A Psychological Profile of Latter-day Saint Founder, Joseph Smith, Jr.

A Behavioral Analysis Examining Personality Traits, Motivations,
and Discrepancies Between Official and Independent Accounts

Prepared Using Accepted Psychological Methods of
Personality and Behavioral Analysis
January 2026

INTRODUCTION

Joseph Smith, Jr. (1805-1844) stands as one of the most consequential and controversial religious figures in American history. As the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, Smith claimed divine visions, translated ancient scriptures, established a new church, built cities, commanded a militia, and ran for President of the United States—all before his death at age thirty-eight. The angel Moroni allegedly warned the young Smith that his name would “be had for good and evil among all nations,” a prophecy that has proven remarkably accurate given the polarized assessments of his character that persist to this day.

Understanding Smith’s personality is essential for comprehending the origins and development of a religious tradition that now claims over seventeen million adherents worldwide. Yet as historian Jan Shipps observed, scholarly treatments have historically been divided between two irreconcilable positions: believing Mormons who portray Smith as God’s chosen prophet who could do no wrong, and non-Mormon writers who describe him as a highly manipulative and psychologically disturbed charlatan. This report seeks to move beyond such polarized accounts by applying established psychological frameworks to the available historical evidence.

The significance of this analysis extends beyond academic interest. Joseph Smith’s personality directly shaped the doctrines, practices, and institutional structures he established. His charismatic leadership style, his claims of direct divine communication, his practice of polygamy, and his accumulation of religious, political, and military authority all reflect underlying psychological traits that merit careful examination. As Fawn Brodie titled her groundbreaking biography, “No Man Knows My History”—quoting Smith’s own declaration that even he could not fully understand himself.

METHODOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK

This analysis employs multiple established psychological frameworks for examining personality, while acknowledging the inherent limitations of assessing historical figures who cannot be directly interviewed or tested. The primary methodological approaches include:

The Big Five Personality Model (OCEAN): This widely validated framework assesses personality across five dimensions: Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. Each trait represents a continuum along which individuals can be placed based on observable behaviors and documented patterns.
Narcissistic Personality Assessment: Following the work of historian Lawrence Foster and psychologist Len Oakes, this analysis considers whether Smith displayed patterns consistent with narcissistic personality traits, including grandiosity, need for admiration, lack of empathy, and interpersonal exploitation. Importantly, this framework does not necessarily imply mental illness but rather describes a personality orientation that can characterize both highly successful leaders and those with clinical pathology.
Prophetic Charisma Model: Oakes’ five-stage model of prophetic development (Early Narcissism, Incubation, Awakening, Mission, and Decline/Fall) provides a framework for understanding how Smith’s sense of religious calling evolved.
Behavioral Analysis: This approach examines observable behaviors and their environmental contexts, focusing on patterns of action rather than inferred mental states. Applied behavior analysis emphasizes what individuals actually did rather than speculating about unconscious motivations.

Sources examined include official LDS publications (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Gospel Topics essays, BYU speeches, Deseret News articles, FAIR apologetics), independent scholarly works (Fawn Brodie’s No Man Knows My History, Dialogue Journal articles), contemporary accounts (court records, newspaper articles, affidavits), and critical analyses (Mormonism Research Ministry, academic journal articles on narcissism and prophetic leadership).

PERSONALITY TRAITS ANALYSIS

Big Five Personality Traits Assessment

Openness to Experience: VERY HIGH
Joseph Smith demonstrated extraordinarily high openness to experience. His mother, Lucy Mack Smith, described him as “much less inclined to perusal of books than any of the rest of our children, but far more given to meditation and deep study.” His willingness to claim visionary experiences, to generate entirely new religious doctrines, and to repeatedly reimagine the nature of God, humanity, and the cosmos reflects extreme openness. Fawn Brodie characterized him as possessing “a boundless imagination” and “tremendous dramatic talent.” His aspiration to learn ancient languages (Hebrew, Greek) and his engagement with theological complexity further demonstrate intellectual curiosity characteristic of high openness.

