Smith in an objective way.

And Dr. Hudson is not alone.

Harold Bloom, who is a professor at Yale University, also at New York University,

a Jew who some consider to be among America's most distinguished literary critics in the late 1980s,

took a look at Joseph Smith, and in 1992 published a book called The American Religion: The Emergence of the Post-Christian Nation.

“I do not find it possible to doubt that Joseph Smith was an authentic prophet.

Where in all of American history can we find his match?

The Prophet Joseph Smith has proved again that economic and social forces do not determine human destiny.

Religious history, like literary history or any cultural history,

is made by genius, by the mystery of rare human personalities.

Joseph Smith did not excel as a writer or as a theologian,

let alone as psychologist and philosopher.

But he was an authentic religious genius

and surpassed all Americans before or since in the expression and possession of what could be called the religion-making imagination.

There have been many other religious innovators in America

before, contemporary with and since Joseph Smith's,

but not one of them came near his encourage vitality or comprehensiveness.

Latter-day Saints have been almost alone in apprehending the greatness of Joseph Smith to one who does not believe in him

but who has studied him intensely.

Smith becomes almost a mythology in himself.”

Now, two years later,

Harold Bloom came out with a significant book,

The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages.

At the beginning, in the introduction, he said there were three shocks—

that’s the word he used, S-H-O-C-K-S—three shocks, that kind of kick-started Western culture.

The first one, he said, was Moses. The second, he said, was Jesus.

And the third, interestingly, he said, was Muhammad.

And then he said this.

Perhaps someday, well on in the twenty-first century, when Mormonism has become the dominant religion of at least the American West, those who come after us will experience

a fourth such shock when they encounter the daring of the authentic American Prophet Joseph Smith in his definitive visions, the Pearl of Great Price and Doctrine and Covenants.”

Now, that's pretty significant stuff, They kept calling him genius. How could they look at Joseph—

how could, for example— how could Charles Francis Adams and Josiah Quincy look at the same man in the same setting

and see two polar opposite things? How?

Well, I don’t think it’s surprising, actually.

The amount of opposition that Joseph Smith created was considerable. To the point where people thirsted after his death

felt like the world would finally get back into its proper orbit when he was gone, calculated all of their energy and resources into ensuring his demise.

I think there will remain great polarity,

but I think that people will be able to see him in a truer light,

especially as we present the papers that that he produced that characterize his ministry.

And maybe people will be able to look at him in a in a light that heretofore has both been unavailable

and maybe unwanted. I'm hoping that The Joseph Smith Papers will open individuals up, at least to take a an objective look at him and give him a chance where he hasn't had a chance in the past.

Joseph Smith’s name: well, it'll continue to be had for good and evil in all the world, and every man will have to decide for himself.

Next week on The Joseph Smith Papers,

the Vermont epidemic that nearly brought disaster to the Smith family, and the one man in all the world who could help them. Dr. Nathan Smith.