The early life of Joseph Smith, Jr. covers the period from his birth to the end of 1827, when Smith claimed to have located a set of Golden Plates engraved with ancient Christian scriptures, buried in a hill near his home in Manchester, New York. Joseph Smith, Jr. was the principal founder and leader of the Latter Day Saint movement, which includes such denominations as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Community of Christ. This early period of Smith's life is significant within Mormonism because it represents the time when Smith first claimed to act as a prophet, and when he claimed to obtain the Golden Plates, purportedly the source material for the Book of Mormon. During this period, Smith was influenced by numerous religious and cultural trends in early United States history. Chief among these trends, the nation at the time was undergoing a cultural reaction against the secularism of the Age of Enlightenment, called the Second Great Awakening.
(more)