cover January Ensign

[dahlia]

Was any one else struck by the picture of Joseph Fielding Smith on the cover? To me, he looks very much like what I think Joseph Smith must have looked like. I read that JFS was a descendant of Hyrum Smith, so that would certainly account for the likeness, but still, it seemed both eerie and fascinating at the same time, to see this face that so resembles the Prophet.

Maybe it's just me.

[pam]

Just so people are aware of the image Dahlia is speaking of. I had to use a foreign Liahona as an example because the other images were too small for the forum. But it's the same image:

[Wingnut]

That does look quite a bit like paintings we've seen of Joseph Smith, Jr.

I actually recently saw a really cool photo of JFS in the Sacred Grove. It was really streaked and old, but he was totally mountain man-ish. He had his full long beard, but also a heavy fur coat.

[bytebear]

That was probably Joseph F Smith, not Joseph Fielding Smith. F had a long beard (as was the custom of the day). Fielding did not.

Joseph Smith, brother of Hyrum Smith

Joseph F Smith, son of Hyrum Smith

Joseph Fielding Smith, son of Joseph F Smith.

Both F and Fielding were presidents of the church.

[Wingnut]

That was probably Joseph F Smith, not Joseph Fielding Smith. F had a long beard (as was the custom of the day). Fielding did not.

Joseph Smith, brother of Hyrum Smith

Joseph F Smith, son of Hyrum Smith

Yes, this is the one I saw. A man in my ward is writing a biography on him, and frequently posts things to FB that he finds in his research, and refers to him primarily as JFS, so I easily forget which "F" it is. :)

[dahlia]

That's some coat. : )

[Guest]

There are some paintings of Joseph and Hyrum in the SLC temple that are signed and dated in such a way that they were likely painted by someone who knew them. Joseph looks a bit different than the usual depictions of him; more like Joseph Fielding Smith on this Ensign cover.

[bytebear]

Unfortunately there are only a handful of pictures of Joseph Smith, and so he's almost always portrayed the same. Even his hair style is the same (combed forward over his ear). But I am sure he had different styles of dress and style over the years. His facial features are mostly taken from his death mask which does have a striking resemblance to Joseph Fielding Smith.

[Roseslipper]

I actually like that picture, he was a good looking man

[Blackmarch]

Was any one else struck by the picture of Joseph Fielding Smith on the cover? To me, he looks very much like what I think Joseph Smith must have looked like. I read that JFS was a descendant of Hyrum Smith, so that would certainly account for the likeness, but still, it seemed both eerie and fascinating at the same time, to see this face that so resembles the Prophet.

Maybe it's just me.

Aren't genetics awesome?

Now that you mention it. he does seem to have a bunch of the features that JS had, at least from popular paintings anyways.