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Joseph Smith The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the world's fastest growing religions. With over eleven million members worldwide today, some experts have projected a membership of nearly 265 million in the year 2080 (Anderson). This would make the LDS Church second only to the Roman Catholic Church in population. It is an awe-inspiring prediction, when one considers the humble beginnings of the Church not even two centuries past. It all began with a most intriguing man, one who was destined to shape American history through the religion he planted and cultivated on American soil. This is the story of Joseph Smith, the American Prophet. Joseph Smith Jr. was born on December 23, 1805, as the fourth child of Joseph and Lucy Smith. He was born into an insecurity that in a lifetime of thirty-eight years he would never escape. By the time he was five the family had moved from Sharon, Vermont, to Randolph, then to Royalton, and finally to Lebanon, New Hampshire. At this time a depression was hanging over New England. Its economy had been all but destroyed by Jefferson's embargo against England and France, and later by the War of 1812. All that remained of the once lucrative trade with Canada was a t