John Smith (son of Hyrum Smith)
Born: 22 November 1832
Called as Presiding Patriarch: 15 February 1855
Died: 6 November 1911
Called as Presiding Patriarch: 15 February 1855
Died: 6 November 1911
Conference TalksJun 1854
Oct 1864 Apr 1865 Apr 1902 Oct 1903 - A reference to the past—Encouragement to faithfulness Oct 1905 - Testimony concerning the divine calling of the Prophet Joseph Smith Apr 1906 - Reminiscence of missionary call and experience Oct 1908 Apr 1909 - The people enjoined to be true Latter-day Saints Oct 1909 Oct 1910 - A loving brother's faithful testimony Oct 1911 Image source: Juvenile Instructor, April 1908
Image source: Juvenile Instructor, December 1911
Image source: Young Woman's Journal, December 1911
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Image source: Juvenile Instructor, April 1901
Image source: Juvenile Instructor, September 1909
Image source: Improvement Era, December 1911
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Biographical Articles
Biographical Encyclopedia, Volume 1
Juvenile Instructor, 1 April 1901, Lives of Our Leaders: Presiding Patriarch John Smith
Improvement Era, December 1911, Patriarch John Smith
Juvenile Instructor, December 1911, Patriarch John Smith
Young Woman's Journal, December 1911, Patriarch John Smith
Young Woman's Journal, December 1911, To the Memory of Patriarch John Smith
Young Woman's Journal, December 1911, Patriarch John Smith
Juvenile Instructor, 1 April 1901, Lives of Our Leaders: Presiding Patriarch John Smith
Improvement Era, December 1911, Patriarch John Smith
Juvenile Instructor, December 1911, Patriarch John Smith
Young Woman's Journal, December 1911, Patriarch John Smith
Young Woman's Journal, December 1911, To the Memory of Patriarch John Smith
Young Woman's Journal, December 1911, Patriarch John Smith
Jenson, Andrew. "Smith, John (6th Patriarch)." Biographical Encyclopedia. Volume 1. pg. 183-186.
SMITH, John, the sixth presiding Patriarch of the Church and the present incumbent of that office, is the son of Hyrum Smith and Jerusha Barden, and was born Sept. 22, 1832, in Kirtland, Geuaga (now Lake) county, Ohio. His mother died Oct. 13, 1837. She had six children—two sons and four daughters, and she died when the youngest was eight days old. His father was away from home at the time of her death. Dec. 24, 1837. his father married Miss Mary Fielding, who bore him two children, a son and a daughter. In the spring of 1838 John went with his father's family to Far West, Caldwell county, Missouri, where he shared with the rest of the Saints in the persecutions. In the fall of 1838 his father, his uncle Joseph and others, were taken prisoners by a ruthless mob. and, after being abused in many ways, threatened with death, etc., were finally lodged in Liberty, Clay county jail. During the winter his father's family, in connection with many others, were driven out of Missouri. Although small, John suffered much from cold and hunger. The family landed at Quincy, Ills., early in 1839. where they remained a .short time. Brother Hyrum Smith came home from Liberty jail April 22, 1839. The family subsequently went up the Mississippi river to a place called Commerce, afterwards the city of Nauvoo. Soon afterwards they moved about two miles down the river, where they remained in comparative peace for a short season. His father and his uncle, Joseph the Prophet, were martyred in Carthage jail by a bloodthirsty mob, June 27, 1844. In the month of February, 1847, John left his father's folks and started west with Heber C. Kimball's family. At this time he did not know where the people were going, but he supposed to California. This company crossed the Mississippi river on a ferryboat, and encamped on Sugar creek, about nine miles out. After two or three days, boy-like, he got homesick and went back to see his folks. During his stay at home, which was only for a few days, the river froze over, and he crossed back on skates, and joined the company. During the journey he had to drive loose stock, drive team, herd cattle and horses, and do any kind of work he could: Many times he was drenched in the rain. On one occasion Brother Heber P. Kimball and himself were driven by the force of the storm, stock and all, for a mile or so, although they were on horseback. The company journeyed westward through Iowa, stopping many times by the way in consequence of storms and soft roads, or, to speak more correctly, no roads but soft prairie. They finally landed on the hill where now stands Council Bluffs city, and crossed over the Missouri river at a point near the present site of Omaha, called at that time Sarpee's Trading Post, among the Pottawatamie Indians. They then went up about six miles to the Little Papillon, and remained a short time. During his stay there he became acquainted with Col. Thomas L. Kane, who was taken very sick, and John was his nurse for two weeks. In or about the month of August they moved into Winter Quarters, where the town of Florence now stands. In the fore part of September he learned that his father's family were on the road, and he went, in company with Brother Almon W. Babbitt, back about one hundred and fifty miles and met them. They came to Winter Quarters, where they remained two winters. John went to work with hired help, built a log house for the winter, and during the summer of 1847 made fence, tilled the soil, and took a man's place in the hay and harvest field, as he was the only male member of the family who was able to work. In April, 1848, the family started for Great Salt Lake valley. It was rather a hard journey, as they did not have teams enough. John had to drive a team composed of wild steers, cows and oxen, with two wagons tied together, and, before they had traveled more than two miles, a wagon tongue broke and they had to camp for the night. On the way over the plains he broke and they had to camp for the steers to work. He had to take a man's place, by standing guard at night, and in the day time to be the boy who brought the wood and water, herded the cows and assisted to double teams over bad places, up hills, etc. On one occasion a circumstance occurred which he will never forget. One day about sundown, while the party were encamped on the Platte river, it was reported that a woman was lost. Without ceremony he took his coat on his arm and a piece of corn bread in his hand and started out up the road, to follow a party of the company which had left at noon. He had not gone far when he came up with a dead carcass, which was covered with wolves fighting and howling. He walked past as fast and as quietly as possible. He traveled six miles before he came up with any wagons. During this distance he passed about twenty such frightful scenes, but he got through safe, and he thinks he was unnoticed by the wolves. He stopped for the balance of the night with an acquaintance, and at daybreak proceeded on his journey, and found the lost woman, a little after sunrise, safe with her mother, six ,miles from where he stayed for the night. On Sept. 22, 1848, his sixteenth birthday, he drove five wagons down the "Big Mountain," east of Salt Lake City; it was dark long before he got into camp with the last wagon. On the way, one wheel of his wagon ran into a tree which was about fifteen inches through. He had to lie on his back and chop the tree down with a dull ax before he could go any further. The next day he arrived in the Great Salt Lake valley. In the spring of 1850 John was enrolled in a company of horsemen, called the "Battalion of Life Guards," for the purpose of standing guard, or going out at a minute's warning, to protect the settlements from the marauding Indians, who were very angry at that time. For about ten years he was compelled to keep on hand a saddle horse and everything necessary for that purpose. Many times he was called and got up in the night and started off at once; at other times he had to leave in the heat of harvest, and then his wife was obliged to take his place in the field. This he had to do in connection with working in the canyon and attending to the farm to support the family. Sept. 21, 1852, his stepmother died, leaving him to provide for a family of eight, three of them— one man and two women—being old people, the youngest over sixty-three years old; also one brother and three sisters younger than himself. He was at that time twenty years, less one day, old. Dec. 25, 1853, he married Miss Helen Maria Fisher, who bore him nine children, five sons and four daughters. In the spring of 1856 he went on horse- "back to Salmon river with Pres. Brigham Young's party, a distance of 480 miles, and returned, which trip occupied six weeks' time. Feb. 18, 1855, Brother Smith was ordained to the office of Patriarch under the hands of Presidents Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and Jedediah M. Grant, and Apostles Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith and Lorenzo Snow, Pres. Young being mouth. It may be well here to state that this is the only office in the Church which is handed down from father to son by right of lineage. His grandfather, Joseph Smith, Sen., was the first Patriarch to the Church. He was ordained by his son, the Prophet Joseph Smith. John's father, Hyrum Smith, was ordained to this office by his father; and