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I just read recently that Smith was exposed to universalism prior to his becoming a, well, ‘prophet,’ and I wondered if you had read that also, and what you might think of the influence that might have had upon him.

There was definitely a "general" influence going on that inspired both camps. Palmyra, New York - where Joseph Smith's "First Vision" took place and the golden plates were reportedly found - is in a region which used to be called the "burned over district". Unitarianism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Science, Seventh-Day Adventism, Restorationism (the Cambellite "churches of Christ"), and a number of other movements (including Charles Finney's "Second Great Awakening" revivals) all sprang up or hit that area over and over again, all within a span of just a few decades. Finney himself coined the phrase "burned over districts", evoking the image of forest fires scorching an area clean of any flammable material, because it's inhabitants grew resistant to his repeated revival tours. Coincidence? Probably not.

This part of western New York became famous after the Erie Canal for its history of revivalism, radicalism, communitarian experiments. It was fertile ground for new ideas to take root and spread to other parts of the country. It became a "psychic highway" for New Englanders who left the East and headed West in search of new ways of life
- from The Burned Over District

where Joseph Smith's "First Vision" took place and the golden plates were reportedly found - is in a region which used to be called the "burned over district". Unitarianism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Science, Seventh-Day Adventism, Restorationism (the Cambellite "churches of Christ"), and a number of other movements (including Charles Finney's "Second Great Awakening" revivals) all sprang up or hit that area over and over again, all within a span of just a few decades. Finney himself coined the phrase "burned over districts",

Burned-over district ping

This part of western New York became famous after the Erie Canal for its history of revivalism, radicalism, communitarian experiments. It was fertile ground for new ideas to take root and spread to other parts of the country. It became a "psychic highway" for New Englanders who left the East and headed West in search of new ways of life - from The Burned Over District

Wanna guess the predominate religion in this area now???

The more things change...the more they stay the same