I can think of no one, save the Savior Himself, who was more vilified in his life than was the Prophet Joseph Smith. Mobs set out to kill him, the law tried to find any excuse to imprison him, and his enemies were never far from him. He had been raised a poor farmer and suddenly was sharing stories of angels and gold plates. No one knew what to make of him, and many tried to make him out to be a fraud. But those who knew him and interacted with him knew differently.

Author Douglas J. Vermeeren has taken journal entries written by persons in Joseph's acquaintance and compiled them into "When I First Met the Prophet: First Impressions of the Prophet Joseph Smith." Men and women alike are included in the book, and every entry bears testimony of the greatest of the man that Joseph Smith was, and the power that he held as the Prophet of God on earth.

Some of the attributes ascribed to the Prophet are: calm, dignified, affable, unassuming, noble, kind, courteous, and familiar. Many, when speaking of the first time they ever shook his hand, felt a tingle or a shock move up their arm, and they knew that they were touching a man who held great power.

Several shared the experience of coming to Nauvoo, having never met the Prophet before, and yet knowing instantly who he was when they saw him. He was just different from other men. He held himself with dignity, and he had a special light about him that was unlike any other. Many of the ladies also commented on how good-looking he was, a description conspicuously absent from the journal entries of the men.

He would meet the boats as they docked at Nauvoo and greet each new Saint with a handshake and a warm welcome. He never failed to make the converts feel immediately at home, often personally finding them places to stay until they were settled. He took great delight in small children, endlessly patient with their jabbering.

It was a pleasure to read these accounts of the Prophet from those who knew him and spent time with him. He was just as great a man in the confines of his home as he was in the pulpit - everyone, from those who dug ditches with him to those who saw him preach, spoke of his majesty and the mantle of power he bore, and they all testified that here stood a prophet of God.

This book is small in size and would make a wonderful gift book for that special person on your list this holiday season.