Joseph F Smith

Joseph F was the son of Hyrum and Mary Fielding Smith. Hyrum's first wife, Jerusha died at the birth of their 5th child. Hyrum didn't know what to do with 5 children and the youngest being newborn, and was advised by the Lord in a dream/revelation that he should marry again right away. I'm not sure if he was told to marry Mary Fielding or not, but he did and she lovingly cared for his 5 children. Their first child together was Joseph F Smith, named after Joseph Smith, and Mary's father, Fielding.

When Joseph F was born, his father and Joseph Smith were both in Liberty jail. Some time later, Mary wanted to visit him so he could meet his baby, so she arranged to walk the 40+ miles. Emma decided she wanted to go with her, and Mary's sister, Mercy, also went. When they got there, there was no way to visit the prisoners except to be lowered down by a ladder into the dungeon-type prison, so the women did that, even carrying a baby so they could visit. Hyrum was so happy to see his wife and baby. It was a wonderful and uplifting experience for him.

While he was an infant, a mob broke into their house and started searching through everything. They had Mary stand in a corner while they ransacked the house. They threw off the mattress from the bed, and threw it right on top of baby Joseph F. It was a heavy straw mattress, so it was a miracle that he lived.

Later, Joseph and Hyrum and the other prisoners were able to escape with the help of some guards while being transported from Liberty to somewhere else, and were able to go home to their families.

When Joseph Smith Sr. died, Hyrum became the patriarch of the Church.

When Joseph and Hyrum decided to surrender to the authorities, they said goodbye to their families. Joseph F remembered all of his life the experience of seeing his father on a horse, being raised up to kiss him goodbye, and seeing him ride away.

One night, when he was 5 years old, he couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned and then heard a loud knocking at the door. A man was shouting, Sister Smith, Sister Smith, our husband has been killed. He later said it was the saddest day of his life.

At 7 years old he was in charge of driving the team of oxen to go west. He also chopped wood and cared for the animals. At one point on the trek, the oxen got lost. Mary prayed, and the finally found them stuck in a thicket. After that he always remembered the power of prayer. She also gave the great example of faithfulness when someone told her that a poor widow like her wasn't expected to pay tithing and she told him that she should not be denied the blessings that come from paying tithing. She was a great example for Joseph F.

Joseph F mostly enjoyed the trek west. He was amazed when he saw a huge heard of buffalo, and liked picking gooseberries, throwing rocks at garfish in the streams, exploring around (once he found an abandoned Indian village), and the singing in the evenings.

(Difference between a bull and an ox - an ox is a castrated bull. After being castrated they are more tame, mellow, become very loyal and mild, while still being very strong. The ox is the symbol of the house of Ephriam.)

Joseph F was 9 in 1898 when they arrived in the Salt Lake valley. They were very poor and with no husband, there was nobody to build them a house so they lived the whole winter in the covered wagon. In the spring someone helped build them a log cabin. 4 years after they got there, Mary F died, so Joseph F was an orphan at 13.

One night he dreamed that he had died and met his parents and everyone else who had died that he knew. He said after that dream he woke up  "a man" and never feared anything again.

At 15 he was called to serve a mission on the Hawaiian islands. He learned the language quickly. Since he had no family to support him he had no money and frequently went days without eating. He was there 3 years.

After the mission, he returned to the states on a boat, but was expected to find his own way to Utah from landing in California. He walked most of it with a wagon train. At one point they were attacked by a group of "Mormon haters", who put a gun to his head and asked if he was a Mormon. His famous reply: https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-05-0603-preparation-of-joseph-f-smith-true-blue-through-and-through?lang=eng

He was 27 when called to be an apostle and served under 4 Presidents. He said they were all like fathers to him. He had 6 wives and 48 children, 5 of which were adopted. Having grown up an orphan, he has a special place in his heart for orphans and family meant everything to him.

He was 63 when he became the prophet. Lorenzo Snow had taught the law of tithing, so by 1906 the Church was debt-free.
He instituted the Children's Friend in 1902
He started the Seminary program
In 1915 he instituted the Family Home Evening program and set aside Monday evenings for that.
He immediately began to acquire Church history sites and wanted to visit them personally before buying them. When he went back east he visited his aunt Emma. She hadn't seen him since he was about 7, but she recognized him immediately, before even introduced himself. She said he looked so much like Hyrum, which pleased him immensely.

He visited Carthage and said he despised the place. They purchased it for $4000 in 1903. He never went back there.
He acquired the Sacred Grove

He frequently said to leave "no written work behind" so somebody gathered all of his sermons and compiled them and gave them to him as a gift. That's called Gospel Doctrine.

When the war was on and so many people were dying and dying of illness, he was so troubled, he was pondering the Epistles of Peter and praying and received D&C 138.