The question is (with the answer provided below):

Where are those photos pf the dead Joseph Smith (which some on this board claim to have seen posted on unspecified internet sites).

What those photos show (with updated information since added) . . .
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--Photographing the Dead Bodies of Joseph and Hyrum Smith Uncovers Some Basic Identity Problems

"In the Smith Family cemetery in the Community of Christ [formerly the RLDS Church] section of old Nauvoo, there is one large tombstone/monument that lists the names from left to right 'Hyrum Smith Joseph Smith and Emma Smith.' Joseph actually lies beneath Hyrum's name and Hyrum lies beneath Joseph's name; this in effect makes Joseph apart from Emma.

"Here is the rest of the story:

"A public viewing was held on 29 June 1844, after which empty coffins weighted with sandbags were used at the public burial. (This was done to prevent theft or mutilation of the bodies). The actual coffins bearing the bodies of the Smith brothers were initially buried under the unfinished Nauvoo House, then disinterred and reburied under an out-building on the Smith homestead. The exact location of the gravesite was soon lost to memory.

"In 1928, Frederick M. Smith, president of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and grandson of Joseph Smith, fearing that rising water from the Mississippi River would destroy the gravesite, authorized civil engineer William O. Hands to conduct an excavation to find Joseph and Hyrum's bodies. Hands conducted extensive digging on the Smith homestead and located the bodies. The remains--which were badly decomposed--were examined and photographed and the bodies were reinterred beside Emma Smith on higher ground. They did not notify Joseph Fielding Smith--who was the closest descendant of Hyrum--that they were doing this. It really made him mad when he found out.

"Anyway, one of the skulls had a missing facial area. The other skull still had much of the face intact. Since it was known that Hyrum had been shot just to the side of his nose, the RLDS assumed that the skull that was missing a facial area must have been Hyrum's, so when they reburied them they put the name of Hyrum over the skull with the missing facial bones.

"Then in 1993, a forensic team compared the death masks of Joseph and Hyrum to the photographs of their exhumed skulls and found that Joseph's death mask fit the skull with the missing facial bones. Apparently, 'when Joseph fell from the second-story window at Carthage Jail in June of 1844, he suffered facial fractures. Because death occurred only minutes after this event, the bones never healed together and as decomposition of the soft tissues progressed in the grave, the fragments fell from the face, leaving a void in the skull." Hyrum's skull is intact, except for the piece missing where he was shot."

("Title: Top 10 Things You Didn't Know about Joseph Smith's Death." posted in commentary section by "Hueffenhardt," 28 April 2006, at: http://forum1.aimoo.com/theviewfromthefoyer/category/Top-10-Things-You-Didn-t-Know-About-Joseph-Smith-s-Death-1-463255.html)


Another account, from which the above was apparently borrowed:

"Joseph and Hyrum Smith's bodies were returned to Nauvoo the next day [28 June 1844]. The bodies were cleaned and examined, and death masks were made preserving their facial features and structures.

"A public viewing was held on June 29, 1844, after which empty coffins weighted with sandbags were used at the public burial. (This was done to prevent theft or mutilation of the bodies). The coffins bearing the bodies of the Smith brothers were initially buried under the unfinished Nauvoo House, then disinterred and deeply reburied under an out-building on the Smith homestead.

"In 1928, Frederick M. Smith, president of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and grandson of Joseph Smith, fearing that rising water from the Mississippi River would destroy the grave site, authorized civil engineer William O. Hands to conduct an excavation to find Joseph and Hyrum's bodies. Hands conducted extensive digging on the Smith homestead, and located the bodies, as well as finding the remains of Joseph's wife, Emma, who was buried in the same place. The remains—-which were badly decomposed—-were examined and photographed, and the bodies were reinterred."

("Death of Joseph Smith," under "Internment," at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Joseph_Smith)
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--More on the Joseph Smith Skull/Death Mask Mismatch

In an article entitled, "Forensic Evidence: A Closer Look," the claim is made that--based on archival material provided with the permission of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--the death mask of Joseph Smith has actually been mismatched with the body of his slain brother, Hyrum:

"I opened up the hybrid image of the skull and jaw [of Joseph Smith] in Photoshop Image Editor and created a new layer to receive the death mask and pasted it into that layer. I had to work with the scale of the death mask so that it would correspond to the size of the skull images.

"The software I used allowed me to maintain exact ratios as I moved the scale up and down. I was thus able to keep the image in a correct aspect ratio to the original image as I worked with it. My first discovery was that Joseph's death mask needed to be tilted back more at the top. Joseph had a high, sloping forehead.

"In order to capture the full facial features, George Cannon apparently tilted the plaster cast down at the top of the head to cover the full detail. This would explain why Joseph's mask makes his chin look weak and recessed when the mask is laid flat on a table.

