Joseph Fielding Smith
Born: 19 July 1876
Called to Quorum of the Twelve: 7 April 1910
Became President of the Quorum of the Twelve: 9 April 1951
Called as Counselor in the First Presidency: 29 October 1965
Sustained as President of the Church: 23 January 1970
Died: 2 July 1972
Called to Quorum of the Twelve: 7 April 1910
Became President of the Quorum of the Twelve: 9 April 1951
Called as Counselor in the First Presidency: 29 October 1965
Sustained as President of the Church: 23 January 1970
Died: 2 July 1972
Biographical Articles
Biographical Encyclopedia, Volume 3
Biographical Encyclopedia, Volume 4
Juvenile Instructor, May 1910, Joseph F. Smith, Jr.
Improvement Era, May 1921, Portrait of Joseph Fielding Smith, Newly Appointed Church Historian
Improvement Era, June 1932, Greatness in Men - Joseph Fielding Smith
Improvement Era, April 1950, Joseph Fielding Smith - Forty Years an Apostle
Relief Society Magazine, December 1950, Joseph Fielding Smith Appointed Acting President of the Council of the Twelve
Relief Society Magazine, June 1951, Elder Joseph Fielding Smith Sustained as President of the Twelve Apostles
Improvement Era, September 1951, Joseph Fielding Smith, President of the Quorum of the Twelve
Improvement Era, October 1955, President Joseph Fielding Smith Visits the Far East
Improvement Era, July 1956, President Joseph Fielding Smith, Tribute from the Council of the Twelve
Improvement Era, April 1960, Half Century of Service
Improvement Era, December 1965, Joseph Fielding Smith, Thorpe B. Isaacson Appointed to First Presidency
Improvement Era, July 1966, Tribute to President Joseph Fielding Smith by the First Presidency
Improvement Era, July 1966, President Joseph Fielding Smith
Improvement Era, February 1970, President Joseph Fielding Smith Becomes Tenth President of the Church
Improvement Era, March 1970, President Joseph Fielding Smith
Instructor, March 1970, Joseph Fielding Smith - Our New President
Relief Society Magazine, April 1970, President Joseph Fielding Smith Called as the Tenth President of the Church
Ensign, July 1972, A Day in the Life of President Joseph Fielding Smith
Ensign, August 1972, Joseph Fielding Smith: Apostle, Prophet, Father in Israel
Ensign, January 2014, True and Faithful: Inspiration from the Life and Teachings of Joseph Fielding Smith
Biographical Encyclopedia, Volume 4
Juvenile Instructor, May 1910, Joseph F. Smith, Jr.
Improvement Era, May 1921, Portrait of Joseph Fielding Smith, Newly Appointed Church Historian
Improvement Era, June 1932, Greatness in Men - Joseph Fielding Smith
Improvement Era, April 1950, Joseph Fielding Smith - Forty Years an Apostle
Relief Society Magazine, December 1950, Joseph Fielding Smith Appointed Acting President of the Council of the Twelve
Relief Society Magazine, June 1951, Elder Joseph Fielding Smith Sustained as President of the Twelve Apostles
Improvement Era, September 1951, Joseph Fielding Smith, President of the Quorum of the Twelve
Improvement Era, October 1955, President Joseph Fielding Smith Visits the Far East
Improvement Era, July 1956, President Joseph Fielding Smith, Tribute from the Council of the Twelve
Improvement Era, April 1960, Half Century of Service
Improvement Era, December 1965, Joseph Fielding Smith, Thorpe B. Isaacson Appointed to First Presidency
Improvement Era, July 1966, Tribute to President Joseph Fielding Smith by the First Presidency
Improvement Era, July 1966, President Joseph Fielding Smith
Improvement Era, February 1970, President Joseph Fielding Smith Becomes Tenth President of the Church
Improvement Era, March 1970, President Joseph Fielding Smith
Instructor, March 1970, Joseph Fielding Smith - Our New President
Relief Society Magazine, April 1970, President Joseph Fielding Smith Called as the Tenth President of the Church
Ensign, July 1972, A Day in the Life of President Joseph Fielding Smith
Ensign, August 1972, Joseph Fielding Smith: Apostle, Prophet, Father in Israel
Ensign, January 2014, True and Faithful: Inspiration from the Life and Teachings of Joseph Fielding Smith
Jenson, Andrew. "Smith, Joseph Fielding, Jr." Biographical Encyclopedia. Volume 3. pg. 784-786.
SMITH, Joseph Fielding, junior, a member of the Council of Twelve Apostles, was born July 19, 1876, in Salt Lake City, Utah, the son of Pres. Joseph F. Smith and Julina Lambson Smith. He was baptized and confirmed by his father July 19, 1884, and four years later was ordained a Deacon; subsequently he was ordained a Teacher and set apart as president of the Teachers' Quorum in the 16th Ward, and from his early youth became an active Church worker in the 16th Ward, Salt Lake City. He was ordained an Elder Sept. 8, 1897, and a Seventy May 12, 1899, by Joseph F. Smith. The following day (May 13th) he left for Great Britain on a mission. On his arrival in Liverpool, England, he was appointed to labor in the Nottingham conference, where he became known as a successful and energetic Elder. He returned home in 1901 and in 1903 he was chosen as a president of the 24th quorum of Seventy and acted as instructor of that quorum until the Salt Lake Stake of Zion was organized in March, 1904, when he was ordained a High Priest by Hyrum M. Smith, and set apart as one of the High Councilors of said Stake, which position he held until the time he was called to be an Apostle. In 1898 (April 26th) he married Louie E. Shurtliff, daughter of Lewis W. Shurtliff, of Ogden. She died March 30, 1908, leaving two small children (Josephine and Julina). In November, 1908, Elder Smith married Ethel G. Reynolds (daughter of the late Elder George Reynolds), who has borne him six children, namely, Emily, Naomi, Lois, Joseph F., Amelia, and Lewis Warren. Early in life Elder Smith became very much interested in the genealogical work of the Church and has served as secretary, librarian and treasurer of the Genealogical Society of Utah. He established the "Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine" with the approval and under the direction of the board of directors, editing the paper during the first year (1910), but had to relinquish the editorial chair on account of other duties after being called into the Council of the Twelve. In the summer of 1902 he visited Massachusetts, gathering the genealogy of the Smith family. On this trip he secured hundreds of names and straightened out the family line from Robert Smith, the earliest ancestor in America. He was also actively engaged while quite young in the Mutual Improvement work of the Church, acting as instructor in the 16th and later in the 17th Ward. In 1898- 1899 he acted as an aid in the Y. M. M. I. A. board of the Salt Lake Stake, and became a member of the General Board in 1903. In 1909 he was also chosen as a member of the general board of Religion Classes and is at present first assistant to Rudger Clawson in the general superintendency of the Religion Class organizations of the Church. Since 1906 he has been sustained as an assistant Church Historian. From 1901 to 1910 he served as a home missionary in the Salt Lake Stake of Zion. In 1910, when John Henry Smith was chosen as second counselor in the First Presidency, Joseph Fielding Smith was chosen to fill the vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve, caused by the promotion of Elder John Henry Smith. He was ordained an Apostle April 7, 1910, by Jos. F. Smith. Since that time Elder Smith has been devoted to the duties of his high and holy calling, traveling extensively in the various Stakes of Zion, preaching the gospel and assisting in ordaining and setting apart the many new officers called from time to time to fill positions in the Church. Since April, 1912, he has been a member of the board of trustees of the Brigham Young University. In 1917 he was chosen as a member of the Church Board of Education and is at present a member of several important committees connected with Church activities. When Pres. Anthon H. Lund was sustained as president of the Salt Lake Temple, he chose Elder Smith as his first assistant, which position he now holds. Joseph Fielding Smith is naturally spiritually minded, has an unbounded faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith; he is energetic and capable in all his work, is sound on doctrine, and has written a number of doctrinal and historical essays on different topics, all of which show a thoroughness in study and research.
SMITH, Joseph Fielding, junior, a member of the Council of Twelve Apostles, was born July 19, 1876, in Salt Lake City, Utah, the son of Pres. Joseph F. Smith and Julina Lambson Smith. He was baptized and confirmed by his father July 19, 1884, and four years later was ordained a Deacon; subsequently he was ordained a Teacher and set apart as president of the Teachers' Quorum in the 16th Ward, and from his early youth became an active Church worker in the 16th Ward, Salt Lake City. He was ordained an Elder Sept. 8, 1897, and a Seventy May 12, 1899, by Joseph F. Smith. The following day (May 13th) he left for Great Britain on a mission. On his arrival in Liverpool, England, he was appointed to labor in the Nottingham conference, where he became known as a successful and energetic Elder. He returned home in 1901 and in 1903 he was chosen as a president of the 24th quorum of Seventy and acted as instructor of that quorum until the Salt Lake Stake of Zion was organized in March, 1904, when he was ordained a High Priest by Hyrum M. Smith, and set apart as one of the High Councilors of said Stake, which position he held until the time he was called to be an Apostle. In 1898 (April 26th) he married Louie E. Shurtliff, daughter of Lewis W. Shurtliff, of Ogden. She died March 30, 1908, leaving two small children (Josephine and Julina). In November, 1908, Elder Smith married Ethel G. Reynolds (daughter of the late Elder George Reynolds), who has borne him six children, namely, Emily, Naomi, Lois, Joseph F., Amelia, and Lewis Warren. Early in life Elder Smith became very much interested in the genealogical work of the Church and has served as secretary, librarian and treasurer of the Genealogical Society of Utah. He established the "Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine" with the approval and under the direction of the board of directors, editing the paper during the first year (1910), but had to relinquish the editorial chair on account of other duties after being called into the Council of the Twelve. In the summer of 1902 he visited Massachusetts, gathering the genealogy of the Smith family. On this trip he secured hundreds of names and straightened out the family line from Robert Smith, the earliest ancestor in America. He was also actively engaged while quite young in the Mutual Improvement work of the Church, acting as instructor in the 16th and later in the 17th Ward. In 1898- 1899 he acted as an aid in the Y. M. M. I. A. board of the Salt Lake Stake, and became a member of the General Board in 1903. In 1909 he was also chosen as a member of the general board of Religion Classes and is at present first assistant to Rudger Clawson in the general superintendency of the Religion Class organizations of the Church. Since 1906 he has been sustained as an assistant Church Historian. From 1901 to 1910 he served as a home missionary in the Salt Lake Stake of Zion. In 1910, when John Henry Smith was chosen as second counselor in the First Presidency, Joseph Fielding Smith was chosen to fill the vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve, caused by the promotion of Elder John Henry Smith. He was ordained an Apostle April 7, 1910, by Jos. F. Smith. Since that time Elder Smith has been devoted to the duties of his high and holy calling, traveling extensively in the various Stakes of Zion, preaching the gospel and assisting in ordaining and setting apart the many new officers called from time to time to fill positions in the Church. Since April, 1912, he has been a member of the board of trustees of the Brigham Young University. In 1917 he was chosen as a member of the Church Board of Education and is at present a member of several important committees connected with Church activities. When Pres. Anthon H. Lund was sustained as president of the Salt Lake Temple, he chose Elder Smith as his first assistant, which position he now holds. Joseph Fielding Smith is naturally spiritually minded, has an unbounded faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith; he is energetic and capable in all his work, is sound on doctrine, and has written a number of doctrinal and historical essays on different topics, all of which show a thoroughness in study and research.
Jenson, Andrew. "Smith, Joseph Fielding, Jr." Biographical Encyclopedia. Volume 4. pg. 246, 686.
SMITH, Joseph Fielding, jun., a member of the General Board of Y. M. M. I. A. from 1903 to 1919. (See Biographical Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 784.)
SMITH, Joseph Fielding, jun., president of the Genealogical Society of Utah since 1934, was secretary of that organization from 1907 to 1922, treasurer since 1909, and vice-president from 1925 to 1934. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, July 19, 1876, a son of Joseph F. Smith and Julina Lambson, and is a member of the Council of Twelve Apostles, and Church Historian. (See Bio. Ency., Vol. 3, p. 784.)
SMITH, Joseph Fielding, jun., a member of the General Board of Y. M. M. I. A. from 1903 to 1919. (See Biographical Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 784.)
SMITH, Joseph Fielding, jun., president of the Genealogical Society of Utah since 1934, was secretary of that organization from 1907 to 1922, treasurer since 1909, and vice-president from 1925 to 1934. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, July 19, 1876, a son of Joseph F. Smith and Julina Lambson, and is a member of the Council of Twelve Apostles, and Church Historian. (See Bio. Ency., Vol. 3, p. 784.)
"Joseph F. Smith, Jr." Juvenile Instructor. May 1910. pg. 212-213.
Joseph F. Smith, Jr. On Wednesday, April 6, 1910, at the General Conference of the Church, Elder Joseph F. Smith, Jr. was unanimously sustained a member of the Quorum of the Apostles, to fill the vacancy caused by the elevation of Elder John Henry Smith to the office of Second Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Joseph F. Smith. Jr. son of President Joseph F. and Julina L. Smith, was born July 19, 1876, in Salt Lake City, and was baptized July 19, 1884, by his father. His ordinations and appointments in the Priesthood have been as follows: ordained a Deacon 1888, a Teacher four years later, an Elder September 8, 1897, a Seventy May 12, 1899, a President of the 24th quorum of Seventy, March 2, 1903. a High Priest March 25, 1904, and on the same day was set apart as a member of the High Council of the Salt Lake Stake of Zion. Brother Smith was a zealous worker in the M. L A., having acted as an aid in the Salt Lake Stake in 1898- 9 and instructor in the M. L A. of the 16th ward 1901-2. In July, 1902 he was appointed superintendent of the 16th ward branch Sunday School. which position he held until that organization was consolidated with the 17th ward at the time two tiers of blocks above the O S. L. tracks were taken from the 16th ward and annexed to the 17th. May 13, 1899 he left Salt Lake City for a mission to Great Britain and for two years labored in the Nottingham conference, returning in July, 1901, and entering the employ of the Historian's office as clerk. He was called as an aid in the General Board of M. I. A. May 27, 1903, and January 6, 1909, a member of the General Board of Religion Classes. He was instructor of senior class M. I. A. 17th ward from 1905 to 1907. March 26, 1907 he became secretary and a director of the Genealogical Society and a short time later, librarian, and succeeded Elder A. Milton Musser as treasurer in November, 1909. He was chosen as assistant Church Historian at the April conference, 1906. He acted as a home missionary in the Salt Lake Stake from 1901 to 1910. Elder Smith on April 26th, 1898 married Louie E. Shurtliff, daughter of President L. W. Shurtliff of the Weber Stake. Louie died March 30, 1908, leaving two small children. On November 2, 1908 Elder Smith married Ethel G. Reynolds, a daughter of the late Elder George Reynolds. Although a young man, Elder Joseph F. Smith, Jr. has already shown marked activity in Church work, and has always been a devoted and zealous worker in the Cause of Truth. His life has been clean, upright, and above reproach, and his appointment to this high and holy calling will surely meet the approbation of all Latter-day Saints. |
Joseph F. Smith, Jr.
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"Joseph Fielding Smith." Improvement Era. May 1921. pg. 611.
JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH Church Historian; born Salt Lake City, July 19, 1876; baptized July 19, 1884; ordained an apostle, April 7, 1910; appointed Church Historian and General Church Recorder, March 17, 1921, and sustained in this office, April 6, 1921, by the General Conference. |
Hinckley, Bryant S. "Greatness in Men - Joseph Fielding Smith." Improvement Era. June 1932. pg. 458-461.
