Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago

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At 7 years old, Joseph Smith faced a brutal leg surgery.
No anesthesia. Just a hand drill and a chisel.

The doctors begged him to take brandy.
He refused.

They offered wine.
He refused again.

This wasn’t for the Word of Wisdom. It didn’t even exist yet.
And it wasn’t because of some movement.
This was the heaviest drinking era in U.S. history.

Instead, he asked for one thing:
“Have my father hold me.”

What happened next says more about Joseph’s courage and his heart than most people ever hear.

Latter-day Saint historian and former atheist, Don Bradley, walks us through it.