Joseph Fielding Smith (son of Hyrum M. Smith)
Born: 30 January 1899
Called as Presiding Patriarch: 17 September 1942
Released as Presiding Patriarch: 6 October 1946
Died: 29 August 1964
Called as Presiding Patriarch: 17 September 1942
Released as Presiding Patriarch: 6 October 1946
Died: 29 August 1964
Biographical Articles
Improvement Era, November 1942, Joseph F. Smith, Patriarch to the Church
Relief Society Magazine, November 1942, Joseph F. Smith - Patriarch to the Church
Instructor, March 1943, The New Presiding Patriarch
Improvement Era, November 1946, Patriarch to the Church Released from Duties
Relief Society Magazine, November 1942, Joseph F. Smith - Patriarch to the Church
Instructor, March 1943, The New Presiding Patriarch
Improvement Era, November 1946, Patriarch to the Church Released from Duties
Smith, Joseph Fielding. "Joseph F. Smith, Patriarch to the Church." Improvement Era. November 1942. pg. 694-695, 737-738.
JOSEPH F. SMITH Patriarch to the Church By JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH of the Council of the Twelve At the first session of the semiannual general conference of the Church held in the tabernacle, Saturday morning, October 3, 1942, Elder Joseph F. Smith, eldest son of the late Hyrum M. Smith, was sustained as Patriarch to the Church. At the time of his appointment he was the head of the speech department at the University of Utah. He was born January 30, 1899, in Salt Lake City, the eldest child of Elder Hyrum M. and Ida Elizabeth Bowman Smith. His father was the eldest son of President Joseph F. Smith and from October 24, 1901, to his death, January 23, 1918, was a member of the Council of the Twelve Apostles. Joseph F. was left in his youth without both father and mother, as his mother died September 24, 1918, six days after the birth of her second son, Hyrum Mack, Jr. The care of the children was left to their Aunt Margaret Bowman, who has been to them all that love, sympathy, and motherly care could exact. Joseph F. was baptized on his eighth birthday anniversary, January 30, 1907. His early schooling was received in the Salt Lake City district schools. When Hyrum M., Joseph F.'s father, was called to preside over the European mission, in the fall of 1913, he took his family with him, and Joseph attended Liverpool Collegiate School. After returning to his native land he continued his education in the University of Utah, where he showed exceptional talent in speech and dramatics under the guiding hand of Dr. Maud May Babcock, to whom he owes much in obtaining his start in his chosen field. In April 1920, he was called on a mission to the Hawaiian Islands, where he labored under the direction of his uncle, E. Wesley Smith, then presiding in that mission. He returned home in September 1922, after completing a successful mission, and again took up his studies at the University of Utah. Shortly after his return he was called to do the usual duties required of faithful young men in the Church, in the organizations and became a teacher in various classes and in his quorum. He was also called to serve on the Granite Stake Sunday School board. Since 1929, he has been a member of the general board of the Y.M.M.I.A. He received the Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Utah in 1 924, and the following year took a course in the University of London, where he obtained a certificate in phonetics. The next year he was a student in the University of Illinois where he obtained his M.A. degree; in 1936-38 he was a student in the University of Wisconsin, where he also taught. He also spent one summer at Oxford. He has taught two summer sessions in the University of Minnesota, and one summer in the University of Iowa. For one year he was Director of Theater in the University of Illinois and also taught in the summer school in the University of California at Berkeley. He taught in the University of Wisconsin two years and during five summer sessions, and for the past seven years he has also taught in the summer session in the Banff School of Fine Arts, a subsidiary of the University of Alberta. All of this, in connection with the duties as head of the department of speech in the University of Utah, and his activities on the Young Men's General Board and in other Church work, has made for him a very busy life. He is a member of the following fraternities, societies, and professional organizations: The National Sociology Fraternity; Theta Alpha Phi; the National Dramatic Fraternity; National Forensic Fraternity; and Sigma Phi Sigma. Early in the present year, 1942, he was taken seriously ill and spent many weeks in the hospital and only by the blessings of the Lord through administration, was his life spared. Then following this illness he was seized again and spent another siege of serious illness which necessitated an operation at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Again, through the power of the Lord he was brought back to his present condition of health. January 5, 1929, he married Ruth Pingree, who is a member of the Primary General Board, and daughter of Pauline Taggart Pingree, a member of the Relief Society General Board; and the late Frank Pingree. They have five children, three girls and two boys: Ruth S., Ida, Raoul Pingree, Denis Pingree, and Lynne Esther, who is four months old. The office of Patriarch to the Church is one of two hereditary offices in