Hyrum Smith--The Prophet Joseph Smith's second-hand man

I had the privilege this week of attending a class by Brother Scott Anderson (an amazing LDS church speaker). In this particular class actual descendants from the Hyrum Smith family came and spoke to us for two hours sharing the life, testimony, and artifacts from the prophet Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smiths' lives. It was truly a moving experience that enlarged my testimony of the truthfulness of the restoration of this gospel. Two men acted as Joseph and Hyrum, sharing with us incredible stories from the lives of these great men. Their message was powerful, especially when they included the historic real-life artifacts. They are listed below.

1. A bell--Lucy Mack Smith used this bell to call the Smith boys in for supper every night.

2. A footstool which lay in front of Lucy's chair where the boys Joseph and Hyrum would sit and take counsel from their mother.

3. The work box that Alvin Smith passed on to his brothers after he died. They were going to use this box to put the gold plates in, but it ended up being too big for Joseph to carry. If you look carefully you can see Alvin's name inscribed on the top. The plates, urim and thummim, and breastplate only would have taken up 1/4 of this box. Joseph ended up making a new one. Guess where that is?


4. The rifle which belonged to Hyrum Smith. This is similar to the rifle which probably killed Joseph and Hyrum in Carthage jail.

5. Hyrum Smith's clothes he was shot and killed in at Carthage jail. You can see the stains of blood left on them.

6. A pocket watch which stopped a bullet from killing Hyrum.

7. Sunglasses of Hyrum Smith. The speaker said they looked like they were straight from the 70s!

8. This is a picture of the man who acted as Joseph Smith. Big shoes to fill!


What a blessing it was to go to this event. I thank Greg Morris for inviting me and my roommate to this wonderful class. I hope each of you will take the time to revisit the story of the first vision and perhaps learn even more about our wonderful prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum. The Smith family was truly connected and stood by each other every inch of the way. They lived and died together, and will forever be together in Heaven.