Brother Joseph Again: The Unconfirmed Face in the Locket

# What happened In 2020 Dan Larson, a great-great-grandson of Joseph Smith Jr., opened a long-stowed family heirloom he had assumed was a pocket watch. With a pen flashlight he revealed a tucked daguerreotype. That discovery became the starting point for the documentary Brother Joseph Again and a multi-year research effort into whether the photo depicts Joseph Smith.

# Who is involved

• Dan Larson: descendant who owned the object and recounted the moment of discovery.
• Patrick Bishop: researcher and filmmaker who made a replica to protect the original and led much of the inquiry.

• Daylen Pollard: the film's director who recorded reenactments and the emotional reactions during the discovery recreation.

# What methods researchers used The team combined multiple physical and historical clues rather than relying on a single test. Methods included:

• handling.

• Comparing reconstructed skulls to death masks, period portraits, and recorded tissue-depths.
• Examining historical accounts of injuries after Joseph Smith's fall to interpret facial asymmetry or trauma evidence.
• Recreating the Carthage martyrdom scene with an actor of comparable stature to inform expectations about post-mortem injury.

# What the film and researchers concluded The filmmakers arrive at a carefully reasoned conclusion about who is pictured. They present reconstructed anatomy and contextual evidence to support their interpretation. Patrick Bishop and collaborators frame their work as a forensic and historical pursuit rather than a simple visual recognition exercise.

# What remains unresolved The central limitation is provenance. Bishop and collaborators acknowledge there is not an "ironclad provenance" tying the daguerreotype directly to Joseph Smith. That gap matters: recognition by eye is not the same as demonstrable identification backed by continuous custody, documentation, or conclusive scientific markers.

# Broader questions the find raises The pursuit of an authentic image ties into larger motivations. For some viewers and descendants, seeing a confirmed likeness would make history feel more tangible. The discovery does not address theological questions about Joseph Smith's prophetic claims. It instead exposes what individuals hope a photograph will prove—whether identity, family connection, or an anchor for faith and memory. Bishop is quoted in the piece saying, "a face matters to God, and it should matter to us."

# Reactions and alternative views Commenters and other researchers have disputed identification. One alternative claim put forward outside the filmmakers' conclusion is that the image could be Hyrum Smith rather than Joseph. Debates over resemblance to death masks and period descriptions of Joseph's appearance appear in public responses.

# Why this matters to readers The story combines material culture, family memory, forensic reconstruction, and documentary storytelling. It models how physical objects can trigger sustained historical inquiry while reminding readers that careful methodology and provenance remain decisive for firm identification. Viewers and readers interested in the case will encounter a thoughtful investigation that stops short of absolute proof.