John would doubtless have been ordained by his father if he had lived until John had arrived at a proper age. Sept. 16, 1859, John started for Florence with a four-mule team, to bring his sister and her husband and family to Utah. He traveled in company with Elder John Y. Greene across the plains, and made the trip from Salt Lake City to Florence in thirty-two days, laying over on the road two days of the time —distance, 1011 miles. During his stay in the East he took his sister and her two youngest children and traveled across Iowa to Montrose, a distance of 350 miles, in eight days, with a pair of mules and a light wagon, and visited Nauvoo and different places in Illinois, reviewed many places of his boyhood, and found quite a number of his connections. He returned to Florence in February, 1860, where he spent considerable time in assisting to put wagons and handcarts together, and in doing all he could to expedite the starting of the European emigrants on the plains. In the month of June he was appointed by Elder George Q. Cannon, who had charge of the emigrants that season, to organize a company and take charge of it across the plains. He went to work at once, got a company of more than forty wagons in readiness, loaded his sister and family, and started out. The trip was made in seventy days. At the general conference, April, 1862, he was called to take a mission to Scandinavia. On the 17th of May following he started out on horseback, without purse or scrip, to cross the plains and the ocean. He was invited by Elder John R. Murdock to go with him to the Missouri river, as he had charge of a company of wagons and teams to bring out emigrants. Brother Smith accepted the invitation, and Brother Murdock assisted him with provisions. All went well until about noon one day, as the company left the Sweetwater river, when Brother Smith was taken down with mountain fever. During the night the fever was very severe, and the pain through every joint was excruciating. Toward the latter part of the night he was administered to by some of the Elders, and in the morning was able to pursue his journey on horseback. He was very weak and had to get down often from his horse to rest. At Fort Laramie he sold his horse, which was worth $90, for $40, and at Florence his saddle, which was worth $20. for $10. He met friends, who gave him money to assist him on his journey. His fare from Florence to Liverpool was about $100. When he arrived in Liverpool he had twenty-one shillings in his pocket. This paid his fare to London, where he had to get a passport from the American Minister before he could cross the continent of Europe. There he borrowed money to take him through (which he afterwards paid) from Hull, England, to Hamburg, Germany. The boat met headwinds and a rough sea, and all on board were sick; even the captain had to get on deck for air. At Hamburg he met his cousin. Elder Jesse N. Smith, who had preceded him about eighteen months. Brother Jesse had with him an interpreter, and all went well. They landed at Korsoer, Denmark, Sept. 6, 1862. Brother Smith remained on this mission until April 13, 1864, when he sailed from Copenhagen, on his return home. While on this mission he studied hard and obtained a good understanding of the Scandinavian languages — Danish-Norwegian and Swedish. On arriving at Grimsby, England, they found some emigrants for Zion awaiting them, who had traveled by way of Lubeck, and they all, about three hundred in number, continued their journey by rail to Liverpool. There he was appointed president of the ship's company. He embarked in the large sailing ship, "Monarch of the Sea,” bound for New York, having on board 973 souls of the Saints—Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, Germans, Scotch, Welsh, Irish, English and Americans—the largest company of Latter-day Saints which, up to that time, had left the shores of Europe. They were over forty days out at sea, with head winds a good deal of the time. On the banks of Newfoundland they saw a number of very large icebergs. On their arrival at Castle Gardens, New York, June 3, 1864, they went immediately on board the steamboat "St. Johns," and sailed up the Hudson river to Albany; from there they traveled by rail to St. Joseph, Missouri, and thence by steamboat up the Missouri river to Wyoming, Nebraska. On Brother Smith's arrival at Wyoming, he was appointed to take charge on the plains of a Scandinavian company of thirty wagons. He was there joined by more wagons in charge of Captain Patterson, making in all over sixty, for safety against the Indians, as the latter were very hostile that season, many people having been killed, and horses, mules and cattle stolen, and wagons burned. Many times on the journey ranchers, traders, and also officers at government posts would use every argument possible to Induce them to stop for safety. The answer Brother Smith would give them was, "We are used to Indian warfare, and we have only provisions enough to take us home, even if we keep moving; and we would rather run our risk of fighting Indians than starve on the plains." The company reached Salt Lake City, Oct. 1, 1864. After a few days the immigrants were distributed among their respective friends in the various settlements, but for several years Brother Smith was kept busy as an interpreter for the Scandinavians. Since that time he has been engaged in the duties of his calling as a Patriarch, traveling through the settlements of the Saints, and attending to other business, and on the farm. Up to date he has given to the Saints 15,660 patriarchal blessings.
SMITH, John, the sixth presiding Patriarch of the Church and the present incumbent of that office, is the son of Hyrum Smith and Jerusha Barden, and was born Sept. 22, 1832, in Kirtland, Geuaga (now Lake) county, Ohio. His mother died Oct. 13, 1837. She had six children—two sons and four daughters, and she died when the youngest was eight days old. His father was away from home at the time of her death. Dec. 24, 1837. his father married Miss Mary Fielding, who bore him two children, a son and a daughter. In the spring of 1838 John went with his father's family to Far West, Caldwell county, Missouri, where he shared with the rest of the Saints in the persecutions. In the fall of 1838 his father, his uncle Joseph and others, were taken prisoners by a ruthless mob. and, after being abused in many ways, threatened with death, etc., were finally lodged in Liberty, Clay county jail. During the winter his father's family, in connection with many others, were driven out of Missouri. Although small, John suffered much from cold and hunger. The family landed at Quincy, Ills., early in 1839. where they remained a .short time. Brother Hyrum Smith came home from Liberty jail April 22, 1839. The family subsequently went up the Mississippi river to a place called Commerce, afterwards the city of Nauvoo. Soon afterwards they moved about two miles down the river, where they remained in comparative peace for a short season. His father and his uncle, Joseph the Prophet, were martyred in Carthage jail by a bloodthirsty mob, June 27, 1844. In the month of February, 1847, John left his father's folks and started west with Heber C. Kimball's family. At this time he did not know where the people were going, but he supposed to California. This company crossed the Mississippi river on a ferryboat, and encamped on Sugar creek, about nine miles out. After two or three days, boy-like, he got homesick and went back to see his folks. During his stay at home, which was only for a few days, the river froze over, and he crossed back on skates, and joined the company. During the journey he had to drive loose stock, drive team, herd cattle and horses, and do any kind of work he could: Many times he was drenched in the rain. On one occasion Brother Heber P. Kimball and himself were driven by the force of the storm, stock and all, for a mile or so, although they were on horseback. The company journeyed westward through Iowa, stopping many times by the way in consequence of storms and soft roads, or, to speak more correctly, no roads but soft prairie. They finally landed on the hill where now stands Council Bluffs city, and crossed over the Missouri river at a point near the present site of Omaha, called at that time Sarpee's Trading Post, among the Pottawatamie Indians. They then went up about six miles to the Little Papillon, and remained a short time. During his stay there he became acquainted with Col. Thomas L. Kane, who was taken very sick, and John was his nurse for two weeks. In or about the month of August they moved into Winter Quarters, where the town of Florence now stands. In the fore part of September he learned that his father's family were on the road, and he went, in company with Brother Almon W. Babbitt, back about one hundred and fifty miles and met them. They came to Winter Quarters, where they remained two winters. John went to work with hired help, built a log house for the winter, and during the summer of 1847 made fence, tilled the soil, and took a man's place in the hay and harvest field, as he was the only male member of the family who was able to work. In April, 1848, the family started for Great Salt Lake valley. It was rather a hard journey, as they did not