Joseph Smith was born in Vermont on Dec 23, 1805. If he were alive today he would be 205 years old, but unfortunately he was martyred by an angry mob in a jail cell in Carthage, Illinois awaiting trial on trumped up charges.I have been privileged over the years to follow in his footsteps from Sharon, Vermont to Palmyra, NY to Kirkland, Ohio to Liberty Jail in Missouri to Nauvoo, Illinois and finally to the Carthage Jail in Illinois. Most of my ancestors were Mormon pioneers from the eastern states and European nations that came to this country seeking religious freedom after being converted by early church missionaries.
If you want know more about this amazing man who restored the primitive church to earth after the great apostasy spoken of in the Bible, see josephsmith.net It all started when as a young boy he wanted to know which church to join as his parents had joined two different protestant faiths. There are now over 15 million Mormons or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the world with 150 operating temples. See video.