Greatness in Men Joseph Fielding Smith By Bryant S. Hinckley President of Liberty Stake Besides the picture President Hinckley gives of the more or less public activity of the subject of this article, the reader will find a more intimate word-portrait given by the woman in all the world who knows him best. Both portraits are the sort any man might like drawn of him. THE picture of a sturdy boy standing in a manger patiently struggling to get a bridle over the ears of a docile but tricky work horse is familiar to many of us. The boy is the interesting figure in the picture, for a boy is a bundle of possibilities. Time and experience teaches one respect for boys in general. In this land of opportunity no one can tell where a few years will take a boy if he is intelligent, honest and ambitious. Perhaps some day you will want to borrow money and the boy you knew will name the terms and tell you where to sign on the dotted line; he may sit in judgment upon your behavior and decide your case in court; he may look into your fevered face and prescribe bitter doses or, by the skillful use of his knife, save your life; he may represent you in the legislative halls of your country, or fight your battles on foreign soil. The bare foot boy with sun-tanned face and wind-scorched lips, may some day stand upon the platform and, with reason and eloquence, inspire you to higher and better things. Yes, a boy is a bundle of possibilities. JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH, as a boy, harnessed the family horse when he had to stand on a box to do it and took his devoted mother, Julina Lambson Smith, on many an errand of mercy and relief. The spirit of service which he learned in those days has grown stronger and brighter with the years. In his thirty-fourth year he was ordained an apostle. However, this was not the beginning of his service, for all his days he had been active in the Church. In his twenty-third year he went on a mission to Great Britain, returning two years later, after which he served as a home missionary, a high councilor and in other capacities in the Salt Lake Stake of Zion. At a tender age he manifested a real interest in Church history and found great delight in studying the principles of the gospel and doctrines of the Church. Naturally he went to his father with many questions. No boy ever had a better teacher of the glorious truths of "Mormonism" than he had in the person of his distinguished father. THIS dispensation has produced few, if any, abler or more militant defenders of the faith of his people than President Joseph F. Smith. He possessed not only a clear and profound knowledge of the fundamental principles of the gospel of the Master but he had in his soul a flaming conviction of their divinity. No mortal could bear this testimony with more convincing power than he could. He was not only a great father and a mighty preacher of righteousness, but he typified our loftiest conception of a real man—a man whose convictions were backed by a loyalty and a consecrated devotion to the truth that was never challenged by friend or foe. It is indeed a priceless thing for any boy to have such a teacher. There was a gentleness and nobility, a solidity and sweetness, an intelligence and capacity compounded in the character of Joseph F. Smith which won your confidence and secured your everlasting allegiance. President Smith will go down in history as a great spiritual leader. His fidelity to his friends was supreme, his faith flawless, his course colossal, a stranger to fear and free from guile. All of these heroic virtues were not only bred in Joseph Fielding but cultivated through contact with his noble father. No son of President Joseph F. Smith could be lacking in courage or guilty of cowardice and still be true to his father. All his sons have a reverential regard for their father, and they should have. Joseph Fielding pays this sincere tribute to him: "My father was the most, tender hearted man I ever knew. His sympathy was perpetually drawn out towards the down-trodden and oppressed. Especially was his love extended towards little children. He loved them all and could not bear to see them wrongfully treated. This sympathy and tenderness was extended towards the animal kingdom. 'I never could see why a man should be imbued with a bloodthirsty desire to kill and destroy anima! life. * * * I think it is wicked for men to thirst ,in their souls to kill almost everything which possesses animal life,' was his constant teaching by example and by precept. "As a preacher of righteousness, the sincerity of his words penetrated the souls of men. He spoke as one having authority and with a firmness, conviction and confidence begotten of a knowledge of the truth. There was -no element of doubt or uncertainty in his testimony. Especially was this so when he spoke of the divinity of our Savior or the mission of the prophet Joseph Smith. It has sunk deep into my heart; it fills every fiber of my soul; so that I say before this people, and would be pleased to have the privilege of saying it before the whole world, that God has revealed unto me that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Redeemer of the world; that Joseph Smith is, was, and always will be a prophet of >God, ordained to stand at the head of the dispensation of the fulness of times, the keys of which were given to him, and he will hold them until the winding-up scene. * * I know as I live that this is true, and I bear my testimony to its truth.' Such was the nature of his testimony. "Among my fondest memories are the hours I have spent by his side discussing principles of the gospel and receiving instruction as only he could give it. In this way the foundation for my own knowledge was laid in truth, so that I too can say I know that my Redeemer lives, and that Joseph Smith is, was, and always will be a prophet of the living God." IN his boyhood days Joseph Fielding herded cows near the Jordan River and learned to swim in its sluggish and dangerous waters. With his brothers he worked on a farm in Taylorsville, Utah. Farm experiences teach boys to be resourceful and patient. Both of these virtues are indispensable in the development of character. In his youth he played baseball and other games common in those times. For almost a score of years he has consistently and with regularity played handball in the Deseret Gymnasium. Although his eyesight is not perfect he plays the game skillfully and with great zest. Thousands of people have listened to him speak but very few are familiar with the genial smile which lights up his countenance when he plays. Play reveals the real man as nothing else does. Neither veneer nor parade behavior carry over in the contest of a real game. To know Joseph Fielding Smith you must play with him, live with him. In answer to this question put to his wife: "Will you tell us something about the man you know?" she said: "You ask me to tell you of the man I know. I have often thought when he is gone people will say, 'He is a very good man, sincere, orthodox, etc' They will speak of him as the public knows him; but the man they have in mind is very different from the man I know. The man I know is a kind, loving husband and father whose greatest ambition in life is to make his family happy, entirely forgetful of self in his efforts to do this. He is the man that lulls to sleep the fretful child, who tells bedtime stories to the little ones, who is never too tired or too busy to sit up late at night or to get up early in the morning to help the older children solve perplexing school problems. When illness comes the man I know watches tenderly over the afflicted one and waits upon him. It is their father for whom they cry, feeling his presence a panacea for all ills. It is his hands that bind up the wounds, his arms that give courage to the sufferer, his voice that remonstrates with them gently when they err, until it becomes their happiness to do the thing that will make him happy. "The man I know is most gentle, and if he feels that he has been unjust to anyone the distance is never too far for him to go and, with loving words or kind deeds, erase the hurt. He (welcomes gladly the young people to his home and is. never happier than when discussing with them topics of the day—sports or whatever interests 'them most. ' He enjoys a good story and is quick to see the humor of a situation, to laugh and to be laughed at, always willing to join in any wholesome activity. "The man I know is unselfish, uncomplaining, considerate, thoughtful, sympathetic, doing everything within his power to make life a supreme joy for his loved ones. That is the man I know." IN 1898 Joseph Fielding Smith married Louie E. Shurtliff, daughter of Lewis W. Shurtliff of Ogden, a woman of singular sweetness and strength of character. Ten years later she died, leaving two daughters, Josephine and Julina. He subsequently married Ethel G. Reynolds, daughter of the late George Reynolds, who is the mother of five sons and four daughters. She manages with ability her household and is an active and valued member of the general board of Relief Society. She is not only a woman of refinement and capacity but a technician in the fine art of home making. The children of this family are prominent in educational matters and they know how to work ;and how to carry responsibilities. In all respects this is a brilliant and superior family, a distinct credit to the state and to the church to which they belong. Joseph Fielding Smith is gifted with an unusual spiritual insight and has a profound interest in things spiritual. Through diligent study and patient research he has developed an understanding of the doctrines of the Church and a comprehension of the magnitude of the gospel which has made him an authority in this field. You trust him because of the soundness of his judgment and the wisdom of his religious teachings. He belongs to the school of fundamentalists. He stands for the worship of the true and living God as taught by the scriptures and as revealed to the prophet, Joseph Smith. He is never harassed with doubts or disturbed with skepticism concerning the fundamental principles of the religion of the Latter-day Saints. His faith rests upon a secure foundation, a foundation that can never be disturbed by the trials of adversity or the disintegrating forces of luxury. His vision is as clear and his faith is as perfect as that of the ancient prophets. It can be said of Joseph Fielding Smith as it was of Nathanael of old, "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!" and he could exclaim with Joshua, "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord." ALTHOUGH a comparatively young man he has made some notable and Valuable contributions to the literature of the Church and has established himself as an authority on the doctrines and practices of the Church. He is the author of the following books and pamphlets: "Blood Atonement and Origin of Plural Marriage." "The Origin of the Reorganized Church and the Question of Succession." "The Essentials of Church History.” "Elijah the Prophet and His Mission." "Reorganized Church vs Salvation for the Dead." "Salvation Universal." "The Smith's of Topsfield." “The Way to Perfection." He is one of the best informed men among us on the historical and doctrinal phases of "Mormonism." He has a narrative style in his writings which is clear and interesting. He is a fearless defender of the faith and a militant preacher of righteousness. The abiding sentiments of his soul are gentleness, sincerity and friendliness. He believes so intensely in the principles which he preaches that we fear his attitude is sometimes misunderstood. No matter how favorably one may be impressed with the public utterances or how much they may be influenced by the writings of Joseph Fielding Smith —to know him personally and intimately, to work with him, to play with him, to become acquainted with his home life, with his solicitude for his children, with his devotion to his wife, with his kindness toward his employees, to know the genuineness and depth of his friendship, the strength and sweetness of his character—is to know his real worth as a man. HE has a native modesty and reserve which may make it difficult for him to mingle freely with some people, especially strangers. He is sincerely affectionate but never gushes—the current of his friendship runs deep and strong and quiet. To know him at intimate range is to love him. He is not a recluse but essentially a student and devotes every spare moment to reading and research. His life is a busy and a happy one, full of every day kindness. The work which he is doing brings to him genuine satisfaction. He is Historian of the Church, first counselor in the presidency of the Salt Lake Temple, vice-president and treasurer of The Genealogical Society of Utah. He was the first editor and business manager of the Utah Genealogical Historical Magazine published in January, 1910. He is a member of the board of trustees of the Brigham Young University and of the Church Board of Education, director of the Beneficial life Insurance Company and of Zion's Savings Bank & Trust Company. Outside the service which he is called upon to render as an apostle his major responsibility is directing the work in the Historian's office where nearly a score of men and women are kept busy carrying on the work. THE office of Church Historian and General Church Recorder is an old one and an important one—it has existed since the organization of the Church. It is interesting to note the men who have served in this position. The records show that Oliver Cowdery occupied this position from 1830- 1831; John Whitmer 1831-1838; Willard Richards 1842-1854; George A. Smith 1854-1870; Orson Pratt 1873-1881; Wilford Woodruff 1883-1889; Franklin D. Richards 1889-1899; Anthon H. Lund 1900-1921, and Joseph Fielding Smith 1921 to the present time. During these years many other men have assisted as recorders and Assistant Historians, among whom are: George W. Robinson, John Corrill, Elias Higbee, Robert B. Thompson, James Sloan, Albert Carrington, Robert L. Campbell, John Jacques, A. Milton Musser, Andrew Jenson, Charles W. Penrose, Orson F. Whitney, B. H. Roberts, Junius F. Wells and A. William Lund. Through this office the Church has sought to preserve all important documents, letters, books, pamphlets, etc., pertaining to the Church. An endeavor has been made to obtain books written by non-Mormons both for and against the Church. All records of wards, stakes and missions are filed in this office with a (history of all the settlements made by the Church and its members. A daily journal recording all important events pertaining to the Church and to civil affairs is compiled and kept in this office. An effort has been made to gather pictures of the leading brethren and sisters, of Church edifices and of historical incidents. This gallery has already come to be a very attractive feature of the Historian's office. A visit impresses one with the character and quality of the leadership of this people from the beginning. ONE of the impressive lessons of all history is that "Righteousness exalteth a nation and sin is a reproach to any people." Joseph Fielding is a crusader against iniquity and against the violation of any principle that would bring remorse or discomfort upon the people. He loves humanity and has sublime faith in the saving power of the principles which he preaches. Back of all his endeavors is a deep desire to help mankind. No one who understands him could question for a moment the rectitude of his intentions nor the wisdom of the words which he utters. Thoughtful people can have little faith in the permanence of any civilization, church or organization if depravity becomes prevalent among its members. This is the burden of his message, the motive of all he says. Joseph Fielding Smith is strong in the common virtues which underlie every sound life—honest, benevolent, dependable and Godfearing, robust in intellect, vigorous in body, clear in his convictions, unyielding in his purposes, sound in his thinking, pure and lofty in his aims, with a simplicity and sweetness permeating it all that marks a noble character. He has the endowments that eminently fit him for the great apostolic office which he holds and honors. Compulsion Foreign to the Kingdom of God COMPULSION is a thing foreign to the kingdom of God. Even in the exercise of Priesthood by mortals there is a strict command that it may be used only in kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile, for-- "No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned."—D. C. 121:41. We are informed that if any man attempts to use force or compulsion by the power of the Priesthood, "amen to the Priesthood or the authority of that man." Force and compulsion are principles that obtain in Satan's realm. Upon these his kingdom was founded and because of these it shall fall. —From 'The Way to Perfection," by Joseph Fielding Smith. |
Joseph Fielding Smith
Ethel G. Reynolds Smith
David A. (left) and Joseph Fielding (right) on the handball court.
Joseph Fielding in dresses
Julina L. Smith
George Joseph David A.
Pres. Joseph F. Smith and his son, Joseph Fielding.
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Lund, William A. "Joseph Fielding Smith - Forty Years an Apostle." Improvement Era. April 1950. pg. 275, 312-317.