have teams enough. John had to drive a team composed of wild steers, cows and oxen, with two wagons tied together, and, before they had traveled more than two miles, a wagon tongue broke and they had to camp for the night. On the way over the plains he broke and they had to camp for the steers to work. He had to take a man's place, by standing guard at night, and in the day time to be the boy who brought the wood and water, herded the cows and assisted to double teams over bad places, up hills, etc. On one occasion a circumstance occurred which he will never forget. One day about sundown, while the party were encamped on the Platte river, it was reported that a woman was lost. Without ceremony he took his coat on his arm and a piece of corn bread in his hand and started out up the road, to follow a party of the company which had left at noon. He had not gone far when he came up with a dead carcass, which was covered with wolves fighting and howling. He walked past as fast and as quietly as possible. He traveled six miles before he came up with any wagons. During this distance he passed about twenty such frightful scenes, but he got through safe, and he thinks he was unnoticed by the wolves. He stopped for the balance of the night with an acquaintance, and at daybreak proceeded on his journey, and found the lost woman, a little after sunrise, safe with her mother, six ,miles from where he stayed for the night. On Sept. 22, 1848, his sixteenth birthday, he drove five wagons down the "Big Mountain," east of Salt Lake City; it was dark long before he got into camp with the last wagon. On the way, one wheel of his wagon ran into a tree which was about fifteen inches through. He had to lie on his back and chop the tree down with a dull ax before he could go any further. The next day he arrived in the Great Salt Lake valley. In the spring of 1850 John was enrolled in a company of horsemen, called the "Battalion of Life Guards," for the purpose of standing guard, or going out at a minute's warning, to protect the settlements from the marauding Indians, who were very angry at that time. For about ten years he was compelled to keep on hand a saddle horse and everything necessary for that purpose. Many times he was called and got up in the night and started off at once; at other times he had to leave in the heat of harvest, and then his wife was obliged to take his place in the field. This he had to do in connection with working in the canyon and attending to the farm to support the family. Sept. 21, 1852, his stepmother died, leaving him to provide for a family of eight, three of them— one man and two women—being old people, the youngest over sixty-three years old; also one brother and three sisters younger than himself. He was at that time twenty years, less one day, old. Dec. 25, 1853, he married Miss Helen Maria Fisher, who bore him nine children, five sons and four daughters. In the spring of 1856 he went on horse- "back to Salmon river with Pres. Brigham Young's party, a distance of 480 miles, and returned, which trip occupied six weeks' time. Feb. 18, 1855, Brother Smith was ordained to the office of Patriarch under the hands of Presidents Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and Jedediah M. Grant, and Apostles Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith and Lorenzo Snow, Pres. Young being mouth. It may be well here to state that this is the only office in the Church which is handed down from father to son by right of lineage. His grandfather, Joseph Smith, Sen., was the first Patriarch to the Church. He was ordained by his son, the Prophet Joseph Smith. John's father, Hyrum Smith, was ordained to this office by his father; and John would doubtless have been ordained by his father if he had lived until John had arrived at a proper age. Sept. 16, 1859, John started for Florence with a four-mule team, to bring his sister and her husband and family to Utah. He traveled in company with Elder John Y. Greene across the plains, and made the trip from Salt Lake City to Florence in thirty-two days, laying over on the road two days of the time —distance, 1011 miles. During his stay in the East he took his sister and her two youngest children and traveled across Iowa to Montrose, a distance of 350 miles, in eight days, with a pair of mules and a light wagon, and visited Nauvoo and different places in Illinois, reviewed many places of his boyhood, and found quite a number of his connections. He returned to Florence in February, 1860, where he spent considerable time in assisting to put wagons and handcarts together, and in doing all he could to expedite the starting of the European emigrants on the plains. In the month of June he was appointed by Elder George Q. Cannon, who had charge of the emigrants that season, to organize a company and take charge of it across the plains. He went to work at once, got a company of more than forty wagons in readiness, loaded his sister and family, and started out. The trip was made in seventy days. At the general conference, April, 1862, he was called to take a mission to Scandinavia. On the 17th of May following he started out on horseback, without purse or scrip, to cross the plains and the ocean. He was invited by Elder John R. Murdock to go with him to the Missouri river, as he had charge of a company of wagons and teams to bring out emigrants. Brother Smith accepted the invitation, and Brother Murdock assisted him with provisions. All went well until about noon one day, as the company left the Sweetwater river, when Brother Smith was taken down with mountain fever. During the night the fever was very severe, and the pain through every joint was excruciating. Toward the latter part of the night he was administered to by some of the Elders, and in the morning was able to pursue his journey on horseback. He was very weak and had to get down often from his horse to rest. At Fort Laramie he sold his horse, which was worth $90, for $40, and at Florence his saddle, which was worth $20. for $10. He met friends, who gave him money to assist him on his journey. His fare from Florence to Liverpool was about $100. When he arrived in Liverpool he had twenty-one shillings in his pocket. This paid his fare to London, where he had to get a passport from the American Minister before he could cross the continent of Europe. There he borrowed money to take him through (which he afterwards paid) from Hull, England, to Hamburg, Germany. The boat met headwinds and a rough sea, and all on board were sick; even the captain had to get on deck for air. At Hamburg he met his cousin. Elder Jesse N. Smith, who had preceded him about eighteen months. Brother Jesse had with him an interpreter, and all went well. They landed at Korsoer, Denmark, Sept. 6, 1862. Brother Smith remained on this mission until April 13, 1864, when he sailed from Copenhagen, on his return home. While on this mission he studied hard and obtained a good understanding of the Scandinavian languages — Danish-Norwegian and Swedish. On arriving at Grimsby, England, they found some emigrants for Zion awaiting them, who had traveled by way of Lubeck, and they all, about three hundred in number, continued their journey by rail to Liverpool. There he was appointed president of the ship's company. He embarked in the large sailing ship, "Monarch of the Sea,” bound for New York, having on board 973 souls of the Saints—Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, Germans, Scotch, Welsh, Irish, English and Americans—the largest company of Latter-day Saints which, up to that time, had left the shores of Europe. They were over forty days out at sea, with head winds a good deal of the time. On the banks of Newfoundland they saw a number of very large icebergs. On their arrival at Castle Gardens, New York, June 3, 1864, they went immediately on board the steamboat "St. Johns," and sailed up the Hudson river to Albany; from there they traveled by rail to St. Joseph, Missouri, and thence by steamboat up the Missouri river to Wyoming, Nebraska. On Brother Smith's arrival at Wyoming, he was appointed to take charge on the plains of a Scandinavian company of thirty wagons. He was there joined by more wagons in charge of Captain Patterson, making in all over sixty, for safety against the Indians, as the latter were very hostile that season, many people having been killed, and horses, mules and cattle stolen, and wagons burned. Many times on the journey ranchers, traders, and also officers at government posts would use every argument possible to Induce them to stop for safety. The answer Brother Smith would give them was, "We are used to Indian warfare, and we have only provisions enough to take us home, even if we keep moving; and we would rather run our risk of fighting Indians than starve on the plains." The company reached Salt Lake City, Oct. 1, 1864. After a few days the immigrants were distributed among their respective friends in the various settlements, but for several years Brother Smith was kept busy as an interpreter for the Scandinavians. Since that time he has been engaged in the duties of his calling as a Patriarch, traveling through the settlements of the Saints, and attending to other business, and on the farm. Up to date he has given to the Saints 15,660 patriarchal blessings.
