I read this at least a decade ago. It's a book containing tons of stories and experiences from family, friends, and others who had personal encounters with Joseph Smith. The book is organized by topic and has several lesser known stories that I found interesting.
My favorite topic was actually concerning the transfiguration of Brigham Young. The section contains tons of personal accounts of individuals who were watching Brigham Young speak when he suddenly looked and sounded like the recently martyred Prophet Joseph. It was cool reading so many different accounts from those who witnessed this event. Reading this book is a great way to get to know who Joseph Smith was and what kind of man he was. A very intelligent, courageous, and faithful servant of the Lord who remained true to his calling.
There are several good stories that I could share for the blog but I forced myself to limit the amount. I will relate three:
1. George A. Smith shares a story about a time when a Campbellite preacher came to Joseph Smith and said he would be dedicated to the church if he found it to be true. Joseph began teaching him and he said he wanted a miracle to prove that the restored gospel taught by the Prophet was true. "'Well,' said Joseph, 'what will you have done? Will you be struck blind, or dumb? Will you be paralyzed, or will you have one hand withered? Take your choice, choose which you please, and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ it shall be done.'" The preacher said this was not the kind of miracle he wanted. Joseph then told him that he reminded him of the very first person the ask the Savior to perform a miracle which was Satan who came to Christ while he fasted in the desert. George A. Smith then says, "But the poor preacher had so much faith in the power of the Prophet that he daren't risk being struck blind, lame, dumb, or having one hand withered, or anything of the kind."
2. This one is more known, but I like it. "[In the winter of 1856 Emma] remarked of her husband Joseph's limited education while he was translating the Book of Mormon, and she was scribe at the time, 'He could not pronounce the word Sariah.' And one time while translating, where it speaks of the walls of Jerusalem, he stopped and said, 'Emma, did Jerusalem have walls surrounding it?' When I informed him that it had, he replied, 'O, I thought I was deceived.'"
3. Philo Dibble shares a story of a time when Joseph was preaching in Kirtland in 1833 and stated "Forty days shall not pass, and the stars shall fall from heaven." A skeptic wrote the words down and intended it to be a proof that Joseph was a false prophet once such an improbable occurrence fails to happen. After 39 days, this guy shows it to a member of the church named Joseph Hancock and asked him what he thought of his Prophet now. Joseph Hancock remarked that there was still one night left so certainly it would still come to pass. That night "[t]he whole heavens were lit up with the falling meteors" and the prophecy was fulfilled. The book also contains accounts from others who also witnessed this occurrence stating "I noticed in the sky numbers of stars falling from the heavens" among other descriptions. The book also quotes the 'Little Rock Gazette' newspaper on December 11, 1833 which writes of this as follows: "The Falling Stars - The meteoric phenomenon witnessed here on the morning of the 13th ult. was general throughout the United States. The Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York papers, give the same description of it, as those who witnessed it in this region, and to the north and south of us."
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