Extraversion: HIGH
Multiple sources describe Smith as gregarious, charismatic, and energized by social interaction. His own writings reference his “native cheery temperament.” Contemporary Daniel Hendrix recalled that Smith “had a jovial, easy, don’t-care way about him that made him a lot of warm friends. He was a good talker.” Truman Madsen noted Smith’s participation in wrestling, baseball, and competitive games. LDS convert Jane Manning James described him as “the finest man I ever saw on earth.” His preaching drew large crowds, and he thrived in leadership roles requiring public performance.

Conscientiousness: MODERATE TO LOW
Evidence regarding conscientiousness is mixed. On one hand, Smith demonstrated remarkable persistence in pursuing his religious mission despite enormous opposition and hardship. He organized complex institutions, managed significant financial operations, and maintained detailed records. However, his financial history reveals problematic patterns: the collapse of the Kirtland Safety Society, unpaid debts, and eventual bankruptcy filing suggest difficulties with fiscal responsibility. The 1826 court case documented his involvement in treasure-digging ventures that produced no tangible results. His own early apology acknowledged “many vices and follies” and a “light, and too often, vain mind.”

Agreeableness: VARIABLE
Smith’s agreeableness varied dramatically depending on context. With loyal followers, he could be warm, generous, and compassionate—opening his home to strangers, demonstrating “gentle charities” in family life, and inspiring deep personal loyalty. New York journalist Matthew L. Davis found him “a plain, sensible, strong-minded man” who spoke sincerely. However, Smith could also be stern, confrontational, and vindictive toward critics and apostates. Truman Madsen acknowledged he “often sternly rebuked others” and “sometimes quarreled with people who mistreated him.”

Neuroticism: MODERATE TO HIGH
Smith experienced significant emotional volatility. He described periods of feeling “condemned” for his “weakness and imperfections.” His plural wife, Mary Rollins Lightner, recalled him stating: “I am tired, I have been mobbed, I have suffered so much from outsiders and from my own family.” Near the end of his life, he declared, “Excitement has almost become the essence of my life. When that dies away, I feel almost lost.” This suggests patterns of mood instability and possible depression alternating with periods of heightened energy.

Narcissistic Traits and Prophetic Charisma

Historian Lawrence Foster, writing in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, argues that narcissism provides “the most useful psychological framework” for understanding Smith’s personality and motivation. This assessment is supported by multiple lines of evidence:

Grandiose Sense of Self-Importance: Smith claimed to receive direct revelation from God, to translate ancient scripture, to possess priesthood authority superior to all other religious leaders, and ultimately to hold keys to human salvation and exaltation. He reportedly declared that he had “more to boast of than ever any man had” and claimed to have kept the church together better than Jesus himself. During his final years in Nauvoo, he served simultaneously as prophet, mayor, militia commander, and ran for president.
Preoccupation with Fantasies of Unlimited Success and Power: Smith founded the Council of Fifty and was reportedly crowned “king” of a future Kingdom of God intended to eventually encompass all of North and South America. His theological innovations promised that faithful followers could themselves become gods.
Interpersonal Exploitation: Smith’s practice of plural marriage raises significant questions about exploitation. According to documented research, Smith married between thirty-three and forty-one women, including several teenagers (ages fourteen to sixteen) and twelve to fourteen women already married to other men (polyandry). The coercive elements included religious threats of “destruction” for those who refused, as reflected in D&C 132.
Lack of Empathy: The secretive introduction of polygamy caused significant suffering for Emma Smith and the families of other plural wives. As documented by Danel Bachman, when apostles returned from England in 1841, Smith “rushed them to dinner at his home, not even giving them time to visit their own families” to immediately introduce them to plural marriage. This suggests prioritizing his own agenda over normal human consideration.
Requiring Excessive Admiration: Smith created and maintained a religious system in which followers were expected to sustain him as prophet, accept his revelations as divine, and defer to his authority in spiritual, temporal, and personal matters.

Importantly, psychiatrist Robert D. Anderson specifically diagnosed Smith with “malignant narcissism,” noting that “the theme of deceiving self and others is not a thread, but a steel cable” running through Smith’s life, beginning with money-digging and seer stone practices and continuing through his polygamous relationships.