"Lives of Our Leaders: Presiding Patriarch John Smith." Juvenile Instructor. 1 April 1901. pg. 192-196.
LIVES OF OUR LEADERS. PRESIDING PATRIARCH JOHN SMITH. JOHN SMITH, the Presiding Patriarch to the Church, was the son of Hyrum and Jerusha (Barden) Smith. He was born in Kirtland, Geauga (now Lake) County, Ohio, September 22nd, 1832. His mother died October 13th, 1837. She had six children— two sons and four daughters, and she died when the youngest was eight days old. His father was from home at the time of her death, in Missouri. On the 24th of December, 1837, his father married Miss Mary Fielding. She bore him two children, a son and a daughter. In the spring of 1838 John went with his father's family to Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri, where he shared with the rest of the Saints in the persecutions there. In the months of October and November, 1838, his father, with his uncle Joseph and others, was taken by a ruthless mob, and, after being abused in many ways, threatened with death, etc., was finally lodged in Liberty, Clay County, jail. During the winter his father's family, in connection with many others, were driven out of the State. Although small, he suffered much from cold and hunger. The family landed at Quincy, Ills., about the month of March, 1839, where they remained a short time. Brother Hyrum Smith came home from Liberty jail on the 22nd of April, 1839. They subsequently went up the Mississippi River to a place then called Commerce, afterwards the city of Nauvoo. They shortly after moved about two miles down the river, where they remained in comparative peace for a short season. On the 27th" of June, 1844, his father and his uncle, Joseph the Prophet, were martyred in Carthage jail by a bloodthirsty mob. In the month of February, 1847, John left his father's folks and started west with Heber C. Kimball's family. At this time he did not know where the people were going, but he supposed to California. This company crossed the Mississippi River on a ferry boat, and encamped on Sugar Creek, about ten miles out. After two or three days, boy-like, he got homesick and went back to see his folks. During his stay at home, which was only for a few days, the river froze over, and he crossed back on skates, and joined the company. During the journey he had to drive loose stock, drive team, herd cattle and horses, and do any kind of work he could. Many times he was drenched in the rain. On one occasion Brother Heber P. Kimball and himself were driven by the force of the storm, stock and all, for a mile or so, although they were on horseback. The company journeyed westward through Iowa, stopping many times by the way in consequence of storms and soft roads, or, to speak more correctly, no roads but soft prairie. They finally landed on the hill where now stands Council Bluffs City, and crossed over the Missouri River at a point where, as near as he can remember, now stands Omaha, called at that time Sarpee's Trading Post, among the Pottawatomie Indians. They then went up about six miles to the Little Papillon, and remained a short time. During his stay there he became acquainted with Colonel Thomas L. Kane, who was taken very sick, and John was his nurse for two weeks. In or about the month of August they moved into Winter Quarters, on the river Missouri, where now stands the town of Florence. In the fore part of September he learned that his father's family were on the road, and he went, in company with Brother A. W. Babbitt, back about 150 miles and met them. They came to Winter Quarters, where they remained two winters. He went to work with hired help, built a log house for the winter, and during the summer of 1847 made fence, tilled the soil, and took a man's place in the hay and harvest field, as he was the only male member of the family who was able to work. In April, 1848, the family started for Great Salt Lake. It was rather a hard journey, as they did not have teams enough. John remembers that he had to drive a team composed of wild steers, cows and oxen, with two wagons tied together, and, before they had traveled over two miles, a wagon tongue broke and they had to camp for the night. On the way over the plains he broke several yoke of the cows and steers to work. He had to take a man's place, by standing guard at night, and in the day time to be the boy who brought the wood and water, herded the cows and assisted to double teams over bad places, up hills, etc. On one occasion a circumstance occurred which he feels he will never forget. At about sundown, while the party were encamped on the Platte River, it was reported that a woman was lost. Without ceremony he took his coat on his arm and a piece of corn bread in his hand and started out up the road, to follow a part of the company which had left at noon. He had not gone far when he came up with a dead carcass, which was covered with wolves fighting and howling. He walked past as fast and as quietly as possible. He traveled six miles before he came up with any wagons. During this distance he passed about twenty such frightful scenes, but he got through safe, and he thinks he was unnoticed by the wolves. He stopped for the balance of the night with an acquaintance, and at daybreak proceeded on his journey, and found the lost woman, a little after sunrise, safe with her mother, six miles from where he stayed for the night. On the 22nd of September, his sixteenth birthday, he drove five wagons down the «Big Mountain," east of Salt Lake City. It was dark long before he got into camp with the last wagon. On the way, one wheel of his wagon ran into a tree which was about fifteen inches through. He had to lie on his back and chop the tree down with a dull ax before he could go any further. At about 11 p.m. the next day he arrived in the Great Salt Lake Valley. In the spring of 1850 John was enrolled in a company of horsemen, called the "Battalion of Life Guards," for the purpose of standing guard, or going out at a minute's warning, to protect the settlements from the marauding Indians, who were very angry at that time. For about ten years he was compelled to keep on hand a saddle horse and everything necessary for that purpose. Many times he was called and got up in the night and started off at once; at other times he had to leave in the heat of harvest, and then his wife was obliged to take his place in the field. This he had to do in connection with working in the canyon and attending to the farm to support the family. On the 21st of September, 1852, his stepmother died, leaving him to provide for a family of eight, three of them—one man and two women—being old people, the youngest over sixty-three years old; also one brother and three sisters younger than himself. He was at that time twenty years, less one day, old. On the 25th of December, 1853, he married Miss Helen Maria Fisher, who bore him nine children, five sons and four daughters. In the spring of 1856 he went on horseback to Salmon River with President Brigham Young's party, a distance of 480 miles, and return, which occupied six weeks' time. On February 18th, 1855; Brother Smith was ordained to the office of Patriarch under the hands of Presidents Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and J. M. Grant, and Apostles Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith and Lorenzo Snow, President Brigham Young being mouth. It may be well here to state that this is the only office in the Church which is handed down from father to son by right of lineage. His grandfather, Joseph Smith, Sr., was the first Patriarch to the Church. He was ordained by his son, the Prophet Joseph Smith. John's father, Hyrum Smith, was ordained to this office by his father; and John would doubtless have been ordained by his father if he had lived until John had arrived at a proper age. On September 16th, 1859, John started for Florence with a four-mule team, to bring his sister and her husband and family to Utah. He traveled in company with Elder John Y. Greene across the plains, and made the trip from Salt Lake City to Florence in thirty-two days, laying over on the road two days of the time—distance, 1011 miles. During his stay in the East he took his sister and her two youngest children and traveled across Iowa to Montrose, a distance of 350 miles, in eight days, with a pair of mules and a light wagon, and visited Nauvoo and different places in Illinois, reviewed many places of his boyhood, and found quite a number of his connections. He returned to Florence in February, 1860, where he spent considerable time in assisting to put wagons and handcarts together, and in doing all he could to expedite the starting of the European emigrants on the plains. In the month of June he was appointed by Elder George Q. Cannon, who