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Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Joseph Smith, detail from an oil painting by an unknown artist; in the Community of Christ Temple and Auditorium complex, Independence, Missouri.

Joseph Smith

American religious leader [1805–1844]
Also known as: Joseph Smith, Jr.
Written by
Richard L. Bushman
Gouverneur Morris Professor Emeritus of History, Columbia University. Author of Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling and others.
Richard L. Bushman
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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•History

Joseph Smith (born December 23, 1805, Sharon, Vermont, U.S.—died June 27, 1844, Carthage, Illinois) was an American prophet and founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Smith came from an unremarkable New England family. His grandfather, Asael Smith, lost most of his property in Topsfield, Massachusetts, during the economic downturn of the 1780s and eventually moved to Vermont, where Smith’s father, Joseph Smith, Sr., established himself as a farmer. After the birth...

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