Behavioral Patterns and Motivations

Treasure-Digging and Early Deception
Before establishing his church, Smith was extensively involved in folk magic and treasure-seeking. The 1826 court record documents his trial on charges of being “a disorderly person and an impostor” based on his use of a “seer stone” to claim he could locate buried treasure. In his own testimony, Smith admitted “he had a certain stone which he had occasionally looked at to determine where hidden treasures in the bowels of the earth were.” Neighbor William Stafford recounted providing a sheep for ritual sacrifice intended to appease spirits guarding treasure. Brodie notes that Smith later acknowledged being paid “fourteen dollars a month” for money-digging, though no treasures were ever found.

Evolution of Narrative
The accounts of Smith’s foundational visions underwent significant evolution. In the earliest written account (1831-1832), Smith described seeing “the Lord” at age sixteen. By 1835, this became two “personages” in a “pillar of fire” with “many angels.” The canonical version (1838-1839) specifies God the Father and Jesus Christ, changes his age to fourteen, and eliminates the angels. Brodie concludes that the “awesome vision he described in later years was probably the elaboration of some half-remembered dream… or it may have been sheer invention.”

Documented Deception
Smith publicly denied practicing polygamy while privately taking multiple wives. On May 26, 1844, he announced: “What a thing it is for a man to be accused of committing adultery, and having seven wives, when I can only find one.” LDS church historical resources now acknowledge he was married to approximately thirty to forty women at this time. Additionally, Doctrine and Covenants Section 101 (1835 edition) contained a public statement declaring that “one man should have one wife,” while Smith was already practicing plural marriage.

COMPARISON OF SOURCES: LDS VS. NON-LDS ACCOUNTS

Official LDS Portrayals

Official LDS sources consistently emphasize positive character traits while minimizing or contextualizing problematic behaviors. Key patterns include:

Selective Quotation: The official Church Gospel Topics essay on Joseph Smith’s Character emphasizes testimonials from loyal followers while briefly noting that “others have accused Joseph of wrongdoing” and categorizing these as “slander,” “false information,” or “misunderstanding.”
Hagiographic Framing: Truman Madsen’s BYU lectures present Smith as possessing extraordinary intellectual and spiritual gifts while acknowledging imperfections in ways that ultimately reinforce his prophetic status. Weaknesses are presented as evidence that God works through imperfect people.
Apologetic Reframing: FAIR Latter-day Saints characterizes the 1826 trial as merely a “hearing” rather than a trial, argues Smith was acquitted (disputed by historians), and attributes the charges to religious persecution rather than legitimate concerns about fraudulent treasure-digging claims.
Deseret News Portrayal: The 2025 article “Understanding Joseph Smith through the eyes of those who knew him” describes critics as a “mob” aiming to “sully his reputation” and presents exclusively positive testimonials from believers.

Contemporary Non-LDS Accounts

Non-LDS sources from Smith’s lifetime present a markedly different picture:

Neighbor Affidavits (1833-1834): Over one hundred Palmyra-area residents signed affidavits describing Smith as “destitute of moral character and addicted to vicious habits.” These testimonies, collected by Eber Howe for Mormonism Unvailed, detail Smith’s treasure-digging activities, claims of supernatural powers, and reputation for tall tales.
Court Records (1826): The Bainbridge trial record documents Smith’s own testimony about using a seer stone to claim he could locate buried treasure, though no treasures were ever found. While the outcome is disputed, the documented testimony reveals practices that would later be denied or minimized.
Isaac Hale Affidavit (1834): Smith’s father-in-law described him as “a careless young man—not very well educated, and very saucy and insolent to his father.” According to Peter Ingersoll, Smith admitted to Hale that “he could not see in a stone now, nor never could” and that “his former pretensions in that respect, were all false.”
Palmyra Press Coverage (1830-1831): Editor Abner Cole (“Obadiah Dogberry”) documented Smith’s treasure-digging activities and noted that “the prophet himself never made any serious pretentions to religion until his late pretended revelation” and that “Joe Smith never pretended to have any communion with angels until a long period after the pretended finding of his book.”

