Teenage Joseph Smith was a Teenager

The  mothers in Zion are away ahead of me on this, but there are a couple of aspects to Joseph Smith History that strike me as very authentic teenager, not something made up later by a grown up  maen  (BTW, some people say the ‘teenager’ was invented in the 20th Century.  No.)

The first is Joseph coming home after his vision and not telling anyone.  Then his Mom asks him if he’s ok and he says he’s fine, and then informs her that her church is false.  That is the very beating heart of authentic 14-year old boyness.

The second is Joseph just going about being a teenage boy for several years, then abruptly deciding its time to have another vision, which he blithely assumes he will get (accurately, as it turns out).