had charge of the emigrants that season, to organize a company and take charge of it across the plains. He went to work at once, got a company of more than forty wagons in readiness, loaded his sister and family, and started out. The trip was made in seventy days. At the general conference, April, 1862, he was called to take a mission to Scandinavia. On the 17th of May following he started out on horseback, without purse or scrip, to cross the plains and the ocean. He was invited by Elder John R. Murdock to go with him to the Missouri River, as he had ' charge of a company of wagons and teams to bring out emigrants. Brother Smith accepted the invitation, and Brother Murdock assisted him with provisions. All went well until about noon one day, as the company left the Sweetwater River, when Brother Smith was taken down with mountain fever. During the night the fever was very severe, and the pain through every joint was excruciating. Toward the latter part of the night he was administered to by some of the Elders, and in the morning was able to pursue his journey on horseback. He was very weak and had to get down often from his horse to rest. At Fort Laramie he sold his horse, which was worth $90.00, for $40.00, and at Florence his saddle, which was worth $20.00, for $10.00. He met friends, who gave him money to assist him on his journey. His fare from Florence to Liverpool was about $100.00. When he arrived in Liverpool he had twenty-one shillings in his pocket. This paid his fare to London, where he had to get a passport from the American Minister before he could cross to the continent of Europe. There he borrowed money to take him through (which he afterwards paid) from Hull, England, to Hamburg, Germany. The boat met headwinds and a rough sea, and all on board were sick; even the captain had to get on deck for air. At Hamburg he met his cousin, Elder Jesse N. Smith, who had preceded him about eighteen months. Brother Jesse had with him an interpreter, and all went well. They reached the island of Seeland, Denmark, on the 12th of September, 1862. Brother Smith remained on this mission until April 13th, 1864, when he started for home, sailing by way of the Cattegat. The captain ran into the Bay of Elsinore and lay over about seven hours in consequence of a heavy gale of head wind. Many passengers were sick. While on this mission he studied hard and obtained a good understanding of the Scandinavian languages—Danish, Norwegian and Swedish. On arriving at Grimsby they found some emigrants for Zion awaiting them, who had traveled by way of Lubeck, and they all, about 300 in number, continued their journey by rail to Liverpool. There he was appointed president of the ship's company. He embarked in the large sailing ship, “Monarch of the Sea,” bound for New York, having on board 973 souls of the Saints—Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, Germans, Scotch, Welsh, Irish, English and Americans—the largest company of Latter-day Saints which, up to that time, had left the shores of Europe. They were over forty days out at sea, with head winds a good deal of the time. On the banks of Newfoundland they saw a number of very large icebergs. On their arrival at Castle Gardens, New York, they went immediately on board the steamboat “St. Johns,” and sailed up the Hudson River to Albany; from there they traveled by rail to St. Joseph, Missouri, and thence by steamboat up the Missouri River to Wyoming, Nebraska. On Brother Smith's arrival at Wyoming, he was appointed to take charge on the plains of a Scandinavian company of thirty wagons. He was there joined by more wagons in charge of Captain Patterson, making in all over sixty, for safety against the Indians, as the latter were very hostile that season, many people having been killed, and horses, mules and cattle stolen, and wagons burned. Many times on the journey ranchers, traders, and also officers at government posts would use every argument possible to induce them to stop for safety. The answer Brother Smith would give them was, “We are used to Indian warfare, and we have only provisions enough to take us home, even if we keep moving; and we would rather run our risk of fighting Indians than starve on the plains.” The company reached home safe on the 25th of September, 1864. After a few days the immigrants were distributed among their respective friends in the various settlements, but for several years Brother Smith was kept busy as an interpreter for the Scandinavians. Since that time he has been engaged in the duties of his calling as a Patriarch, traveling through the settlements of the Saints, and attending to other business, and on the farm. Up to date he has given to the Saints 15,660 patriarchal blessings. |
PRESIDING PATRIARCH JOHN SMITH.
|
"Patriarch John Smith." Improvement Era. December 1911. pg. 175-176.
Patriarch John Smith. The Latter-day Saints were again called upon to part with another of their beloved leaders, when Patriarch John Smith died. Nov. 6. Faithful to the gospel, true to every call made upon him, energetic in his labors, and in the full enjoyment of the spirit of his holy calling, he passed to the life beyond, honored and respected by his people, in all the world. And more than twenty thousand Latter-day Saints treasure blessings pronounced upon their heads by this faithful servant of the Lord, for they found in his words a source of comfort, an impetus to righteousness, and rich prophetic promises frequently fulfilled in their lives. Through all his trials and hardships, he responded to every call with alacrity, and displayed in all things a conscientious regard for the rights of his fellow men, and a spirit of fairness and honor that won the respect of all. In private and public life, and in the secular, civil, and religious offices which he held, he was the soul of integrity, and was as honorable and considerate as he was honest and upright. John Smith's early life was full of hardship and thrilling incident Born of Hyrum Smith and Jerusha Barden, in Kirtland, Ohio, in 1832, he was left motherless five years thereafter, and fatherless when, in 1844, Hyrum, the Second patriarch, was cruelly martyred in Carthage. He passed through the severe Missouri persecutions, with the cold, hunger, and hardship incident thereto; and the lad had only little peace in Nauvoo, before the martyrdom. Three years later, early in 1846, he started west. On the journey, he herded cattle, drove teams, and did odd work, in all kinds of weather—in storms and driving rain. At Winter Quarters he worked at building, farming, and fencing, taking a man's place in the hay and harvest field. Coming over the plains in 1848, when only sixteen years of age, he yet took his place with the men in driving team, breaking wild steers, standing guard at night, herding animals, and carrying wood and water to the travelling camp of pioneers. On his 16th birthday anniversary, he drove his wagon down "Big Mountain," on the old trail, and on the day following arrived in the Valley. Then came the days of standing guard to protect the settlements from Indians—he was a minuteman, night and day—and work on the farm and in the canyons to help support the family. He married Helen Maria Fisher, December 25, 1853, and with her had five sons and four daughters, He was a member of the famous Salmon River party of Prest. Brigham Young, in 1856. On Feb. 18, 1855, he was ordained Patriarch by Prest. Brigham Young. In 1859, he returned to the east for his sister and her family, and while gone visited Nauvoo, and the scenes of his boyhood. Returning, he conducted a company of forty wagons over the plains to Salt Lake Valley. Then he was called to go on a mission to Scandinavia, landing in Denmark, Sept. 6, 1862, and from which he returned, leaving Copenhagen, April 13, 1864. He sailed from Liverpool on The Monarch of the Sea, with a company of 973 souls, the largest company of Saints that had left Europe up to that time. He conducted a company of thirty wagons over the plains, and arrived in Salt Lake City, October 1, 1864. Since that time, he engaged in his duties as Presiding Patriarch, in early days covering the settlements of the whole Church, blessing the people, and administering to them comfort and consolation. More than twenty thousand, as stated, were thus blessed by him while he officiated in this holy office and calling. These, and hundreds of thousands of others, now bless his memory. Appropriate funeral services were held in the great tabernacle on Sunday, November 12, and his remains are at rest in the City Cemetery, until the resurrection day. |
PRESIDING PATRIARCH JOHN SMITH
Born, September 22, 1832; died, November 6, 1911. |
Parry, Edwin F. "Patriarch John Smith." Juvenile Instructor. December 1911. pg. 686-689.