Key Discrepancies and Analysis

The comparison between official LDS sources and contemporary non-LDS accounts reveals several significant discrepancies:

1. Treasure-Digging Activities: LDS sources acknowledge Smith’s involvement but characterize it as brief and ultimately abandoned. Non-LDS sources describe extensive involvement over several years, multiple failed expeditions, magical rituals, and direct fraud claims. The court record documents Smith profiting from these activities while producing no actual treasure.
2. First Vision Evolution: LDS sources present the canonical 1838 account as an accurate history. Scholarly analysis reveals multiple, contradictory accounts with significant evolution in details (participants, Smith’s age, chronology). Contemporary sources from the 1820s and early 1830s contain no mention of this foundational vision.
3. Polygamy Practice and Denial: LDS sources now acknowledge Smith’s plural marriages but emphasize religious motivations and minimize coercive elements. Contemporary evidence documents Smith’s public denials, marriages to other men’s wives, marriages to teenagers, and use of religious authority to pressure compliance.
4. Book of Abraham Translation: LDS sources acknowledge Egyptologists have identified the papyri as Egyptian funerary documents with no connection to Abraham. The essay reframes Smith’s translation as “spiritual” rather than literal, despite Smith’s original claims of direct translation. Egyptologist Robert Ritner characterized the LDS defense as “simply indefensible.”
5. Character Assessments: LDS sources quote believers who found Smith sincere and impressive. Non-LDS sources document a reputation for “tall tales” and the inability to tell “a common occurrence in his daily life without embellishing the story with his imagination” (Daniel Hendrix).

CONCLUSION

This psychological profile of Joseph Smith reveals a complex, talented, and contradictory individual whose personality defies simple categorization as either prophet or fraud. The evidence supports the following conclusions:

• Smith displayed a distinctive personality profile characterized by very high openness to experience, high extraversion, moderate to low conscientiousness (particularly in financial matters), variable agreeableness depending on context, and moderate to high neuroticism with possible mood instability.
• Strong evidence supports the presence of narcissistic personality traits, including grandiosity, need for admiration, interpersonal exploitation (particularly in polygamous relationships), and difficulty acknowledging limitations or wrongdoing.
• Official LDS portrayals consistently demonstrate a pattern of hagiographic presentation that emphasizes positive testimonials, minimizes problematic behaviors, and reframes documented deceptions as misunderstandings or persecution. These sources cannot be considered reliable for objective character assessment.
• Contemporary non-LDS accounts, while potentially biased by religious opposition, document specific behaviors (treasure-digging, public denial of polygamy, evolving vision narratives) that are now acknowledged by LDS historians but were long denied or minimized.
• Smith possessed genuine charismatic gifts that attracted devoted followers and enabled remarkable organizational achievements. His ability to inspire loyalty, articulate compelling religious vision, and build community cannot be dismissed, regardless of one’s assessment of his character or claims.

The trajectory of Smith’s career—from teenage treasure-digger to religious prophet to theocratic leader commanding his own militia—follows patterns identified in studies of prophetic charisma and narcissistic leadership. His final years in Nauvoo, marked by escalating claims of authority, extensive polygamous activity, and accumulation of political and military power, suggest what Foster terms the “decline or fall” phase in which prophetic figures increasingly identify their personal will with divine mandate.

As William James observed, “If there were such a thing as inspiration from a higher realm, it might well be that the neurotic temperament would furnish the chief condition of the requisite receptivity.” Joseph Smith’s psychological profile neither proves nor disproves his religious claims, which ultimately remain beyond empirical verification. What this analysis demonstrates is that Smith was a remarkable but deeply flawed individual whose legacy continues to shape millions of lives—for good and for evil, as Moroni allegedly prophesied.

Having interviewed for a modern pastorate, Joseph Smith would very likely receive this letter:

Dear Mr. Smith:

The Biblical Standard for Church Leadership

The Apostle Paul, writing to Timothy and Titus regarding the selection of overseers (episkopos) and elders (presbuteros) for the early church, established specific character qualifications that have served as the standard for pastoral selection throughout church history. These qualifications are not merely suggestions but are presented as necessary requirements (“must be,” dei einai) for those who would occupy positions of spiritual authority.