"When Joseph's mask is compared to Hyrum's, it is immediately clear that they were not cast at the same angle. Joseph's mask must be rotated upward at the bottom to be in the same plane as Hyrum's. I needed to rotate the image of Joseph's mask out at the bottom and back at the top to correct this discrepancy.

"I made the necessary adjustments of rotation and scale and moved the transparent image of Joseph's death mask over the image of the skull and jaw.

"They matched perfectly!

"The death mask lined up at almost every location of the front skull profile. In fact, the only adjustment needed was caused by eight-degree rotation of the skull photo from a perfect right angle. Once that was corrected, I had no doubts. This skull (the one the RLDS officers had identified as Hyrum's) belonged to Joseph's death mask. Joseph's skull [when aligned] with Hyrum's death mask [was] [n]ot a match." . . . "[A] 3D model of Joseph with skull [and] death-mask overlay [of Joseph Smith is a match]."

"The likeness itself was striking. I was looking at an image of Joseph based on physiological data never before used in examining his appearance. I believe this image to be more accurate than anyone had seen in over 150 years. I wasn't finished yet. Much would yet need to be done to prepare and present to the world an image of Joseph that was accurate in every respect. But I could see him before me now, on the screen of my computer, and I knew that we were going to have enough information to complete the work and allow people to see Joseph with more accuracy than he had been seen since 1844."

("Forensic Evidence: A Closer Look," at:
http://web.archive.org/web/20040406094315/http://home.fuse.net/stracy/forensic.htm)
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--The Photographs, Along with Their Revealing Details, are in Possession of the RLDS Church/Community of Christ

The photographs taken by the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints/Community of Christ of Joseph and Hyrum Smith's dead bodies are acknowldged to presently be in existence but are reportedly being kept confidential for privacy reasons.

In an article entitled, "The Skull: A Missing Link," the following is noted:

"While researching the death of Joseph Smith Jr., we came across information that he and his brother Hyrum were exhumed, examined and photographed in 1928 by the RLDS Church.

"Out of respect for the Prophet and the Smith Family, we will not publish the actual photographs.

"However, back in 1993 the authors received permission from the RLDS Church to have copies of these exhumation photographs studied by a team of experts in Forensic Pathology, This was first time the RLDS Church allowed the photographs to be taken from their vaults for study. Years prior to this, tracings of these photos were made by Utah artist William Whitaker.

"These will be used here to illustrate the findings of the experts.

"A study of the RLDS photographs shows that Joseph's skull is missing the facial area. That his facial bones were missing was made even more puzzling when we found that his brother Hyrum's facial bones were intact, even though he was shot in the face at the time of his death.

"We therefore considered that when Joseph the Prophet fell from the second-story window at Carthage Jail in June of 1844, he suffered facial fractures. Because death occurred only minutes after this event, the bones never healed together and as decomposition of the soft tissues progressed in the grave, the fragments fell from the face, leaving a void in the skull."

"[From] Fig. 6: The remains of the skull of Joseph Smith [as] traced by William Whitaker from the exhumation photographs taken by the RLDS Church in 1928: Notice that Joseph's skull is missing the facial bones. Previously it had been assumed that this void resulted from decomposition in the grave. Evidence reveals that there is more than just decomposition to the story these bones reveal.

[From] Fig. 6A . . . : The remains of the skull of Hyrum Smith, brother of Joseph, [as] traced by William Whitaker from the exhumation photographs taken by the RLDS Church in 1928. The fact that Hyrum's skull is intact, except for the piece missing where he was shot, proves that decomposition is not the reason for the void in Joseph's skull. Hyrum was buried right next to Joseph."

"This is not the end of this study, currently there are other experts and scientific analyses scheduled. We are confident that their findings will continue to add insight into the face, life and times of Joseph Smith."
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--Originial, Follow-up and Expanded Research

For graphics and illustrations with accompanying text on Joseph Smith's skull, see:

--"The Skull: A Missing Link," at: http://comevisit.com/lds/CHAP3.HTM; update, "The Skull: Thie Missing Link," at: http://www.photographfound.com/Photograph_Found/The_Skulls.htm; and update, "Another Daguerreotype," at: http://www.photographfound.com/Photograph_Found/Appendix_D.html


For detailed examination of Joseph Smith's death mask, see:

"A Comparison with the Death Mask," at: http://comevisit.com/lds/CHAP2.HTM; update, "A Comparison with the Death Mask," at: http://www.photographfound.com/Photograph_Found/The_Death_Mask.html; and update, "Another Daguerreotype,"
at: http://www.photographfound.com/Photograph_Found/Appendix_D.html


For analysis of facial fractures found on Joseph Smith's skull, see:

--"Did Joseph Smith Receive Facial Fractures?," at: http://comevisit.com/lds/CHAP4.HTM; update, "Did Joseph Smith Receive Facial Fractures?," at: http://www.photographfound.com/Photograph_Found/Facial_Fractures.html; "Facial Fractures Explain the Differences Between the Death Mask and the JS Photograph," at: http://comevisit.com/lds/CHAP5.HTM; and update, "Facial Fractures Explain the Differences Between the Death Mask and the Photograph," at: http://www.photographfound.com/Photograph_Found/Differences.html

For access to and assessement of the research, see:

"How Can I Get the Graphic File?," at: http://comevisit.com/lds/CHAP6.HTM; and update, "Nearing Twenty Years.... A Perspective...," at: http://www.photographfound.com/Photograph_Found/Conclusion.html


For the overall, expanded site on the research per Joseph Smith's skull and supporting daguerreotype, see:

"Photograph Found: a 20-year Perspective," at:
http://www.photographfound.com/Photograph_Found/Welcome.html


For the death masks of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, displayed side-by-side, see:

"Death on a Thursday Afternoon: The Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, June 27, 1844," at: http://www.woodlandinstitute.com/joseph/martyrdom.php

*****


This puts a whole new face on Joseph Smith (which the Mormon Church--in its own, far less honest way--has been trying to do for years).



Edited 49 time(s). Last edit at 05/27/2013 07:50PM by steve benson.

I believe that is correct. I mean, look at the nose. It looks just like Pinnochio's. Probably got that way from all the lying.

Interesting, but why did they need the skull photos to virtually reconstruct his face? Couldn't they have just used his phrenology chart?
RG

The official LDS publication, “History of the Church” (vol. 5, p. 53), acknowledged the lore of Smith's attraction to females, as described in 'The Wasp,” a LDS newspaper published in Nauvoo, Illinois:

“[On 2 July 1843], the [Mormon] Church newspaper 'The Wasp' publishe[d] a phrenology chart of Smith's head and personality. The first trait [was] 'Amativeness-11, L[arge]. Extreme susceptibility; passionately fond of the company of the other sex.' The official 'History of the Church' still publishes this chart, along with the caution that such a high score indicates 'extreme liability to perversion.'"

("Joseph Smith's Polygamy Chronology,” at: http://www.i4m.com/think/polygamy/JS_Polygamy_Timeline.htm)



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/27/2013 01:38AM by steve benson.

Hey Steve, you might know about this. When did the cult turn JS into the handsome man we see in their fraudulant art? From what I understand he looks nothing like most artistic impressions of him and I have heard mention he was quite "frumpy."

Are there any good photos of the profit?

This site says no: http://sethadamsmith.com/2008/01/06/photographs-of-the-prophet-joseph-smith/

Maybe he didn't exist :). How come so many of Emma and none with her Joseph?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/2013 11:29PM by snuckafoodberry.

Contemporary paintings of him, made while he was alive, showed him as someone much less attractive, macho and good-looking than the Mormon propaganda art we see of him today. The Mormon Cult's Operation Martyr Man involves giving him ongoing plastic surgery that has magically turned him from a portly little pig into a chiseled Hollywood he-man.

It's called resurrection, Mormon-morphing style



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/02/2017 06:14PM by steve benson.

By coincidence I was just listening to a recent Skepticality podcast which mentioned Joseph's phrenological chart. Crazy.
http://www.skepticality.com/science-asap/

Which led me to this Dialogue article:
http://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V09N01_44.pdf

Steve, you must be psychic!

http://www.photographfound.com/Photograph_Found/Welcome.html - an updated version of the website Steve linked to. I thought people might be interested

Man, now I wish I could have been at Carthage, so I could have walked over to Joe Smith and used the old, "Does your face hurt, because it's killing me," line.

I like that they were buried under an "out building" in the Smith yard.

I like thinking that the out building was the out house and he's lying in the pile of shit he made.

"Where is Joseph Smith buried?," at: http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,907858,907858#msg-907858

http://www.lds.org/museum/exhibit/images/d99_mr.jpg

There were lots of drawings and paintings of joseph smith by reliable artists while he was alive. The one above is one of more flattering ones I have seen ... Hyrum on left, JS on right. This painting was popular in Nauvoo after they died, so likely it must have looked a little bit like them. In most drawings JS has a barrel chest and a bird beak nose, his death mask looks a bit like the drawings, not so much the photographs or the church's images it uses for Joseph Smith in publications and manuals.

The first pic athttp://sethadamsmith.com/2008/01/06/photographs-of-the-prophet-joseph-smith/ looks like the first new Satan in the new temple videos, just needs the mole on his right cheek.

When I was very young Smith's deathmask was right there in the Tmple Square museum with Brigham Young's cane and top hat.

That death mask is a replica and is still there. Original death mask is owned by the RLDS (Community of Christ) church.