John Pack (May 20, 1809 – April 4, 1885) was a member of the

Council of Fifty "The Council of Fifty" (also known as "the Living Constitution", "the Kingdom of God", or its name by revelation, "The Kingdom of God and His Laws with the Keys and Power thereof, and Judgment in the Hands of His Servants, Ahman Christ") was a La ...

and a

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

in the early days of

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 nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church).

Biography

Pack was born in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of K ...

. He married his first wife, Julia Ives, in 1832 in

Watertown, New York Watertown is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is approximately south of the Thousand Islands, along the Black River about east of where it flows into Lake Ontario. The city is bordered by th ...

. In 1836, Pack was baptized a member of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. Pack moved to

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 t ...

, then to

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, and then to Nauvoo, Illinois. He was a member of the

Nauvoo Legion The Nauvoo Legion was a state-authorized militia of the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, United States. With growing antagonism from surrounding settlements it came to have as its main function the defense of Nauvoo, and surrounding Latter Day Saint ...

, holding the rank of captain. Pack also served as a policeman in Nauvoo. In addition, Pack was one of the four music wardens of the

University of Nauvoo The University of Nauvoo was a short-lived university in Nauvoo, Illinois. After the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints had been expelled from Missouri, they crossed into Illinois and settled in Nauvoo in 1839. They were granted a city c ...

, working under the department head, Gustavus Hill. The program was a broad one and Pack instructed in instrumental music along with Titus Billings while Benjamin Wilder and Stephen Goddard were over vocal music department and directed the community choir. Pack was in the first company of Mormon pioneers to cross the plains with

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 ch ...

. He held the ranks of Captain of Fifty in the company as well as Colonel in its military organization. At the time of Joseph Smith's death, Pack was serving as a missionary in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

with Ezra T. Benson. After Smith's death, Pack remained active in

(LDS Church) and became a member of the

in 1845. The University of Deseret, the predecessor of the University of Utah, began in the home of John Pack. Pack served with John Taylor (Latter Day Saints), John Taylor as one of the first LDS Church missionaries in France beginning in 1849. Pack was in this mission until 1852, but he spent most of his time preaching in the Channel Islands. In 1860, Pack and his eldest son, Ward E. Pack, built the first sawmill in Kamas, Utah, Kamas, Utah Territory.

Wives of John Pack

*Married his first wife Julia Ives on October 10, 1832 in Watertown, New York *Married his second wife Ruth Mosher in March 1845 in Nauvoo, Illinois *Married his third wife Nancy Aurelia Boothe on January 21, 1846 in Nauvoo, Illinois *Married his fourth wife Eliza Jane Graham on October 14, 1849 in Nauvoo, Illinois *Married his fifth wife Mary Jane Walker on September 15, 1852 in Salt Lake City, Utah *Married his sixth wife Jessie Bell Stirling on January 16, 1864 in Salt Lake City, Utah *Married his seventh wife Lucy Jane Giles on May 2, 1865 in Salt Lake City, Utah *Married his eighth wife Jane Robison on July 20, 1870

Descendants

Ward Eaton Pack, one of Pack's sons, twice served as president of the Hawaiian Mission (LDS Church), Mission of the LDS Church. He also served in the presidency of the Cache Stake (LDS Church), Stake, which covered all of Cache County, Utah and into Wyoming at the time. Ward Eaton's daughter, Grace, married Charles A. Callis, who was later a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church), Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church. Another one of John Pack's sons, Frederick J. Pack, was a prominent professor at the University of Utah. F. Burton Howard, a general authority of the LDS Church, is a descendant of John Pack and Mary Jane Walker, through their daughter Hattie Pack (married Howard) and grandson Fred Pack Howard.

The John Pack Family Association

The John Pack Family Association (founded in the 1950s) holds yearly John Pack descendant family reunions, typically at This Is the Place Heritage Park near the end of the summer. They also contributed to build a replica of the John Pack home at This Is the Place Heritage Park.

Notes

External links

John Pack Family Descendants web site

John Pack papers, MSS 4132
a
L. Tom Perry Special Collections
Brigham Young University {{DEFAULTSORT:Pack, John 1809 births 1885 deaths 19th-century Mormon missionaries American Mormon missionaries in France Canadian Latter Day Saints Canadian Mormon missionaries in the United States Canadian leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Converts to Mormonism Latter Day Saints from Illinois Latter Day Saints from New York (state) Latter Day Saints from Utah Mormon missionaries in the Channel Islands Mormon pioneers People from Saint John, New Brunswick People from Watertown, New York Pre-Confederation Canadian emigrants to the United States