Joseph Smith History

Question 0

What scripture did Joseph Smith read that says…

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that give to all men liberally, and upbraid etch not; and it shall be given him.”

Hint: This is the scripture that led Joseph Smith to the woods to pray about which church to join.

Answer 0

James 1:5

Question 1

After delivering Joseph Smith from the evil power that seemed would overtake him, what did God say?

Answer 1

He called Joseph by name and then said, pointing to other, “This is my Beloved Son. Hear Him!”

Question 2

When Joseph Smith was praying about which church to join an evil powe overtook him and he was not able to speak. Joseph prayed to God to deliver him from this unseen enemy. Then what happened?

Answer 2

Just as Joseph was about to give up, he saw a pillar of light over his head, and he was released from the evil force that had held him. The light came down and rested on him, and Joseph saw two personages whose brightness and glory were beyond description.

[Joseph Smith History 1:14-17]

Question 3

How old was Joseph Smith when he went into the woods to pray about which church was right?

Answer 3

14

Question 4

When Joseph Smith went to the woods to pray about which church to join, what immediately happened?

Answer 4

He was immediately overcome by some evil power. Thick darkness surrounded him and he could not speak. He thought he was going to be destroyed, but using all of the energy he had, he asked God to deliver him from this unseen enemy. Just as Joseph was about to give up, he saw a pillar of light over his head and he was released from the evil force that held him.

[Joseph Smith History 1:14-20]

Question 5

During the first vision, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith. Joseph asked them which church he should join. Who answered and what was said?

Answer 5

Jesus told Joseph not to join any of the churches, because they were all wrong. He said,

“They draw near unto me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”

[Joseph Smith History 1:18-19]

Question 6

What objects were located with the gold plates when Joseph Smith obtained them?

Answer 6

The Urim and Thummim and the breastplate

[Joseph Smith History 1:52]

Question 7

What hill were the gold plates and other objects located in that Joseph Smith was to retrieve under the direction of the Angel Moroni?

Answer 7

The plates were located in a large hill called the Hill Cumorah that was near the village of Manchester, Ontario County, New York.

[Joseph Smith History 1:51]

Question 8

When Joseph Smith told his father about the visits of the Angel Moroni, what did he tell Joseph to do?

Answer 8

Joseph’s father told him it was of God and to do what Moroni had commanded him.

[Joseph Smith History 1:50]

Question 9

Joseph Smith told his father of the visits from the Angel Moroni. Joseph’s father told him it was of a God and to do as Moroni had commanded him. Joseph left immediately and where did he go?

Answer 9

Joseph went immediately to the place that Moroni had said the plates were buried. He immediately recognized it because he had seen it in a vision.

[Joseph Smith History 1:50]

Question 10

How many times and how often did Joseph Smith meet with the angel Moroni before he was able to retrieve the plates? What did they discuss?

Answer 10

Joseph went to the hill every year for four years. Each time, Moroni met him and told him what The Lord was going to do and how his kingdom was to be conducted in the last days. After four years, on Sept 22, 1827, Moroni gave Joseph the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate. Moroni also warned Joseph to be careful and not let anyone else have them. Joseph was to be responsible for them until Moroni came and got them.

[Joseph Smith History 1:53-54;59]

Question 11

After telling his father about the visits from the angel Moroni, Joseph Smith went to the place where Moroni said the plates were buried. The plates were in a stone box under a large stone, not far from the top. Joseph immediately recognized the place because he had seen it in a vision. Joseph got a stick to use as a lever and raised up the stone. He looked in and saw the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate. Joseph tried to take them out of the box but what happened?

Answer 11

Moroni appeared and stopped him. Moroni said it would be 4 years before Joseph could take them. He told Joseph to meet him at the same location exactly one year from that day.

[Joseph Smith History 1:50-53]

Question 12

When Joseph Smith was 17 years old the Angel Moroni appeared to him to give him further instructions. How many times did Moroni appear to Joseph and repeat the instructions?

Answer 12

4

The angel Moroni appeared 3 times one might in September of 1823. Then once the next day.

[Joseph Smith History 1:47-49]

Question 13

T or F
When Joseph Smith was 17 years old, he received further instruction by the angel Moroni three times in one night in September 1823. The following day, he went about his usual duties on the farm, but he was tired and weak. His father sent him home but as he was trying to cross a fence, he fell unconscious. As he regained consciousness he heard a voice calling him by name. He saw angel Moroni surrounded by light. Moroni then repeated everything he had told him the night before, for the fourth time.

Answer 13

True

Question 14

How did Joseph Smith feel immediately after the first vision?

Answer 14

Very weak and he could not walk. His strength gradually did return.

[Joseph Smith History 1:20]

Question 15

What day was Joseph Smith born? Where was he born?

Answer 15

December 23, 1805
Sharon, Vermont

[Joseph Smith History 1:3]

Question 16

What religion had Joseph Smith considered joining before the first vision?

Answer 16

Methodist Church

[Joseph Smith History 1: 8]

Question 17

When did the first vision take place?

Answer 17

Spring of 1820

[Joseph Smith History 1:14]

Question 18

T or F

Joseph Smith notes in Joseph Smith History that opposition and persecution of him arose against him almost in his infancy.

Answer 18

True

Joseph Smith states, “It seems as though the adversary was aware, at a very early period of my life, that I was destined to prove a disturber and an annoyer of his kingdom; else why should the powers of darkness combine against me? Why the opposition and persecution that arose against me, almost in my infancy?”

[Joseph Smith History 1:20]

Question 19

When did the Angel Moroni appear to Joseph Smith to give him instructions for obtaining the gold plates and other objects? How long after the first vision did this occur?

Answer 19

September 21, 1823
About 3 1/2 years
[Joseph Smith History 1:27]

Question 20

What scriptures did the Angel Moroni quote to Joseph Smith when he appeared to him to reveal the location of the gold plates?

Answer 20

-Malachi 3-4
“For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall burn as stubble; for they that come shall burn them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor

“Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.”

He quoted the next verse differently as stated in our bible,

“And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.”

-He also quoted the eleventh chapter of Isaiah saying that it was about to be fulfilled.

1 “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
10 ¶And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
15 And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.
16 And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.”

-He also quoted Acts 3:22-23 saying that the prophet was Christ, but the day had not yet come when “they who would not hear his voice should be cut off from among the people,” but soon would come.

“22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.

23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.”

-He also quoted Joel 2:28-32, saying that this had not yet been fulfilled but soon would be.

28 ¶And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.

32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.

Moroni also quoted many other scriptures which Joseph Smith said could not be mentioned in this history.

[Joseph Smith—History 1:37-39]