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith Forty Years An Apostle By A. William Lund ASSISTANT CHURCH HISTORIAN The summer of the year 1876 was a very warm one. On one of these very warm days, July 19, a baby boy was born to President Joseph F. Smith and his wife, Julina Lambson, a boy who was given the name of Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr. He was born into a home wherein there were great love of God and of all mankind and a deep and abiding testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Redeemer of the children of our Heavenly Father; of the restoration of the gospel of our Lord in its fulness; that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded by the direct command of God; and that Joseph Smith was the Prophet of God divinely commissioned to re-establish the Church of Jesus Christ upon the earth. As this boy grew in years, he grew in grace before the Lord. The teachings of his parents, his attendance at sacrament and priesthood meetings and to the auxiliaries laid a firm foundation for him to build up his spiritual self. His work around his home, his work on the farm, swimming in the Jordan River, and the cleanness of his living built for him a strong, active body. In his youth Elder Smith was a splendid baseball player. Later in his life he became a skilful player of handball, tennis, and indoor baseball. During the many years of Brother Smith's playing at the Deseret Gymnasium, all of his opponents have come to know him as a man with a deep sense of fair play, an encouraging smile at the misplays of his partner, and honest congratulations to the victor. Shortly before his twenty-third birthday Brother Smith was ordained a seventy by his father and left for a mission to Great Britain. He was appointed to the Nottingham District where he did a wonderful work and was greatly beloved by all of the Saints and elders with whom he labored. Shortly after his return home he was chosen one of the presidents of the 24th Quorum of Seventy, which position he held until 1904 when he was chosen as a high councilor in the Salt Lake Stake of Zion. His brother, Hyrum M. Smith, ordained him a high priest and set him apart to this position. For several years Elder Smith was a member of the Salt Lake Stake Y.M.M.I.A. board, and in 1903 he was chosen a member of the general board of the Y.M.M.I.A., and his deep understanding of the gospel and his sympathetic understanding of the needs of the young people aided that body. In 1909 Brother Smith was chosen as a member of the general board of Religion Classes and some years later was made a counselor to President Rudger Clawson in the general superintendency of that auxiliary. In 1917 Elder Smith was chosen as a member of the Church Board of Education and also the board of Brigham Young University, all of which appointments he fills with dignity and honor. When President Anthon H. Lund was appointed president of the Salt Lake Temple, Elder Smith was chosen as first counselor in this presidency and acted as a counselor until the death of President Lund. Several years ago Brother Smith succeeded Stephen L. Chipman as president of the Salt Lake Temple. From this position Brother Smith was honorably released a few months ago. Elder Smith is a director of the Zion's Savings Bank & Trust Company and of the Beneficial Life Insurance Company. All of his life Elder Smith has been a student of world history and especially of Church history; and in 1906 he was chosen as an Assistant Church Historian. Later, following the death of President Anthon H. Lund, he was appointed Church Historian, which position Brother Smith now holds and fills with a deep understanding of the value and necessity of history being made a true record of events that have happened and are now taking place. Through study, research, and sound judgment Elder Smith seeks to be exact, sincere, impartial, and faithful to the truth and is thus a trustworthy historian. He is loved, honored, and respected by all who are employed in the Historian's Office. Elder Smith has always been deeply interested in genealogical work. He is a student of its needs and an authority upon its practices and principles. Shortly after the death of President Ivins, Brother Smith was appointed to succeed him as the president of the Genealogical Society, a position he still retains. When permission was gained for the Genealogical Society to publish a magazine to promote the growth of historical and genealogical work, Brother Smith was appointed its editor and manager. This magazine had its beginning in January of 1910. The preparation of this first number had only begun when Elder Smith and his family were placed in quarantine, as some of his children had contracted scarlet fever. Such a condition might have discouraged some men but not Brother Smith. He prepared his manuscript, treated it with an antiseptic, and placed it in a box by his gate. From here it was gathered, taken to the printer, the galley proofs returned, read, fumigated, and then returned to the printer. The first number of the magazine was thus put out on time and continued a successful career until the year 1940 when it ceased publication. One of many incidents will show how the inspiration of the Lord does rest upon Brother Smith in respect to this genealogical work. Shortly after World War II had started, Brother Archibald F. Bennett reported to the board of directors of the Genealogical Society that efforts to continue negotiations with Denmark to obtain microfilm copies of its vital records had been interrupted, and the outbreak of war had also caused England to refuse us the privilege of copying its vital records. This report was very disturbing to the board, and expressions of concern for the preservation and obtaining of records were made. Elder Smith was very quiet and then expressed his feeling that the outcome of the war would render these records available to us which could not then be obtained. He said: "The Lord will look after his own." The collecting of millions of names from these and other countries of Europe shows the literal fulfilment of this inspiration to Brother Smith. Elder Smith's greatest desire for these two Church institutions over which he is appointed to preside is for them to fulfil to the utmost the purposes for which they were established. Elder Smith is the author of the following books and pamphlets: "Asael Smith of Topsfield," "Blood Atonement and the Origin of Plural Marriage," "Salvation Universal," "The Hundredth Anniversary of the Mormon Church," "Elijah the Prophet and His Mission," Essentials in Church History, "Faith Leads to a Fulness of Truth and Righteousness," "Salvation for the Dead," Life of Joseph b. Smith, "Melchizedek Priesthood Quorums Course of Study," "Origin of the Reorganized Church and the Question of Succession," "The Pearl of Great Price," The Progress of Man, "Reorganized Church vs Salvation for the Dead," The Restoration of All Things, The Signs of the Times, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and The Way to Perfection. All of these books and pamphlets are written in a very clear and interesting manner. The contents also show that Brother Smith is a scholar with a very profound understanding of the doctrines and history of the Church. Elder Smith has a large family of sons, daughters, and grandchildren, all of whom dearly love their father and grandfather and render him honor, respect, and devotion. Few men love wife and children as does Brother Smith. He treats them with the greatest consideration, honor, and respect. Sister Smith is greatly beloved by all who know her; and her remarkable voice has brought solace to many who sorrow and brings joy to all those who listen to her sing. In the year 1896 Elder Smith received a patriarchal blessing from John Smith, the Patriarch to the Church. The following, by permission of Elder Smith, is copied from that blessing: Thou art numbered among the sons of Zion, of whom much is expected. Thy name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life and shall be registered in the chronicles of thy fathers with thy brethren. It is thy privilege to live to a good old age and the will of the Lord that you should become a mighty man in Israel. Therefore, I say unto thee, reflect often upon the past, present, and future. If thou shalt gain wisdom by the experience of the past, thou shalt realize that the hand of the Lord has been and is over thee for good, and that thy life has been preserved for a wise purpose. Thou shalt realize also that thou hast much to do in order to complete thy mission upon the earth. It shall be thy duty to sit in counsel with thy brethren and to preside among the people. It shall be thy duty also to travel much at home and abroad, by land and water, laboring in the ministry, and I say unto thee, hold up thy head, lift up thy voice without fear or favor as the Spirit of the Lord shall direct, and the blessing of the Lord shall rest upon thee. His Spirit shall direct thy mind and give the word and sentiment that thou shalt confound the wisdom of the wicked and set at nought the councils of the unjust. Early in the year 1910 President John R. Winder, a great and good man, passed from this life. His position as a counselor to President Joseph F. Smith was filled by the choosing and sustaining of Elder John Henry Smith as a counselor to President Smith. Also at this April conference of 1910 Elder Joseph Fielding Smith was chosen an Apostle to fill the vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve, thus fulfilling part of that inspired promise of the patriarch. It is now forty years since Elder Smith was ordained an Apostle, and he has traveled far and wide, over land and sea, preaching the gospel of our Savior. Brother Smith has had the hand of the Lord over him, and his life has been preserved by his power. Elder Smith has lifted up his voice "without fear or favor" in defense of the gospel and has confounded "the wisdom of the wicked and set at nought the councils of the unjust." Because of his sound judgment, hundreds of persons, both young and old, come to him for counsel and advice. They come to his office and to his home, even stop him on the street, seeking answers to questions that bother them. Elder Smith will never compromise with sin, but he is quick to forgive and extend his hand in love and mercy to help a repentant sinner. Elder Smith never speaks evil of any person, neither will he permit evil to be spoken about any person, especially of his leaders. One evening a man came to his door and asked permission to speak to him. When permission was granted, the man commenced to abuse one of the Church leaders. Brother Smith immediately stopped him and quietly asked the man to leave his home. The man refused, and Brother Smith, gently taking him by the coat collar and seat of his pants, escorted the man out of the house and out of the lot. When Brother Smith returned, one of his family said: "What will the neighbors think?" Brother Joseph replied: "I do not care what anyone thinks; no man can abuse my beloved President Lund and get away with it." Elder Smith is loyal to every trust placed upon him, obedient to every call made of him. He loves his brethren, and they in turn love him. His life is exemplary in every way and is one that all can follow, for his way of living is the sure path to eternal life. With all these honors placed upon him, Brother Smith is very humble, a lover of his fellow men, thinks no evil but rejoices in the truth. These few lines from one of his poems express the desires of his heart. By faith I walk on earth's broad plain, With hope forever in my breast; If valiant to the end, I'll gain A glorious mansion with the blest. O Father, lead me by the hand, Protect me from the wicked here, And give me power that I may stand Entrenched in truth, to me made clear. The best is not too good for me That heaven holds within its hand, O may I falter not but see Thy kingdom come o'er all the land. |
Smith, Henry A. "Elder Joseph Fielding Smith Appointed Acting President of the Council of the Twelve." Relief Society Magazine. December 1950. pg. 804-805.
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith Appointed Acting President of the Council of the Twelve Apostles Henry A. Smith Member, Deseret News Editorial Staff, and Counselor in Pioneer Stake Presidency CARRYING on m the tradition of his forebears who, before him, were high in the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder Joseph Fielding Smith was set apart October 5, 1950, as acting president of the Council of the Twelve. He had been sustained to this position by the general conference five days earlier. This new assignment came to Elder Smith by reason of his seniority among the apostles. He was set apart to this position in the Salt Lake Temple by his immediate senior, President David O. McKay, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, who was also sustained and set apart as the President of the Council of the Twelve. Thus new responsibility came to Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, who for forty years, has been one of the Council of the Twelve. These years have been filled with responsibility and new assignments. They have earned him a reputation among his associates for industry and leadership. Recognized as an outstanding authority on Church doctrine and history, his pen and voice have been prolific and loud in expounding the principles of the gospel. Elder Smith's life-long campaign for truth and uncompromising fight against sin give him the outward appearance of severity which hides the true man, tender in his feelings toward his fellow men; sympathetic, and possessed of a great capacity for love and compassion. This is a side of Elder Smith that is most revealed to those who know him best—who have earned his confidence and respect. Thus knowing him they delight in his association and companionship. His large devoted family are a tribute to Elder Smith in the lives they live and the service they give to the Church. There have been eleven sons and daughters. One son, Lewis, was a victim of an African plane crash during World War 11. All five of his sons, including Lewis, have filled missions for the Church. All eleven children have been faithful and devoted to the Church; all have been in the Salt Lake Temple. No son ever had a more ardent supporter in his athletic career than Milton "Mitt'' Smith, now a University of Utah football star. Elder Smith has an interest also in baseball. As chairman of the board of trustees of Brigham Young University, he is today one of the spearheads in the current Church-wide fund drive for the school's new fieldhouse. Elder Smith was born in Salt Lake City, July 19, 1876. His father was President Joseph F. Smith, who in 1901 became the sixth president of the Church. His mother was Julina Lambson Smith. His grandfather was Patriarch Hyrum Smith, the martyred brother of the Prophet Joseph Smith. He was carefully trained for a long life of service to the Church by a noble father and loving, kindly mother, who reared him in a true Latter-day Saint home where the highest virtues prevailed. Prepared early for such service, Elder Smith has held many prominent positions in the Church in addition to the apostleship to which he was ordained in April 1910. He is at present Church Historian and Recorder, beginning a career in the Church historian's office as a clerk in 1901, following his return from the British Mission. He is president of the Genealogical Society of the Church, to which position he was named in 1934. His service with this society dates back to his appointment as secretary and director in 1907. Elder Smith has served as a counselor and then as president of the Salt Lake Temple, and since 1917 he has been a member of the Church Board of Education. This listing can of necessity give but a few of the many assignments that have been his in the forty years since he became a General Authority. He has traveled widely throughout the Church in his service as an apostle. In the spring of 1939, he, accompanied by his wife, went to Europe to tour the various missions and meet in conference with the mission presidents and consider problems pertaining to missionary work. While there touring the West German Mission the Nazi forces invaded Poland, thus bringing on the great struggle, worldwide, commencing in 1939. This necessitated the evacuation of our missionaries who were serving in Europe. This took several weeks. Acting on orders from the First Presidency, Elder Smith successfully and safely, with the help of mission presidents, got the entire group, comprising 697 missionaries, back on American soil. His appointment as acting President of the Council of the Twelve, brings to a busy, capable man, additional responsibilities which will receive the same energetic, efficient direction that has characterized his every effort as one of the General Authorities of the Church. |
ELDER JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH
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Petersen, Mark E. "Elder Joseph Fielding Smith Sustained as President of the Twelve Apostles." Relief Society Magazine. June 1951. pg. 378-381.
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith Sustained as President of the Twelve Apostles April 9, 1951 Elder Mark E. Petersen Of the Council of the Twelve THE Council of the Twelve Apostles is a unique body of men, different from any other group in all the world. In ancient and modern times, the Twelve have been the Lord's ambassadors to all the world, building up the kingdom of God, and preparing the ways of the Lord. In modern, as well as in ancient times, these men have been called from many walks in life. Each one has placed his all upon the altar, and willingly given of his time, talents, and possessions, for the work of the Lord. They have appeared before kings and presidents, industrialists and educators, and have mingled with the humble and the lowly, in all cases representing the one great cause. In doing so some have suffered many hardships and privations, nearly all have been persecuted, and in some cases, they have made the supreme sacrifice. To preside over such a group of men is a great responsibility, requiring much wisdom, great courage, inspired foresight. Throughout the years, the Lord has provided great leadership in the men who have presided over the Council of the Twelve. These presidents have been men of power, men of great and enduring faith, and yet possessed of those other Christ-like qualities which have made them more than ever beloved of the people—love, patience, understanding, and compassion. During the proceedings of the last general conference of the Church, a new president of the Council was installed. By vote of the Priesthood and the general membership of the Church in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, Monday, April 9, Elder Joseph Fielding Smith was sustained in this position. The night before, at a special Meeting of the Twelve, he was sustained as president by his colleagues. Then on the following Thursday, April 12, 1951, at a meeting of the First Presidency and the Twelve in the Salt Lake Temple, he was set apart to this position by President David O. McKay. It was a great honor which had come to him. But in his characteristic manner, he accepted it in a great spirit of humility. But that was not the only honor that came to President Joseph Fielding Smith during this history-making week. He was chosen to ordain and set apart the new President of the Church, President David O. McKay. As the newly organized First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve met in the temple on April 12, and prepared to lay hands on the new members of the First Presidency, President McKay announced that it was his wish that Joseph Fielding Smith be voice in ordaining him as the President of the Church. President Smith is the next in line of seniority among the presiding brethren, coming directly after President McKay. As all the brethren present placed their hands upon the head of President McKay, President Smith acted as voice for the group, and ordained him and set him apart to his new high office. It was an impressive occasion. It was a great honor bestowed upon President Smith. President McKay's action in thus choosing President Smith for this honor followed the pattern set by President George Albert Smith when he invited President George F. Richards of the Council of the Twelve, to be voice in his ordination as President of the Church. AN honor such as this, to be chosen to preside over the Council of the Twelve, and then to be voice in ordaining a President of the church, can come only to one whose life has been consistently Christ-like, and whose service has been unfailing in the work of the Master. Such has been the life of President Joseph Fielding Smith. Such has been his service. Loyal and true to his brethren, devoted to the Church and its principles, he has walked down through the decades for seventy-four years as an inspiration to all who have truly known him. One of the most thoughtful of men, one of the most kindly and generous, President Smith has won a lasting place in the hearts of the people of the Church. In times of need, they come to him, whether that need be spiritual or temporal, whether it be to solve some family problem, or whether it be to obtain a proper interpretation and statement of the doctrine of the Church. His life has been such as to instil confidence in the minds of all. When President Smith speaks on doctrine, what he says is authoritative. When he speaks on a matter of history, he sets forth the unembellished facts as they should be presented. People accept what he says, because they know he is an authority. When they read his books, they know they can depend upon what he says. There is no idle speculation in them, there is no vacillating. He comes to the point, and explains it so that all may readily understand. President Smith's activities are wide, but all of them advance the affairs of the Church to which he gives his undivided time. He has toured Europe in the interest of the missionary work, and directed the exodus of the elders from that continent at the beginning of World War II. He has presided over the Salt Lake Temple, he is president of and actively supervises the work of the Genealogical Society of the Church. He takes a leading part in education, both on the general board of education for the Church, and on the board of trustees of the Brigham Young University. As a member of the Twelve he visits stakes of the Church from week to week, conducting stake conferences and other business. He tours missions from time to time in the interest of that work. He is a member of the missionary committee of the Church, and also serves on various other committees. This greatly varied activity, this busy life in the Church, began in his early youth. He has filled offices in the various grades of the Priesthood and in the auxiliary organizations of the Church; he has been a high councilman, a member of the Y. M. M. I. A. general board; and a Seventy's quorum president. One of his most important positions, one which he fills with great skill, is that of Church Historian. He has labored in the Church Historian's office most of his life, beginning as an employee there upon his return from filling a mission in Great Britain from 1899 to 1901. In 1906 he was sustained as an assistant Church Historian, and subsequently was made Church Historian and Recorder, PRESIDENT Smith brings to his position as President of the Council of the Twelve, forty-one years of experience in that body. He knows the work well, he is beloved of his brethren who make up that quorum. For the past six months he has carried most of the burdens of the office, being acting president of the Council during the time President David O. McKay served both as President of the Council of the Twelve and as a member of the First Presidency under President George Albert Smith. President Smith's family life is an inspiration to the Church. His wife, the former Jessie Evans, soloist with the Tabernacle Choir, gives him wonderful support. Often she travels with him, and thrills the people of the stakes and missions with her singing. She provides for him a home life which is an example for every family. President Smith's sons and daughters are splendid citizens, active members of the Church, missionaries, auxiliary workers, Priesthood leaders. One of his sons was killed during the last World War. When he accepted this new position, President Smith once more exhibited that humble attitude which has won so many friends for him. As he spoke in that memorable meeting which closed the last general conference, held in the Tabernacle Monday morning, April 9, he said: First I wish to say before this vast congregation of Priesthood and members of the Church that I pledge myself to support my brethren of the First Presidency. They have my full support, my love and fellowship, and I pray that the Spirit of the Lord may rest upon them in great abundance to guide them and direct them in all things pertaining to their high and holy callings. I feel humble in standing here, considering myself the weakest of my brethren, I love each one of them; the First Presidency, the Council of the Twelve, and the other brethren whose names have been presented and approved here this day. And may the Lord be with us to help each one of us to magnify his calling. I realize the position I have been called to fulfill is one of great importance. It makes me humble. I am grateful for the expressions that I have received from my brethren. They have expressed their confidence, and already have given unto me their support. |
PRESIDENT JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH
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Evans, Richard L. "Joseph Fielding Smith, President of the Quorum of the Twelve." Improvement Era. September 1951. pg. 624-627, 687.
