Mary Fielding Smith

Mary Fielding Smith Kimball (July 21, 1801 – September 21, 1852) was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement, the second wife of Latter Day Saint leader Hyrum Smith, and the mother of Joseph F. Smith, who became president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)

Early life

Mary Fielding was born in Bedfordshire, England, on July 21, 1801. She was the sixth child of John Fielding and Rachel Ibbotson, who were active in the growing Methodist movement in the area. In 1834, Mary emigrated to join her brother Joseph and her sister Mercy in Toronto, Upper Canada.

Joining the Latter Day Saints church

The three Fielding siblings were introduced to the Church of the Latter Day Saints in 1836, and were promptly baptized. Mary moved to Kirtland, Ohio, the following year to join the larger body of the church. Well educated, Mary earned a living through teaching school, tutoring private pupils and acting as a governess. At the suggestion of the church's president, Joseph Smith, the recently widowed Hyrum Smith courted Mary Fielding and the couple married on December 24, 1837. Mary accepted the responsibility of caring for and raising Hyrum's children from his first marriage, including the future church patriarch John Smith.

In late 1838, Hyrum was among the church leaders taken to prison by the Missouri militia. At this time, Smith was pregnant with her first child, Joseph Fielding Smith. Smith went to Quincy, Illinois, with the remaining Mormons and, after Hyrum escaped from jail, they moved to Nauvoo, Illinois. Their second child, Martha, was born in Illinois.

After Hyrum was murdered in 1844, Smith chose to follow the direction of Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. She and her family were among the poorer Mormons driven out of Nauvoo in the fall of 1846, who experienced the incident later known as the "miracle of the quails". She went to Winter Quarters and then on to the Salt Lake Valley.

One story recounts Smith's trip across the plains with Heber C. Kimball's pioneer company. One of the captains, Cornelius P. Lott, questioned her preparation and suggested she stay behind and wait for others to help her: he called her a burden to the whole company. In response, Smith "prophesied" that she would not only stay with the company but would arrive in the Salt Lake Valley before Lott and without any of his help. She reportedly arrived in the Valley one day before Lott.^[1]

Death

Mary Fielding Smith and Mercy Fielding Thompson's grave markers

Smith died in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, at the home of her second husband, Heber C. Kimball, apparently of pneumonia. She was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery. Although she was widely known and respected during her lifetime, her son, Joseph F. Smith, further enhanced her reputation after her death as he presented her as a role model of courage and faithfulness in public addresses, sermons and articles.

Notes

References

• Corbett, Don C. "Mary Fielding Smith: Daughter of Britain." Salt Lake City, Utah 1966.

External links

• Letters from Mary Fielding
• Works by or about Mary Fielding Smith in libraries (WorldCat catalog)