The History of Joseph Smith by His Mother

History of Joseph Smith by His Mother is a biography of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, according to his mother, Lucy Mack Smith. It was originally titled Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations and was published by Orson Pratt in Liverpool in 1853. Background Shortly following the death of Joseph Smith in 1844, and into 1845, Lucy Mack Smith dictated her recollections and family story to Nauvoo schoolteacher Martha Jane Coray. Coray worked with her husband to compile these books of notes and other sources into a manuscript, which was then copied. One copy was given to apostle Brigham Young, and the other stayed with Lucy Smith in Nauvoo. Eventually, apostle Orson Pratt obtained Lucy's copy and published it in 1853, to great controversy. Brigham Young's opposition After its publication, Brigham Young declared the book to be a "tissue of lies" and wanted corrections made. In the Millennial Star in 1855, he said,