Joseph Fielding Smith President of the Quorum of the Twelve By Richard L. Evans ON June 4, 1951, when the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters was conferred upon President Joseph Fielding Smith at Brigham Young University, this citation was read: "Joseph Fielding Smith, son and grandson of Prophets of God, himself a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, and an Apostle of Jesus Christ for over forty-one years. Known and honored for his unbending devotion to the revealed word of God, he is also loved for his sportsmanship and skill in friendly games. Capable of vigorous criticism, he is also quick to extend counsel with others the most kindly of men. "From his youth he has devoted himself to the preservation of history, the forthright enunciation of scriptural teachings, and the turning of the hearts of the children to their fathers. Under his hand the Historian's Office and the history of the Church have matured together, and a world-wide genealogical society has wrought miracles of research and systematic accomplishment. From his pen have come in steady progression seven books and nearly a score of illuminating pamphlets which touch vital religious matters with refreshing directness and vigor. "As administrator of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, he assigns to none, tasks more arduous than those he takes upon himself. As Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of Brigham Young University he has been its watchful critic and loyal friend and remains readily approachable notwithstanding incredibly heavy responsibilities. For thirty-four years a member of the Church Board of Education, he has been influential in shaping the policies and programs of Latter-day Saint Institutes and Seminaries and in directing the destiny of this University. "His guiding hand has kept secure the integrity and scriptural soundness of unnumbered manuals and books written for use in religious instruction in the Church. "Upon this man of spiritual scholarship, for his life of devotion to its production and to its dissemination, and for his constant encouragement of education as the search of eternal truth, the University confers the degree Doctor of Letters, honoris causa.” Thus briefly, and in a rather remarkable manner, was epitomized something of the character and accomplishment of the man who on April 9, 1951, was sustained by the general conference of the Church as President of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, an office in which he had already acted since the death of President George F. Richards, because President McKay was otherwise occupied with his duties as a member of the First Presidency. President Joseph Fielding Smith's career divides itself into many categories: as an earnest and active young man and missiona(toas an author and editor, as a preacher of righteousness and defender of the faith, as a tireless traveler among the wards and stakes and missions of the Church, as a moving spirit behind genealogical and temple work, as a temple president and counselor in the temple presidency, as a member of the administrative boards of educational institutions, as a member of various business boards, as chairman of the Church reading committee, as a member of the Council of Twelve Apostles for more than forty years (to which office he was ordained and set apart on April 7, 1910, at the age of thirty-three), and as a father and friend—and as a man. It is of the latter that I should like to give some personal impressions— as a father and friend, and as a man; but many other activities and events in a long career must first be noted: Joseph Fielding Smith's ancestors go back to the early American patriots of New England, and in his veins runs the blood of martyrs who died as a witness to the restoration. He is the grandson of Hyrum Smith who was shot by the side of his brother Joseph at Carthage Jail. He is the son of Joseph F. Smith, sixth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, preeminent among preachers of righteousness, who as a boy of nine years drove a team of oxen across the plains with his widowed mother, Mary Fielding Smith, in search of a home where freedom could be found and where God could be worshiped according to conscience. Through his mother, Julina Lambson Smith, Brother Joseph Fielding is also descended from pioneer progenitors. He was born on July 19, 1876, in Salt Lake City. In his boyhood he learned to work on the farm. He learned to work with animals, with nature—and with men, and inborn in him was a love of God, which love grew greater in his youth and has grown greater as the years have been added upon his head. He partook of his father's teachings and testimony and grew to manhood full of faith. He was active in his youth in the organizations of the Church, including service as superintendent of the Sunday School in the Sixteenth Ward. He also attended L.D.S. University and worked at one time at Z.C.M.I. As a missionary: President Smith was ordained an elder in 1897, and then, 1 899-1 901 , served as a seventy in the British Mission. He later returned to Great Britain and to Europe, in 1939, with his wife, Jessie Evans Smith, and directed the evacuation of the missionaries from European fields of labor in the early days of World War II, and returned to Salt Lake City in November 1939, after successfully completing this critically difficult assignment. He has long been a member of the missionary committee of the Church, and has officially visited many of the missions at home and abroad. Other Early Activities: After his return from his first mission, he served from 1901 to 1910 as a home missionary in Salt Lake Stake. He served as a member of the Salt Lake Stake M.I.A. board before and after his mission, beginning in 1898. In 1903 he was set apart as a president of the twenty-fourth quorum of seventy, which quorum he also served as instructor. From 1903 to 1919 he served as a member of the general board of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association, and in 1904, became a member of the high council in the Salt Lake Stake. The Church Historian: Brother Smith learned a love for Church history in the years of his youth, partly, no doubt, acquired from his father and his forebears who lived through so many of the scenes themselves. And when he returned from the British Mission in 1901, he accepted an assignment in the Church historian's office, which led to his being sustained in 1906 as assistant Church Historian. He was later named historian and recorder for the Church, in which positions he still serves. Genealogical and Temple Work: In 1907 President Smith was made a secretary and director of the Genealogical Society of Utah to which work and society, with its world-wide and ever-expanding and important activities, he has since been identified and energetically devoted. He is today the president of the Genealogical Society, and has been since 1934. He has also been long interested and active in temple work and served as counselor to President Anthon H. Lund in the Salt Lake Temple presidency from 1915 until 1921; upon the death of President Lund, he became a counselor to President George F. Richards. He served as temple presidency counselor until the mid-thirties. In June 1945, he became president of the Salt Lake Temple, from which position he was not long ago released as the weight of other duties increased. As Author and Editor: Brother Smith organized the Genealogical and Historical Magazine and served as its editor. He has also been one of the most energetic writers of the Church, and his books, like his speaking and like his personal life, are vigorous in their defense of the faith and in their exposition of the principles of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as it was restored in this dispensation through the Prophet Joseph Smith. In addition to innumerable magazine articles his published books include: Blood Atonement and the Origin of Plural Marriage; Origin of The Reorganized Church and Question of Succession, 1905; Essentials in Church History, 1922; The Way to Perfection, 1931; The Progress of Man, 1936; Life of Joseph F, Smith, 1938; Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, compiled 1938; Signs of the Times, 1942; The Restoration of All Things, 1944; and Church History and Modern Revelation, 1947-1950. He has also supervised the recent revision of the Doctrine & Covenants Commentary. He is chairman of the Church reading committee, and as such has read uncounted thousands of pages of manuscript for the auxiliaries, the priesthood, and for other organizations of the Church and for numerous individual authors. His hours at home, early and late, are spent with the hard labor of reading, appraising, criticizing, and correcting manuscripts and proofs of proposed publications—an undertaking which he has indefatigably pursued. Brother Smith is also a scripturist of unusual ability. In the Bible, as well as in all the other standard works of the Church, he can turn with sureness and facility to pertinent and supporting passages of scripture on almost any gospel subject. He lives by, refers to, and supports his position by the revealed and recorded word of the Lord God. In Education & Business: He has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Brigham Young University since 1912 and has been a member of the Church Board of Education since 1917. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Beneficial Life Insurance Company, and of the Zion's Savings Bank & Trust Company. All these facts, and the listing of these offices and activities, add up to a lifetime of earnest energy in which no indolence or dilatory tactics have ever been in evidence, and in which early and late he has pursued his Father's purposes — preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, writing of it, exhorting, pleading for faith, for repentance, and for full acceptance of all the doctrines and ordinances that our Eternal Father has prescribed for the eternal salvation and exaltation of his children. All this, or much of it, perhaps the Church knows rather well, for they have seen Brother Smith in official capacity for more than forty years. But what many may not know so well are his personal and personable qualities: From his youth he has been vigorously interested in sports. He has always been physically active, and for many years was a regular attender at classes at the Deseret Gymnasium and an able and enthusiastic handball player. And when he himself isn't participating, he is an enthusiastic spectator and an encourager of his own sons and of other men's sons in clean and wholesome contests. His son, Milton, who played quarterback on the University of Utah football team last year, had the third highest punting record in the nation in college football. His Family. In April 1898 President Smith married Louise Emyla Shurtliff who was the mother of his two eldest daughters, Josephine and Julina. Following her death some ten years later, he married Ethel G. Reynolds who was the mother of his five sons and of four of his daughters, and who died in 1937. He later married Jessie Ella Evans who has been the devoted companion of many of his travels during the past decade, the foster mother of his devoted family, and a gracious hostess in his home, and who is far and affectionately known for the sweetness of her singing. These are his children, who are pictured on these pages (see pages 624, 625, 626, 627): Mrs. Josephine S. Reinhardt, Mrs. Julina S. Hart, Mrs. Emily S. Myers, Mrs. Naomi S. Brewster, Mrs. Lois S. Fife, Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr., Mrs. Amelia S. McConkie, Lewis Warren Smith (deceased), George Reynolds Smith, Douglas Allan Smith, and Milton Edmund Smith. President Smith has nineteen grandsons and twenty-one granddaughters. All of his sons have served on missions and all of his married children have been married in the temple. Four of his sons served their country in the armed forces in World War II, in which one of them, Lewis, lost his life on foreign soil. The faithfulness and devotion of this family, and their honest and upright citizenship is a tribute to their father and to the mothers who in faith shared their early teaching and training. In the Smith home on Douglas Street in Salt Lake City, family and friends alike receive an openhearted welcome. And it is here that we see Brother Smith as the father and grandfather and husband of many talents and of much devotion—as the father who attends the bedside of the sick, who performs early and late, at all hours, many kindly services, who counsels with his own and others on personal problems, school problems, social problems, spiritual problems. There are also those who know him as a confiding friend and counselor in his office. There are those who know him as a storyteller of impressive sincerity. (And there are even some who know him as the "baby sitter," which he often has been for his children and his children's children.) There are those who know the quickness of his humor, the tenderness of his heart, the sympathy of his soul. He loves life, and he has shown by his life that he loves truth, that he loves the Church, and that he loves his Father's children. And he is, in turn, not only admired and respected, but also loved for his sterling qualities of character, and for himself. |
President Joseph F. Smith and his son, Joseph Fielding, January 1914.
Julina Lambson Smith, his mother.
As a young child three years old.
Joseph Fielding at twelve years of age (center) with brothers George (left) and David A. (right).
As a young man in 1911.
Brother Smith in January 1914.
Elder Smith as President of the Salt Lake Temple, with his wife, Jessie Evans Smith, when she was matron of the Salt Lake Temple.
Father and five sons in 1940.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
A modern family in Israel
With part of his grandchildren, who now number forty
Happily engaged at his desk.
President Smith at the time he received honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from Brigham Young University, June 4, 1951.
On the handball court with his brother David A. Smith, former member of the Presiding Bishopric.
The Church Historian and two assistants, the late Andrew Jenson (left) and A. William Lund (right) examine some Church history.
His son, Milton, former missionary in Argentina, quarterback at the U. of U. last year, had the third highest punting record in the nation in college football in the 1950 season.
With his son Lewis Warren Smith who made the supreme sacrifice during World War II.
Joseph Fielding Smith tells a story to a group of young visitors.
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"President Joseph Fielding Smith Visits the Far East." Improvement Era. October 1955. pg. 703, 765-766.
President Joseph Fielding Smith Visits the Far East President Joseph Fielding Smith of the Council of the Twelve has recently returned from a tour of the Far East. Leaving Salt Lake City July 7, with Sister Smith and President Herald Grant Heaton of the Southern Far East Mission, and his family, President Smith spent the seventy-ninth anniversary of his birth, July 19, aboard the ocean liner President Wilson in mid-Pacific. After his arrival in Japan, July 26, there was a succession of conferences —missionary, MIA, district, and priesthood. One of the purposes of his tour was to create two missions — the Northern Far East and the Southern Far East—from the present Japanese Mission. President Hilton A. Robertson will continue to preside in the Northern Far East Mission. Leaving Japan, President Smith's first stop was Korea, where he dedicated that land for the preaching of the restored gospel, August 2. President and Sister Smith had a very busy schedule, visiting, counseling and strengthening servicemen and members in such places as Seoul and Pusan, Korea; Tokyo and Hokkaido on a second visit to Japan; Okinawa, Formosa, Hong Kong; Manila and Clark Field in the Philippines; Guam, and finally Hawaii, where they attended the quarterly conference of the Oahu Stake August 27 and 28. Here President Smith was joined by Elder Adam S. Bennion in creating the new Honolulu Stake. Later President and Sister Smith returned home by air liner. The following account was written by an LDS serviceman, Lyle B. Leatham, then stationed in Japan. Members of the Church in the Far East had been anxiously awaiting the visitors from Salt Lake City, and when President and Sister Joseph Fielding Smith arrived in Tokyo, many of the Saints, both the Japanese people and the servicemen stationed here, came to the mission home to welcome them. For many of the servicemen it was a little touch of home while faraway. For all it was gratifying to meet these wonderful servants of the Lord. The mission home was crowded with happy people, and as is usual, there were many surprise meetings of old friends. Over fifteen hundred LDS servicemen in the Far East are organized into forty-seven groups and branches, and sixty to seventy percent of these men are active. Last year about $26,000.00 was contributed by them to Church activities in Japan and the Far East. The following Sunday, July 31, a quarterly conference was held for the servicemen of the Central Honshu District in the military chapel at Washington Heights housing area in Tokyo. It was a wonderful feeling to be in such a large congregation again. When the conference got under way, all the seats were filled. After a song and prayer, the names of the leaders of the Church, from President David O. McKay on down to our district leaders, were read to give us the privilege of sustaining them with our vote and to remind us of the importance of the principle of free agency in the gospel. One of the sweetest moments of the afternoon came when Sister Smith sat at the piano to play and sing for us "And the Heavens Were Opened." When President Smith came to the rostrum he spoke to an audience eager to hear his words and be counseled in the truths of the gospel. The strength and authority of his admonitions gave courage to his listeners. Among his many worth-while thoughts President Smith advised: "Do not turn to the right or left," and "Search the scriptures to prepare yourself to understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. . . . We have advantages of which the world knows nothing." And so it went throughout the Sunday afternoon and evening. The Spirit of the Lord seemed present in rich abundance to edify us through all the meetings of the conference. The Saints in the "Land of the Rising Sun" are grateful to President and Sister Smith for making this long trip to do the work of the Lord and strengthen them in the gospel. |
President and Sister Joseph Fielding Smith join President and Sister Hilton A. Robertson, formerly of the Japanese Mission, now presiding over the Northern Far East Mission, and President and Sister H. Grant Heaton of the Southern Far East Mission in the mission home in Tokyo.
—Photos by Lijle B. Leatham President Smith greets Clark Doxey of the Ogden (Utah) Nineteenth Ward, Dennis Goodrich of Tridell, Utah, and David B. Harmon, Jr., of Salt Lake City.
President Joseph Fielding Smith of the Council of the Twelve addressing the conference, July 31, 1955.
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"President Joseph Fielding Smith." Improvement Era. July 1956. pg. 485.