Patriarch John Smith. By Edwin F. Parry. It is now more than sixty-seven years since the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph and the Patriarch Hyrum Smith, and there are only a very few men now living who were acquainted with them in their lifetime, and these veterans are becoming fewer in number each year. On November 6, 1911, John Smith, who for fifty-six years has held the office of Presiding Patriarch to the Church, died at his home in Salt Lake City. He was the son of Patriarch Hyrum Smith and Jerusha Barden, and was born in Kirtland, Ohio, September 22, 1832—two years after the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized. Being born of parents in the Church, and having been with it all his life, his history and that of the Church run side by side. What the Church experienced as a body he experienced as an individual. For seventy-nine years he shared its fortunes, endured its trials and witnessed its success and prosperity. What is more to his credit, and will be so eternally, is the satisfaction that he remained true to the faith during that period, and has done his share towards establishing and maintaining the Church and in helping and encouraging the people who compose it. Very few if any other men in the Church have been with it so many years and undergone such distressing hardships as has our venerable Patriarch. The early part of his life was especially beset with perils and trials. as the thrilling history of that time in the Church bears witness. At the tender age of five years he was deprived by death of a mother; and in all the mobbings and drivings of the Saints of that period he as a boy shared. Then, in his twelfth year the tragedy of Carthage jail tore from him his noble father and his uncle, the Prophet Joseph. Such sad and severe experiences were enough to dishearten the bravest ; but he and his brother and sisters survived those painful ordeals. After the death of his mother, his father married Miss Mary Fielding, who became the mother of President Joseph F. Smith. She was a capable and determined woman and a kind loving mother to her own children as well as to those of her husband's first wife, so John was not left without attention and guardianship. In narrating the events of his career from the time of the Saints' exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois, I shall quote from the words of his biographer. In February, 1847, John left his father's folks and started west with Heber C. Kimball's family. * * * This company crossed the Mississippi river on a ferryboat. They journeyed westward to Iowa and crossed the Missouri river. * * * They then went up about six miles to the Little Papillon, and remained a short time. During his stay there he became acquainted with Colonel Thomas L. Kane, who was taken very sick, and John was his nurse for two weeks. In or about August they moved into Winter Quarters, where the town of Florence now stands. Early in September he learned that his father's family was on the road, and he went, in company with Almon W. Babbitt, back about one hundred and fifty miles to meet them. They went to Winter Quarters, where they remained two winters. John went to work with hired help, built a log house for the winter, and during the summer of 1847 made fence, tilled the soil and took a man's place in the hay and harvest field, as he was the only male member of the family able to work. In April, 1848, the family started for Great Salt Lake valley. It was a hard journey, as they did not have teams enough. John had to drive a team composed of wild steers, cows and oxen with two wagons . tied together, and before they had traveled more than two miles, a wagon tongue broke and they had to camp for the night. He had to take a man's place, by standing guard at night, and in the day time to be the boy who brought the wood and water, herded the cows and assisted to double teams over bad places and up ills. On September 22, 1848, his sixteenth birthday, he drove five wagons down the "Big Mountain," east of Salt Lake: it was dark long before he got into camp with the last wagon. On the way, one wheel of his wagon ran into a tree which was about fifteen inches through. He had to lie on his back and chop the tree with a dull ax before he could go any further. The next day he arrived in the Great Salt Lake valley. In the spring of 1850 John was enrolled in a company of horsemen called the "Battalion of Life Guards," for the purpose of standing guard, or going out at a minute's warning, to protect the settlements from marauding Indians, who were very warlike at that time. For about ten years he was compelled to keep on hand a saddle horse and everything necessary for that purpose. Many times he was called and got up in the night and started off at once; at other times he had to leave in the heat of harvest, and then his wife was obliged to take his place in the field. This he had to do in connection with working in the canyon and attending to the farm to support the family. September 21, 1852, his stepmother died, leaving him to provide for a family of eight, three of them—one man and two women—being old people, the youngest over sixty-three years old; also one brother and three sisters younger than himself. He was at that time twenty years old, less one day. December, 25, 1853, he married Miss Helena Maria Fisher, who bore him nine children, five sons and four daughters. February 18, 1855, he was ordained to the office of patriarch under the hands of President Brigham Young. At the general conference, April, 1862, he was called to take a mission to Scandinavia. On the 17th of May following he started out on horseback, without purse or scrip to cross the plains and then the ocean. Patriarch Smith remained on this mission until April 13, 1864, when he sailed from Copenhagen, on his return home. While on this mission he studied hard and obtained a good understanding of the Scandinavian languages—Danish, Norwegian and Swedish. On arriving at Grimsby, England, they found some emigrants for Zion awaiting them, who had traveled by way of Lubeck, and they all, about three hundred in number, continued their journey by rail to Liverpool. There he was appointed president of the ship's company. He embarked in the large sailing ship, Monarch of the Sea, bound for New York, having on board nine hundred and seventy-three Saints—Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, Germans, Scotch, Welsh, Irish, English and Americans—the largest company of Latter-day Saints which, up to that time, had left the shores of Europe. On his arrival at Wyoming, he was appointed to take charge on the plains of a Scandinavian company of thirty wagons. He was there joined by more wagons in charge of Captain Patterson, making in all over sixty, for safety against the Indians, as the latter were very hostile that season, many people having been killed, and horses, mules and cattle stolen, and wagons burned. Many times on the journey ranchers, traders, and also officers at the government posts would use every argument possible to induce them to stop for safety. The answer he would give them was, "We are used to Indian warfare, and we have only provisions to take us home, even if we keep moving; and we would rather run our risk of fighting Indians than starve on the plains." The company reached Salt Lake October 1, 1864. After a few days the emigrants were distributed in the various settlements, but for several years he was kept as an interpreter for the Scandinavians. Since that time he had been engaged in the duties of his calling as a patriarch, traveling through the settlements and attending to other business. It is understood that the duty of a patriarch in the Church is to bless the people. This he has done not only in words of inspiration and encouragement pronounced upon their heads, but in deeds of kindness performed in times of need and distress. That he had a disposition to assist and bless people when only a youth is shown by an incident related in his life story. In his sixteenth year he crossed the plains with a company of emigrants destined for the Great Salt Lake valley, as stated above. One day, while the party were on the Platte river, the report came that a woman was lost. This was late in the afternoon and the sun was near setting. On hearing the news he at once set out in search of the lost woman. He threw his coat over his arm, took a piece of corn bread in his hand and started along the road on foot, intending to follow and if possible overtake a company which had left for the west about noon that same day. It was not long before he came to the dead body of an animal by the roadside. The carcass was surrounded by wolves, fighting and howling. He hurried by as quickly as possible, not wishing to attract their attention. During his walk of about six miles that night he witnessed nearly a score of such gruesome scenes. The wolves did not molest him, however, and he believed they were too busy to notice him. He overtook some wagons and spent the remainder of the night with an acquaintance. At daylight next morning he continued his journey. A little after sunrise, having walked another six miles, he found the woman safe with her mother in the company that passed his camp the day before. John Smith was in every respect a patriarch, in appearance, in disposition and in the possession of the patriarchal gift. He possessed the spirit of his calling, as thousands of the Saints can testify. The blessings he pronounced upon the heads of the Saints were inspired of the Lord, and many promises he made under that inspiration are known to have been fulfilled, thus giving evidence of his prophetic spirit. During the fifty-six years he served as Presiding Patriarch to the Church he gave 20,659 blessings. Men, like our beloved Patriarch, whose lives are dedicated to the service of the Lord and His people, are entitled to our highest respect and honor—not only those who have passed away but those who are with us and lead us today. |
PATRIARCH JOHN SMITH.
|
Young, Levi Edgar. "Patriarch John Smith." Young Woman's Journal. December 1911. pg. 677-678.
