My name is Mike
Kennedy. I am the third great-grandson of Joseph Smith
through Alexander Hale and his daughter Emma Bell. I was
born in Utah but raised in Nevada. I never had a background
in the LDS Church, never knew the word “Mormon,” never had
any background of any kind associated with The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was completely foreign
to me.
I started off not
knowing anything about Joseph, and I’ve come to learn that
Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, that the Book of Mormon
is true . . . and that these experiences that I have even
though I’m a descendant isn’t unique; it applies to all who
are willing to go about the same principles and the
same task which I did, which is the same thing that Joseph
Smith did when he went into a grove of trees and prayed.
One thing that I
know about the Prophet’s family: Joseph had a lot of
persecution, and his posterity was not exempt from that and
endures much. And the gospel makes that enduring much easier
to understand how to deal with those problems and how to be
happy in this life. And I implore all to be able to begin
by searching Joseph Smith and what he did and more
importantly read his results . . . Read the Book of Mormon
and search for yourself.