President Joseph Fielding Smith In January 1841 the Lord gave a revelation to the Church, calling Hyrum Smith to ". . . be a prophet, and a seer, and a revelator . . . [to] act in concert also with Joseph [Smith, his brother] . . . 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 . . . Oliver Cowdery." (D & C 124:94-95.) He was promised, furthermore, that his name should be had in "honorable remembrance from generation to generation, forever and ever." (Ibid., 96.) How literally that promise has been fulfilled, not alone through his unexcelled devotion and loyalty to truth which won for him a martyr's crown, but also through an illustrious posterity who have borne his name! Hyrum's son, Joseph F. Smith, became the sixth president of the Church. Today, his oldest living grandson, Joseph Fielding Smith, is the president of the Council of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In an almost unbroken chain, the name of Hyrum Smith has for 115 years been had in "honorable remembrance" in the presiding councils of the Church. Such are the rewards of his sacrifice and loyalty to the Church and kingdom of God. President Joseph Fielding Smith has inherited in rich measure the dauntless courage and the unswerving devotion to duty which have characterized the lives of his noble ancestors. For more than forty-six years as a member of the Council of the Twelve he has been a fearless defender of the faith and an untiring preacher of the gospel of repentance. In his vigorous denunciation of the theories of men which would negate the truths of the restored gospel, he has often drawn the criticisms of some of the exponents of the theories he has assailed, but seldom has he failed to win the admiration and respect of his severest critics because of his scholarship and the consistency of his course, which is as undeviating as the stars of heaven. No one ever has had occasion to question where he stood on any controversial issue. We who labor in the Council of the Twelve under his leadership have occasion to glimpse the true nobility in his character. Daily we see continuing evidences of his understanding and thoughtful consideration of his fellow workers in making our assignments and in co-ordinating our efforts to the end that the work of the Lord might move forward. We only wish that the entire Church could feel the tenderness of his soul and his great concern over the welfare of the unfortunate and those in distress. He loves all the saints and never ceases to pray for the sinner. With remarkable discernment, he seems to have but two measures in arriving at final decisions. What are the wishes of the First Presidency? Which is best for the kingdom of God? In his profound gospel writings and in his theological dissertations, he has given to his associates and to the Church a rich legacy which will immortalize his name among the faithful. President Smith was born July 19, 1876, in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is our honor to join with his remarkable family who have such a deep affection for him, and with the host of friends and admirers who love the truth, in extending to him on his eightieth birthday our affectionate regards and sincerest felicitations, and to declare to the world, as was said of his noble grandsire: "From age to age shall [his] name go down to posterity as [a] gem for the sanctified." (See ibid., 135:6.) In the true brotherhood of the Master, Members of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, |
"Half Century of Service." Improvement Era. April 1960. pg. 229, 284.
Half Century of Service President Joseph Fielding Smith — 50 Years an Apostle At the general conference of the Church in April 1910, the call came to Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, age thirty-three, to fill a vacancy in the Council of the Twelve. It was at that same session that President Anthon H. Lund became First Counselor to President Joseph F. Smith, and that Elder John Henry Smith became Second Counselor, in the First Presidency. These vacancies resulted from the death of President John R. Winder. Of this action, and of Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, President Charles W. Penrose, who was then presiding over the European Mission, wrote as follows in the Millennial Star: "Elder Joseph F. Smith, Jr. embodies the numerous qualities, gifts, and graces necessary to the calling of an Apostle. He is of a lovable disposition, tractable, yet firm, a forcible speaker, a brilliant writer, an experienced missionary, and a born natural and spiritual Latter-day Saint. He will prove an ornament, as well as a strength to the Quorum of the Twelve, and will be loved and respected wherever he shall be called to minister. In common with the congregation at the general conference, we heartily support the changes and appointments of these valiant and devoted servants of the Most High in the positions they have been called to fill by the voice of God and the voice of the people." Since that time (and before) President Joseph Fielding Smith's career has been one of broad and faithful service, in the cause for which his grandfather, Hyrum Smith, gave his life as a martyr, beside his beloved brother, the Prophet Joseph, at Carthage, Illinois, in June 1844. The books and pamphlets President Smith has written would number more than a score, in addition to innumerable articles. He has served on many boards and committees, has traveled much in the stakes and much in the missions of the Church, world-wide, counseling, instructing, encouraging, searching the scriptures, interpreting the truth—and in time to become President of the Council of the Twelve Apostles. Frequently his brethren are heard to express appreciation for his kindly consideration, and frequently he is heard to express to his brethren his appreciation for their response to the assignments that he, as the President of the Council of the Twelve, must make. Among the greatest joys of his life is his faithful family, five sons and six daughters (one of whom, Lewis, lost his life in World War II). And with his children, and their children, to the latest generation, he has a warm and wonderful relationship. Closely included in this widening circle is his wife, Sister Jessie Evans Smith, who frequently accompanies him on assignments, and adds a warmth of welcome with the songs she sings. He has served as a missionary, quorum president, and class instructor; Sunday School superintendent, editor, writer; M.I.A. stake and general board member; Religion Class board member and member of superintendency; high council member, temple president, genealogical society president, Church historian, university trustee, and member of many Church committees. He also serves on several business boards. He has been a lover of sports, a lover of wholesome recreation and physical competition—a participator in athletic activity himself, and with his sons. He carries the wings of an honorary flying colonel, and loves to feel the power and pace of a jet plane. This is what was said of him in an official citation some nine years ago when he received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Brigham Young University: "Joseph Fielding Smith, son and grandson of Prophets of God, himself a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, and an Apostle of Jesus Christ. . . . Known and honored for his unbending devotion to the revealed word of God, he is also loved for his sportsmanship and skill in friendly games. Capable of vigorous criticism, he is also quick to extend counsel with others the most kindly of men. "From his youth he has devoted himself to the preservation of history, the forthright enunciation of scriptural teachings, and the turning of the hearts of the children to their fathers. Under his hand the Historian's Office and the history of the Church have matured together, and a world-wide genealogical society has wrought miracles of research and systematic accomplishment. From his pen have come in steady progression several books and nearly a score of illuminating pamphlets which touch vital religious matters with refreshing directness and vigor. "As administrator of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, he assigns to none, tasks more arduous than those he takes upon himself. As Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of Brigham Young University he has been its watchful critic and loyal friend and remains readily approachable notwithstanding incredibly heavy responsibilities. For thirty-four years a member of the Church Board of Education, he has been influential in shaping the policies and programs of Latter-day Saint Institutes and Seminaries and in directing the destiny of this University. "His guiding hand has kept secure the integrity and scriptural soundness of unnumbered manuals and books written for use in religious instruction in the Church. "Upon this man of spiritual scholarship, for his life of devotion to its production and to its dissemination, and for his constant encouragement of education as the search of eternal truth, the University confers the degree Doctor of Letters, honoris causa." In this eighty-fourth year of his life, and upon completion of a half century of service as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, The Improvement Era congratulates President Joseph Fielding Smith, and wishes him health and every needed blessing, and a full and lengthening measure of peace and joy and continued service. |
Zobell, Albert L., Jr. "Joseph Fielding Smith, Thorpe B. Isaacson Appointed to First Presidency." Improvement Era. December 1965. pg. 1078-1081.
Joseph Fielding Smith, Thorpe B. Isaacson, Appointed to First Presidency By Albert L. Zobell, Jr. Research Editor Citing the increased work that has come to the First Presidency through the rapid growth of the Church, President David 0. McKay on October 29, 1965 announced the appointment of two additional counselors to serve in the First Presidency. They are President Joseph Fielding Smith of the Council of the Twelve and President Thorpe Beal Isaacson, who has served as an assistant to the Twelve since October 1961. The Quorum' of the First Presidency now consists of President McKay and his counselors Presidents Hugh B. Brown, N. Eldon Tanner, Joseph Fielding Smith, and Thorpe B. Isaacson. Neither President Smith nor President Isaacson needs to be introduced to the membership of the Church. For many years both have labored tirelessly in their assignments in the church offices, as well as meeting with the Saints each weekend at stake conferences. President Smith was born in Salt Lake City, July 19, 1876. At the time of his birth his father Joseph F. Smith was a member of the Council of the Twelve. Later he was chosen to be a member of the First Presidency and became the sixth President of the Church. After completing his formal education at the old LDS University in Salt Lake City, young Joseph Fielding Smith fulfilled a mission to Great Britain. In 1906 he was sustained as an assistant church historian, where he served until 1921, when he was sustained as church historian, a position he holds today. Meanwhile at the April 1910 general conference, he was sustained as a member of the Council of the Twelve, where he joined Elder David O. McKay, who had been first sustained in that office four years earlier. They have served together in the leading councils of the Church for more than fifty-five years. President Smith has had wide experience in genealogical activity. He has served in most of the offices of the Genealogical Society of the Church, including being its president. He has served in the presidency of the Salt Lake Temple for nearly twenty years and as president of that temple for four years. In the Church he is a scriptorian without peer. His popular "Your Question" has been a welcomed addition to the pages of The Improvement Era since May 1953. It would be difficult to find a subject of church doctrine or history that President Smith has not written extensively upon in magazine articles, pamphlets, and books. He has long been a member of the Board of Trustees of Brigham Young University. He married Louie Emyla Shurtliff in April 1898. He was widowed with two small daughters. In November 1908 he married Ethel Georgina Reynolds, who became the mother of five sons and four daughters. After her passing he married Jessie Ella Evans in April 1938. President David O. McKay has announced that President Smith will continue to maintain his status as president of the Twelve. President Isaacson was born in Ephraim, Utah, September 6, 1898 of pioneer heritage. He attended Snow Academy, Brigham Young University, Utah State Agricultural College (now Utah State University), and the University of California. He was in education for a number of years and has been a successful insurance executive for many years. As a young man President Isaacson served as president of an elders' quorum and as a worker in the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association. He was called to full-time activity in the Church in December 1946, when he was appointed second counselor to Presiding Bishop LeGrand Richards. At that time he was serving as first counselor in the Yale (Salt Lake City) Ward bishopric. He possessed the keen insight and viewpoint of youth (at Snow Academy he had been captain of the basketball team and had been named to the all-state team, and he had coached high school teams), but he also possessed a priceless gift: he knew the way of assisting the adult members of the Aaronic Priesthood to find more purpose in life. He served as first counselor to Presiding Bishop Joseph L. Wirthlin after Elder Richards was called to the Twelve. The Church well remembers his great pronouncements on such subjects as prayer and the rightful place of women, as he has spoken in general and stake conference sessions. Many a bishop and stake leader has received additional strength for his task after listening to President Isaacson, in an early Sabbath-morning meeting, describe in detail how the responsibilities of leadership should be distributed, making the "yoke easy" and the "burden light" an accomplished fact. President Isaacson has served for twelve years on the Board of Trustees, Utah State University, and was seven times elected president of the board. He was also appointed a member of the Board of Regents, University of Utah. He has given of his time to civic and government service. For fifteen years he was a director of the Utah Symphony. Several years ago he was assigned by the federal government to inspect foreign-aid operations, and consequently visited France, Italy, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iran. He was recently appointed consultant to the United States Commissioner of Education. He is also serving as a member of Utah's Little Hoover Commission. He married Lula Maughan Jones in June 1920. The couple have been blessed with two sons (one of whom is deceased) and a daughter. The Improvement Era joins the membership of the Church in welcoming President Smith and President Isaacson into the leading council of the Church. The appointment of two additional counselors in the First Presidency by President McKay is not without precedent in church history. The recorded story of the Church is sketchy at times. But when one recalls the history, it is marvelous that so much of it has been preserved. At a given time the number of brethren who stand at the head of the Church has been by no means constant. As the Church was organized in April 1830, Joseph Smith, Jr., was sustained as First Elder and Oliver Cowdery as Second Elder. The Prophet was sustained January 25, 1832 as President of the High Priesthood at a conference which was held at Amherst, Ohio. Frederick G. Williams was called by revelation as a counselor to Joseph Smith in March 1832. (D&C 81:1.) Popularly it is thought that the First Presidency began to function March 18, 1833 as Elders Sidney Rigdon and Williams were set apart as counselors to the Prophet. They were in fact counselors in the presidency of the High Priesthood. The record states: "Elder Rigdon expressed a desire that himself and Brother Frederick G. Williams should be ordained to the offices to which they had been called, viz., those of Presidents of the High Priesthood, and to be equal in holding the keys of the kingdom with Brother Joseph Smith, Jun., according to the revelation given on the 8th of March, 1833. [See ibid., 90:6.] Accordingly I laid my hands on Brothers Sidney and Frederick, and ordained them to take part with me in holding the keys of this last kingdom, and to assist in the Presidency of the High Priesthood, as my Counselors. . . ." (DHC, 1, 334.) One of the great responsibilities of the First Presidency today is the presidency of the High Priesthood. The words "First Presidency" had been used in a revelation in November 1831. (D&C 68:15, 19, 22.) The term "First Presidency" as it is understood today was used as early as August 17, 1835, when, during a "general assembly of the Church" at Kirtland, "Oliver Cowdery and Sidney Rigdon, members of the First Presidency, (Presidents Joseph Smith, Jun., and Frederick G. Williams being absent on a visit to the Saints in Michigan,) . . . proceeded to organize the whole assembly. . . ." (DHC, 2, 243.) There are four of the brethren listed in that First Presidency. At a conference of the "whole Church" at Kirtland, Sunday, September 3, 1837: "President Smith then presented Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams as his counselors, and to constitute with himself the three first Presidents of the Church. . . . "President Smith then introduced Oliver Cowdery, Joseph Smith, Sen. [his father], Hyrum Smith [his brother], and John Smith [his uncle] for assistant counselors. These last four, together with the first three, are to be considered the heads of the Church. Carried unanimously." (Ibid., 2, 509.) When a President dies, the Twelve are the head, functioning until that quorum meet specifically to select a new President of the Church. Following the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph, that period was thirty months. Since the passing of President Wilford Woodruff, and obedient to a revelation received by President Lorenzo Snow at that time, a new President has been named and the First Presidency again organized within a matter of days. As the forty-third general conference of the Church neared its close, April 8, 1873, Brigham Young was sustained as President, with the following counselors: George A. Smith, Daniel H. Wells (these brethren had been serving as counselors respectively since 1868 and 1857), Lorenzo Snow, Brigham Young, Jr., Albert Carrington, John W. Young, and George Q. Cannon. Prior to this sustaining, President Young said "he had now two counselors to aid him as President of the Church, and he purposed selecting five more. According to the order of the Church, he had the privilege of having seven brethren to act in this capacity." (Millennial Star, 35 [May 13, 1873], 292.) At the October 1873 conference Brigham Young was sustained as "Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in all the world. "George A. Smith, Daniel H. Wells, Lorenzo Snow, Brigham Young, Jr., Albert Carrington, John W. Young, George Q. Cannon, Counselors to President Young." (Journal History, October 8, 1873, p. 2.) No one was designated as first, second, or seventh counselor. President Young was in southern Utah in April 1874, and the annual conference was not held until May. There were sustained: "George A. Smith and Daniel H. Wells, counsellors to President Brigham Young. "Lorenzo Snow, Brigham Young, Jr., Albert Carrington, John W. Young, and George Q. Cannon, Assistant Counsellors to President Brigham Young." (Ibid., May 9, 1874, p. 1.) Following the death of President George A. Smith, at the October 1876 conference "John W. Young and Daniel H. Wells," were presented as "counselors to President Brigham Young." That left four assistant counselors. (Ibid., October 7, 1876, p. 2.) Following the death of President Brigham Young, Elders John W. Young and Wells were sustained as "Counselors to the Twelve Apostles." (Ibid., October 6, 1877, p. 2; April 8, 1878, p. 1.) The four recent assistant counselors took their places in the Council of the Twelve: Elders Snow, Brigham Young, Jr., Carrington, and Cannon. Elders John W. Young and Wells were sustained as "counselors to the Twelve Apostles" for many years. Elder Young absented himself for a time in the East on personal business, but was resustained. Elder Wells was sustained for the last time in October 1890, and at the October 1891 conference, "Brother [George Q. Cannon] stated a letter had been received from Brother John W. Young requesting that his name be not presented at this time." (Ibid., October 6, 1891, p. 3.) In June 1961 President David O. McKay also appointed an additional counselor to the First Presidency when he named President Hugh B. Brown to the position. President Brown was later named second counselor when President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., passed away that October 6th. |
"First Presidency Tribute to Joseph Fielding Smith." Improvement Era. July 1966. pg. 613.
First Presidency Tribute to Joseph Fielding Smith
For 67 years, since as a young man he was called to serve a mission in the British Isles, President Joseph Fielding Smith has been an able and fearless defender of the Church, a learned exponent of its doctrine, a builder of faith among its people, a teacher of righteousness, a servant faithful in every assignment.
He was named a member of the Council of the Twelve in 1910, and during more than half a century in this capacity his devotion to the work of the Master has been an example to the entire Church. His execution of every assignment, small or great, has won the confidence of all acquainted with his labors. Without complaint he has traveled over land and sea. regardless of personal comfort, to further the cause of the Lord. His period of service extends from the buckboard to the jetliner, and he has felt equally at home in each.
His inspiration and his energy have been expressed in the growth of the Church from a few stakes of Zion concentrated in the West to the more than 400 presently found throughout the United States and in Canada, Mexico, South America, New Zealand, Australia, the Polynesian islands, the British Isles, and Europe. He has been at the forefront in the development of the great missionary program, which has now reached such substantial proportions.
