John Smith (September 22, 1832 – November 6, 1911), was the fifth

Presiding Patriarch In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Presiding Patriarch (also called Presiding Evangelist, Patriarch over the Church, Patriarch of the Church, or Patriarch to the Church) is a church-wide leadership office within the priesthood. Among the duties ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church). His father was

Hyrum Smith Hyrum Smith (February 9, 1800 – June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the older brother of the movement's founder, J ...

, the older brother of

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, h ...

, the founder of

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects o ...

. Having served for 56 years, he was the longest serving Presiding Patriarch in the history of the LDS Church. Smith traveled west to Winter Quarters and then

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

with the

Mormon pioneers The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter Day Saints, who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the Midwest to the ...

. He traveled with

Heber C. Kimball Heber Chase Kimball (June 14, 1801 – June 22, 1868) was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement. He served as one of the original twelve apostles in the early Church of the Latter Day Saints, and as first counselor to Brigham Young ...

's party and his step-mother Mary Fielding Smith. Smith joined the "Battalion of Life Guards" to protect the Latter-day Saints from Native Americans. During his life, Smith maintained strong relationships with his family members in the

Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...

(RLDS Church), particularly his cousin

Joseph Smith III Joseph Smith III (November 6, 1832 – December 10, 1914) was the eldest surviving son of Joseph Smith (founder of the Latter Day Saint movement) and Emma Hale Smith. Joseph Smith III was the Prophet-President of what became the Reorganized Chu ...

. Though John Smith was never released as Presiding Patriarch, some general authorities were outspoken in their disapproval of Smith's unwillingness to marry more than one plural wife and his habit of tobacco use. Smith was married to Hellen Maria Fisher with whom he had nine children. Smith married Nancy Melissa Lemmon as his plural wife after the encouragement of

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his death in 1877. During his time as chu ...

. Smith had one child with Lemmon.

Early life and background

John Smith was born on September 22, 1832, in

Kirtland, Ohio Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,937 at the 2020 census. Kirtland is known for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement from 1831 to 1837 and is the site of the movement's first ...

, to

and his first wife, Jerusha Barden Smith, during the early days of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

. He was among the first generation of children raised in the church. His mother died when he was five years old. The office of Presiding Patriarch was first held by

Joseph Smith Sr. Joseph Smith Sr. (July 12, 1771 – September 14, 1840) was the father of Joseph Smith Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Joseph Sr. was also one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, which Mormons believe was translate ...

, the father of the religion's founder. Before his death in 1840, Joseph Smith Sr. declared his eldest living son, Hyrum, would receive the office of patriarch by virtue of lineal succession. Hyrum at this time was one of the most influential members of the church and was widely seen as the most likely successor to its leadership should he outlive his brother. However, in 1844, both Hyrum and Joseph Smith were assassinated by a mob in

Carthage, Illinois Carthage is a city and the county seat of Hancock County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,490 as of the 2020 census, Carthage is best known for being the site of the 1844 death of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint mov ...

. This event left the church leaderless. By consensus, it was expected that the title of Presiding Patriarch would pass to Hyrum Smith's eldest son, John. However, because John Smith was only 11 years of age at the time of his father's death, the position was instead claimed by a younger brother of Joseph Smith Jr.,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, and later by the younger brother of Joseph Sr., John Smith, who was known to the church as "Uncle John". Smith was sometimes called "Young John" to differentiate him from his great-uncle. John Smith was baptized into the LDS Church in 1843 and ordained an elder in the

Nauvoo Temple The Nauvoo Temple was the second temple constructed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.''Manuscript History of the Church'', LDS Church Archives, book A-1, p. 37; reproduced in Dean C. Jessee (comp.) (1989). ''The Papers of Jose ...

on January 24, 1846, at the age of thirteen. He traveled with the family of

Winter Quarters, Nebraska Winter Quarters was an encampment formed by approximately 2,500 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as they waited during the winter of 1846–47 for better conditions for their trek westward. It followed a preliminary ten ...

when he was fifteen. In February 1847, he backtracked 150 miles to help his step-mother Mary Fielding Smith and her party. In Winter Quarters he built a log cabin for Fielding, built fences, tilled soil, and worked in the fields. In 1848, John Smith, along with Kimball, reached the

Salt Lake Valley Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Sandy, South Jordan, West Jordan, and West Valley City; its total ...

to join

. Smith, at sixteen, personally drove five wagons down the mountains into the valley. He joined the "Battalion of Life Guards" in 1850 with the purpose of protecting the Latter-day Saints from Native Americans. After the death of Mary Fielding in 1852, Smith was required to support the family of eight.

