Twenty-five years ago, a tech entrepreneur woke in the middle of the night with a pressing thought. He arose as if guided by a force outside of himself and went to his computer. He shouldn't have been able to get what he was looking for, but he had acquired it within minutes. He was now the owner of the web domain JosephSmith.com, which had become available for purchase only the day before. The man (who will remain anonymous) was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Church) and had some talks with the Church about acquiring the website. Ultimately it was decided that the man would retain ownership of the domain, and he kept it without developing a website for it for decades.
That changed a few weeks ago when the man reached out to Kwaku El, a part-time apologist, and owner of the events company Young and Dumb. The man offered Kwaku complete creative control of the website. He tasked Kwaku to use it to tell the story of Joseph Smith and the Church from a faithful perspective.
In a video posted on his Instagram on May 2nd, Kwaku announced his new role at JosephSmith.com and explained the website's importance. "It's a website that, if live, would dominate the conversation around 'Mormonism' online," he said.
In an interview with Ward Radio News, Kwaku explained his rationale behind this statement. "So far the antis [those who are antagonistic towards the Church] have the best domain names. Mormon Stories is much better than Strive to Be [and] Come Unto Christ. Nobody is searching the word 'unto' you know?" Mormon Stories is a website and organization run by John Dehlin, who was excommunicated in February 2015.
Kwaku gave some details about his hopes for the site in his announcement video. "I've been given the light to build the dream team of photographers, cinematographers, thought leaders, writers, you name it... many minds build greater ideas. This isn't the Kwaku show, this is an incredibly serious task." Kwaku encourages those who wish to participate or donate to contact him at kwaku@josephsmith.com.
Kwaku explained how the man acquired the site in his interview with Ward Radio News.
Ward Radio News is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Church) and does not officially represent the Church. The views expressed by contributors do not necessarily represent the position of Ward Radio News