Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
John Hollenhorst reporting There's been quite a stir over the last few days over what may be a unique and historic old photograph. It purports to be the only photo ever discovered of Joseph Smith, who's revered by millions as the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
There's been a storm of e-mail about the picture, with people forwarding their forwards to everyone they know. The photo actually surfaced in 1965, and then again in 1994. Although no religious authorities have vouched for its authenticity, some people are suddenly taking it pretty seriously.
The photo making the rounds by e-mail is a polished-up enhancement. The original daguerreotype first surfaced in 1965 in Independence, Missouri. It was donated to the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints -- now called the Community of Christ -- by a woman who believed it was an old picture of Joseph Smith.
Arizona author and researcher S. Michael Tracy said, "She purported that she was a distant family relative. We can't prove that."
Tracy has been studying the image for years, ever since it was rediscovered in RLDS archives in 1994. He's about to publish a book on his findings.
Many other alleged Joseph Smith photos have been discredited by experts. "Of all the different images, this is the only one that matches up forensically with what we know of Joseph Smith's anatomy," Tracy said.
He says his forensics team compared anatomical points in the photo with a death mask made at the time of Smith's murder, and with photos of Smith's skull taken when his remains were exhumed in the 1920s. There also were two sets of measurements of Smith's live skull, one made during a Joseph Smith visit to Philadelphia in 1839 and '40.
"Even had his head measured by phrenologists in Philadelphia. Well, there's a photographer about two blocks from there. His style is similar. We think that could be the place where this photograph was taken," Tracy said.
Tracy says he found 32 points of anatomical comparison. "His anatomy matches up perfectly with this image," Tracy said. He agrees there needs to be more study of the image. "In fact, we invite more people to come and study this image," he said.
If the photo is ever authenticated, it would be so significant to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that most Utahns would likely be seeing it for the rest of their lives. But its existence has been well-known to insiders of two churches for more than a decade, and neither is willing to vouch for its authenticity.
We've seen many images of Joseph Smith over the years, but all have been the work of painters, sculptors and illustrators. In his journals, Joseph Smith wrote he once had his image taken. But a daguerreotype-camera image has never turned up.
In the last few days, an e-mail explosion raised excitement about this image supposedly taken not long before Joseph Smith's murder in 1844.
"I immediately suspected it was a hoax," said attorney Brent Baker.
Baker has experience with rare documents and consulted about the picture with an expert he knows within the Church. "He said, ‘Don't jump to the conclusion that it's a hoax,'" Baker said.
The Community of Christ has tried to authenticate the photo but never has vouched for it publicly.
The LDS Church in Salt Lake says it has no opinion whatsoever, but Baker says church experts told him they take it seriously enough to wonder--and he now thinks it's real.
"It would be, I think, for observant members of the Church, a wonderful thing to have a picture of the Prophet Joseph Smith," Baker said. "It's sort of like a little bit of icing on the cake, like finding that picture of your great grandfather that you never knew you had."
Historian Will Bagley said he first saw the picture at least five years ago and believes it's a picture of someone else. "The best experts I've talked to about this reject it because the clothing isn't appropriate, and also it's a picture of a very thin man," he said. "And it has some problems in how little it looks like any other image of Smith that we have."
But Baker says, "Until someone proves this wrong, there's a good chance that this could be a picture of the Prophet Joseph Smith."
Why the sudden flurry of excitement for an old picture? Frankly, we're not sure. Tracy says he hopes his upcoming book will bring more experts into the discussion.
E-mail: jhollenhorst@ksl.com
