Did you know that Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism, spent time in Louisville? According to lds.org:
Joseph Smith, the first President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, likely preached in Louisville, Kentucky, on his way to Missouri. He stayed in the city for three days and later revisited in 1832. An Indiana covert began the first congregation in Licking River. In 1835, two missionaries baptized 22 people. The first group of Kentucky Saints to join other Church members in the West left for Missouri in September 1836. In July 1843, Church leaders Brigham Young and Wilford Woodruff preached in Kentucky. Though persecution existed, some 1,170 members of the Church lived in the state in 1900.
Automobiles and road improvements caused Bradfordsville, Kentucky, to become a main gathering place for Church members. One traditional Church-sponsored activity in Bradfordsville was a July 4th fish fry with fiddle and banjo music and food for up to 200 people, including many who were not members of the Church.
According to church doctrine, when Smith was 14 years old, God and Jesus Christ both appeared to him and said that "the true Church of Jesus Christ" had not yet been established on Earth, and that they had chosen Smith to make it happen. A few years later, Smith had a visitation by an angel called Moroni, who instructed him what to do to establish The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I just came upon your blog and noticed this old picture above your entry about Joseph Smith. I have never seen this picture before. Can you tell me more about it?
ReplyDeleteHi Loren!
ReplyDeleteWell, I had plucked the image from Wikipedia a long time ago, but now that I check there again I see that it's been removed.
And now I see why: I just did a Google search and found the image on Templestudy.com - turns out the image is believed by many to be Joseph Smith but has not yet been authenticated by historians to be so.