As church historian and recorder, he has faithfully kept the record of this people as required by the revelation of the Lord. Few, if any, have possessed a broader and deeper knowledge of the Church and its doctrine. He has been a scholar with scarcely a peer, and his writings have strengthened the faith of many throughout the world.
His loyalty to the leadership of the Church has been uncompromising. He has supported his brethren in every endeavor. No man has ever been more loyal to the President of the Church.
All whose labors he directs bear testimony of his kindness and consideration. It may be said of him that as a leader he has never asked any man to do anything he was unwilling to do himself.
A man of tenderness, a man of courage, decisive in action, alert to maintain the standards of the Church, but ready to forgive those who have erred and truly repented—these are among his sterling qualities. There is in him the peace that speaks of godliness, the certainty that comes of the Spirit's witness, the unflinching fidelity to duty that comes of self-discipline.
Those who have heard him pray have frequently heard him use the phrase "true and faithful." These words epitomize his life.
We join with church members throughout the world in extending to this beloved friend and associate our affectionate wishes and warmest regards on his ninetieth birthday. We rejoice in the abundant measure of health and vitality afforded him and invoke upon him the continuing blessings of the Lord.
THE FIRST PRESIDENCY
David O. McKay
Hugh B. Brown
N. Eldon Tanner
First Presidency Tribute to Joseph Fielding Smith
For 67 years, since as a young man he was called to serve a mission in the British Isles, President Joseph Fielding Smith has been an able and fearless defender of the Church, a learned exponent of its doctrine, a builder of faith among its people, a teacher of righteousness, a servant faithful in every assignment.
He was named a member of the Council of the Twelve in 1910, and during more than half a century in this capacity his devotion to the work of the Master has been an example to the entire Church. His execution of every assignment, small or great, has won the confidence of all acquainted with his labors. Without complaint he has traveled over land and sea. regardless of personal comfort, to further the cause of the Lord. His period of service extends from the buckboard to the jetliner, and he has felt equally at home in each.
His inspiration and his energy have been expressed in the growth of the Church from a few stakes of Zion concentrated in the West to the more than 400 presently found throughout the United States and in Canada, Mexico, South America, New Zealand, Australia, the Polynesian islands, the British Isles, and Europe. He has been at the forefront in the development of the great missionary program, which has now reached such substantial proportions.
As church historian and recorder, he has faithfully kept the record of this people as required by the revelation of the Lord. Few, if any, have possessed a broader and deeper knowledge of the Church and its doctrine. He has been a scholar with scarcely a peer, and his writings have strengthened the faith of many throughout the world.
His loyalty to the leadership of the Church has been uncompromising. He has supported his brethren in every endeavor. No man has ever been more loyal to the President of the Church.
All whose labors he directs bear testimony of his kindness and consideration. It may be said of him that as a leader he has never asked any man to do anything he was unwilling to do himself.
A man of tenderness, a man of courage, decisive in action, alert to maintain the standards of the Church, but ready to forgive those who have erred and truly repented—these are among his sterling qualities. There is in him the peace that speaks of godliness, the certainty that comes of the Spirit's witness, the unflinching fidelity to duty that comes of self-discipline.
Those who have heard him pray have frequently heard him use the phrase "true and faithful." These words epitomize his life.
We join with church members throughout the world in extending to this beloved friend and associate our affectionate wishes and warmest regards on his ninetieth birthday. We rejoice in the abundant measure of health and vitality afforded him and invoke upon him the continuing blessings of the Lord.
THE FIRST PRESIDENCY
David O. McKay
Hugh B. Brown
N. Eldon Tanner
Green, Doyle L. "President Joseph Fielding Smith." Improvement Era. July 1966. pg. 614-619, 641.
President Joseph Fielding Smith By Doyle L. Green Managing Editor Recently I saw him walking west on South Temple Street in Salt Lake City toward the Church Office Building. It was just after 7:30 in the morning. He stood erect. His step was sure and firm and quick. As our eyes met, a smile crept across his face and broadened into a grin. His blue eyes sparkled. As he took my hand with a strong and warm grip and inquired about my health, a thrill coursed through me. I had a hard time moving the lump out of my throat so I could reply. It was not a new experience. It is one that I have had dozens of times before. Yet it has never grown old. And now somehow it was even more meaningful. What a challenge to have an assignment to write about and pay tribute to Joseph Fielding Smith, a counselor in the First Presidency and president of the Council of the Twelve in the Lord's Church. I stood in wonderment and awe in the presence of this venerable servant of God—the remarkable way the Lord has preserved him, the high positions he holds in the Church, the many years he has served" as a General Authority, the tens of thousands of miles he has traveled in the Lord's service, his great knowledge of the scriptures, the numerous gospel sermons he has given, the many vital books and articles he has written, and, above all, his unwavering, uncompromising, and undeviating devotion to the Lord and to the Church. President Joseph Fielding Smith will be 90 years of age on July 19. He is the oldest man who has ever served as president of the Council of the Twelve and has been a member of that council longer than any other man in this dispensation, having been ordained an apostle and set apart as a member of the council on April 7, 1910, four years after President David O. McKay had received a similar call. He is the only man who has served concurrently as president of the Council of the Twelve and a counselor in the First Presidency. Joseph Fielding Smith has survived fifteen apostles who were ordained after he was. Eleven of these were called between him and Harold B. Lee, the next-ranking member of the quorum. They were James E. Talmage, Stephen L Richards, Richard R. Lyman, Melvin J. Ballard, John A. Widtsoe, Joseph F. Merrill, Charles A. Callis, J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Alonzo A. Hinckley, Albert E. Bowen, and Sylvester Q. Cannon. When the baby who was to be named Joseph Fielding was born in 1876, in a pioneer home in Salt Lake City, the Saints had been in the valleys of the mountains only 29 years, and Brigham Young was still President of the Church. These were hard and trying times, and young Joseph Fielding became acquainted with poverty and learned resourcefulness, patience, and the blessed disciplines of hard work and frugality as he toiled with his brothers on a farm in Taylorsville, herded cows near the Jordan River, and struggled to gain an education. Of this difficult period his father recalled: ". . . I—we all! were on foot and of necessity tugging away with all our might to keep body and soul together. Under these spiritless conditions, one day just before Christmas, I left the old home with feelings I cannot describe. I wanted to do something for my chicks. I wanted something to please them, and to mark the Christmas day from all other days—but not a cent to do it with! I walked up and down Main Street, looking into the shop windows—into Amussen's jewelry store, into every store—everywhere—and then slunk out of sight of humanity and sat down and wept like a child, until my poured-out grief relieved my aching heart; and after a while returned home, as empty as when I left. . . ."[1] But adversity makes good men strong and strong men great. And the Smiths had a wealth of tradition and nobleness, devotion and faith, that carried them through. President Smith's father, Joseph F., was a son of Hyrum Smith who was martyred at the side of his brother Joseph the Prophet in the Carthage jail. As a boy of eight tender years, he drove an ox team from Montrose on the west bank of the Mississippi to the Missouri River. Then two years later at the age of nine, he drove a team of oxen a thousand miles across plain and mountains to the Salt Lake Valley, where his mother passed away in 1852 when he was 13 years of age. He subsequently accepted a mission call to Hawaii when he was but 15, served a second mission in Hawaii, two missions in England, and a term as president of the European Mission before being called into the First Presidency. He became President of the Church in 1901. Of him it has been written, "He was not only a great father and a mighty preacher of righteousness, but he typified our loftiest conception of a real man—a man whose convictions were backed by loyalty and consecrated devotion to the truth that was never challenged by friend or foe." At the feet of this noble and great man and an equally wonderful and spiritual mother, Julina Lambson Smith, young Joseph Fielding gained faith in and a love for the Lord and the Church. His foundation in gospel principles and all that is right and true was laid down solidly and early and grew mightily with the passing of the years. Joseph Fielding Smith's service in the Church has been monumental. The Church has been his life all his life. As a missionary, as church historian, as secretary, director, and president of the Genealogical Society, as a general board member, as a temple president, as an author and editor, as an educator, as a businessman, as a member of the Council of the Twelve, as president of the Council of the Twelve, and as a counselor in the First Presidency, he has tirelessly devoted all his efforts to furthering the work of the Lord. President Smith's life has spanned the period from covered wagons to jet planes. He has given well over a hundred talks in general conference sessions and may have participated in as many as 5,000 stake conferences. He has been present at nine temple dedications—St. George, Salt Lake, Hawaii, Alberta, Arizona, Idaho Falls, Los Angeles, London, and Oakland. He has toured dozens of missions. Today as he approaches 90, he lives with his beloved wife Jessie Evans Smith in a modest apartment from which he can walk back and forth to the Church Office Building. As he finds time between innumerable meetings, appointments, interviews, and assignments, he can generally be found studying the scriptures or sitting at his typewriter writing letters or answering questions on doctrinal subjects. He still takes his full allotment of stake conference assignments, asking nothing of the other members of the Council of the Twelve that he will not do himself. Would that all members of the Church could know him as do those who are close to him. To many he may seem hard and unyielding, and he is when it comes to truth and right. With him there is no compromising of the word of God. Truth is truth, and the commandments of God cannot be set aside or discounted. What has been said of his father can be said of him: He is a man whose convictions are backed by a loyalty and a consecrated devotion to the Church that has never been challenged by friend or foe. President Smith believes that what the Lord has said or revealed through his prophets the Lord means, and his words cannot be changed or modified merely to fit the convenience or the desires of men. He accepts literally and completely all of the principles of the restored gospel without wavering or faltering, without questioning or compromising. With Joshua he exclaims, ". . . as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Josh. 24:15.) But there are other sides of Joseph Fielding Smith that the general membership of the Church does not get to see. Without knowing these other virtues one may tend to get a distorted picture of this great man. Let us look at some of them very briefly: He is a kind, loving, and devoted husband, father, and grandfather. All of his five sons have served on missions, and all his children have been married in the temple. Of them he recently said: "I am the father of eleven children, and to this day every one is a faithful member of the Church, and all are active, for that is the way they were taught, and they were obedient. They will belong to me forever and are the foundation stones of my kingdom." Among his 111 descendants are 29 grandsons and 29 granddaughters, 21 great-grandsons and 21 great-granddaughters. Thirteen grandchildren have filled missions, and all 20 grandchildren who are married have been married in the temple. Elder Richard L. Evans, who knows the family intimately, has written: "The faithfulness and devotion of this family, and their honest and upright citizenship, is a tribute to their father and to the mothers who in faith shared their early teachings and training." A Saturday near the date of President Smith's birthday is reserved for his family. On these happy days family members meet in a park in Salt Lake City, play games, tell stories, sing songs, and enjoy a turkey dinner. Important parts of these occasions are the words of advice by Grandpa Smith and the presents he distributes to each one. This novel technique of giving his descendants presents on his birthday eliminates the problem of his having to remember 111 birthdays each year. On his church assignments President Smith is nearly always accompanied by his devoted companion Jessie, who gave up a promising operatic singing career to follow what she says is a more important life's work—being a wife to Joseph Fielding Smith. Her quick wit, her jovial nature, her bright disposition, and her contagious laugh are constant tonics and help relieve the many pressures and tensions. Often she shares his speaking assignments and responds readily and willingly to any requests to sing (she is a soloist with the Tabernacle Choir). President Smith himself has a good singing voice, and it is a joy to see and hear him and Jessie sit together on the piano bench and sing duets. It is well known throughout the Church that President Smith is the author of many books (his 23rd book is being published this summer). Not so well known is the fact that he has written the words to four church songs. One of these, "The Best Is Not Too Good for Me," was written in his youth after he had received some advice from his father concerning an employment opportunity. The music was written by Tracy Cannon. Evan Stephens wrote the music to the song "Come, Come, My Brother, Wake! Awake!" His hymn "Does the Journey Seem Long?" with music by George D. Pyper was recently sung by the Tabernacle Choir on a national broadcast. Another of his songs, "We Are Watchmen on the Tower of Zion," with music by Alexander Schreiner, was sung by the Tabernacle Choir with Sister Smith as soloist at the laying of the cornerstone of the Oakland Temple in 1963. It is a happy marriage, with love and respect and harmony always in evidence. Of her husband, Jessie recently said, "A kinder and more considerate man never lived. He has never been cross with me or spoken an unkind word." To this comment President Smith replied, "She has never done anything to make me cross." President Smith has a delightful and refreshing sense of humor, as all who know him will testify. On the kitchen wall he has placed a plaque on which are the words: "The opinions expressed by the husband in this household are not necessarily those of the management." "This household does have a good manager," President Smith assured his wife. "Yes," she replied, "but the manager knows her place. Last summer when I went to his office to give him some help while his secretary was on vacation, he tapped me on the shoulder and said, 'Mamma, dear, just remember one thing. Over here you are not the speaker of the house.' "[2] All his life President Smith has been an avid sports fan. In his youth he played baseball and other games as time would permit. He learned to swim in the murky waters of the Jordan River. For many years he played handball regularly with great skill. He loves all types of ball games. Some of his children and grandchildren have been outstanding athletes. He has been cited for making a significant contribution to the National Guard of the state of Utah. After a number of years of serving as an honorary colonel in the guard, he was in 1960 promoted to the rank of honorary brigadier general. He has thoroughly enjoyed going on training flights with members of the Air National Guard. On July 3, 1954, for example, when he was nearing his 78th birthday, he made a 40-minute flight in a Guard jet over much of northern Utah at speeds in excess of 500 miles an hour. President Smith's and President David O. McKay’s devotion and affection for each other is beautiful to see. Time and time again President Smith bears his testimony that he knows that President McKay is a prophet of God. When a friend complimented him at his being named to the First Presidency, he replied, "I will do my very best to serve the Lord and be loyal to the Prophet." A few years ago when President McKay was taken to the hospital, he asked for his counselors and Joseph Fielding to be notified so that they could come and administer to him. President Smith was at a stake conference in Lewiston, Idaho, when the word reached him. As soon as the morning session was out he left by car and traveled throughout the night, arriving at 3 a.m. As these two old friends and lifelong servants of the Lord met, they embraced and kissed, repeating each other's names affectionately. Consistency is a superlative virtue, and Joseph Fielding Smith has been consistent throughout all his life in his beliefs and his teachings. What a biographer wrote about President Smith 34 years ago is just as applicable now as it was when it came from his able pen: "One of the impressive lessons of all history is that 'righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.' Joseph Fielding is a crusader against iniquity and against the violation of any principle that would bring remorse or discomfort upon the people. He loves humanity and has sublime faith in the saving power of the principles which he preaches. Back of all his endeavors is a deep desire to help mankind. No one who understands him could question for a moment the rectitude of his intentions nor the wisdom of the words which he utters. "Thoughtful people can have little faith in the permanence of any civilization, church or organization if depravity becomes prevalent among its members. This is the burden of his message, the motive of all he says. "Joseph Fielding Smith is strong in the common virtues which underlie every sound life—honest, benevolent, dependable and Godfearing, robust in intellect, vigorous in body, clear in his convictions, unyielding in his purposes, sound in his thinking, pure and lofty in his aims, with a simplicity and sweetness permeating it all that marks a noble character. He has the endowments that eminently fit him for the great apostolic office which he holds and honors ."[3] As President Smith nears his 90th birthday, the staff of The Improvement Era joins with church members everywhere in thanking him for these years of wonderful service and praying that God's blessings will attend him as he looks forward to many more fruitful years. [1] Bryant S. Hinckley, "Joseph Fielding Smith," The Improvement Era, June 1932, pp. 458-9. [2] "Joseph Fielding Smith," The Improvement Era, September 1951, p. 687. [3] Hinckley, op. cit., p. 461. |
President David O. McKay with counselors, Presidents Hugh B. Brown, N. Eldon Tanner, Joseph Fielding Smith. President Thorpe B. Isaacson was in Europe at photo time.
President and Sister Smith are often together at stake conferences, where her beautiful renditions of sacred music add much to the Sabbath gatherings of the Saints.