Church service

On February 18, 1855, at twenty-two years old, the younger John Smith succeeded his great-uncle, "Uncle John" Smith as fifth Presiding Patriarch of the LDS Church, following the latter's death. In this capacity, Smith acted as voice in the

setting apart Setting apart is a ritual or priesthood action in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where a person is formally blessed to carry out a specific calling or responsibility in the church. Once a person has accepted the responsibility ...

of his younger half-brother,

Joseph F. Smith Joseph Fielding Smith Sr. (November 13, 1838 – November 19, 1918) was an American religious leader who served as the sixth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was the nephew of Joseph Smith, the founde ...

president of the church In the Latter Day Saint movement, the President of the Church is generally considered to be the highest office of the church. It was the office held by Joseph Smith, founder of the movement, and the office assumed by many of Smith's claimed succe ...

. Although Smith was glossophobic and refused nearly every public speaking assignment that Brigham Young gave him, his

patriarchal blessing In the Latter Day Saint movement, a patriarchal blessing (also called an evangelist's blessing) is an ordinance administered by the laying on of hands, with accompanying words of promise, counsel, and lifelong guidance intended solely for the re ...

s were eloquent. In 1862, Smith was asked to postpone his duties as a Patriarch to serve a mission in Denmark in order to "gain experience". However, according to scholar Irene M. Bates, in reality, he may have been sent on a mission because of concerns that the general authorities of the LDS Church had with Smith staying in close contact with his cousin

and other relatives who participated in the

(RLDS Church). Smith was, at one time, called a "Josephite" for maintaining close relationships with his family in the RLDS Church. The general authorities of the LDS Church frequently disapproved of Smith's actions such as refusing to live with his plural wife Melissa, or refusing to marry another woman. Additionally, he was publicly rebuked at the pulpit twice in the 1894 General Conference because of his tobacco usage. Although it was intended that the oldest son of the Presiding Patriarch to succeed his father, Hyrum Fisher Smith did not succeed his father, Smith was succeeded by his grandson and Hyrum Fisher Smith's son, Hyrum G. Smith. This slight to Hyrum Fisher Smith caused some distress in the family. Although there is no official reason for this, according to Bates, it was likely because Hyrum F. Smith was separated from his wife when his father died, had a difficulty following the

Word of Wisdom The "Word of Wisdom" is the common name of an 1833 section of the Doctrine and Covenants, a book considered by many churches within the Latter Day Saint movement to be a sacred text. The section defines beliefs regarding certain drugs, nutritious ...

, and had recently had a difficult time keeping a steady job and supporting his family. John Smith was buried in Salt Lake City. He became the longest-serving Presiding Patriarch in LDS Church history, remaining in that position for 56 years, until his death from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

on November 6, 1911 in Salt Lake City.State of Utah Death Certificate
During his time as Patriarch, Smith gave over 20,000 blessings, willing to travel hundreds of miles on horseback in any weather condition to give blessings.

Personal life

Smith was involved in

plural marriage Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more th ...

and had two wives. Smith's first wife was Hellen Maria Fisher. She was born on September 20, 1835 in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Smith and Fisher married on December 25, 1853. She died on September 3, 1907. Hellen was outspoken about her lack of enthusiasm for plural marriage which was a highly encouraged practice by the LDS Church at the time. Brigham Young encouraged Smith to marry another woman, which Smith obeyed five months later. Smith married twenty-three year old Nancy Melissa Lemmon on February 18, 1857. Lemmon was born in Illinois on September 6, 1833 and died on March 29, 1915. After the death of Hellen, Joseph Smith III wrote to Smith stating that he was not surprised that Smith had not remarried, because he and Hellen had been married for a long time. Smith responded, admitting that he had been lonely since the death of Hellen, but that it would be difficult to find a substitute for Hellen since they had been married for nearly 54 years. In his letter to his cousin, Smith made no mention of Melissa to whom he was still married. Smith had nine children with Hellen Fisher. Smith had one child with Melissa Lemmon.

Notes

References

External links

Information about John Smith's autobiography

John Smith papers
Vault MSS 803,

L. Tom Perry Special Collections The L. Tom Perry Special Collections is the special collections department of Brigham Young University (BYU)'s Harold B. Lee Library in Provo, Utah. Founded in 1957 with 1,000 books and 50 manuscript collections, as of 2016 the Library's special ...

Harold B. Lee Library The Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is the main academic library of Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. The library started as a small collection of books in the president's office in 1876 before moving in 1891. The Heber J. Gran ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...