Patriarch John Smith.
By Levi Edgar Young.
Patriarch John Smith passed life’s great divide on the evening of November 6, 1911. In the death of Patriarch Smith, the Church of Jesus Christ loses one of its stalwarts, for he was a man whose whole life was given to humane service among his fellow men. He loved his friends, and desired to be loved by them, and as he passed along life’s highway, he grew in tenderness, as lie grew in knowledge. Always a true man, his affections were individual, yet his interests were universal.
John Smith was born in Kirtland, Ohio, some two years after the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His life was practically contemporary with the rise and growth of the Church. His father was Hyrum Smith, and his mother Jerusha Barden, who died just five years after the birth of John. The little boy’s life was from now on one of toil and sadness. Yet he had that fine and innocent trust in God that gave him the strength in years to come to conquer in life’s great battle. He saw his father and Uncle Joseph arrested, thrown into Carthage jail, and then killed by the angry mobs. Driven from his home in Missouri, then from Illinois, he lived his tender years of boyhood in tears and suffering. In September, 1848, he drove five wagons into the Valley of the Great Salt Lake, for he had taken the burdens of his father’s family, and had done the work of a strong man, though he was but sixteen years of age. While on the plains, he ever showed a constant watch care over his fellow men. His whole life was one of thoughtfulness.
“On one occasion a circumstance occurred which he never forgot. One day about sundown, while the party were encamped on the Platte river, it was reported that a woman was lost. Without ceremony he took his coat on his arm and a piece of cornbread in his hand and started out up the road, to follow a party of the company which had left at noon. He had not gone far when he came up with a dead carcass, which was covered with wolves fighting and howling. He walked past as fast and as quietly as possible. He traveled six miles before he came up with the wagons. During this distance he passed about twenty such frightful scenes, but he got through safe, and he thinks he was unnoticed by the wolves. He stopped for the rest of the night with an acquaintance, and at daybreak proceeded on his journey, and found the lost woman, a little after sunrise, safe with her mother, six miles from where he stayed for the night.”
His life with the Saints in Utah was one long and faithful work. Colonizer, Indian fighter, homebuilder, missionary, there was scarcely a human toil that he did not know from experience. In 1855, he was ordained Patriarch of the Church by Brigham Young. From that time to the present, thousands have received blessings that were marked for their simplicity, yet for their promises direct from the throne of God.
Patriarch Smith’s qualifications for his work were evident. In the first place, he was a man of character. In the second place, he saw more good in every human heart than bad. He wanted to bless people. He did bless them. Yet it must be remarked that no one received a blessing who did not deserve one. He had a great regard for the social uplift. Said he on one occasion: “The world can be saved only through the Gospel.” He meant by this that the world would be redeemed from sorrow by Christianity and not by civilization. And God would do the saving. A pioneer of ’47 remarked but a day or two ago, “I loved John Smith, for he sensed my heart struggles in life, and gave me a word of sympathy. He understood me, and blessed me according to my wishes.” Patriarch Smith’s life was frought with the larger things of experience. He did not see the Gospel of Christ in narrow perspective. He saw it as a larger whole, and acted accordingly. His words and acts always showed something of power behind them. His whole being impressed one with his sincerity and honesty of purpose. His greatest service to God and man lay in blessing people, and when he blessed, it was with the simplicity of a child, and the faith of a prophet. It may be said of him that he was the greatest of all warriors, for he conquered himself, he was the greatest of all heroes, for he made all materiality his servant; he was the finest of philosophers, for he returned a pure body and a faithful spirit to his God. So he was a great man. I love to think about such men as John Smith. He knew that man must be as God would have him be, and as God empowers him to become. He had a contempt for falsities; he hated shams, veneerings, and an assumed knowledge. Great in personal force he always adopted practical means to practical ends. He was fearless, yet humble; powerful, yet childlike. The results of his life may be seen only in part today. His many words of cheer, and thousands of inspired blessings will bear rich fruit for righteousness in the days to come. His religion might be summed up in this expression: “He lived in a God-created world, with men God-created; God redeemed."
Patriarch John Smith.
By Levi Edgar Young.
Patriarch John Smith passed life’s great divide on the evening of November 6, 1911. In the death of Patriarch Smith, the Church of Jesus Christ loses one of its stalwarts, for he was a man whose whole life was given to humane service among his fellow men. He loved his friends, and desired to be loved by them, and as he passed along life’s highway, he grew in tenderness, as lie grew in knowledge. Always a true man, his affections were individual, yet his interests were universal.
John Smith was born in Kirtland, Ohio, some two years after the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His life was practically contemporary with the rise and growth of the Church. His father was Hyrum Smith, and his mother Jerusha Barden, who died just five years after the birth of John. The little boy’s life was from now on one of toil and sadness. Yet he had that fine and innocent trust in God that gave him the strength in years to come to conquer in life’s great battle. He saw his father and Uncle Joseph arrested, thrown into Carthage jail, and then killed by the angry mobs. Driven from his home in Missouri, then from Illinois, he lived his tender years of boyhood in tears and suffering. In September, 1848, he drove five wagons into the Valley of the Great Salt Lake, for he had taken the burdens of his father’s family, and had done the work of a strong man, though he was but sixteen years of age. While on the plains, he ever showed a constant watch care over his fellow men. His whole life was one of thoughtfulness.
“On one occasion a circumstance occurred which he never forgot. One day about sundown, while the party were encamped on the Platte river, it was reported that a woman was lost. Without ceremony he took his coat on his arm and a piece of cornbread in his hand and started out up the road, to follow a party of the company which had left at noon. He had not gone far when he came up with a dead carcass, which was covered with wolves fighting and howling. He walked past as fast and as quietly as possible. He traveled six miles before he came up with the wagons. During this distance he passed about twenty such frightful scenes, but he got through safe, and he thinks he was unnoticed by the wolves. He stopped for the rest of the night with an acquaintance, and at daybreak proceeded on his journey, and found the lost woman, a little after sunrise, safe with her mother, six miles from where he stayed for the night.”
His life with the Saints in Utah was one long and faithful work. Colonizer, Indian fighter, homebuilder, missionary, there was scarcely a human toil that he did not know from experience. In 1855, he was ordained Patriarch of the Church by Brigham Young. From that time to the present, thousands have received blessings that were marked for their simplicity, yet for their promises direct from the throne of God.
