Early Life
Born in Royalton, Vermont, Smith and his family suffered considerable financial problems and moved several times in the New England area. He was living in the home of his parents near Manchester, New York when his brother Joseph reported that he had brought home golden plates from the hill Cumorah. William was told by Joseph that he could not view the golden plates but was allowed to reach into the case and feel what Joseph said were the plates. William was baptized into his brother's Church of Christ on June 9, 1830 by David Whitmer, one of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon.
Read more about this topic: William Smith (Latter Day Saints)
Famous quotes related to early life:
“... goodness is of a modest nature, easily discouraged, and when much elbowed in early life by unabashed vices, is apt to retire into extreme privacy, so that it is more easily believed in by those who construct a selfish old gentleman theoretically, than by those who form the narrower judgments based on his personal acquaintance.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)