“The lady enquired if I had heard of the Golden Book found by a youth named Joseph Smith. I informed her I never heard anything about it, and became very anxious to know concerning the matter.” — Thomas B. Marsh¹

Thomas Baldwin Marsh was born on November 1, 1800 in Acton, Massachusetts. He worked variously as a waiter, grocer, teacher, horse groom, and type foundry worker.² In 1820 he married Elizabeth Godkin, and they moved to Boston, Massachusetts in 1822 where they joined a Methodist church.² Marsh reported that he became dissatisfied with Methodism and all other churches he encountered. During this period of discontentment he felt inspired to travel to New York where he met a woman who told him about a "golden book."¹ Intrigued by this he visited Martin Harris and learned about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He continued his travels to the E. B. Grandin print shop where he was given sixteen pages of the Book of Mormon. He took these pages back to Massachusetts and shared them with his wife.³ Thomas and Elizabeth moved to Palmyra in September 1830 and Thomas was baptized.² That same month Joseph Smith received a revelation calling him to be “a physician unto the church.”⁴

1. Millenial Star June 11, 1864, Volume 26 no. 24

2. "Marsh, Thomas Baldwin," josephsmithpapers.org

3. Saints, Volume 1, Chapter 8, 79-80

4. Doctrine and Covenants 31:10