Sometimes people would tell him make-believe stories and he would believe them. Then they'd tell him the truth and just laugh at him. They told him he was gullible.
Joseph and Mary loved each other. So they had an engagement ceremony which is like today's wedding ceremony. It was a promise to be married forever.
Before they started their home together, the angel told Mary she was going to have a baby who would be God's very own son.
Then Mary left for three months to visit her elderly cousin, Elizabeth, down near Jerusalem far away.
When Mary came back home, Joseph found out she was going to have a baby. He did not understand her baby was the son of God. He thought Mary had decided not to set up a home with him.
Even though Joseph was a big man, when he was alone he cried. He loved Mary and wanted to be married to her forever.
Joseph was so upset that he went out into his workshop and sawed a lot and pounded nails with his hammer for a very long time.
Finally he went to bed and fell asleep. God talked to him in his dream and told him to go back to Mary and bring her home with him to be married forever.
God also told Joseph that Mary's baby was really God's son. Even though God was Jesus' father in heaven, God wanted Joseph to be Jesus' step-father on earth.
Joseph believed God. So, when he woke up, he went to Mary's house, and brought her home with h im so they could be married forever.
This story is in the second half of the Bible, God's Word, called the New Testament. It is in a section called "Matthew," chapter one, sentences 18-25.
Will you read it for yourself or have a grownup read it for you? Then can you believe it, just like Joseph did? It will make you happy. It will make Jesus happy too.
If you have a step-father or know someone with a step-father, would you tell him about Joseph? He was the most famous step-father to ever live because he believed God.