| Joseph Fielding Smith | |
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| 10th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | |
| January 23, 1970 – July 2, 1972 | |
| Predecessor | David O. McKay |
| Successor | Harold B. Lee |
| Counselor in the First Presidency | |
| October 29, 1965 – January 18, 1970 | |
| Called by | David O. McKay |
| End reason | Dissolution of First Presidency upon the death of David O. McKay |
| President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | |
| April 9, 1951 – January 23, 1970 | |
| End reason | Became President of the Church |
| Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | |
| August 8, 1950 – April 4, 1951 | |
| End reason | Became President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles |
| Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | |
| April 7, 1910 – January 23, 1970 | |
| Called by | Joseph F. Smith |
| End reason | Became President of the Church |
| LDS Church Apostle | |
| April 7, 1910 – July 2, 1972 | |
| Called by | Joseph F. Smith |
| Reason | John Henry Smith added to First Presidency |
| Reorganization at end of term | Bruce R. McConkie ordained |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr. July 19, 1876 Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, United States |
| Died | July 2, 1972 (aged 95) Salt Lake City, Utah, United States |
| Resting place | Salt Lake City Cemetery |
| Spouse | Louie Emily Shurtliff (1898-1908)(her death) Ethel Georgina Reynolds (1908-1937)(her death) Jessie Ella Evans (1938-1971)(her death) |
| Children | 11 |
| Signature | |
Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr. (19 July 1876 – 2 July 1972) was the tenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1970 until his death. He was the son of Joseph F. Smith, who was the sixth president of the LDS Church. His grandfather was Hyrum Smith, brother of LDS Church founder Joseph Smith, Jr., who was Joseph Fielding's great-uncle.
Smith was named to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1910, when his father was president of the church. No church president had a greater length of time as an apostle (1910–1972) nor had any church president succeeded at such a high age up to that point. He became the oldest LDS Church President, and continued to hold that honor until Gordon B. Hinckley reached Smith's age in June 2006 (Hinckley continued as President for another 19 months). Smith's time as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1951 to 1970 has been surpassed by few; he served as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during the entire nineteen-year presidency of David O. McKay.
Smith spent some of his years among the Twelve Apostles as the Church Historian and Recorder.
Smith was a religious scholar and a prolific writer. Many of his works are used as references for church members. He wrote the text of a hymn called Does the Journey Seem Long? which appears as hymn #127 in the current edition of the LDS hymnal.
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Joseph Fielding Smith was born the son of Joseph F. Smith, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, and Julina Lambson. His mother was a midwife. As a boy he often helped his mother by driving her carriage to the various deliveries that she attended in Salt Lake City. Growing up, Smith lived with his family in the immediate vicinity of the current West High School (Salt Lake City).
Smith married his first wife, Louie Emily "Emyla" Shurtliff (born 16 June 1876) on April 26, 1898. In March 1899, Smith was called on a mission to Great Britain by Lorenzo Snow, the President of the Church. On May 12, 1899, Smith was set apart as a missionary and ordained a Seventy by his father. A small group of missionaries, including Smith and his older brother Joseph Richards Smith, left the next day for England. After his return from the British mission in July 1901, Smith and his wife Louise had two daughters, Josephine and Julina. Louise Shirtliff Smith died of complications of a third pregnancy on March 28, 1908.[1]
Smith married Ethel Georgina Reynolds (born 23 October 1889), the daughter of prominent LDS Church leader George Reynolds, on November 2 1908. They had four girls (Emily, Naomi, Lois, Amelia) and five boys, Joseph Fielding (most often called Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr.), Lewis Warren, George Reynolds, Douglas Allan and Milton Edmund. Their youngest daughter Amelia married Bruce R. McConkie; McConkie became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shortly after Smith's death. Ethel Reynolds Smith died of a cerebral hemorrhage on 26 August 1937, at age 47.[2]
Ethel had specifically requested that Jessie Ella Evans (December 29, 1902-1971) sing at her funeral. Evans, born to Jonathan Evans and his wife the former Janet Buchanan, joined the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in 1918[3], was a member of the American Light Opera Company (1923-1927) and the Salt Lake County Recorder.[4] In November Evans and Smith got engaged.[5]
In April 1938, Smith married Evans in the Salt Lake Temple. The marriage was performed by Heber J. Grant.[6] The couple had no children, although Milton was only eleven when Joseph and Jessie married and George and Douglas were still under the age of 18. Smith's third wife died on 2 August 1971.[7]
After completing his mission in 1901, Smith began working in the office of the Church Historian and Recorder. He authored the book entitled The Origins of the Reorganized Church and the Question of Succession in 1909,[8] which was written to defend the LDS Church against the recent proselytizing of missionaries for the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church) in Utah.[9] He was the acting recorder of the general conference in 1910 when he was called as an apostle. Prior to his call as a general authority Smith served as the secretary and treasurer of the Genealogical Society of Utah.[10] In 1921 Smith assumed the office of Church Historian and Recorder which he held until 1970. Early in his apostleship, his creationist[11][12][13] views on the dispute between Mormonism's Biblical teachings and the theory of evolution brought him attention. (See Mormonism and evolution.)
Smith spent most of his time as an apostle living in Salt Lake City. He also was president of the Salt Lake Temple from 1945 to 1949. During this time, Smith was sent on a tour of the Spanish-American Mission of the church. Before his return to Salt Lake he informed the president of the Arizona Temple that he would recommend to the First Presidency that the temple ceremonies be translated into Spanish.[14]
Smith served as president of the Genealogical Society of Utah and its successor the Genealogical Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1934 to 1961. At the time of his release from this position he had already been president of the Quorum of the Twelve for over a decade. During the late 1950s, Smith attempted to reduce staff turnover at the Society by trying to convince the First Presidency that women should be permitted to stay on as employees after they married. However, Smith was only able to get a change to allow them to work six months past marriage.[15]
Smith did, however, at times take church assignments abroad. In 1939 he was touring the missions in Europe and supervised the withdrawal of missionaries immediately prior to the outbreak of World War II. In 1950 Smith toured the Mexican Mission of the church.[16] In 1955 Smith made an extensive tour of Asia. On this journey he dedicated Korea and the Philippines for the preaching of the gospel. In 1957 he went to Europe for the dedication of the London Temple and also presided over the excommunication of several missionaries in the French mission who had apostatized.
Smith became President of the Church on January 23, 1970, following the death of President David O. McKay. Although he only served as president of the church for two and a half years, his administration introduced several new initiatives: Area Conferences were introduced; some significant organizational restructuring in the Church Sunday School system and the Church Department of Social Services; and the church magazines were realigned into the Ensign, New Era and Friend in English, with centralized planning for all publications. His tenure was also marked by steady growth in the number of serving missionaries and the dedication of LDS temples in Ogden and Provo, Utah.
Smith died at Salt Lake City at age 95. He was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery.
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Joseph_Fielding_Smith Joseph Fielding Smith] at Wikimedia Commons
| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by David O. McKay |
President of the Church January 23, 1970–July 2, 1972 |
Succeeded by Harold B. Lee |
| President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles April 9, 1951–January 23, 1970 |
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| Preceded by Anthony W. Ivins |
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles April 7, 1910–January 23, 1970 |
Succeeded by James E. Talmage |
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