Julina Lambson Smith (June 18, 1849 – January 10, 1936) was a leader in

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). From 1910 to 1921 she was a member of the General Presidency of the

Relief Society The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, United States, and has more than 7 million members in over 18 ...

. The second wife of Joseph F. Smith and the mother of

Joseph Fielding Smith Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. (July 19, 1876 – July 2, 1972) was an American religious leader and writer who served as the tenth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1970 until his death in 1972. He was t ...

, she is the only woman in the history of the LDS Church to have been the wife of a

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 ...

and the mother of another church president. She worked as a midwife in the Mormon community and delivered over 1,000 babies.

Biography

Julina Lambson was born to Alfred Boaz Lambson and Melissa Jane Bigler in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. Her parents were

Mormon pioneer 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 S ...

s who arrived in Utah in 1847. Her family's home was the first house in Salt Lake City to be plastered. As a young girl Julina would often stay with her aunt

Bathsheba W. Smith Bathsheba Wilson Bigler Smith (May 3, 1822 – September 20, 1910) was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement. She was the fourth general president of the Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church ...

and it was in her home that Julina was first introduced to the idea of plural marriage. Ten years after arriving in Salt Lake Julina's family was forced to

Nephi, Utah Nephi ( ) is a city in Juab County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo–Orem metropolitan area. The population was 6,443 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Juab County. It was settled by Mormon pioneers in 1851 as Salt Creek ...

because of the

Utah War The Utah War (1857–1858), also known as the Utah Expedition, Utah Campaign, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between Mormon settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the US go ...

. Her family and many other saints passed through great trials after being displaced from their homes.

Marriage and family

In 1866, Julina married Joseph F. Smith in the

Endowment House The Endowment House was an early building used by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) to administer temple ordinances in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory. From the construction of the Council House in 1852, Salt Lake City's ...

. It was Joseph F. Smith's second marriage; Julina was his first

plural wife 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 tha ...

. His first wife Levira, was unable to have children and was often ill, so Julina would do all of the household chores and other tasks. Joseph and Levira were divorced in 1867. On August 14 of that same year Julina had her first child, Mercy Josephine. In the next fifteen years Joseph married four more women. Julina was close friends with the two of her sister wives closer to her in age, Sarah Ellen and Julina's sister Edna. Joseph F. Smith would go on to be an

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

in the LDS Church and was the church's president from 1901 until his death in 1918. Joseph F. Smith and Julina Smith had 11 children, one of which was Joseph Fielding Smith, longtime historian and apostle of the church and president from 1970 to 1972. Another son was David Smith, who became a member of the church's Presiding Bishopric. Her son E. Wesley Smith, who was born in Hawaii, twice served as mission president in Hawaii. The couple also adopted two children. Because of their polygamist lifestyle, their household was in constant need of a

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

. To find a solution, Julina went and got professional training in

nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

and

obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

. After being trained as a midwife Julina shared this new ability with many of the expecting sisters in her community and would sacrifice many long nights doing such service. She was one of the first trained midwives in Utah. When the U.S. Congress passed the Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act of 1882 Julina and her husband went to

Laie, Hawaii Laie ( haw, Lāie, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) located in the Koolauloa District on the island of Oahu () in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States. In Hawaiian, means " leaf" ( is a climbing screwpine: ''Freycinetia arborea''). The p ...

to go into hiding after President Taylor suggested doing so. Many other LDS church leaders also went into hiding during this time. Julina and Joseph stayed in Hawaii from January 1885 until the middle of 1887, while all of their children (except the youngest) stayed in Utah with her sister wives. During her time in Hawaii she gave birth to two children and continued using her midwifery skills to help deliver children on the island. She also ran the missionary kitchen near their home. After returning home from Hawaii, Smith had three more children and continued her service in the church and as a midwife. During her lifetime she delivered 1,025 babies and never lost a mother during delivery. In 1901 Joseph F. Smith was called to be the next President of the LDS church and held that position until his death in 1918. Many years later, after suffering a bad fall, Julina died on January 10, 1936, aged 86.

Church callings

In 1870, when the first Young Women's Retrenchment Society was first organized in Salt Lake City on a

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

level, Smith was selected as one of its first ward presidents. At that time she also worked at the Endowment House and in 1892, she became a member of the general board of the

. When

Emmeline B. Wells Emmeline Blanche Woodward Harris Whitney Wells (February 29, 1828 – April 25, 1921) was an American journalist, editor, poet, women's rights advocate, and diarist. She served as the fifth Relief Society General President of the Church of Jesus ...

became the president of the Relief Society in 1910, she selected Smith as her second counselor. Along with first counselor Clarissa S. Williams, the presidency served until Wells died in 1921.

Publications

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References

External links