Talk:Joseph Smith

Church of Christ

Under the section titled, "Joseph Smith Jr.", 2nd paragraph, is this sentence, "The same year he organized the Church of Christ, calling it a restoration of the early Christian Church."

Suggestion: add a sentence clarifying that the church name was subsequently changed to the current title, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-daySaints",  based on this recorded statement in April 26, 1838

"For thus shall my church be called in the last days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", Doctrine and Covenants 115:4

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/115?id=p4&lang=eng#p4

The name of the church was reitterated by the current president of the church:

"The Correct Name of the Church"

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2018/10/the-correct-name-of-the-church?lang=eng

The emphasis on the correct name has eclipsed "Mormon church" or other popular references.

Suggestion: tie hyperlinks to the name of the church to that churches official website, which offers comprehensive historical records

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/books-and-lessons/church-history?lang=eng Sdoud (talk) 01:27, 6 February 2024 (UTC)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' name, and the various names of the church organization Smith founded, are explained on the page (permanent link to current version):

• The religion he founded is followed to the present day by millions of global adherents and several churches, the largest of which is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• In Missouri, the church also took the name "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints"

The phrase "Mormon Church" never appears on the page. For the recorded consensus on forms like "LDS Church", see MOS:LDS, a link to Wikipedia's Manual of Style. It looks like last time the use of the phrase "LDS Church" was discussed, a preponderance of editors came out in favor of using "LDS Church" as the preferred shorthand for pages in mainspace, and the discussion closed with that as consensus. P-Makoto (she/her) (talk) 02:13, 6 February 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 15 April 2024

The statement in quotes below is not accurate there is no LDS Church, and members of the church have always referred to one another as Saints. They did for a period of time accept being called Mormons, but it was derogatory and often used to imply the members were not Christian, or that they were non member sympathizers of the church in general.

"Mormons generally regard Smith as a prophet comparable to Moses and Elijah. Several religious denominations identify as the continuation of the church that he organized, including the LDS Church and the Community of Christ."

It should read "Saints generally regard Smith as a prophet comparable to Moses and Elijah. Several religious denominations identify as the continuation of the church that he organized, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints commonly referred to as the LDS Church, and the Community of Christ." Jason Wasden (talk) 22:54, 15 April 2024 (UTC)

When you're writing for a global audience (as we are), a saint is typically understood to be a dead person who has been canonized. In that light, it's unlikely that "Saints generally regard Smith" at all. Also, see MOS:LDS. ~Awilley (talk) 01:19, 16 April 2024 (UTC)

I suggest we use Jason Wasden's edit, but with "Saints" changed to "Latter-day saints" or at least "Latter-day saints (Mormons)." FluxIntegral (talk) 20:47, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

 Not done for now: please establish a consensus for this alteration before using the {{Edit semi-protected}} template. '''[[User:CanonNi]]''' (talk|contribs) 01:47, 16 April 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 14 October 2024

I suggest that note b should be changed to include the fact that the vast majority of Latter Day Saints followed Brigham Young. FluxIntegral (talk) 20:45, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Bowler the Carmine | talk 17:21, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Number of children

The article mentions the children he had with Emma, but does not mention if he had children with the other women he was involved with. Is there a hard and fast number and can we get that included in the article? JustAChurchMouse (talk) 10:36, 27 November 2024 (UTC)

Children with other women have been suggested but many that can be checked via genetics have been disproven. A table of a few of the suggested and disproven candidates is included at List of Joseph Smith's wives#Allegations of children born to polygamous wives. --FyzixFighter (talk) 13:11, 27 November 2024 (UTC)