The
Smith family had a third son tradition. Asael Smith named his third son Asael.
[198] Joseph Smith Senior reserved the bestowal of his name for the third of
his sons. [199]
Notes for the Above:
[198]
John Smith, Journal, 20 July 1839, LDS Church Archives, in EMD, 1:556
[199]
The newborn child was a boy, which made the infant Joseph Senior’s third living
son. Joseph Smith Junior was actually the fourth son born into the family, but
Joseph’s and Lucy’s first son died the day he was born and was never named. In
Lucy Smith’s manuscript history, she calls Joseph Smith Junior “my 3[rd] son.”
Although not in Lycy Smith’s manuscript history, the published version specifically
states that Joseph was called “after the name of his father.” Compare the birth
narratives in EMD, 1:253.
Source: Mark Ashurst-McGee,
"A Pathway to Prophethood: Joseph Smith Junior as Rodsman, Village Seer,
and Judeo-Christian Prophet" (M.A. thesis, Utah State University, 2000),
113