the Church, the other being that of Presiding Bishop. In the case of the Presiding Bishop, however, the Lord has not revealed the line of descent and since one holding the office of high priest may serve, this order has been followed from the beginning in this dispensation. Speaking of the office of Patriarch, the Prophet Joseph Smith has said: The Evangelist is a Patriarch even the oldest man of the blood of Joseph or of the seed of Abraham. Wherever the Church of Christ is established in the earth, there should be a Patriarch for the benefit of the posterity of the Saints, as it was with Jacob in giving his patriarchal blessings unto his sons. ( Teachings of the Prophet, page 151) In case of the patriarchal office, the Lord has designated the line of descent. By revelation and commandment Joseph Smith, Sr., was called and ordained to this office. In the blessing pronounced upon his head the Prophet said: Three years previous to the death of Adam, he called Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, and Methuselah, who were all high priests, with the residue of the posterity who were righteous into the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman and there bestowed upon them his last blessing. And the Lord appeared unto them, and they rose up and blessed Adam, and called him Michael, the Prince, the Arch-angel. And the Lord administered comfort unto Adam, and said unto him, I have set thee to be at the head; A multitude of nations shall come of thee, and thou art a Prince over them forever. So shall it be with my father. He shall be called a prince over his posterity holding the keys of the Patriarchal Priesthood over the kingdom of God on earth, even the Church of the Latter-day Saints, and he shall sit in the general assembly of Patriarchs, even in council with the Ancient of Days, when he shall sit and all the Patriarchs with him, and shall enjoy his right and authority under the direction of the Ancient of Days. . . . Again, blessed is my father, for the hand of the Lord shall be over him and he shall be full of the Holy Ghost. . . . Behold the blessings of Joseph by the hand of his progenitor shall come upon the head of my father and his seed after him, to the uttermost. (Blessing given December 18, 1833.) It has always been understood, and so the revelations declare, that this office is hereditary. In a revelation to Hyrum Smith a few days after the organization of the Church, the Lord foreshadowed this Priesthood as it would descend upon the head of Hyrum Smith, and implied that it would be an office which would pertain to his family, in the following words; Behold, I speak unto you, Hyrum, a few words; for thou also art under no condemnation, and thy heart is opened, and thy tongue loosed; and thy calling is to exhortation, and to strengthen the church continually. Wherefore thy duty is unto the church forever, and this because of thy family. Amen. (D. & C. 23:3) The statement that the duty of Hyrum Smith was to the Church forever because of his family, evidently conveys the thought that he would succeed to the office of Patriarch and that it should continue in his posterity to the end of time, for, surely, it would have to continue in this way to last forever in the Church upon the earth among mortal men. Then again, the blessing pronounced upon the head of Hyrum Smith's father, was that this calling was to come upon his head "and his seed after him, to the uttermost." And so, down through the history of the Church this doctrine has been recognized. Joseph Smith, Sen., was appointed in December, 1833, the first Patriarch to the Church. He served from that time until his death, September 14, 1840. In the revelation given January 19, 1841, Hyrum Smith, who at the time was serving as second counselor to the Prophet in the Presidency of the Church, was removed from this position and called to take the position of Patriarch. However, in calling Hyrum to this position, the Lord also elevated him from the position of second counselor, to that of assistant President of the Church, to take the place vacated by Oliver Cowdery when he was excommunicated. The call given at this time is very significant and is as follows: And again, verily I say unto you, let my servant William [Law] be appointed, ordained, and anointed, as a counselor unto my servant Joseph, in the room of my servant Hyrum, that my servant Hyrum may take the office of Priesthood and Patriarch, which was appointed unto him by his father, by blessing and also by right; That from henceforth he shall hold the keys of the patriarchal blessings upon the head of all my people. (D. & C. 124:91-2) Here the right of hereditary possession in the patriarchal office is pointed out and the office was conferred upon Hyrum Smith. There was another blessing, not included in the patriarchal office, that was also bestowed upon Hyrum Smith by virtue of this revelation, and that is the calling to be an Assistant- President of the Church. [For full particulars regarding this calling, the reader is referred to the remarks of Elder Joseph Fielding Smith at the April Conference in 1930. It is only necessary at this time to refer to this calling with a briefer statement.] In this same revelation and in the same call, the Lord said, speaking of Hyrum: And from this time forth I appoint unto him that he may be a prophet, and a seer, and a revelator unto my church, as well