Patriarch Smith’s qualifications for his work were evident. In the first place, he was a man of character. In the second place, he saw more good in every human heart than bad. He wanted to bless people. He did bless them. Yet it must be remarked that no one received a blessing who did not deserve one. He had a great regard for the social uplift. Said he on one occasion: “The world can be saved only through the Gospel.” He meant by this that the world would be redeemed from sorrow by Christianity and not by civilization. And God would do the saving. A pioneer of ’47 remarked but a day or two ago, “I loved John Smith, for he sensed my heart struggles in life, and gave me a word of sympathy. He understood me, and blessed me according to my wishes.” Patriarch Smith’s life was frought with the larger things of experience. He did not see the Gospel of Christ in narrow perspective. He saw it as a larger whole, and acted accordingly. His words and acts always showed something of power behind them. His whole being impressed one with his sincerity and honesty of purpose. His greatest service to God and man lay in blessing people, and when he blessed, it was with the simplicity of a child, and the faith of a prophet. It may be said of him that he was the greatest of all warriors, for he conquered himself, he was the greatest of all heroes, for he made all materiality his servant; he was the finest of philosophers, for he returned a pure body and a faithful spirit to his God. So he was a great man. I love to think about such men as John Smith. He knew that man must be as God would have him be, and as God empowers him to become. He had a contempt for falsities; he hated shams, veneerings, and an assumed knowledge. Great in personal force he always adopted practical means to practical ends. He was fearless, yet humble; powerful, yet childlike. The results of his life may be seen only in part today. His many words of cheer, and thousands of inspired blessings will bear rich fruit for righteousness in the days to come. His religion might be summed up in this expression: “He lived in a God-created world, with men God-created; God redeemed."
Fox, Ruth May. "To the Memory of Patriarch John Smith." Young Woman's Journal. December 1911. pg. 679.
To the Memory of Patriarch John Smith
By Ruth May Fox.
BELOVED, SLEEP.
Another faithful son has passed away,
The Patriarch of Israel whose long day
Was fraught with dangers, e’en in babyhood
His budding life was marred by scenes of blood.
His mother died, his sire—the patient saint
Who bore his heavy cross without complaint,
Whose kindly lips were ever moved to bless
His fellow-man and teach God’s righteousness;
Had, with his brother Joseph laid him down
To await the glory of a martyr’s crown.
So what cared he when wolves beset his path.
Or savage redmen bold would vent their wrath;
Or cold and hunger mock with fearful mien
Distress was part of life,—had always been ;
What mattered it if no one made him stay?
The cry familiar was. away, away!
Out of the land; we do not like your kind,
Your home and friends we’ll scatter to the wind.
What then to him were desert plains before.
Or rolling, treacherous tides or mountains hoar;
Behind him was the foe—the monster dread
Whose blows had fallen on his boyish head?
And so this heir to patriarchal gifts,
Had set his face toward the sapphire rifts
Between the crimson and the purple glow
That burns on night’s transcendent brow.
He pitched his tent beneath the western sky.
Resolved in Israel’s camp to live and die;
And on him here his father’s mantle fell.
And with it ope’d a living crystal well
Of inspiration, that should comfort bring
To faithful saints amid their suffering.
He lived to see the arid regions run
With cities, towns and hamlets, every one
A garden spot wherein his people dwelt.
Around whose sacred altars oft he knelt'
With them in pray’r to that Almighty God.
Who’d led them step by step and with His Rod
Withstood each enemy—fulfilled His word
“That he who fights or lets his voice be heard
’Gainst Zion, shall like leaves of Autumn fall--
His name be blotted out beyond recall.”
How we shall miss this man of noble grace.
His genial presence and saintly face.
With flowing beard and hair as white as snow
His benediction pure as lily’s blow;
Which thousands testify have been fulfilled
Alas! for us. his tender tones are stilled;
Peace, peace, he rests, ’tis vain for us to weep.
The Father called to Him “Beloved, sleep."
To the Memory of Patriarch John Smith
By Ruth May Fox.
BELOVED, SLEEP.
Another faithful son has passed away,
The Patriarch of Israel whose long day
Was fraught with dangers, e’en in babyhood
His budding life was marred by scenes of blood.
His mother died, his sire—the patient saint
Who bore his heavy cross without complaint,
Whose kindly lips were ever moved to bless
His fellow-man and teach God’s righteousness;
Had, with his brother Joseph laid him down
To await the glory of a martyr’s crown.
So what cared he when wolves beset his path.
Or savage redmen bold would vent their wrath;
Or cold and hunger mock with fearful mien
Distress was part of life,—had always been ;
What mattered it if no one made him stay?
The cry familiar was. away, away!
Out of the land; we do not like your kind,
Your home and friends we’ll scatter to the wind.
What then to him were desert plains before.
Or rolling, treacherous tides or mountains hoar;
Behind him was the foe—the monster dread
Whose blows had fallen on his boyish head?
And so this heir to patriarchal gifts,
Had set his face toward the sapphire rifts
Between the crimson and the purple glow
That burns on night’s transcendent brow.
He pitched his tent beneath the western sky.
Resolved in Israel’s camp to live and die;
And on him here his father’s mantle fell.
And with it ope’d a living crystal well
Of inspiration, that should comfort bring
To faithful saints amid their suffering.
He lived to see the arid regions run
With cities, towns and hamlets, every one
A garden spot wherein his people dwelt.
Around whose sacred altars oft he knelt'
With them in pray’r to that Almighty God.
Who’d led them step by step and with His Rod
Withstood each enemy—fulfilled His word
“That he who fights or lets his voice be heard
’Gainst Zion, shall like leaves of Autumn fall--
His name be blotted out beyond recall.”
How we shall miss this man of noble grace.
His genial presence and saintly face.
With flowing beard and hair as white as snow
His benediction pure as lily’s blow;
Which thousands testify have been fulfilled
Alas! for us. his tender tones are stilled;
Peace, peace, he rests, ’tis vain for us to weep.
The Father called to Him “Beloved, sleep."
"Patriarch John Smith." Young Woman's Journal. December 1911. pg. 709.
Patriarch John Smith.
Ripe with many years and rich in a varied experience Patriarch John Smith has been summoned home.
His course led not to the market place, he did not tread the ways of strife and conflict, but by inclination and calling he walked in the paths of peace. Beautiful was his mission that of giving blessings to the children of Zion and the great tribute has been paid by those who knew him most intimately that he had to a very marked degree the spirit of his office and calling.
Kind, gentle, and ready to serve, he shed a genial influence wherever he went. He will be long remembered not only by his family, but thousands to whom he gave blessings will lovingly think of him as they read the promises made by the Father, through His servant, the Patriarch. He is numbered among those blessed dead who die in the Lord. His works will indeed follow him.
Patriarch John Smith.
Ripe with many years and rich in a varied experience Patriarch John Smith has been summoned home.
His course led not to the market place, he did not tread the ways of strife and conflict, but by inclination and calling he walked in the paths of peace. Beautiful was his mission that of giving blessings to the children of Zion and the great tribute has been paid by those who knew him most intimately that he had to a very marked degree the spirit of his office and calling.
Kind, gentle, and ready to serve, he shed a genial influence wherever he went. He will be long remembered not only by his family, but thousands to whom he gave blessings will lovingly think of him as they read the promises made by the Father, through His servant, the Patriarch. He is numbered among those blessed dead who die in the Lord. His works will indeed follow him.