Joseph Fielding Smith Sr. (November 13, 1838 – November 19, 1918) was an American religious leader who served as the sixth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was a nephew of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and the last LDS Church president who had personally known him.
Biography Smith was the son of church patriarch Hyrum Smith and his second wife, Mary Fielding, a British convert to the church who married Hyrum after the death of his first wife, Jerusha Barden Smith (1805–1837). In addition to her two children, Mary raised the six children born to Hyrum and Jerusha.
Early life Smith was born in Far West, Missouri, on November 13, 1838. Just a few days before he was born, his father had been taken prisoner under the auspices of Missouri Executive Order 44 (infamously called the "extermination order" due to its threat against the lives of Mormons who refused to leave the state after clashes between them and a Missouri militia). At point of bayonet, Hyrum was marched to his home in Far West and ordered to say farewell to his wife. He was told that his "doom was sealed" and that he would never see her again. Hyrum was still in custody in Liberty Jail, Missouri, when Smith was born. He was named after his uncles Joseph Smith and Joseph Fielding. His mother and maternal aunt, Mercy Fielding Thompson, fled with their children to Quincy, Illinois, early in 1839, and they later moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, when the majority of the church's members settled. Hyrum was later released from custody during a transfer from Liberty Jail and joined his family in Nauvoo. Joseph F. Smith stated as an adult that he had memories of Nauvoo, and could recall his Uncle Joseph and events that occurred at his uncle's home; he was nearly six years old when his father and uncle were killed in Carthage, Illinois, on June 27, 1844.
Winter Quarters Smith's family remained in Nauvoo until September 1846, at which time his mother took their family and fled the city, camping on the west side of the Mississippi River among the trees on its banks, without wagon or tent, while the city was bombarded by mobs. His mother was later able to exchange their property in Illinois for a wagon and team of oxen. Smith and his family, along with many other Latter Day Saints, fled the American Midwest. The seven-year-old Smith drove the team of oxen with his family to the Latter Day Saint encampment at Winter Quarters, Nebraska.
While at Winter Quarters, Smith and another boy, Thomas Burdick, were out on horseback some distance from the settlement, watching the cattle graze. They saw a band of twenty or thirty American Indians ride into the valley on the other side of the cattle. Burdick rode back to camp to get help while Smith rode toward the Indians and got between the Indians and the herd before the Indians reached them. Smith was able to turn the herd back toward the settlement, and, coupled with the noise and arrival of the Indians, started a stampede which saved the herd from capture. He was still riding with the herd at full speed when two Indians picked him up off of his horse from either side and dropped him to the ground. A company of men from the encampment then arrived, chased away the fleeing Indians, and recovered the herd, but Smith's horse was stolen.
Smith and his family remained at Winter Quarters until the spring of 1848 when Smith drove his mother's wagon across the plains to the Salt Lake Valley.
Utah childhood After arriving in the Salt Lake Valley in 1848, Smith's mother worked to raise her own children as well as the children of her husband's first wife. Mary Fielding Smith died in 1852, apparently of pneumonia, leaving Smith an orphan at the age of 13. Smith reported that he was devastated by his mother's death, and relied upon the emotional support and help of Brigham Young and his stepfather, Heber C. Kimball. Even with the support of his older half-brother John Smith, Smith assumed primary responsibility for his young sister, Martha Ann, and subsequently left school in 1854. His leaving school was closely linked to his resistance of a teacher's attempt to whip Martha.Smith. Life of Joseph F. Smith, p. 229.
Missions and military service At the age of fifteen, Smith was called to go on his first LDS mission to the Sandwich Islands under the direction of apostle Parley P. Pratt. This mission assignment at an unusually young age happened after Smith assaulted a teacher who he felt was unfairly punishing another student; decades later Smith wrote in the LDS publication Improvement Era of the burning rage and explosive temper of his youth which he blamed in part on his reaction to the deaths of his parents.Scott G Kenny Before the Beard: The Trials of Young Joseph F. Smith , Sunstine Magazine Nov 2001 Smith was ordained an elder by George A. Smith on April 24, 1854, and received his endowment at the Endowment House the same day. He then traveled to San Bernardino, California, where he worked to earn money for passage on a ship to San Francisco. In the San Francisco area, possibly in what is now Fremont, California, on the farm of John Horner, he was again employed in agricultural pursuits seeking to earn money for passage to Hawaii.Smith. Life of Joseph F. Smith, pp. 164–67.Richard O. Cowan and William E. Homer. California Saints: A 150-Year Legacy in the Golden State (Provo: Religious Studies Center of Brigham Young University, 1996), pp. 144–47.
After a difficult period of adjustment to the local culture,Kenny, 2001 Smith successfully learned the Hawaiian language and reported great success in four years of missionary work on the islands. Besides serving with various American companions on his mission, he also had two Hawaiian companions: Paake, who was a property manager for some of Jonathan Napela's property, and Lalawaia. He spent the first part of his mission on Maui, but later presided over groups of branches on the island of Hawaii and then over all LDS Church units on Molokai.Smith. Joseph F. Smith, pp. 169–87.