as my servant Joseph; That he may act in concert also with my servant Joseph; and that he shall receive counsel from my servant Joseph, who shall show unto him the keys whereby he may ask and receive, and be crowned with the same blessing, and glory, and honor, and priesthood, and gifts of the priesthood, that once were put upon him that was my servant Oliver Cowdery; That my servant Hyrum may bear record of the things which I shall show unto him, that his name may be had in honorable remembrance from generation to generation, forever and ever. (D. 6 C. 124:94-96.) In other words, in addition to the office of Patriarch, Hyrum Smith was blessed with another and even higher calling, that is, to hold the keys of Presidency jointly with the Prophet Joseph Smith, and verses 94, 95, and 96 of section 124, in the Doctrine and Covenants, quoted above, have no reference whatever to the calling of Patriarch to the Church; they refer to the blessing which had formerly been given to Oliver Cowdery, which blessing was given in compliance with the law of witnesses as it is set forth in the scriptures, which law made it necessary that two witnesses stand at the head of the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times to testify to the world of the restoration of the Church and the Holy Priesthood. This law was given in the very beginning of time and is stated by Paul in these words: "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." (2 Cor. 13:1) (See Deut. 17:6) Our Lord, Himself, complied with this law. When the Jews declared that He stood alone with no one to testify for Him, therefore they were under no obligation to believe Him, the Savior answered them: Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true; for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go. Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me. In harmony with this law the Lord called Oliver Cowdery as the second witness to stand at the head of this dispensation assisting the Prophet in holding the keys. The records inform us that every time the Prophet received authority and the keys of the Priesthood from the heavens, Oliver Cowdery shared in the conferring of those powers with the Prophet. Had Oliver Cowdery remained faithful and had he survived the Prophet under those conditions, he would have succeeded as President of the Church by virtue of this divine calling. This blessing was also confirmed upon the head of Oliver Cowdery by the Prophet, December 5, 1834, in the following words: I laid my hands upon Brother Oliver Cowdery, and ordained him an Assistant- President, saying these words: "In the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified for the sins of the world, I lay my hands upon thee and ordain thee an Assistant-President of the High and Holy Priesthood, in the Church of the Latter-day Saints." (D. H. C. 2:176.) This ordination is in accord with the calling as stated in the Doctrine and Covenants 20:2-4. The Prophet explained that this ordination means that the office of Assistant-President is to assist in presiding over the whole Church, and to officiate in the absence of the President, and to rank ahead of the counselors in the First Presidency. He also explained that "The office of this Priesthood is also to act as spokesman, taking Aaron for an example. The virtue of the above Priesthood is to hold the keys of the kingdom of heaven or the Church militant." (MS. Book A, chapter one. ) This blessing which had been given to Oliver Cowdery was by revelation and commandment conferred upon Hyrum Smith, and he was ordained to be an Assistant-President, January 19, 1842, and to hold the keys jointly with the Prophet Joseph Smith at the head of the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, as the second witness and elder in the Church. It should be understood that this blessing is in no sense a part of the patriarchal calling. It was not conferred upon Joseph Smith, Sen., who was Patriarch when Oliver Cowdery received this blessing. It has not been, and cannot be, given to any Patriarch succeeding Hyrum Smith, who still holds those keys with the Prophet presiding over this last dispensation. The offices of Patriarch and Assistant- President were held by Hyrum Smith until the martyrdom. The office of Patriarch was then offered to William Smith, the only surviving brother of the Prophet, and President Brigham Young declared it was his by right. William Smith confirmed the saying of the Lord, "many are called but few are chosen," for he failed to magnify this calling, turned against his brethren and was excommunicated. He was never sustained by the vote of the people, and therefore never did legally act; he was called, but was not chosen. The third Patriarch was Father John Smith, only surviving uncle of the Prophet. He was called to this position because Hyrum Smith did not leave a son old enough to receive the office. Father John Smith played a prominent part in the early days in Utah. In August, 1847, before the return of President Brigham Young to Nebraska, Father John Smith was placed in charge in the Salt Lake Valley as the president of the little colony. He died May 23, 1854, in Salt Lake City. The fourth Patriarch was John Smith, eldest son of Hyrum Smith. He was an inexperienced boy twenty-three years of age at the time of his ordination, and after he was ordained President Brigham Young sent him on a