Joseph Smith’s miraculous healing of a bone infection in childhood

When Joseph Smith was eight years old, he suffered from a severe sore on his leg that threatened its loss. He refused to be tied or to take stimulants during the surgery to remove the diseased bone, insisting his father hold him instead, and he endured the procedure with great fortitude.

The medical condition, resulting from a wider typhoid fever epidemic in Lebanon, New Hampshire, involved osteomyelitis that led to an abscess in Joseph's shoulder before spreading to his leg. Dr. Nathan Smith, a founder of Dartmouth Medical College, performed the pioneering experimental surgery—a procedure he had developed years prior—which involved cutting into the bone to remove infected areas rather than opting for the amputation recommended by other surgeons. Dr. Stone assisted in the initial incision. Following the surgery, which successfully removed nine primary infected bone fragments, fourteen additional pieces later worked their way out as the leg healed. Joseph Smith used crutches for years and walked with a permanent slight limp into his adulthood, while the family faced significant financial strain from the resulting medical bills.