But crazy in a way, that attracted people to him. People who thought he had a special relationship with God (they thought he was Prophet of God) and who made his writings sacred scripture. His craziness increased as he got older, and resulted in his death at the hands of an angry mob, in 1844, when he was still a young man.
His followers scattered, and ended up many places - the largest number in Utah, under the leadership of Brigham Young, After making an epic journey across the Rocky Mountains - the longest in religious history (the LDS). A smaller church, the RLDS, was formed under his oldest son, Joseph Smith III. And this was the church my family belonged to.
JSIII was a capable leader, in that he shared power with rich farmers, who owned the church, financially. Under their direction, the church moved from Plano, Illinois to Lamoni, Iowa, to Independence, Missouri, He was content with a active missionary program, that increased the church membership - under him.
Many of these new members came from Australia, and they formed the core of the active church leadership after his death.
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