mission that he might gain experience. He died in Salt Lake City, November 6, 1911, after holding the office for over fifty-six years. The fifth Patriarch was Hyrum Gibbs Smith, grandson of John Smith, and the great-grandson of Hyrum Smith. He was ordained under the hands of President Joseph F. Smith, May 9, 1912. He died February 4, 1932, in Salt Lake City. For ten years this office has been vacant, except for the fact that President Heber J. Grant appointed temporarily as "acting" Patriarch, Elder George F. Richards of the Council of the Twelve Apostles who was a patriarch for a number of years in the Tooele Stake. The Patriarch to the Church holds the keys of blessing for the members of the Church. He has the authority to seal blessings upon the heads of the members in all parts of the Church, that they may, if they prove faithful, enjoy function whatever is pronounced upon their heads, and come forth in the resurrection to obtain eternal life. To gain such blessings, however, all the ordinances and covenants belonging to the gospel and to exaltation must by them be received. A blessing given by a Patriarch is intended to point out the path which the recipient should travel. It should be given by the spirit of revelation and should be a great comfort and incentive to the recipient to continue on in faithfulness to the end. The Patriarch also holds the key by which the lineage of those whom he blesses may be made known. It is a very important and most holy and sacred calling. We all feel sure that the new Patriarch will uphold the traditions of the Church, be a credit to his family, and magnify his calling in the spirit of humility, prayer, and faith. |
JOSEPH F. SMITH
JOSEPH F. SMITH AND FAMILY
Front: Ruth Pingree Smith and Lynne Esther, Denis, Joseph F. Smith, and Raoul; Rear: Ida, Ruth. PATRIARCHS TO THE CHURCH SINCE 1833
JOSEPH SMITH, SEN.
HYRUM SMITH
JOHN SMITH
JOHN SMITH
HYRUM G. SMITH
REMARKS OF JOSEPH F. SMITH
Patriarch to the Church Delivered at the Saturday Morning Session of the 113th Semiannual General Conference, October 3, 1942, in the Tabernacle. I know that my Redeemer lives. A Once in January of this year, and again in April, I lay in the valley of the shadow of death. I returned therefrom only by the power of the Priesthood and the faith of those who love me. Let sophists- scoff — let worldly learned men rationalize: I know —as I know that I stand here — that I am alive this day by the power of the Priesthood and by the faith of my loved ones. Many nights have I lain and pondered the Lord's goodness to me—goodness which I must confess seemed all too unmerited. There are no words for me to tell you what went on in my heart this day as I saw this great body of men holding the holy Priesthood sustain me in the calling to which the Prophet of God has summoned me. I know that my Redeemer lives. I know that Heber J. Grant is His chosen and properly-ordained mouthpiece upon earth. God grant that we as a body of Priesthood, that our families, that our brethren and sisters who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may have the wisdom and the strength to hew closely to the words which have issued and which shall issue from the constituted authority of the Church. Only by so doing will we have the strength to face the trials that are to come. The hearts of the strongest may quail. Obedience to the word of the Lord is the only thing which will fortify us in the days to come. God grant that we may be Latter-day Saints, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. |
Evans, Richard L. "Joseph F. Smith - Patriarch to the Church." Relief Society Magazine. November 1942. pg. 750-751.
Joseph F. Smith PATRIARCH TO THE CHURCH Elder Richard L. Evans Of the First Council of the Seventy TO receive the sustaining vote of the membership of this Church is a sobering experience. In all of its far-reaching implications it is at once an overawing responsibility, and a source of strength that carries men through situations far beyond their unaided ability. On Saturday morning, October 3, 1942, at the opening session of the 113th semi-annual conference, another man was sustained in high office in this Church—Joseph F. Smith, Patriarch to the Church— and responded with a testimony such as one would expect from a great grandson of Hyrum Smith, the martyr, brother and companion in life and in death of Joseph Smith the Prophet. Joseph F. Smith, sixth Patriarch to the Church, is best known perhaps as Professor Joseph F. Smith, head of the Department of Speech at the University of Utah. For purposes of convenience only, he is sometimes listed as Joseph Fielding Smith III, to distinguish him from his uncle, Joseph Fielding Smith of the Council of the Twelve. The new Patriarch has many rich gifts, both of mind and of spirit, and of personality. His call comes to him at the age of forty-three, and his appointment fills a vacancy that has existed for more than ten years— since the death of Hyrum G. Smith in 1932. He has an acquaintance with many peoples, many countries, and many customs in this land and in Europe and the islands of the Pacific. As the son of Apostle Hyrum M. Smith and Ida Elizabeth Bowman, he lived in Europe during his father's presidency of the European Mission. The schools of both England and America have contributed richly to his academic back ground, and his service as a missionary in Hawaii gave him yet broader experience in yet another part of the world. Joseph F. Smith is also a sincere and entertaining host in his home, where his three daughters and two sons are growing up with a love of truth and an example of faith—and in all of these things his able and lovely wife is an equal sharer—in ideals, in activities, in devotion to all good things, in able management, and in undeviating integrity. Sister Smith was the former Ruth Pingree whom he married in 1929. She is a member of the general board of the Primary Association, and her mother, Pauline Taggert Pingree, is a member of the Relief Society general board. Many of the major universities of America have opened their doors to Joseph F. Smith, both as a student and as a teacher. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Utah in 1924, where his abilities in speech and dramatics were encouraged by Dr. Maud May Babcock, whose interest in him was a guiding factor in those earlier years. A certificate of phonetics from the University of London followed a year later, and then came the succeeding year his M.A. degree at the University of Illinois. He has been both student and teacher at the University of Wisconsin. He has taught two summer sessions at the University of Minnesota, and one summer at the University of Iowa, and one summer at the University of California at Berkeley, and two years and five summer sessions at the University of Wisconsin; for the past seven years he has also taught during the summer sessions in the Banff School of Fine Arts, a subsidiary of the University of Alberta. His friends in his profession, which he now gives up in response to Church call, are numbered among the highly accredited, and he holds membership in several societies, fraternities, and professional organizations including the National Sociology Fraternity; Theta Alpha Phi, the National Dramatic Fraternity; National Forensic Fraternity; Sigma Phi Sigma; and Phi Kappa Phi. The new Patriarch's Church service has been consistent and varied, as a missionary, as a former member of the Granite Stake Sunday School board, as a teacher of various quorums and classes, and, since 1929, as a member of the general board of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association. Born in Salt Lake City, January 30, 1899, and orphaned since 1918 by the tragic death of both father and mother within a few months of each other, he has come through many of the reverses and vicissitudes of life with growing faith and purpose and demonstrated ability. His ministry, one of blessing, will bless the membership of the Church wherever he goes. His many gifts and his unquestioned faith will sustain and enrich the lives of those among whom his calling and official responsibilities will take him. Joseph F. Smith, Patriarch to the Church, is a man of courage and integrity, and will serve his generation well, in accordance with the highest ideals and purposes that the Lord has made known to man. |
JOSEPH F. SMITH
|
Evans, John Henry. "The New Presiding Patriarch." Instructor. March 1943. pg. 119-120.
THE NEW PRESIDING PATRIARCH
By John Henry Evans
Patriarch Joseph F. Smith, who, as the year 1943 opened, assumed his duties as head Patriarch to the Church, is the son of the late Hyrum Smith, the grandson of the late Joseph F. Smith, sixth president of the Church, great-grandson of Hyrum Smith, second presiding patriarch, and great-great-grandson of Joseph Smith , father of the Prophet, and the first presiding patriarch in this dispensation.
According to a revelation given to the Prophet in March, 1835, (Sec. 107, verses 40, 41 ) "the order of this priesthood was confirmed to be handed down from father to son, and rightly belongs to the literal descendants of the chosen seed, to whom the promises were made. [It] was instituted in the days of Adam and came down by lineage" from Adam on. This is the only hereditary office in the Church.
Mormonism has given a new definition to the word "patriarch." In Webster's Dictionary there are five separate definitions to the word. These are, briefly : ( 1 ) the father, or ruler, of a tribe ( ancient ); ( 2 ) the title given to the president of the ancient Jewish Sanhedrin; (3) the honorary title of the papal bishop who presided over other bishops; (4) a "person regarded as the father, or founder," of a race, family, or religion; and (5) an "old man." It is the last of these definitions that comes to mind when the twentieth-century man thinks of, or uses the word.
But in our Church the presiding patriarch has not, as a rule, been an old man—at least when he was appointed to that office. Joseph Smith, Senior, was sixty-two when he was ordained a patriarch, in 1833; Hyrum Smith, his son, was in his thirty-ninth year when he was called to fill this position, in 1841. Ashael Smith, brother of the first patriarch, was seventy-one years of age when he received the appointment. The two John Smiths who followed in this office were, respectively, sixty-eight and twenty-two. The former was uncle to the Prophet; the latter, the son of Hyrum Smith. Hyrum G. Smith, grandson of the second John Smith, was made presiding patriarch at the age of thirty-three. Joseph F. Smith, the present presiding patriarch, is forty-four years old. He is the eighth to hold this office in the Church of our time. The average age of our presiding patriarchs is forty-eight, and a man is not old at forty-eight.
