A Deseret News writer published a verdict after watching 10 hours of evidence about whether a claimed daguerreotype actually depicts Joseph Smith, the LDS Church founder who died in 1844.

The question of whether any photographs of Joseph Smith exist has been a persistent debate in Mormon history. Most historians believe none survive, but periodically a claimed image surfaces with varying levels of scholarly support. The article examines the latest such claim and the forensic and historical evidence presented.

Daguerreotype technology existed during Joseph Smith's lifetime, making a photograph theoretically possible, but no authenticated image has ever been confirmed by mainstream historians or the Church.