Joseph Smith — "I am a warm advocate of the cause of humanity."
I am a warm advocate of the cause of humanity.
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Understanding this quote
What it means
This quote declares a sincere, personal commitment to championing the welfare and dignity of all people. 'The cause of humanity' means fighting suffering, injustice, and inequality wherever they exist. By calling himself a 'warm' advocate, Smith emphasizes genuine emotional investment rather than hollow rhetoric. It frames improving the human condition — socially, morally, economically — as a core personal mission, not a side concern.
Relevance to Joseph Smith
Smith launched a U.S. presidential campaign in 1844 with a platform addressing slavery, prison reform, and Native American rights — unusually progressive for his era. He founded communal economic institutions (the United Order) to eliminate poverty among followers. As mayor of Nauvoo, Illinois, he enacted civic reforms. His theology emphasized divine potential in all people and universal brotherhood, making humanitarian advocacy a natural extension of his prophetic identity and political ambitions.
The era
The 1830s–1840s were a crucible of American social reform. Abolitionism was gaining force, the Second Great Awakening redefined moral responsibility, and utopian communities multiplied as citizens reimagined society. Smith lived amid fierce debates over slavery, democratic rights, and what equality truly meant. With Manifest Destiny expanding U.S. borders and displacing Native peoples, questions about which humans deserved dignity were urgent and contested — making a declaration of universal humanitarianism politically and spiritually charged.
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