Patriarch Smith got Mormonism by absorption. In the home he inhaled, unawares, as all children do, the spirit that enveloped him. And since that spirit was one of loyalty, virtue, integrity, and faith, he accordingly, without realizing it, found himself possessed of these virtues. Which shows how indispensable it is that the home exudes an atmosphere of religion.
Then, first in America and afterwards in Europe, Joseph traveled with his father on his preaching tours. As a small boy he used to sit on the stand, at quarterly conferences in Utah and adjoining states, while his father and others expatiated on various gospel themes. In Europe, too, while his father presided over the mission there, Joseph, then in his early adolescence, traveled over the continent attending priesthood meeting, going to conferences, and listening to his father dispense the Word. Incidentally, the boy counted one hundred and thirty-five sermons preached by his father, and no two of them were alike—an interesting comment on human versatility.
Here was another process of absorption at work in the education of a future presiding patriarch. First of all, there was the mere listening to preachings on many themes, which covered the whole range of the gospel. Then there was the drinking in of the spirit that always went with the addresses of Hyrum M. Smith—clarity, intelligence, and a tremendous earnestness. For one did not forget what the apostle said nor the way in which he said it.
When Joseph visited conferences with his father at home, he met all the other Church authorities. For they usually traveled in pairs. At such times, on the way to the conferences and back, he got a glimpse of the men in their off-the-record lives. In particular, he enjoyed the humor of the late President Anthon H. Lund, who had a vast reservoir of anecdotes which he told, one after another. Thus the boy learned to know and therefore to like his fellow travelers.
Far from looking upon his twenty-two years of educational work—studies at several colleges and teaching at the University of Utah and other institutions—with longing or regret, now that he has changed his vocation, he regards that work as an asset.
For one thing, his work has been with young people, whom he knows intimately and loves. He believes that young men and women are all religious at heart, that they are looking for anchorage in this much- troubled world. Already there has been a wide-spread interest awakened in young people in certain circles over his appointment to the office of patriarch. "Here is one whom we know," they say, "and who knows us." And they want patriarchal blessings.
And then, for another thing, Patriarch Smith believes that his office offers an opportunity to be of real help to the youth of the Church. He does not look upon patriarchal blessings as a form of fortune telling. There may or may not be the element of prophecy in a particular blessing. But a patriarchal blessing may, by its insight into character, by its direction, by its motivation, give to youth the balanced life which they seek, something to tie to, a spiritual anchor. Speaking of "fortune-telling," there is to be no charge for any patriarchal blessing in the general office. Before Christmas a woman called him up on the telephone, to say that she wanted to give her two grandchildren patriarchal blessings as a Christmas gift. "My dear sister," he said, "you can't do that. Only the Lord can give a blessing!" And, on another occasion, a woman called on him at the office, to ask his advice on the problem as to whether her daughter should marry a soldier. After giving her the necessary counsel, she took out of her purse a piece of money, which, of course, he refused. "But what you have told me is worth that!" she exclaimed. "That may be so," he replied, "but my advise is not to be paid for in money!"
Elder Smith, as one would imagine, has faith in prayer and in those in authority in spiritual concerns. Twice in his life recently he has been kept on this side of the veil by the prayer of faith—of which the telling of one will suffice.
Last year he came home from the East with pneumonia, and was taken immediately to the hospital. At once he was put into an oxygen tent. His fever rose to the danger point. His life was in the balance. It would have been easy for him to slip quietly into* the Other World. But he did not. And the reason, he firmly believes, was a prayer offered in his behalf by President Heber J. Grant at one of the weekly council meetings of the general authorities in the Temple. At that very moment Brother Smith's temperature dropped to normal, and remained there during the rest of his stay at the hospital.
While he was teaching at the University of Wisconsin, three years ago, he was offered a position there at a good salary. Later he was offered a similar position at the University of Utah, from which he had a leave of absence. The opportunities, he believed, were better at the Wisconsin school, because it was in the graduate school. He was in a quandary. He wanted to come home, and yet he wanted to stay in the eastern institution.
He wrote to President Grant. President Grant advised him to come home, and he did. He believes that, when you ask a presiding official for advice, you should follow it.