Smith was called back to Utah Territory in 1857, largely as a result of the Utah War. He traveled overland from San Francisco to San Bernardino and then north through Las Vegas on his return. He arrived in Utah in February 1858. Shortly after this, Smith joined the territory's militia, named the Nauvoo Legion, and spent several months patrolling the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains. Later in his tour of duty, he served as chaplain of Colonel Heber C. Kimball's regiment, with the rank of captain. After tensions between the church and the federal government abated, Smith assisted his relatives in their return to northern Utah from areas of southern Utah, where they had taken their families for safety.
During the 1858–59 session of the Utah territorial legislature, Smith served as the sergeant-at-arms. In 1859, he married his first wife, Levira Smith. In the LDS Church, Smith was ordained a seventy in March 1858 and then a high priest and a member of the Salt Lake Stake high council in October 1858.Smith. Joseph F. Smith, p. 196.
In 1860, at 22 years of age, Smith was sent on a mission to Great Britain. He and his cousin, Samuel H. B. Smith, drove mule teams over the plains to Winter Quarters to help pay their way. Shortly after arriving in England, Smith was made the conference president in Sheffield. Among the church members in that city was William Fowler; Smith was present at the meeting where Fowler's hymn "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet" was first sung.Smith. Joseph F. Smith, p. 199. After a short time, Smith was appointed to the pastorate, an office that existed only in the British Mission for a short time. In this position, he presided over the Sheffield Conference as well as four other adjacent conferences. He served in the British Mission for three years, the last part under mission president George Q. Cannon, when he was sent on short assignments to Denmark and France. Smith left England in June 1863. After a short stay in New York City to earn enough money to return home, he served as the chaplain of a Mormon pioneer wagon company bound for Utah from Nebraska.Smith. Joseph F. Smith, pp. 202–05.
Smith had only been home for a short while when he was called to accompany Ezra T. Benson, Lorenzo Snow, William W. Cluff, and Alma L. Smith on a mission to the Sandwich Islands to correct the problems in the church caused by Walter M. Gibson. Gibson misrepresented his blessing from Brigham Young as an appointment to be a leader in the church, and then established a separate church with a quorum of the 12, calling himself a prophet, and charging people to receive the priesthood. Smith acted as principal interpreter for the apostles, and after Gibson was excommunicated, Smith was left in charge of the mission. Smith returned home in the winter of 1864–65. Prior to leaving Hawai'i Smith and William W. Cluff located a new gathering place for the Saints in Laie, Hawaii.Matthew J. Grow, et al, Saints Vol 2, (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2020) p. 333
Smith had a notable experience during this mission. The group anchored their boat in a rough channel in order to go ashore, proposing that the party should land using the freight boat. Smith was strongly opposed to this, saying that the boat was unfit for the rough waters and that there was a great danger of capsizing. He offered to go ashore alone to obtain a boat fit to transport the party, to which they refused. They were persistent, however, chiding him for his waywardness, with one leader even saying, "Young man, you would be better to obey counsel." Smith then reiterated his impression of danger, imploring them not to go, but they insisted, so he asked that they leave their satchels, clothes, and valuables and permit him to stay. They reluctantly consented and set out for land. Partway there, the freight boat was overturned by the rough water about 20 or 30 feet deep, and Lorenzo Snow nearly drowned in the ocean. Snow's unconscious body was recovered, and on shore they were able to resuscitate him. Thanks to Smith's actions, all of their belongings were saved.
Clerical and political career
Upon his return home, Smith was employed in the Church Historian's office for a number of years. It was while working in this position he met his second wife, Julina Lambson, who was a niece of Bathsheba W. Smith, a wife of church apostle George A. Smith.
Smith also served as a clerk in the Endowment House from the death of Brigham Young until the building was razed in 1890. Smith's latter mission to Hawaii was largely prompted by the fact that Smith held this position: since he had in his possession the records of the Endowment House, Smith could be a valuable witness for the federal government's prosecutions of Mormon polygamists.
Smith served seven terms in the Utah territorial House of Representatives, specifically from 1865 to 1870, 1872, and 1874. He was a member of the Salt Lake City Council for many years and in this position was a key advocate of establishing city parks. He was thus one of the people involved with the establishment of Pioneer Park and Liberty Park in Salt Lake City.Smith. Life of Joseph F. Smith, p. 230. In 1868 and 1869, Smith served as a member of the Provo City Council. Smith served as a member of the Utah Territorial Council, essentially the equivalent of the upper house of the legislature, in 1880 and 1882. He also served as president of the Utah constitutional convention in 1882. The state constitution produced by this convention did not go into effect because Congress did not vote to grant Utah statehood until 1895.
Smith also served as a LDS Church representative on boards of many Utah businesses.
Marriages and family Levira Annette Clark Smith