Was Joseph Smith a Money Digger?

Authors

Steven C. Harper

Keywords

Joseph Smith, money digger

Abstract

Was not Jo Smith a money digger?” It’s a legitimate, frequently asked question from Joseph Smith’s day to ours. An early Latter-day Saint newspaper, the Elders’ Journal, asked and then answered that question in a pair of articles published in 1837 and 1838. The first article teased readers with a list of provocative “questions which are daily and hourly asked by all classes of people whilst we are traveling,” then promised that answers would follow in a subsequent issue. The second article answered candidly: “Yes.” Joseph Smith was a money digger, meaning that he dug for buried treasure. “But,” the article added, “it was never a very profitable job to him, as he only got fourteen dollars a month for it.”

Recommended Citation

Harper, Steven C. (2023) "Was Joseph Smith a Money Digger?," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 62: Iss. 4, Article 4.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol62/iss4/4