God did not randomly or accidentally pick the person, the place or the time to restore His gospel to His people, say two Church archivists/historians.

Copyright Intellectual Reserve, Inc., photo courtesy Church Historical Library

Likenesss of Joseph, right, and Hyrum Smith are captured in engraving. Brothers were influenced by a time in history when change was common.

"Joseph Smith's America was uniquely situated to accommodate this prophet raised up to restore the fullness of the gospel in the latter days," said William W. Slaughter. Often, he said, Latter-day Saints tend to talk about Joseph as if he lived in a vacuum. But he didn't.

So, for more than a year, Brother Slaughter and Chad M. Orton studied Joseph Smith's world or young America — the way Americans in the early and mid-1800s were referring to their nation. Their findings are published in a book titled, Joseph Smith's America, His Life and Times.

The young America of Joseph Smith was a changing, evolving and growing nation. "America at this time was a work in progress. They tended to refer to these times as young America with the idea that the best was yet to come," Brother Slaughter said. "For the first time in history change was the rule rather than the exception."

Religion in this time was also changing, as revival camp meetings swept through the country during the Second Great Awakening (a time of religious originality and transformation that refocused Americans' perception of religion). This religious movement helped inspire many of the social changes taking place in America. It also "stirred a young man to seek an answer to a question that many were asking," said Brother Orton.

That question and the events that followed made Joseph Smith the "most dynamic individual in one of the most dynamic times in American history," he added.

The thing to remember about America at this time, said Brother Orton, is that it was a frontier nation. "It was a life that called for physical and emotional courage, native resourcefulness and an ability to continually adapt. Life was a constant effort to ensure survival and betterment."

In Joseph's day, much of life was about survival. Then, "like a warm spring breeze after a long, cold winter," said Brother Slaughter, Joseph brought a message of hope: "There is more to life than providing food and shelter. There is meaning to life. There is beauty. There is positiveness."

America, added Brother Orton, was "overwhelmingly rural."

"Living on the frontier, you had to build everything from the ground up. Initially, you built a log cabin with the idea that you would build something better," he said. "To a man of the frontier that was an important lesson for Joseph because the Lord asked him to do the same thing with His Church — build it line upon line."

Because of his greatness, they said, Joseph was able to lead early Church members through progressive times. He was a health reformer, a book publisher, a powerful politician and a city builder, to name a few. And while others had progressive ideas about health or politics, time has proven Joseph's teaching right. Take, for example, the Word of Wisdom. "He really was ahead of his time," said Brother Orton.

"The fact that Joseph Smith stands out in this dynamic period says a lot," added Brother Slaughter.

In religion, two aspects of Joseph's teachings set him apart from his contemporaries, Brother Slaughter said. First was his belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ at a time when religionists were proclaiming Jesus to be only an important historical figure. Second, he recognized and actively acknowledged revelation to be necessary to understanding God. And he told everyone they could also receive revelation.

"Joseph was absolutely committed and concerned about his people," Brother Slaughter concluded. "I think he worried about them. He loved them. He wanted the best for them. It is a powerful lesson to see that (because of his teachings) a group of people found more meaning in life than survival."

The average people living on the frontier lived for themselves, added Brother Orton. "For Joseph, his life was about others — to see that they had a joyous and happy life, the same happiness that sustained him."

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