Genre: Biography, Church History

Mark L. McConkie is a Professor of Public Management with the Graduate School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Dr. McConkie has published, lectured, and consulted internationally. A former Stake President, he currently serves as the Family Historian for the Joseph Smith, Sr., and Lucy Mack Smith Family Association.

In this talk, delivered at a special symposium for the posterity of Joseph Smith, Sr., Dr. McConkie shares understanding gained in the research and writing of the book "The Father of the Prophet." In this lecture he shows how in many ways Joseph Smith, Jr., was simply the mirror reflection of his father whose name he bore. Unbounded faith in God, dreams and visions, the spirit of revelation, strength of mind and body, and a dogged independence from the religious traditions of their day are numbered among the characteristics they shared in common.