Joseph Smith’s Genealogy Goes to Ireland

18
Mar

Joseph Smith’s Genealogy Goes to Ireland

There has been much interest in learning the heritage of Joseph Smith, Jr. since his founding of the Church of Jesus Christ.  Audentia Smith Anderson, Joseph Smith’s granddaughter, was the first genealogist in Joseph’s family to document his lineage and published a book of that lineage listing all ancestors back to their immigrant status to […]

Thousands of Hands

16
Jan
Joseph Smith descendants gather under tent

Thousands of Hands

Darcy Kennedy My husband, Michael Kennedy, Sr., and I knew our stake president was a very inspired man and heard how he would just call someone or visit with them in their home, day or night following promptings that he was needed.  Towards the end of 2004, President, Conrad Gottfredson, came to our home to […]

For I had seen a vision: 200 years later

07
Oct
Joseph's Firs Vision

For I had seen a vision: 200 years later

The Spring of 2020 marks the 200th anniversary since Joseph Smith first prayed to God to know which church to join and received the First Vision. Carole Mikita takes a look at what this momentous revelation means in today’s world. Historians, church leaders and various artists reflect on how this event has shaped the course […]

Using Science to Answer Questions from Latter-day Saint History: The Case of Josephine Lyon’s Paternity

14
Jan

Using Science to Answer Questions from Latter-day Saint History: The Case of Josephine Lyon’s Paternity

Published originally:  BYU Studies, quarterly (Jan 9, 2020) Historians have often speculated if Joseph Smith had any children with his plural wives. The strongest case for a child born through one of Joseph Smith’s polygamous unions is that of Josephine Lyon, born on February 8, 1844, in Nauvoo, Illinois, to Sylvia Sessions, who was sealed […]

Resolving a 150-year-old paternity case in Mormon history using DTC autosomal DNA testing of distant relatives

21
Dec

Resolving a 150-year-old paternity case in Mormon history using DTC autosomal DNA testing of distant relatives

by Ugo A. Perego, Martin Bodner, Alessandro Raveane, Francesco Montinaro, Walther Parson, & Alessandro Achilli Published for FSI (Forensic Science International) Genetics Highlights We propose the resolution of a 150-year old alleged paternity using autosomal DNA data collected from 56 living descendants. This study deals with the posterity of Joseph Smith Jr., founder of Mormonism, […]

DNA Rules out Joseph Smith has descendants from polygamist wives

20
Dec

DNA Rules out Joseph Smith has descendants from polygamist wives

Full Documentation of Reconstructing the Y Chromosome of Joseph Smith can be read here:  Reconstructing Joseph Smith’s Y Chromosome By Carrie A. MooreDeseret Morning News Published: Saturday, Nov. 10, 2007 12:13 a.m. MST Mosiah Hancock, son of Clarissa Reed Hancock, who was married to Levi Hancock. Oliver Buell, son of Prescindia Huntington Buell, who was […]

DNA shows Joseph Smith was Irish

08
Dec
King Niall

DNA shows Joseph Smith was Irish

Ugo Perego research – Joseph Smith English or Irish, probably Irish: Joseph Smith English or Irish SANDY, Utah — DNA research into Joseph Smith Jr.’s genealogy has turned up a surprise, according to Ugo Perego, director of operations at the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation: A rare DNA marker shows that the assumption Smith’s family line […]

Out of Liberty

08
Apr

Out of Liberty

Based on first-hand recorded accounts, “Out of Liberty” follows local jailer Samuel Tillery (Jasen Wade), who is tasked with watching Missouri’s most wanted men as they await their upcoming hearing. Caught between the local Missourians’ increased drive to remove the prisoners, and the prisoners’ desperate efforts to survive, Tillery is pushed beyond what any lawman can endure. These most wanted men, as Latter-day Saints will quickly recognize, included the prophet Joseph Smith Jr., his brother Hyrum, and four other Church leaders. They’d been arrested and falsely accused of treason.