Book Description

History of the Prophet Joseph, by His Mother is a biography of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, according to his mother, Lucy Mack Smith. Shortly following the death of Joseph Smith in 1844, and into 1845, Lucy Mack Smith dictated her recollections and family story to Nauvoo schoolteacher Martha Jane Coray who compiled these books of notes and other sources into a manuscript. Publication of the book came with the great controversy. After its publication, Brigham Young declared the book to be a "tissue of lies" and wanted corrections made. Young possibly opposed the book because of his own conflicts with its publisher, Orson Pratt. Lucy Smith portrayed the Smith family as the legitimate leaders of the church, which Young may also have seen as a challenge to his leadership.