The message includes a photograph that may or may not be a scan of a historical image captured by early photographic technology of the founder and first president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

LDS Church publicists released a short statement on Wednesday saying that church officials can neither confirm nor deny the authenticity of the photo. Some versions of the e-mail apparently attest that LDS Church historians have the original image in their possession and have either certified, or are in the process of certifying, that it is real. According to the church's statement, "These claims are not true."

There is, however, a comprehensive investigation of the photo under way. Richard N. Holzapfel, a professor of church history at Brigham Young University, said that the Internet photo is a reproduction of a daguerreotype, or early photograph, owned by the Community of Christ (formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter

Day Saints), and that the Community of Christ has been attempting for several years to verify whether or not the person pictured is Smith.

(The Community of Christ, which, like the LDS Church, traces its origin to Joseph Smith, was formally established in 1860 under the prophetic leadership of Smith's son, Joseph Smith III.)

"I saw it for the first time in 1995 or '96," Holzapfel said, adding that he's been asked about the photo many times. "I've answered maybe 250 e-mails before last week. I've probably had more than that in the last 10 to 12 days."

Holzapfel said that Community of Christ archivist Ron Romig has discussed the daguerreotype in a variety of scholarly settings, but that Community of Christ officials have tried to minimize its circulation because its origin is still in question.

That hasn't stopped people from speculating, which accounts for the popularity of the e-mail. Provo resident Christopher Bigelow, co-author of "Mormonism for Dummies," said via e-mail that he finds the photo "much more interesting and human" than the "Disneyfied" Smith most often depicted in paintings and films and would be pleased if it's authentic: "This photo really speaks to my imagination."

On the other hand, Bigelow has his doubts. "If I had to place a bet," he said, "I would wager that it is not an actual photo of Joseph Smith, but I hope to be pleasantly surprised."

Unraveling the mystery

It could be years -- or never -- before the matter is settled conclusively. "We'll never be able to prove it 100 percent," Holzapfel said, "because the image doesn't have inscribed on it, 'Taken on this date, by this photographer, this is Joseph Smith, I swear it is.' "

There are a number of things, however, that could indicate whether or not the image is genuine -- including one factor that argues rather loudly against it. Holzapfel said that researchers have already verified that the plate containing the daguerreotype was manufactured after the time of Smith's death in 1844.

That doesn't prove that the individual pictured is not Joseph Smith, Holzapfel said -- only that the existing daguerreotype was created after Smith's death. It could, said Holzapfel, be a copy of the original made using the same process.

Daguerreotyping was new technology in the final years of Smith's life -- it was first introduced in France in 1839 and became popular in the United States later that year. Holzapfel said that documents from the era indicate that there would have been daguerreotypists already in business on the east coast, for example, at the time of Smith's well-known visit to Washington, D.C., to meet with then U.S. president Martin Van Buren.

It's also known, Holzapfel said, that a Latter-day Saint daguerreotypist named Lucian Foster personally met Smith in Nauvoo in 1844, just months prior to the date of Smith's assassination by a mob at Carthage, Ill., on June 27, 1844. Problematically, documents from the period indicate that Foster did not begin to advertise his services after moving to Nauvoo from New York until several weeks after Smith's death.

Other clues to the image's authenticity could come from an analysis of the clothing worn by the individual pictured, and from attempts to correlate the subject's physical features with what is known of Smith's appearance.

Bigelow referred to an article printed in the LDS Church's New Era magazine in December 2005 titled, "What Did Joseph Smith Really Look Like?" (The article can be read online at lds.org.) "I'm not sure this photo resembles Joseph enough to remove all doubt," Bigelow said. "The man in the photo seems a bit more thin-chested, large-handed and darker-haired than descriptions of Joseph Smith, although the large, intense eyes could possibly fit Joseph's description."

Holzapfel said that he thinks the person pictured is not as physically robust as Smith in his years in Nauvoo, but that the image could date from late 1839, since earlier that year a haggard Smith had been released after several months' confinement in Liberty Jail and other prisons in Missouri.

"People always ask me, 'Do you think it looks like him?' " Holzapfel said. "It doesn't matter what I think. We've all created an image of Joseph Smith in our minds.

"If I saw a real one, I probably wouldn't think it was him."

• Cody Clark can be reached at 344-2542 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it