According to this site:
[Joseph Smith's] parents were of sturdy New England stock ...
Joseph Smith had descended on his paternal side from Robert Smith, who emigrated from England in the year 1638. ... [His ancestor] Captain Samuel Smith, receiving his military title during service in the militia of Massachusetts. ... [His, grandfather Asael Smith served during] the Revolution [following] the example of his illustrious father and served with the Colonial forces. ...
On his maternal side, Joseph Smith was descended from John Mack, who was born in Inverness, Scotland, March 6, 1653. ... [Regarding the maternal grandparents of Joseph Smith:] Solomon, son of Ebenezer Mack, was born in Lyme, Conn., Sept. 26, 1735. At the age of twenty-one years he enlisted in the services of his country under the command of Captain Henry, and the regiment of Col. Whiting. ... In 1748 he enlisted under Major Spenser and was engaged in several bloody engagements ... In 1776, Solomon Mack enlisted in the American army. For some time he served in the land forces and later was transferred to the navy. With his two sons, Jason and Stephen, he was engaged in a privateering expedition commanded by Captain Havens. In this service they passed through some thrilling experiences, but escaped without great harm. His service in the war covered a period of about four years. ... His son Stephen moved to Vermont and later to Detroit, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits and was one of the founders of Detroit. During the war of 1812 Stephen again entered the service of his country. He held the commission of a captain at the time of the siege of Detroit and was ordered by his superior officer to surrender, which he boldly refused to do. Breaking his sword across his knee he threw the parts into the lake and said he would not submit to such a disgraceful compromise while the blood of an American ran in his veins. Such is the character of the forbears of Joseph Smith.
According to the articles at this site:
Ugo Perego research – Joseph Smith [was] English or Irish, probably Irish ... Smith family DNA matched very closely with the many descendants of “Niall of the Nine Hostages,” a fifth-century Irish warlord who was the ancestor of the kings of Ireland up to the 10th century. Joseph Smith’s ancestors along his paternal line were not just Irish, but probably related to Irish royalty. ... Joseph Smith Jr., was shown in 2008 to have descended from Irish royalty.
King Niall of the Nine Hostages
The article Joseph Smith Jr. Descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages, an Irish Chieftain of the 5th Century by Leland Meitzler reiterates this:
Mormon prophet Joseph Smith Jr.,was definitely descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages, an Joseph Smith Jr.Irish chieftain of the fifth century, Ugo Perego, a senior DNA researcher at Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation has discovered.
Recent DNA tests show that the Irish connection is even more certain for the founder of Mormonism and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. ...
To learn more the article above then links you to the article Irish roots of Mormon founder Joseph Smith discovered by Gerry Bailey @IrishCentral (Aug 09, 2010).
I would argue that Joseph Smith's Irish Indo-European DNA drove him unconsciously to return to the cultural energy of the Hebrew Bible: which unlike the Pauline (and later Augustinian mindset), was more life affirming and pro-body; with a more warrior spirit among the early Hebrews (when Yahweh (God the Father) had a body and a wife or consort).
What this means is that when LDS Scripture says that Joseph Smith is an Ephraimite from the loins of Joseph of Egypt, according to scripture, Smith would be a mix of Israelite and Indo-European ancestry. So when LDS Scripture repeatedly talk about Ephraimites gathering from the "northern countries" (i.e. European countries like Britain and Scandinavia) to come to America and build the tribe of Ephraim, this was a calling forth of Joseph's ethni, those who like him descend from royal kings among the Indo-Europeans, as his ancestral people, which Anglo-European people LDS Scripture designates as Ephraimites hidden among the Gentiles. For more details see my webpage here. This is what distinguishes Mormonism from Protestantism and Catholicism, this literal gathering of Anglo-European Ephraimites to the New Jerusalem (Zion) in North America in the 1800s by a new Moses-like figure Joseph Smith.
Excerpts from The Land of Joseph (America), the Gathering Place of Ephraim, Manasseh & Judah by Rian Nelson (2024) (emphasis added):
“It was not by chance that the Puritans left their native land and sailed away to the shores of New England, and others later followed. They were the advance guard of the army of the Lord, predestined to establish the God-given system of government under which we live and to make America, which is the land of Joseph, the gathering place of Ephraim, an asylum for the oppressed of all nations, and prepare the way for the restoration of the gospel of Christ and the establishment of his church upon the earth” – Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1930.
