A Birthday Remembered

Often lost in the last-minute hustle of Christmas shopping and parties, is the birthday of a modern-day prophet named Joseph Smith.  I quote from page 33 of the book by George Q. Cannon, published in 1888, titled The Life of Joseph Smith The Prophet: 
"The circumstances and surroundings of the elder Joseph were of the humblest, when unto his house was born, on the 23rd of December, 1805, Joseph, the Prophet of the Last Dispensation.  The family were still living in the little town of Sharon, in Windsor County, Vermont; and were, at the time, greatly impoverished.  Very early, therefore, was the future Prophet compelled to learn the lessons of labor, patience, and self-denial."