“Husband of One Wife” (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6)
The Greek phrase mias gunaikos andra (“a one-woman man”) stands as one of the most universally recognized pastoral qualifications across Christian traditions. While interpretations vary regarding whether this prohibits remarriage after widowhood or divorce, the virtually unanimous consensus among traditional Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox churches is that it excludes polygamy and requires marital fidelity.

Your documented practice of plural marriage presents an insurmountable obstacle to this qualification. According to LDS Church-acknowledged historical research, you were married to between thirty-three and forty-one women, including twelve to fourteen women who were simultaneously married to other living husbands (polyandry). Several of these marriages involved teenagers, with brides as young as fourteen years old. Rather than representing a “one-woman man,” you institutionalized polygamy as religious doctrine and personally practiced it on an extensive scale.

“Above Reproach” / “Blameless” (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6–7)
The term anepilemptos (“above reproach”) and anegkletos (“blameless”) indicate that a candidate for church leadership should have a reputation that cannot be legitimately attacked. This does not require sinless perfection but does require that no serious, substantiated charges of moral failure attach to the candidate’s character.

The historical record documents numerous substantiated grounds for reproach against you: the 1826 court appearance on charges of being “a disorderly person and an impostor” related to treasure-digging fraud; over one hundred neighbors signing affidavits describing you as “destitute of moral character and addicted to vicious habits”; documented public denials of polygamy while secretly practicing it; the failed Kirtland Safety Society and resulting financial scandal; and numerous criminal indictments across multiple states. While your defenders attribute these to persecution, the sheer volume and consistency of documented concerns would give any responsible pulpit committee serious pause.

“Not a Lover of Money” / “Not Greedy for Gain” (1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7)
Paul’s requirement that overseers be aphilarguros (not a lover of silver) and not aischrokerdēs (greedy for dishonest gain) addresses both internal disposition and external behavior regarding finances.

Your early career was built upon charging fees for treasure-digging services that never produced results. You acknowledged being paid “fourteen dollars a month” for money-digging activities. The collapse of the Kirtland Safety Society, your filing for bankruptcy in 1842, and your pattern of unpaid debts raise legitimate questions about financial stewardship. While defenders argue these resulted from persecution and the costs of building religious communities, our search committee examining this financial history leaves us cause for concern.

“Good Reputation with Outsiders” (1 Timothy 3:7)
Paul specifies that the overseer “must have a good reputation with outsiders” (marturian kalēn echein apo tōn exothen) to avoid falling into disgrace and the devil’s trap. This qualification recognizes that church leaders represent Christianity to the watching world.

Your reputation among non-Mormons during your lifetime is predominantly negative. Contemporary newspaper coverage, neighbor affidavits, and the assessments of religious leaders in the communities where Mormons settled document widespread distrust and opposition. While LDS sources attribute this entirely to religious persecution, the biblical standard does not qualify reputation based on the source of criticism. Your own reported prophecy that your name would be had “for good and evil” acknowledges this reality.

“Not Violent” / “Not Quarrelsome” (1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7)
The terms mē plēktēn (not a striker/brawler) and amachon (not quarrelsome) indicate that church leaders should not be prone to physical violence or contentious disputes.

The record shows you were involved in multiple physical altercations. The official LDS Gospel Topics essay acknowledges a documented incident in 1843 where you “voluntarily submitted to a local justice of the peace, confessed his guilt, and paid a fine” after a physical confrontation with a tax collector. Neighbor William Stafford recalled disputes in which you “having drinked a little too freely” was “for fighting.” Your enthusiastic participation in wrestling and competitive physical activities, while not disqualifying in themselves, combined with documented violent incidents, suggest a temperament at odds with this qualification.