Joseph F. Smith has no sympathy with any young Mormon who seeks to hide his light under a bushel. "Never once," he says, "have I found my religion anything but an asset." And he has some interesting stories to reinforce this idea of open loyalty to the faith.
THE NEW PRESIDING PATRIARCH
By John Henry Evans
Patriarch Joseph F. Smith, who, as the year 1943 opened, assumed his duties as head Patriarch to the Church, is the son of the late Hyrum Smith, the grandson of the late Joseph F. Smith, sixth president of the Church, great-grandson of Hyrum Smith, second presiding patriarch, and great-great-grandson of Joseph Smith , father of the Prophet, and the first presiding patriarch in this dispensation.
According to a revelation given to the Prophet in March, 1835, (Sec. 107, verses 40, 41 ) "the order of this priesthood was confirmed to be handed down from father to son, and rightly belongs to the literal descendants of the chosen seed, to whom the promises were made. [It] was instituted in the days of Adam and came down by lineage" from Adam on. This is the only hereditary office in the Church.
Mormonism has given a new definition to the word "patriarch." In Webster's Dictionary there are five separate definitions to the word. These are, briefly : ( 1 ) the father, or ruler, of a tribe ( ancient ); ( 2 ) the title given to the president of the ancient Jewish Sanhedrin; (3) the honorary title of the papal bishop who presided over other bishops; (4) a "person regarded as the father, or founder," of a race, family, or religion; and (5) an "old man." It is the last of these definitions that comes to mind when the twentieth-century man thinks of, or uses the word.
But in our Church the presiding patriarch has not, as a rule, been an old man—at least when he was appointed to that office. Joseph Smith, Senior, was sixty-two when he was ordained a patriarch, in 1833; Hyrum Smith, his son, was in his thirty-ninth year when he was called to fill this position, in 1841. Ashael Smith, brother of the first patriarch, was seventy-one years of age when he received the appointment. The two John Smiths who followed in this office were, respectively, sixty-eight and twenty-two. The former was uncle to the Prophet; the latter, the son of Hyrum Smith. Hyrum G. Smith, grandson of the second John Smith, was made presiding patriarch at the age of thirty-three. Joseph F. Smith, the present presiding patriarch, is forty-four years old. He is the eighth to hold this office in the Church of our time. The average age of our presiding patriarchs is forty-eight, and a man is not old at forty-eight.
Patriarch Smith got Mormonism by absorption. In the home he inhaled, unawares, as all children do, the spirit that enveloped him. And since that spirit was one of loyalty, virtue, integrity, and faith, he accordingly, without realizing it, found himself possessed of these virtues. Which shows how indispensable it is that the home exudes an atmosphere of religion.
Then, first in America and afterwards in Europe, Joseph traveled with his father on his preaching tours. As a small boy he used to sit on the stand, at quarterly conferences in Utah and adjoining states, while his father and others expatiated on various gospel themes. In Europe, too, while his father presided over the mission there, Joseph, then in his early adolescence, traveled over the continent attending priesthood meeting, going to conferences, and listening to his father dispense the Word. Incidentally, the boy counted one hundred and thirty-five sermons preached by his father, and no two of them were alike—an interesting comment on human versatility.
Here was another process of absorption at work in the education of a future presiding patriarch. First of all, there was the mere listening to preachings on many themes, which covered the whole range of the gospel. Then there was the drinking in of the spirit that always went with the addresses of Hyrum M. Smith—clarity, intelligence, and a tremendous earnestness. For one did not forget what the apostle said nor the way in which he said it.
When Joseph visited conferences with his father at home, he met all the other Church authorities. For they usually traveled in pairs. At such times, on the way to the conferences and back, he got a glimpse of the men in their off-the-record lives. In particular, he enjoyed the humor of the late President Anthon H. Lund, who had a vast reservoir of anecdotes which he told, one after another. Thus the boy learned to know and therefore to like his fellow travelers.
Far from looking upon his twenty-two years of educational work—studies at several colleges and teaching at the University of Utah and other institutions—with longing or regret, now that he has changed his vocation, he regards that work as an asset.
For one thing, his work has been with young people, whom he knows intimately and loves. He believes that young men and women are all religious at heart, that they are looking for anchorage in this much- troubled world. Already there has been a wide-spread interest awakened in young people in certain circles over his appointment to the office of patriarch. "Here is one whom we know," they say, "and who knows us." And they want patriarchal blessings.
