It seems, moreover, that Joseph Smith was not a boy to gather information from books, for his mother says of him, when he was eighteen years old, that "he seemed much less inclined to the perusal of books than any of the rest of our children, but far more given to meditation and deep study."[A] From the records extant, the conclusion is justifiable that from his fourteenth to his twenty-second year Joseph Smith received practically no school education, and did no extensive reading. What he might have gathered from conversation with others during that time is unknown to us. However, it is known that the heavenly messengers who visited him at intervals gave him much valuable information, which more than compensated for his poor scholastic advantages. [Footnote A: History of the Prophet Joseph, Improvement Era, Vol. 5, p. 257.] One month before his twenty-second birthday, the golden plates were delivered to the Prophet, and the next two and a half years he was engaged with various assistants in translating the Book of Mormon; though at different times during this period he farmed and did other manual labor. During this period (twenty-two to twenty-four and a half years of age), he most certainly attended no school nor gave special attention to worldly knowledge. On the 6th of April, 1830, when the Prophet was twenty-four years and four months old, the Church was organized. The life led by the Prophet from this time to 1844, when he was assassinated, was not conducive to the gathering of information, and quiet, deep reflection. During almost the whole of this period his life was in danger; scores of times he was arrested on trumped-up charges; the Church was driven from place to place; he built at least three cities, and two temples; organized and governed the body of the Church; taught the doctrinal system accepted by his followers; organized the public ministry of the Church for spreading the Gospel among all men, wrote his autobiography; compiled the revelations given him, and made a revision of parts of the Bible. [Sidenote: Joseph Smith taught the importance of schools and education.]