The present members of the Council of the Twelve, left to right: Front, President Joseph Fielding Smith, Elders Harold B. Lee, Spencer W. Kimball, Ezra Taft Benson, Mark E. Petersen, Delbert L. Stapley; back, Elders Marion G. Romney, LeGrand Richards, Richard L. Evans, Howard W. Hunter, Gordon B. Hinckley, Thomas S. Monson.
President Smith studies one of his books in his office. Wall of the office is covered with photos of those who gave yeoman service in the earlier days of the Church.
The family in 1938 or 1939: Insert, Lewis W., serving in Swiss-German Mission; front, left to right, George Reynolds, President and Sister Smith, Joseph Fielding Jr., Milton E.; back Emily S. Myers, Naomi S. Brewster, Lois S. Fife, Josephine S. Reinhardt, Julina S. Hart, Amelia S. McConkie, Douglas A. All are living except Lewis, who was killed in World War II.
SOME IMPORTANT EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF PRESIDENT JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH
1876 Born in Salt Lake City, July 19 1898 Appointed to Salt Lake Stake MIA board 1898 Married Louie E. Shurtliff (she passed away in April 1908) 1899-1901 Mission to British Isles 1901-1910 Home missionary in the Salt Lake Stake 1903 Published "Asael Smith of Topsfield, with Some Account of the Smith Family" 1903-1919 Member of the General Board of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association 1903 Published "Blood Atonement and the Origin of Plural Marriage" with Richard C. Evans of the Reorganized Church) 1904 Became a member of the Salt Lake Stake High Council 1906 Appointed assistant church historian 1907 Published "Origin of the 'Reorganized' Church and the Question of Succession" 1907 Named secretary and director of the Genealogical Society of Utah 1908 Married Ethel G. Reynolds (she passed away in November 1937) 1909 Named librarian and treasurer of the Genealogical Society of Utah 1910 Ordained an apostle and made a member of the Council of the Twelve 1910 Became first associate editor and business manager, "The Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine" 1912 Appointed to Board of Trustees, Brigham Young University 1912 Published "Salvation Universal" 1915 Became a counselor in Salt Lake Temple presidency 1917 Made a member of church board of education 1921 Became church historian 1922 Published "Essentials in Church History" 1924 Published "Elijah the Prophet and His Mission" 1927 Published "Lessons on Salvation for the Dead, Genealogy and Temple Work" 1931 Published "Way to Perfection" 1934 Named president of the Genealogical Society 1936 Published "The Progress of Man" 1938 Published "Life of Joseph F. Smith" 1938 Published "Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith" 1938 Married Jessie Ella Evans in April 1939 Toured European missions of the Church and supervised the evacuation of all American LDS missionaries throughout Europe (except British Isles) 1942 Published "Principles of the Restored Gospel" (German) 1942 Published "The Signs of the Times" 1944 Published "The Restoration of All Things" 1945-1949 President, Salt Lake Temple 1951 Received honorary degree of doctor of letters from Brigham Young University, June 4 1951 Became president of the Council of the Twelve, April 1953 Published "Church History and Modern Revelation" (2 vols.) 1954 Published "Man, His Origin and Destiny" 1954 Published "Doctrines of Salvation," Vol. 1 1955 Published "Doctrines of Salvation," Vol. 2 1955 Toured the Japanese Mission, dedicated Korea, Okinawa, and the Philippines for preaching the gospel, and divided the Japanese Mission to form Northern Far East and Southern Far East missions 1956 Published "Doctrines of Salvation," Vol. 3 1957 Published "Answers to Gospel Questions," Vol. 1 1958 Published "Answers to Gospel Questions," Vol. 2 1959 Visited stakes and missions in New Zealand and Australia 1960 Appointed honorary brigadier general, Utah National Guard 1960 Published "Answers to Gospel Questions," Vol. 3 1960 Visited missions in South America 1963 Published "Answers to Gospel Questions," Vol. 4 1965 Named counselor in the First Presidency, October 29 1966 Published "Answers to Gospel Questions," Vol. 5 1966 A collection of books and materials on American church history at Brigham Young University library named in his honor President Joseph Fielding Smith, present-day president of the Council of the Twelve, stands behind his father, President Joseph F. Smith, in this rare April 1918 general conference photograph of the General Authorities. This photograph shows four Presidents of the Church: Joseph F.
Smith, Heber J. Grant, George Albert Smith, and David 0. McKay. Key to identification: (1) President Joseph F. Smith, (2) President Anthon H. Lund, (3) President Charles W. Penrose, (4) Rudger Clawson, (5) Heber J. Grant, (6) George Albert Smith, (7) Presiding Bishop Charles W. Nibley, (8) 'Orrin P. Miller, (9) Anthony W. Ivins, (10) Charles H. Hart, (11) Orson F. Whitney, (12) David O. McKay, (13) Rulon S. Wells, (14) Joseph Fielding Smith, (15) J. Golden Kimball, (16) James E. Talmage, (17) Stephen L Richards, (18) Joseph W. McMurrin, (19) Patriarch Hyrum G. Smith, (20) Richard R. Lyman, (21) Seymour B. Young, (22) David A. Smith. Absent when photograph was taken were Reed Smoot, George F. Richards, Brigham H. Roberts, Levi Edgar Young. |
Lee, Harold B., et al. "President Joseph Fielding Smith Becomes Tenth President of the Church." Improvement Era. February 1970. pg. 2-3.
President Joseph Fielding Smith Becomes Tenth President of the Church Elders Harold B. Lee and N. Eldon Tanner Called to First Presidency On Friday morning, January 23, 1970, in the council room of the Salt Lake Temple, President Joseph Fielding Smith was ordained and set apart as the tenth President and prophet, seer, and revelator of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Council of the Twelve, governing body of the Church at the death of a Prophet, ordained and set apart President Smith, with Elder Harold B. Lee as voice. This action followed by five days the death of President David O. McKay (see page 8) on Sunday, January 18, 1970. President Smith selected and set apart as his counselors in the First Presidency Harold B. Lee, first counselor, and N. Eldon Tanner, second counselor. President Lee, second to President Smith in seniority in the Council of the Twelve, was set apart as president of the Council of the Twelve by President Smith, with Elder Spencer W. Kimball, next in seniority to President Lee, being set apart as acting president of the Council of the Twelve by President Lee. Elder Hugh B. Brown, formerly first counselor in the First Presidency under President McKay, resumed his calling in the Council of the Twelve, with seniority following Elder Richard L. Evans and preceding Elder Howard W. Hunter. The ordination of President Smith as President of the Church leaves a vacancy in the Council of the Twelve, which is expected to be filled in April at the general conference of the Church. Elder Thorpe B. Isaacson, formerly a counselor to the First Presidency under President McKay, resumed his position as an Assistant to the Council of the Twelve, with seniority following Elder Theodore M. Burton and preceding Elder Boyd K. Packer. Elder Alvin R. Dyer, also formerly a counselor to the First Presidency under President McKay, resumed his position as an Assistant to the Council of the Twelve, with seniority following Elder Henry D. Taylor and preceding Elder Franklin D. Richards. President Joseph Fielding Smith is called to the presidency after nearly 60 years as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was ordained to the apostleship April 7, 1910, by his father, President Joseph F. Smith, then the sixth President of the Church. He has been president of the Council of the Twelve since April 9, 1951, and a counselor to the First Presidency under President David O. McKay since October 1965. President Smith, a grandson of Hyrum Smith, who was Patriarch to the Church and fellow martyr with his brother the Prophet Joseph Smith at Carthage, Illinois, in 1844, is the third person with the name Joseph Smith to be President of the Church. He has been identified also with the Church Historian's Office since 1901, when he began working there following his mission to Great Britain. In 1906, he was sustained as Assistant Church Historian, and in 1921, as Church Historian, a position he has held since then. President Smith has made consistent contributions to the body of Church literature by his many writings on Church doctrine and Church history. He is a much beloved leader who, through a lifetime of devotion to the principles of the gospel, has been described by members of the Council of the Twelve as truly a just and righteous man. Members of the Church look forward to his inspired leadership. President Lee was set apart to the apostleship on April 10, 1941, after having served as managing director of the Church's Welfare Program. Since that time, he has carried the many and varied responsibilities incident to membership in the Council of the Twelve, with wide experience in the Welfare Program, Church business, and, of late, the entire Church Correlation Program, of which he has been chairman of the executive committee. He is a respected theologian and a man of great spiritual reserves, and is well qualified to carry the great burdens that press upon the First Presidency. President Tanner has been a member of the General Authorities since 1960, when he was called to be an Assistant to the Council of the Twelve. Two years later he was sustained a member of the Council of the Twelve, and a year later as second counselor to President David O. McKay in the First Presidency. He has spent most of his life in Canada, where he was minister of lands in the Province of Alberta before being named president of a Canadian oil company. His administrative acumen has been well used in the First Presidency as have his great qualities of fairness, integrity, and decency, which have won friends for the Church in many walks of life. Elder Kimball was ordained an apostle October 7, 1943, after having served as a stake president in Arizona. In recent years he has carried increasing responsibilities, particularly as chairman of the appropriations committee of the Church and as chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, where he has directed the widely acclaimed Church Indian program. Elder Kimball's conference addresses and writings have been admired for many years. Since Sunday, January 25, 1970, members meeting in stake conferences throughout the Church have been sustaining the new prophet, seer, and revelator, and the new First Presidency. The general membership and all officers and leaders of the Church will have the opportunity of sustaining these admired and respected fellow-brethren in April at the 140th annual general conference of the Church. |
President Spencer W. Kimball, acting president of the Council of the Twelve
The new First Presidency at a press conference, January 23, the day they were set apart in their new callings: left, President Joseph Fielding Smith; center, President
N. Eldon Tanner, second counselor; right, President Harold B. Lee, first counselor. Pictures of the First Presidency were taken at the press conference also. |
Zobell, Albert L., Jr. "President Joseph Fielding Smith." Improvement Era. March 1970. pg. 4-8.
President Joseph Fielding Smith By Albert L. Zobell, Jr. Research Editor "Come, listen to a prophet's voice, And hear the word of God, And in the way of truth rejoice, And sing for joy aloud. We've found the way the prophets went Who lived in days of yore; Another prophet now is sent This knowledge to restore." —Hymns, No. 46 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a new Prophet and President. Yet, in reality he is an old friend: President Joseph Fielding Smith has been with the Saints in times of sorrow as well as rejoicing for almost a century. This observation is intended not only by way of introduction to the new President, but also by way of recalling high points of his lifetime of service in the building up of the Church and kingdom of God on earth, climaxed on January 23, 1970, when the Council of the Twelve met prayerfully in the Salt Lake Temple and named President Joseph Fielding Smith as the tenth President of the Church. At this historic meeting, after the members of the Twelve had sung "Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah," each of them, in turn, bore his testimony. Before the five-hour meeting was over, President Joseph Fielding Smith had been confirmed President of the Church and set apart by the Twelve, with Harold B. Lee as voice. The new President then selected Elder Lee as his first counselor and Elder Nathan Eldon Tanner as his second counselor, and with the Twelve he set them apart. President Lee, who will also now serve as president of the Twelve, was voice as Elder Spencer W. Kimball was set apart as acting president of that body. And thus was called to head the Church a man who had been schooled and prepared in nearly all areas of Church service since his early youth. Joseph Fielding Smith's ancestors include the early American patriots of New England, and in his veins courses the blood of one of the martyrs who died as a witness to the restoration of the gospel. His great-grandfather, Joseph Smith, Sr., father of the Prophet Joseph Smith, was the first Patriarch of the Church. At his death, his son, Hyrum Smith (Joseph Fielding Smith's grandfather), became Patriarch to the Church. He was martyred only moments before his brother Joseph at Carthage, Illinois, the afternoon of June 27, 1844. President Smith's father was Joseph F. Smith, sixth President of the Church (1901-1918), who as a boy of nine drove an ox team across the plains with his widowed mother to their new home in the Salt Lake Valley. Of him it was written: "He was not only a great father and a mighty preacher of righteousness, but he typified our loftiest conception of a real man— a man whose convictions were backed by loyalty and consecrated devotion to the truth, that was never challenged by friend or foe."[1] Through his mother, Julina Lambson Smith, President Smith also descended from worthy ancestors. At the feet of his great father and an equally wonderful and spiritual mother, young Joseph Fielding, who was born July 19, 1876, gained faith in and a love for the Lord and his work. His foundation in gospel principles and all that is right and true was laid early, and this foundation broadened mightily with the passing of years. He learned to work on the family farm in Taylorsville, Salt Lake County. An early memory is of milking the family cow without permission "before I was baptized." Milking was a task that had been given to an older sister, but apparently he did it well enough that he soon found himself given the job. He learned early to work with animals, with nature, with men, and with God. His own growing testimony was aided by the faith and works of his father, who had been a full-time missionary at 15 and an apostle ten years before Joseph Fielding was born, and who had been called as second counselor in the First Presidency when his namesake son was only four years of age. Another of the family tasks that fell his lot was that of being stable boy for his mother in her capacity as a licensed midwife. At all hours of the night he was called from his deep boyhood sleep to harness a horse so she could go where she was needed. He would light a kerosene lantern and go to the barn, and soon the horse would be ready. Reflecting on those early years, he has mixed memories of Juny, a fine horse that his father had purchased from President George Q. Cannon of the First Presidency: "She was so smart she learned how to unlock one kind of corral fastener after another that I contrived, until Father said to me, half humorously, that Juny seemed to be smarter than I was. So Father himself fastened her in with a strap and buckle. As he did so, the mare eyed him coolly; and, as soon as our backs were turned, she set to work with her teeth until she actually undid the buckle and followed us out, somewhat to my delight. I could not refrain from suggesting to Father that I was not the only one whose head compared unfavorably with the mare's." There was the time when "Father chastised me with three or four light touches of a buggy whip for a misdeed I had not committed. Father later atoned for the misapplied punishment with these sage and humorously spoken words, 'Oh well, we'll let that apply on some things you got by with when you didn't get punished.'" Recently the author was privileged to hear the recorded voices of five former Presidents of the Church. He was awed, as were others who listened, at the similarity between the voices of Joseph F. Smith and his son Joseph Fielding Smith, the only father and son who have been Presidents of the Church. As a young man, Joseph Fielding Smith was active in the organizations of the Church, including service as superintendent of the 16th Ward Sunday School. When he became of age, he attended the LDS University and worked at one time at ZCMI to help pay his expenses. He was ordained an elder in 1897 and entered the British Mission in 1899 as a seventy. Returning home in June 1901, he obtained employment as a clerk in the Church Historian's Office, beginning there October 4, 1901. He became the librarian January 1, 1904, and at the April 1906 general conference was sustained as an assistant Church Historian, a position he held until March 17, 1921, when he became Church Historian. (As he now leaves the Church Historian's quarters to become President of the Church, he has served in that office for almost half the time that the Church has been organized.) After Elder Smith's return from his mission in 1901, he served nine years as a home missionary in the Salt Lake Stake. In 1903 he was set apart as a president of the 24th quorum of seventies, and the following year he was appointed to the Salt Lake Stake high council. Long active in the MIA, he served as a member of the YMMIA general board from 1903 to 1919. President Smith's call to be a General Authority came at the April 1910 general conference, when, at the age of 33, he was sustained as a member of the Council of the Twelve. He was ordained an apostle April 7, 1910, by his father, who was then President of the Church. President Smith became acting president of the Council of the Twelve in August 1951, following the death of President George F. Richards. (President David O. McKay, who was then serving as second counselor in the First Presidency, was president of the Twelve.) When President George Albert Smith died in April 1951, Joseph Fielding Smith, as the new president of the Council of the Twelve, was voice as the Twelve set apart David O. McKay as ninth President of the Church. Some 14 and a half years later President Smith was named a counselor to President McKay in the First Presidency. Elder Richard L. Evans, who was President Smith's neighbor for many years, has said of him: "We see Brother Smith as the father and grandfather and husband of many talents and of much devotion— as the father who attends the bedside of the sick, who performs early and late, at all hours, many kindly services, who counsels with his own and others on personal problems, school problems, social problems, spiritual problems. "There are also those who know him as a confiding friend and counselor in his office. There are those who know him as a storyteller of impressive sincerity. (And there are even some who know him as the 'baby sitter,' which he has been for his children and his children's children.) There are those who know the quickness of his humor, the tenderness of his heart, the sympathy of his soul. "He loves life, and he has shown by his life that he loves truth, that he loves the Church, and that he loves his Father's children. And he is, in turn, not only admired and respected, but also loved for his sterling qualities of character, and for himself."