President Joseph F. Smith's Baptismal Manifestation
Published October 13, 2026 at 6:06 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
On May 21, 1852, Joseph F. Smith was baptized in City Creek, near the northeast corner of Temple Square in Salt Lake City. The ordinance was performed by President Heber C. Kimball, a member of the First Presidency and a close friend of Joseph's father, who had been martyred years earlier. Describing the experience, Joseph F. Smith recalled a profound spiritual manifestation that occurred during or immediately following his baptism. He felt a deep assurance that his sins had been forgiven and that he had been cleansed. He reported that his heart was touched with such peace that he felt an aversion to harming even the smallest insect and a fervent desire to do good to everyone and everything. He described this feeling as a 'newness of life' and a 'newness of desire to do that which was right,' noting that there was not one particle of desire for evil left in his soul. Though he was but a young boy at the time, this experience served as a living witness to him of his acceptance by the Lord, a testimony that remained with him throughout his life.
In Their Own Words
“I was baptized by President Heber C. Kimball, in City Creek, near the northeast corner of the Temple Block, in Salt Lake City, on the 21st of May, 1852. I remember the occasion very well. I remember the feeling that I had. I felt in my soul that if I had sinned—and surely I was not without sin—that it had been forgiven me; that I was indeed cleansed from sin; my heart was touched, and I felt that I would not injure the smallest insect beneath my feet. I felt as if I wanted to do good everywhere to everybody and to everything. I felt a newness of life, a newness of desire to do that which was right. There was not one particle of desire for evil left in my soul. I was but a little boy, it is true, when I was baptized; but this was the influence that came upon me, and I know that it was from God, and was and ever has been a living witness to me of my acceptance of the Lord.”
— Joseph F. Smith, discourse delivered at the Salt Lake Stake conference, 1905
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 6 April 1905 (Vol. 67, No. 14). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1905-04-06_67_14 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Additional sources (periodical research): Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, Chapter 7: The Glorious Work of Repentance and Baptism, 2011. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-joseph-f-smith/chapter-7?lang=eng; Michael D. Taylor, "The Baptisms of Latter-day Prophets," Religious Educator 3, no. 3 (2002): 61–64. https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-3-no-3-2002/baptisms-latter-day-prophets Full first-person account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 67, No. 14, April 6, 1905, p. 210 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1905-04-06_67_14
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