... Joseph Smith was a pure Ephraimite:“It is the house of Israel we are after, and we care not whether they come from the east, the west, the north, or the south; from China, Russia, England, California, North or South America, or some other locality. … The Book of Mormon came to Ephraim, for Joseph Smith was a pure Ephraimite, and the Book of Mormon was revealed to him.” (Brigham Young Journal of Discourses 2:268–69.)
“In this Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, the gospel came first to the [cultural] Gentiles and then is to go to the Jews. However, the Gentiles who receive the gospel are, in the greater part, Gentiles who have the blood of Israel in their veins. There is a very significant statement in the words of Moroni as recorded on the title page of the Book of Mormon that it was ” … ‘To come forth … by way of the Gentile. …’ Joseph Fielding Smith
So many immigrants from Europe are as Elder Smith said above, “Gentiles who have the blood of Israel [e.g. Ephraim] in their veins.”
“Mormon prophet Joseph Smith Jr., was definitely descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages, an Irish chieftain of the fifth century, Ugo Perego, a senior DNA researcher at Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation has discovered… Perego identified a part of Joseph Smith’s DNA that had a very rare marker called M222. With this “higher resolution” he found that the same marker was found in Northwest Ireland — with a little bit in Lowland Scotland.” Source
... America will not be Destroyed!“When this nation was established, the Church was restored and from here the message of the restored gospel has gone forth-all according to divine plan. This then becomes the Lord’s base of operations in these latter days. And this base-the land of America—will not be shifted out of its place. This nation will, in a measure at least, fulfill its mission even though it may face serious and troublesome days. The degree to which it achieves its full mission depends upon the righteousness of its people. God, through His power, has established a free people in this land as a means of helping to carry forward His purposes. It was His latter-day purpose to bring forth His gospel in America, not in any other place. It was in America where the Book of Mormon plates were deposited. That was no accident. It was His design. It was in this same America where they were brought to light by angelic ministry. It was here where He organized His modern Church, where He, Himself, made a modern personal appearance. It was here under a free government and a strong nation that protection was provided for His restored Church.
Now God will not permit America, His base of operations, to be destroyed. He has promised protection to this land if we will but serve the God of the land. He has also promised protection to the righteous even, if necessary, to send fire from heaven to destroy their enemies. No, God’s base of operations will not be destroyed.” Ezra Taft Benson, This Nation Shall Endure Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson; “I Testify”, General Conference, October 1988
... Elder Ballard Continues:
“A Pilgrim named John Howland, who landed at Plymouth Rock as a young unmarried man. His story is fascinating and it affects every member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Lord is definitely involved in our lives, each and every one of us individually. What a blessing.
During that historic voyage, the crew and passengers of the Mayflower encountered many turbulent storms, which kept the passengers below deck. In the middle of one storm, John emerged and was swept overboard.
William Bradford, also a passenger on the Mayflower, reported:
“In these storms the winds were so fierce and the seas so high the Pilgrims were forced to remain below deck. And one of them John Howland came above and, with a roll of the ship, he was thrown into the sea; but it pleased God that he caught hold of a rope that was trailing in the water and held on though he was several fathoms under water till he was hauled up by the same rope to the brim of the water, and then with a boat-hook and other means got him into the ship again and his life was saved; and though he was something ill with it, yet he lived many years after, and became a profitable member both in church and commonwealth… “Later, a leader of one of the villages arrived in the struggling settlement to help the Pilgrims. They formed an alliance, and during the second fall after their arrival in the New World, 52 colonists and some 90 natives celebrated Plymouth’s first successful harvest — the first Thanksgiving in Plymouth.
“At the time, John Howland was not as famous as fellow passengers William Bradford, John Carver and Myles Standish. However, standing where we now stand, with nearly 400 years between us and these courageous Pilgrims, he may have had a greater impact on the history of the United States than any of them.”
President Ballard explained that four years after arriving in the New World, John married fellow Mayflower passenger Elizabeth Tilley. From that union came 10 children and nearly 90 grandchildren.
