Several years ago I happened to walk into an LDS chapel where a prominent LDS speaker was presenting a fireside chat. He was discussing Joseph Smith's campaign for the presidency of the United States in 1844, which was a topic I had long been interested in.

I was in the building for another purpose, but because of the topic I stopped to listen. I could hardly believe it, however, when I heard him suggest that if Joseph Smith had not been murdered before the election he might well have won the presidency, and that in any case his campaign was so influential that it threw the election to James K. Polk, whose platform was similar to that of the Prophet's.

This, to me, is only one of many examples of how we sometimes distort history. Not that the speaker was a bad man or a liar. He was an interpreter of history, but one who seemed to feel that interpretations such as this would enhance the reputation of Joseph Smith and make him that much more of a prophet.

In my opinion, there could hardly have been a more inaccurate interpretation of that election. More importantly, stories like this only emphasize the importance of being very careful about what we accept as historical fact as opposed to speculation based on flimsy historical evidence.

Besides, whether Joseph Smith could or could not have won the election, or whether he did or did not influence the eventual outcome, has nothing to do with whether he was a true prophet.

Actually, there is no solid evidence that Joseph Smith really believed he could win the election. One reason he ran was simply to fill the void created by the fact that, from among the leading candidates at the time, there were none that he could support.

In addition, he made it clear in a statement on February 8, 1844, that the various persecutions endured by the saints convinced him that he must run in order to put the Mormon case before the American public and create a more positive public image for himself and the Mormon people.

After his presidential platform was complete, he sent more than 300 missionaries around the country to distribute it and to campaign for him, along with preaching the gospel. There is no evidence, however, that enough people were persuaded in any of the states that they would have given him their electoral vote.

Joseph Smith's presidential platform had much in common with the platforms of the leading candidates, but also some significance differences from them. In comparison with James K. Polk, the eventual winner, both men called for economic and governmental reform, but Joseph Smith also argued for a protective tariff and a new national bank while Polk opposed both.

The most controversial issue before the public, however, was western expansion -- whether the United States should annex Texas and take over other western territories. Both Joseph Smith and James K. Polk were strongly in favor. Joseph Smith also called for the abolition of slavery, but Polk said nothing of this in his platform.

In the final electoral vote, the state of New York was the pivotal state. It went to Polk only because a third-party candidate, James G. Birney, was running on an anti-slavery platform and this took enough votes away from Henry Clay to tip the election to Polk. Joseph Smith's campaign could hardly have influenced any of this. He and his platform were simply not that well known, despite the efforts of the missionaries. Besides, by the November election he was all but forgotten politically.

Joseph Smith was a great man, and his platform showed remarkable insight into the needs of America at the time. But we hardly need to mythologize the effect of his presidential campaign in order to revere him as a prophet.

If you are interested in reading a few items on his residential campaign, see the following:

• James B. Allen, "Was Joseph Smith a Serious Candidate for the Presidency of the United States ...?" Ensign (3 September 1973): 21-22;
• Arnold Garr, "Joseph Smith: Candidate for President of the United States," Regional Studies in Latter-day Saint Church History: Illinois, ed H. Dean Garrett (Provo, UT: Department of Church History and Doctrine, BYU, 1995), 151-68;
• Arnold Garr, "Joseph Smith for President: The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in New England," Regional Studies in Latter-day Saint Church History: The New England States, ed. Donald Q. Cannon et. al. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004): 47-63;
• Martin B. Hickman, "The Political Legacy of Joseph Smith," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 3 (Autumn 1968): 22-27; Richard D. Poll, "Joseph Smith's Presidential Platform," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 3 (Autumn 1968): 17-21;
• Margaret C. Robertson, "The Campaign and the Kingdom: The Activities of the Electioneers in Joseph Smith's Presidential Campaign," BYU Studies 39, no. 3 (2000): 147-80.

References to more on Joseph Smith's political activities in general may be found online at mormonhistory.byu.edu. Do a subject search for "Smith, Joseph, Jr., political activities."