“Holding Firm to the Trustworthy Word” (Titus 1:9)
Paul requires that an elder “hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”

From the perspective of traditional Christian orthodoxy, your theological innovations represent radical departures from traditional Christian doctrine. Your teachings that God was once a man who progressed to godhood, that humans can become gods themselves, that there exist multiple gods, and your revision of the nature of the Trinity contradict the ecumenical creeds (Nicene, Chalcedonian) that define orthodox Christianity across Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions. Your production of additional scriptures (Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price) and your claim that existing Christian churches had fallen into total apostasy unequivically disqualify your from virtually any pulpit that affirms the sufficiency and finality of biblical revelation.

Assessment

It is difficult to imagine any other responsible pulpit committee in a traditional Christian denomination—whether Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran, Anglican, Catholic, Orthodox, or nondenominational evangelical—that could responsibly extend a call to you based on the documented historical record. The pattern of disqualifying factors is not marginal but comprehensive:

• Polygamy with thirty to forty wives directly violates the “husband of one wife” requirement
• Documented deceptions regarding polygamy and other matters compromise “above reproach” status
• Treasure-digging charges and financial failures raise questions about attitudes toward money
• Uniformly negative contemporary reputation among non-believers fails the “outsider” reputation test
• Documented violent incidents contradict “not violent/quarrelsome” requirements
• Theological innovations contradicting historic Christian orthodoxy disqualify him from “sound doctrine” standards

Perhaps only in certain liberal mainline denominations that have largely abandoned these biblical qualifications as normative—treating them as culturally conditioned rather than divinely mandated—might you receive consideration. Yet even in such contexts, the documented pattern of deception regarding polygamy and the financial irregularities would likely prove problematic.

This observation is not intended as an anachronistic judgment but rather as an application of standards that you yourself acknowledged. The LDS tradition accepts the Pauline epistles as scripture. The very qualifications Paul articulated were available to you and your early followers. The fact that your life so dramatically departed from these apostolic standards for church leadership invites sober reflection on the nature of your prophetic claims and the movement you founded.

As the Apostle Paul himself warned Timothy: “Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure” (1 Timothy 5:22). The biblical mandate for careful scrutiny of those who would lead God’s people exists precisely because the consequences of unqualified leadership extend far beyond the individual to affect entire communities of faith for generations.

In light of the matters detailed herein, we not only reject your candidacy but earnestly implore you to repent of the false teachings you have propagated and the lives you have damaged through deception. The same Scriptures that disqualify you from this office also hold forth the promise that ‘if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (1 John 1:9). Our prayer is that you would avail yourself of this grace.

Best regards,
The Pulpit Committee

REFERENCES

Anderson, R. D. (1999). Inside the Mind of Joseph Smith: Psychobiography and the Book of Mormon. Signature Books.

Brodie, F. M. (1971). No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith (2nd ed.). Alfred A. Knopf.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (2025). Joseph Smith’s Character. Gospel Topics. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/joseph-smiths-character

Compton, T. (1997). In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith. Signature Books.

FAIR Latter-day Saints. (2024). Joseph Smith’s 1826 Trial.

Foster, L. (2020). Why the Prophet is a Puzzle: The Challenges of Using Psychological Perspectives to Understand the Character and Motivation of Joseph Smith, Jr. Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 53(2).

Harrod, A. F. (1998). Deception by Design: The Mormon Story. Morris Publishing.

Hess, J. (2025). Understanding Joseph Smith through the eyes of those who knew him. Deseret News.

Howe, E. D. (1834). Mormonism Unvailed. E. D. Howe.

Joseph Smith Papers Project. Introduction to State of New York v. JS.

Kent, S. A. (2007). Narcissistic Fraud in the Ancient World: Lucian’s Account of Alexander of Abonuteichos. Cultic Studies Review, 6(2).

Madsen, T. G. (1978). Joseph Smith Lecture 2: Joseph’s Personality and Character. BYU Speeches.

Mormonism Research Ministry. (2018). The What Did Joseph Smith Lie About Approach.

Oakes, L. (1997). Prophetic Charisma: The Psychology of Revolutionary Religious Personalities. Syracuse University Press.

Shipps, J. (1974). The Prophet Puzzle: Suggestions Leading Toward a More Comprehensive Interpretation of Joseph Smith. Journal of Mormon History, 1, 3-20.

Simply Psychology. (2025). Big Five Personality Traits.