And then, for another thing, Patriarch Smith believes that his office offers an opportunity to be of real help to the youth of the Church. He does not look upon patriarchal blessings as a form of fortune telling. There may or may not be the element of prophecy in a particular blessing. But a patriarchal blessing may, by its insight into character, by its direction, by its motivation, give to youth the balanced life which they seek, something to tie to, a spiritual anchor. Speaking of "fortune-telling," there is to be no charge for any patriarchal blessing in the general office. Before Christmas a woman called him up on the telephone, to say that she wanted to give her two grandchildren patriarchal blessings as a Christmas gift. "My dear sister," he said, "you can't do that. Only the Lord can give a blessing!" And, on another occasion, a woman called on him at the office, to ask his advice on the problem as to whether her daughter should marry a soldier. After giving her the necessary counsel, she took out of her purse a piece of money, which, of course, he refused. "But what you have told me is worth that!" she exclaimed. "That may be so," he replied, "but my advise is not to be paid for in money!"
Elder Smith, as one would imagine, has faith in prayer and in those in authority in spiritual concerns. Twice in his life recently he has been kept on this side of the veil by the prayer of faith—of which the telling of one will suffice.
Last year he came home from the East with pneumonia, and was taken immediately to the hospital. At once he was put into an oxygen tent. His fever rose to the danger point. His life was in the balance. It would have been easy for him to slip quietly into* the Other World. But he did not. And the reason, he firmly believes, was a prayer offered in his behalf by President Heber J. Grant at one of the weekly council meetings of the general authorities in the Temple. At that very moment Brother Smith's temperature dropped to normal, and remained there during the rest of his stay at the hospital.
While he was teaching at the University of Wisconsin, three years ago, he was offered a position there at a good salary. Later he was offered a similar position at the University of Utah, from which he had a leave of absence. The opportunities, he believed, were better at the Wisconsin school, because it was in the graduate school. He was in a quandary. He wanted to come home, and yet he wanted to stay in the eastern institution.
He wrote to President Grant. President Grant advised him to come home, and he did. He believes that, when you ask a presiding official for advice, you should follow it.
Joseph F. Smith has no sympathy with any young Mormon who seeks to hide his light under a bushel. "Never once," he says, "have I found my religion anything but an asset." And he has some interesting stories to reinforce this idea of open loyalty to the faith.
"Patriarch to the Church Released from Duties." Improvement Era. November 1946. pg. 685, 708.
PATRIARCH TO THE CHURCH Released from Duties The release of Elder Joseph F, Smith, Patriarch to the Church since October 1942, was announced to the Church at the close of the final session of the 117th semi-annual general conference. President David O. McKay, who officiated at the sustaining of the General Authorities at the close of the session, made the following statement of explanation relative to the release of Patriarch Smith: "You will note that in the presentation of the General Authorities, the name of the Patriarch was omitted. The President of the Church has from Patriarch Joseph F. Smith the following letter: Centerville, Utah, 3rd of October, 1946. President George Albert Smith. 47 East South Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah. Dear President Smith: As you know I have been very ill for many months. While I am slowly gaining strength and hope soon again to be able to do some work, I do not know when, if at all, I shall be able to stand the full drain upon my energy incident to the office of Patriarch to the Church. As you know the duties of the Patriarch entail heavy exhaustion. Since but one man holds that office, if he is measurably incapacitated, its work must in that degree suffer. I know, of course, that one neither resigns nor asks to be released from such a calling, out of personal considerations, any more than one requests appointment or asks for office. My chief desire is that the work of the Lord shall prosper. Bearing these things in mind, I am writing to say that if you desire me to carry on. I shall do my best. If, however, in the circumstances, you should feel that the interests of the Church would be best served by releasing me at this time, I want you to feel at liberty to do that. I am therefore writing this letter to let you know you have my full support for whatever you decide. I am grateful for the Lord's goodness to me and mine. Ever praying the Lord's choicest blessings upon you, I am sincerely your brother, Joseph F. Smith. "After careful and prayerful consideration, and with deep regret and sympathy for his condition, the First Presidency with the expressed assent and approval of the Council of the Twelve, have decided, under all the circumstances, that Brother Joseph F. Smith shall be released from his duties as Patriarch to the Church." Elder Smith, who was forty-seven years old last January 30, is a son of the late Apostle Hyrum M. Smith and Ida Elizabeth Bowman Smith. He is a grandson of President Joseph F. Smith and a great-grandson of Hyrum Smith, the martyred patriarch and brother to the Prophet Joseph Smith. |
JOSEPH F. SMITH
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