Joseph Smith — "I told them I was a good boy, and if I had done anything wrong, I was willing to…"
I told them I was a good boy, and if I had done anything wrong, I was willing to be corrected.
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Details
History of the Church, Vol. 2, p. 235 (referring to a conversation with lawyers)
Date: 1835
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Understanding this quote
What it means
The quote expresses a posture of humble deference combined with quiet self-assertion. The speaker claims moral innocence while signaling openness to accountability — a disarming rhetorical move when facing accusation. It communicates: I believe I have acted rightly, but I will not resist legitimate correction. This balances personal conviction with communal submission, deflecting hostility without fully conceding wrongdoing or surrendering one's standing before accusers or authorities.
Relevance to Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith faced accusations from adolescence onward — early treasure-digging charges, claims of fraud, and dozens of legal entanglements across Missouri and Illinois. He consistently presented himself as a sincere, simple farm boy chosen by God rather than a schemer. This statement reflects that pattern: invoking willingness to be corrected as proof of good faith while implicitly rejecting the legitimacy of his accusers. His 1844 martyrdom came despite — or because of — maintaining this posture under mounting legal pressure.
The era
The Second Great Awakening transformed early 19th-century America into a crucible of competing religious claims, where divine visions were simultaneously celebrated and prosecuted as fraud. In frontier communities, public reputation was survival — accusations destroyed livelihoods and invited mob violence. New religious movements faced intense scrutiny, tarring and feathering, and forced expulsions. Submitting rhetorically to correction while asserting innocence was a calculated social strategy, signaling belonging to community norms even as Smith simultaneously claimed divine authority that superseded them.
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