'That the Larsen daguerreotype is found inside a miniature locket is appropriate, for the debates swirling around it are a miniature of Mormonism’s ever-present questions. Neither will likely ever have a uniform consensus.'
This side-by-side comparison shows the Joseph Smith Jr. oil portrait, circa 1842, attributed to David Rogers, and the recently discovered Smith/Larsen daguerreotype.
Undergirding the energy associated with these discussions is a pair of difficult, yet important, questions: Why does it matter what Joseph Smith looked like? And why is it so difficult to get a definitive answer?The only throughline across many contemporary descriptions of Joseph Smith’s appearance was his eyelashes. Observers gawked at his bushy lashes that nearly covered his strikingly blue irises.
Such a priority does not surprise scholars of 19th-century religion. In the nationwide experiment of religious liberty, in which all denominations were placed on equal footing, lots of attention was devoted to how spiritual leaders gained a following. This was particularly the case when trying to explain the success of radical, countercultural movements guided by charismatic figures, like Mormonism. To many, the answer was in the eyes.
The eyes were the window into the soul. For believers, Smith’s embracing stare proved his sincerity, his simple yet profound position as a modern-day prophet. For skeptics, Smith was a charlatan who deceived simpletons. Some even posited that he, and his priesthood-holding successors, were mesmerists, able to hoodwink through prolonged eye contact.But Mormons came to love more than just Smith’s eyes.
Joseph Smith’s image proved to be as important as it was malleable over the next 170 years. The fact that there wasn’t a photograph — the only hard evidence of his appearance being stylized, and often divergent, paintings — enabled immense creativity. Western Mormons, who mixed spirituality with hard labor, could envision Smith as a muscular pioneer with a colonizer’s physique.
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