[2] That neighborly insight continues to hold true. President Smith's home and family have always been uppermost in his mind. In 1898 he married Louie E. Shurtliff. She died in March 1908, leaving him with two small daughters. Later that same year he married Ethel G. Reynolds, and they became the parents of nine children. But again death took his companion when she died in August 1937. On April 12, 1938, Elder Smith married Jessie Evans, whose beautiful contralto voice had earned a place for her in the Salt Lake Tabernacle Choir and who had sung widely in operas and concerts. During 1939 Elder Smith filled a special assignment for the Church in Europe. With Sister Smith, he arrived in England the first week in May; after visits there, they left for the continent to meet with Saints and missionaries in Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Germany. But international affairs were critical that summer, and World War II broke out in September when Germany invaded Poland. President Smith was in Germany at the time, and it was there that he received a cablegram from the First Presidency directing him to supervise the evacuation of all American missionaries from the European continent. With the inspiration of the Lord and with the common bond of brotherhood among the missionaries, the task was begun. The exact whereabouts of many elders among the frightened, moving masses of people were unknown, Many missionaries were given train fare for themselves and several others and were instructed to locate their fellow missionaries. Throughout the Church these brothers, many of whom are now bishops, mission presidents, and stake presidents, testify that they received impressions to leave their trains, enter the seething waiting rooms of the depots, and whistle a church hymn. Sometimes it was "Do What Is Right" or "Come, Come Ye Saints." Suddenly from the crowd their sought-for fellow missionary would appear, and they would run and catch the departing train. These missionaries were sent back to the United States by ship, having to take their turns in the "submarine watch." Some who were approaching the end of their missions were given honorable releases, and others were reassigned to missions in the United States. President and Sister Smith returned to Salt Lake City in November 1939. It is well known that President Smith is the author of many books and pamphlets and is one of the great spokesmen on Church doctrine. Not so well known is the fact that he has written words to several hymns. One, "The Best Is Not Too Good for Me," was written in his youth after he had received advice from his father concerning an employment opportunity. The music was written by Tracy Y. Cannon. The music for another, "Come, Come, My Brother, Wake! Awake!" is by Evan Stephens. George D. Pyper wrote the music for his "Does the Journey Seem Long?" Another, "We Are Watchmen of the Tower of Zion," has music by Alexander Schreiner. President Smith has long been a supporter of the growth of the city and its institutions. This story is told of him: "During the early months of 1933, in the midst of the great depression, banks were failing all over the U.S. One morning a crowd of good men who should have known better formed in the street to make a run on Zion's Savings Bank and Trust Company as soon as it opened. Suddenly in the back of the crowd came a voice of authority: 'Let me through. I want to make a deposit.' It was Joseph Fielding Smith who was waving his bank book and a roll of paper money. Some of the crowd had second thoughts about the bank and went on their way." In his youth President Smith was active in athletics, and he continues to maintain an interest in the field, lending strong support to the recreational program for youth of the Church. He played handball, a strenuous game that demands alertness of both mind and muscle, until his seventieth birthday. President Smith's unusual life span spreads from the covered wagon to the jet plane. In his early years as a member of the Council of the Twelve he and his assigned companion would sometimes journey to stake conferences by starting out by train, then transferring to a wagon, and sometimes making even a third transfer, and perhaps completing their journey on horseback. This memory is in contrast to another experience of a few years ago. One weekend President Smith found himself with an appointment that would keep him in the Salt Lake City area for the greater part of Saturday. However, he had been assigned to conduct a quarterly stake conference in the San Francisco area Saturday evening and Sunday. This worried President Smith, who prides himself on the way his appointments seldom, if ever, are in conflict. But it looked as if, this time, one appointment would have to be cancelled. He casually mentioned the problem to a young friend who was a jet pilot in the National Guard. The pilot replied, "You know, my crew is lacking some air time this month. We've got to fly some place to log out time. The Bay Area is just about the distance we need to keep our training record up to where it should be this month. Let's fly there late Saturday afternoon and return Sunday evening." President Smith kept both of his Saturday appointments that week, and he and his younger friends enjoyed themselves at quarterly conference on Sunday. In June 1959, several members of President Smith's staff at the Church Historian's Office took a short vacation, going partway down the Colorado River by boat. Returning to the office, Earl E. Olson, who was then librarian and is now assistant Church Historian, said, "For a real vacation, President Smith, you ought to try that river trip sometime." "Why should I spend all that time?" was his forthright answer. "I've been over the Colorado River territory in a jet plane of the National Guard. We've flown high and we've gone down low. I've seen the Colorado River in a way that few have seen it." When President Smith reached his eightieth birthday in 1956, the other members of the Twelve said of him: "We who labor in the Council of the Twelve under his leadership have occasion to glimpse the true nobility of his character. Daily we see continuing evidences of his understanding and thoughtful consideration of his fellow workers in making our assignments and in co-ordinating our efforts to the end that the work of the Lord might move forward. We only wish that the entire Church could feel the tenderness of his soul and his great concern over the welfare of the unfortunate and those in distress. He loves all the Saints and never ceases to pray for the sinner. . . ."[3] It is difficult if not impossible to name a part of our Heavenly Father's work of which President Smith is not especially fond, for which he has not used his talents in laboring long and hard. Particularly have his magnificent labors been expended in matters pertaining to genealogy and the work of the temples. A year after his appointment as assistant Church Historian he was named secretary and director of the Genealogical Society. In 1934 he began more than a quarter century of service as president of that society, being released in 1961. He served as a counselor in the presidency of the Salt Lake Temple from February 1915 to January 1935, and as president of that temple from 1945 to 1949. He has been present at the dedications of nine temples—St. George, Salt Lake, Hawaii, Alberta, Arizona, Idaho Falls, Los Angeles, London, and Oakland. It can truly be said of him that he lives for the Church and for his family—and delights wherever he sees spiritual development and growth. A Saturday near the date of his birthday is reserved for his family. On these happy days, family members meet in a park in Salt Lake City, play games, tell stories, sing songs, and enjoy a traditional dinner. Important parts of these occasions are the words of advice from President Smith and the presents he distributes to each one. The novel technique of giving his descendants presents on his birthday eliminates the problem of his having to remember well over one hundred birthdays each year. Of his ten living children (a son, Lewis, was killed in military service during World War II), all have been married in the temple and, at this writing, 27 grandchildren have been married in the temple by their grandfather. All five sons have fulfilled missions. This is but a glimpse of the character and spiritual strength of Joseph Fielding Smith, prophet, seer, revelator, and tenth President of the Church. Surely he has an important role to perform for the Lord, this people, and the entire world in this day. [1] Bryant S. Hinckley, "Joseph Fielding Smith," The Improvement Era, June 1932, pp. 458-59. [2] The Improvement Era, September 1951, p. 687. [3] The Improvement Era, July 1956, p. 495. |
President Joseph Fielding Smith, tenth President of the Church.
President and Sister Smith at home.
President Joseph F. and Julina L. Smith, parents of President Joseph Fielding Smith.
Meeting with Latter-day Saint servicemen in the Orient in 1955.
In 1960, President Smith was made an honorary brigadier general in the Utah National Guard for a "lifetime of administering to the spiritual needs of mankind."
The family of President Smith in the late 1930's. Lewis (insert), then serving a mission, was later killed in World War II.
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McConkie, Bruce R. "Joseph Fielding Smith - Our New President." Instructor. March 1970. pg. 77-78.
JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH—OUR NEW PRESIDENT by Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the First Council of the Seventy In the providences of the Lord, leaders are raised up to guide the destinies of his Church according to the needs of the hour. Each man who has presided in Israel has possessed the particular aptitudes and talents which were needed in the day of his ministry. And the call of President Joseph Fielding Smith to walk in the path of the prophets follows the pattern of the past. His voice will now speak those words and carry that message which the Lord has for his people at this hour of trial and turmoil in a sin-burdened world. President David O. McKay—a mighty pillar of spiritual strength, a majestic leader of men, a prophet with surpassing administrative abilities—assumed the reigns of presidency to expand missionary work, to multiply temples, to correlate and perfect the organization of the Church, to improve its image at home and abroad. President George Albert Smith—an apostle of love, a man of meekness and gentility—stepped forth to fill the Church with love, to breathe the spirit of peace and harmony, to lay the foundation for that progress and advancement which lay ahead. And so on back to Joseph Smith, of whom God himself said, "His word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith." (Doctrine and Covenants 21:5), and to whom Deity announced, "This generation shall have my word through you." (Doctrine and Covenants 5:10.) And now, what of President Joseph Fielding Smith? Why did the Lord choose him to be President of the Church? Why at 93 years of age are the almost unbelievable burdens of the kingdom dropped on the shoulders of this quiet and retiring man? Why has the Lord added him to that select group of brethren whose mission it is—each in his own way and for his appointed hour—to act as Deity's mouthpiece among men? We cannot see the end from the beginning, nor do we know all things which the Lord has in store for his people and for the world. But for those who are able to recognize his hand in all things and who understand how he deals with mortal men, some things seem clear. Our new president is a doctrinal teacher, a theologian, a scriptorian, a preacher of righteousness in the full and true sense of the word. For 60 years he has raised a warning voice in the stakes and missions, at home and abroad, before the saints and the world. Millions of words have come from his pen—explaining, expounding, exhorting, in the spirit and manner of the prophets of old. Few doctrinal books have been as widely studied as his Way To Perfection, and no treatise on Church history has been as widely read as his Essentials in Church History. To the faithful saints his voice has been one of glory and honor, of peace in this world and eternal life in the world to come. To the sorrowing and downcast it has been a voice of comfort and peace, a voice of hope, a call to remember the Lord, to rejoice in his redemption, and to look forward to a better world, a world without sin and sorrow. To the lost and straying sheep his call has been to return to the fold, to seek anew the protecting care of the Good Shepherd, to come back from the deserts of doubt and feed again in green pastures. To truth seekers among all sects, parties, and denominations his has been the plea to seek the Lord while he may be found, to come unto Christ, to accept the gospel and find joy and salvation with the saints. And to the rebellious and ungodly his voice—like Nephi's—has been: Repent and forsake your sins lest ye perish. In order to preach with power, to teach with wisdom, to write with inspiration, our new president has of necessity been a student of the standard works. Early and late he has poured over and pondered the words of the prophets and has sought the same Spirit which enabled them to write and speak the mind and will of the Lord. Of particular note is the fact that President Smith's study and teaching have been confined to the basic, sound, scriptural doctrines. Speculation about the mysteries has held little interest for him. But President Joseph Fielding Smith's life has not been one of learning and teaching only. His study and gospel scholarship have been crowned by good works, by a life of conformity to gospel law. No one knows the hungry he has fed, the naked he has clothed, the missionaries he has supported, nor the sick he has healed. Can it be that all this pattern of the past is now to be held up to the Church as the course all of us need to pursue in the perilous days ahead? Changing times require changes in emphasis and differences in leadership. The Church is now riding a tide of progression and expansion. Without question this will continue. But to it now will be added President Smith's voice of testimony and doctrine. Are we amiss now in concluding that what the Church needs at this hour is a period of gospel refreshment, a time of reaffirming those truths which set us apart from the world? Are we entering a Sabbatical period of gospel study and spiritual refinement under the direction of a new president whose whole ministry has qualified him to give the particular guidance now needed? Are we to see again the fulfillment of the promise that the weak things of the world shall be made mighty, that the Lord himself will gird up their loins and cause them to fight manfully for him? Are we now being asked to re-enthrone the distinctive truths of the restoration, to weigh and ponder the revealed word, to live as becometh saints, and to continue to carry the message of salvation to our Father's children everywhere? At least part of the Lord's purposes in the reorganization of the First Presidency seem clear. But whatever his full designs and plans are, some things we know with absolute surety: We are engaged in the Lord's work; this is his kingdom, and he will bring it off triumphant. The Church will continue to grow, conversions will multiply, the lives of the saints will be perfected, and the Lord will have his promised congregation of saints to meet him when he returns. All this—and much more—will go forward under the direction of President Joseph Fielding Smith, for the time and the season he has been chosen to preside in Israel. Library File Reference: PROPHETS AND PROPHECIES. |
JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH
TENTH PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS |
"President Joseph Fielding Smith Called to Be Tenth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints January 23, 1970" Relief Society Magazine. April 1970. pg. 244-247.
President Joseph Fielding Smith Called to Be Tenth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints January 23, 1970 After a lifetime of devoted and dedicated service to the Church, President Joseph Fielding Smith has been set apart to be the President of the Church. He has served as an apostle since 1910, and has visited the stakes of the Church in turn by whitetop, by automobile, by train, by ship, and by airplane. This great responsibility has come to President Smith with a rich background of experience and a meaningful heritage. His grandfather, Hyrum Smith, was martyred at Carthage, Illinois, with his brother, the Prophet Joseph Smith. His father was the sixth President of the Church, President Joseph F. Smith. President Smith has been an adviser from the Council of the Twelve to the General Board of Relief Society since 1944. He has always been ready and willing to fulfill that assignment. It has been a privilege over the years to accompany new board members to his office to have them set apart. President Smith's blessings have revealed the deep feeling he has toward Relief Society, and his acceptance and understanding of Relief Society in the lives of the women of the Church. Its divine birth and the blessing it is to the souls of men, characterize the content of his blessings. President Smith's mother, Julina Lambson Smith, served nineteen years on the Relief Society General Board and was a Counselor in the General Presidency of Relief Society under President Clarissa S. Williams. While Julina Smith's husband, President Joseph F. Smith, was President of the Church, the Temple Clothing Department for the Church was assigned to the General Board of Relief Society and established and developed under her direction and watchcare. President Smith's first wife was Louise Emylia Shurtliff, who was the mother of two daughters: Mrs. Henry (Josephine) Reinhardt and Mrs. Elden C. (Julina) Hart. She died in 1908. By his second wife, Ethel Georgina Reynolds, he had five sons and four daughters: Joseph Fielding, Jr., George Reynolds, Douglas A., Milton E., Lewis W., who was killed during World War II, Mrs. L. Garrett (Emily) Myers, Mrs. Hoyt W. (Naomi) Brewster, Mrs. Bruce R. (Amelia) McConkie, Mrs. William S. (Lois) Fife. Sister Ethel Smith served fourteen years as a member of the General Board of Relief Society, and died in 1937. His third wife, Jessie Ella Evans, took over the care of his large family and devotedly upholds and supports President Smith in all his daily activities. Sister Jessie Evans Smith has been generous in the service she has given and in her rich talents which she has shared in the interest of Relief Society. Much inspiration and enlightenment have come to Relief Society members throughout the world through studying the addresses which President Smith has delivered for many years at the Relief Society Annual General Conferences. His kindly and considerate character has tempered the directions, admonitions, and warnings which he has given as an apostle of the Lord to his daughters. In 1952, President Smith was unable to deliver his annual message to Relief Society at the Relief Society Annual General Conference. Elder Matthew Cowley was asked that morning to speak in his place. We are indebted to Elder Cowley for this evaluation of President Smith which will find an echo in the hearts of Relief Society members everywhere: I want to say that I have never met a more kindly, more considerate, more loving man in all my life than President Joseph Fielding Smith. He is one of the most loving characters I have ever been associated with, and I trust that God will give him strength and a long life to continue his great mission here in the earth in delivering his powerful discourses to the children of Zion. (The Relief Society Magazine, January 1953, p. 6.) Relief Society members have studied over the years, some of the works of President Smith. The Way to Perfection and The Progress of Man brought much enlightenment to the sisterhood and Essentials in Church History has been a reference book for many courses. President Smith's daughters have served as Relief Society stake presidents. Their home lives have reflected the virtues to be found in a priesthood-directed home which has a Relief Society mother. The Relief Society members throughout the world are blessed to have Relief Society go forward under the guidance of President Joseph Fielding Smith, who is filled with that charity which never faileth. |
President and Sister Smith have often traveled together as he fulfilled conference assignments, and they are beloved throughout the Church.
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