Today, an estimated 5 million Americans trace their roots to John and Elizabeth, according to President Ballard. Their descendants include three U.S. presidents… American poets Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; and two influential 19th-century American religious leaders — the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum Smith, explained President Ballard.” President Ballard pleads with Latter-day Saints to ‘pray for this country’ as United States is at ‘another crossroad’ By Sarah Jane Weaver 21 Oct 2019,
... We also know that the Prophet Joseph Smith was a direct descendant of John Howland’s oldest son named John Howland. ...
“These surely are the latter days, and the Lord is hastening His work to gather Israel. That gathering is the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude, nothing else compares in importance, nothing else compares in majesty. And if you choose to, if you want to, you can be a big part of it.” —President Russell M. Nelson, “Hope of Israel,” Worldwide Youth Devotional, 3 June 2018.
Land of Joseph is North America“The Book of Mormon tells us that America is a land of promise, a land choice above all other lands. Nephi said that whosoever should possess it must serve the God of the land or they would be swept off. And we have read in the Book of Mormon of the nations that have been swept off because they ceased to worship the God who had led them and their forefathers here to this land. We have a great responsibility as citizens in this land, for the Lord said that he would fight its battles and be its king, if we will just serve him. So it’s appropriate at this time that we express our appreciation for this great land. I like the words Moses used when he gave a blessing to the twelve tribes of Israel. When he blessed Joseph, he promised him a new land in the utmost bowels of the everlasting hills (see Deut. 33:15).
Now that isn’t in Jerusalem because they don’t have everlasting hills over there, and the prophets have never predicted a regathering of all nations to the land of Israel. But they have predicted the gathering of Israel to this land of America, which is the land of Joseph. And we are the only people in the world who know what that land is that Moses promised to Joseph. It was so great in his eyes as he received the revelations of the Holy Spirit that in describing the land, he used the word “precious” five times in just four verses…We have so much to be grateful for. We are not here by chance. We are here because of the sacrifices of our pioneer fathers who came to this choice land that the Lord, according to the Book of Mormon, had hidden away from the eyes of the world that it should not be overrun. [Remember the original place Adam was placed was in Missouri, which is the original New World]. He preserved it for us, for the day and time in which we now live here in these valleys of the mountains.” Thanksgiving, LEGRAND RICHARDS of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Nov. 18, 1980
In Elder McConkie’s book “Mormon Doctrine”, he states:
“One of the greatest spiritual gatherings of all the ages took place in the Valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman [in today's Missouri in North America] some 5,000 years ago.… At that great gathering Adam offered sacrifices on an altar built for that purpose. A remnant of that very altar remained on the spot down through the ages. On May 19, 1838, Joseph Smith and a number of his associates stood on the remainder of the pile of stones at a place called Spring Hill, Daviess County, Missouri. There the Prophet taught them that Adam again would visit the Valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman, holding a great council as a prelude to the great and dreadful day of the Lord…”
The World has Gathered From Asher to Zebulon
Sister Wendy Nelson said,
“One of my favorite places is Moscow, Russia. Why? Because of what I experienced there within one 24-hour period of time, which commenced on Saturday, June 15, 2013. While my husband taught the priesthood leaders of the area, I had the privilege of being with some of the sisters. I love our Russian sisters. They are spectacular! That Saturday happened to be one of those rare spring planting days in Russia, so less than 100 of us gathered. When I went to the pulpit, I found myself saying something I’d never anticipated: “I’d like to get to know you by lineage. Please stand as the name of the tribe of Israel, as declared in your patriarchal blessing, is spoken.” These women knew each other, but they didn’t know each other’s lineage. As the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were announced, from Asher to Zebulon, and as the women stood, we were all thrilled with what we were feeling, witnessing, and being taught. We were being taught about the reality of the days in which we now live! Question: How many of the twelve tribes of Israel do you think were represented in that small gathering of less than 100 women on that Saturday in Moscow? Eleven! Eleven of the twelve tribes! All but the tribe of Levi! Now here’s another question: How fast does news travel where you live? Pretty fast? Well, it certainly travels quickly in Eastern Europe. I went directly from that unforgettable gathering to the airport to meet my husband. We then flew to Armenia, where he was to create the first stake of Zion in that country the next day. The first people we met as we got off the plane were the mission president and his wife. And the first thing she said to me was, “I’ve got Levi!” Just imagine—one of their missionaries, from Gilbert, Arizona, no less, was of the tribe of Levi! This address was given Thursday, April 30, 2015 at the BYU Women’s Conference
