1. The Dispensation of the Fullness of Times.--By a dispensation, in connection with the work of God, we mean "the opening of the heavens to men, the bestowing of the Holy Priesthood with all its powers upon them, and the organization and building up of the church of Christ upon the earth, for the salvation of all who will obey the gospel." [1] By the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times we mean the last dispensation, the one in which all things, in Christ, whether in heaven or in earth, shall be gathered together in one; [2] a dispensation which will include all other dispensations--one which will encompass all truth. As the rivers of the earth all eventually find their way to the ocean and empty into it, so all former dispensations will run into and become part of the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times, in which the work of God, in respect to the salvation of man and the redemption of the earth, will be consummated. [See note 1, end of section] 2. Birth and Parentage of Joseph Smith.--Joseph Smith, the man whom God appointed to stand at the head of the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times, and be the great Prophet, Seer, Revelator and President thereof was born in the year of our Lord 1805, on the 23rd of December, in Sharon, Windsor [Winsor] County, State of Vermont. His father's name was Joseph[3] Smith, and his mother's maiden name Lucy Mack. Joseph and Lucy Smith had nine children, six sons and {276} three daughters. The sons in the order of their age were Alvin, Hyrum, Joseph, Samuel Harrison, William, Don Carlos; the daughters, Sophronia, Catherine, Lucy. 3. The parents of the prophet were of humble origin, and poor, having to labor with their hands, hiring out by day's work, and otherwise to obtain a livelihood for their large family. In consequence of their poverty, they could give their children but very limited opportunities for attending school; yet Joseph learned to read, to write, and had some knowledge of the rudimentary principles of arithmetic. 4. When Joseph was ten years of age, his father moved from the State of Vermont to that of New York, settling in Palmyra, Ontario County.[4] Four years later the family moved from Palmyra to Manchester, in the same county. 5. Religious Agitations.--While the Smith family lived in Manchester, when Joseph was in his fifteenth year, there was an unusual excitement on the subject of religion. It began with the Methodists, but soon became general among all the sects, and union revival meetings, in which all sects, took part were held in the vicinity of Manchester. The Smith family, being by nature religiously inclined became interested in these meetings, and several of them, viz., Joseph's mother, his brothers Hyrum and Samuel Harrison, and his sisters Lucy and Sophronia, were converted to the Presbyterian faith. Joseph's own mind was much wrought up by this religious agitation, and at one time he became somewhat partial to the Methodist persuasion.