Joseph Smith Jr's Kevo

Joseph Smith, Jr. was born on December 23, 1805, in Sharon, Vermont to Joseph Smith, Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith. After his birth, the family moved to western New York, where they continued farming just outside the border of the town of Palmyra. This region was an area of intense revivalism and religious diversity during the Second Great Awakening. Although Smith had limited involvement with organized religion during his youth, he studied the Bible, held religious opinions, and was influenced by the common folk religion of the area.
Smith reported that, in 1820 at the age of 14, he experienced a theophany, an appearance of God to man, or a divine disclosure, most commonly referred to by Latter Day Saints as the First Vision. Smith recorded several accounts of the vision later in life. The version which is most well-known and read was published in 1838.

Smith was concerned as to the correct church to join, and went to a grove of trees to pray. According to the most well-known version, when he did, he had a vision where he saw God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, appear to him as two separate, glorious, resurrected beings (in other accounts, they are described as heavenly beings). They told him that none of the churches established at the time were correct, and that he should join none of them.

Soon after, Smith reported his vision to a local minister, who pronounced it "of the devil," because the minister believed "there were no such things as visions or revelations in these days; that all such things had ceased with the apostles, and there would never be any more of them". Smith recounted that he was soon the object of much persecution and reviling in his neighborhood, for maintaining that he had seen a vision.

According to Smith, an 1823 visitation from a resurrected prophet named Moroni led to his finding and unearthing (in 1827) a long-buried book, inscribed on metal plates, which contained a record of God's dealings with the ancient Israelite inhabitants of the Americas. The record, along with other artifacts (including a breastplate and what Smith referred to as the Urim and Thummim), was buried in a hill near his home. On September 22, 1827, Smith's record indicates that the angel allowed him (after 4 years of waiting and preparation) to take the plates and other artifacts. Almost immediately thereafter Smith began having difficulties with people trying to discover where the plates were hidden on the Smith farm.

Smith left the family farm in October of 1825 and was hired by Josiah Stoal, who lived in nearby Chenango county, to search with others for a rumored lost silver mine established in the area by the Spanish. After working for about a month, Smith states that "I prevailed with the old gentleman to cease digging after it. Hence arose the very prevalent story of my having been a money-digger.". During this time, Joseph Smith met Emma Hale, whom he married on January 18, 1827.

In 1826, Smith was convicted of being a "disorderly person" and an "impostor" in a court in Bainbridge, New York. However, details surrounding the case are still disputed by some historians.The court record states the conviction took place in March 1826, however, Smith was likely not present at the trial possibly not even notified of it. Convictions of people for a crime they committed after they no longer lived in an area were rare during the time. In addition, the record appears to have been either post-dated, inserted later, or otherwise tampered with contemporaneously, which leads to the disputes alluded to, although most Mormon and non-Mormon scholars believe the conviction did happen.