Brigham Roland Smoot (June 15, 1869 – December 16, 1946) was a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who 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.Thoma ...

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 Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) and an executive of the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company. He was one of the two first Mormon missionaries to preach in

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

and served as president of the LDS Church's Tongan mission from July 1891 to October 1892. Smoot was the son of Abraham O. Smoot and the brother of Reed Smoot.

Early life and family

Brigham Smoot was born on June 15, 1869, in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th st ...

, to Abraham O. Smoot and Anne K. Mauritsen, his fifth of six plural wives. Brigham's brother Reed Smoot went on to be a businessman and an apostle in the LDS Church before being elected by the state legislature as

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from Utah in 1903. Smoot was baptized into the LDS Church on June 17, 1877. His family moved to the frontier town of Provo, Utah Territory, when his father was called by

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

to establish a church stake there. Brigham Smoot graduated from Brigham Young Academy in Provo, a school for which his father had been the major financial backer.

Missionary work

In June 1889, Brigham Smoot was sent at the age of 20 on a mission for the LDS Church to

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

. Smoot sailed there and was assigned as a companion to Edward J. Wood. During his second day in Samoa, Smoot joined Wood and the other missionaries for a bath in the ocean. While wading in the ocean, Smoot slipped into a deep hole in the reef. After being dead for several minutes, Smoot was revived by Butler by what they described as a priesthood blessing. Sent to open a mission in July 1891, Smoot and Alva J. Butler became the first LDS missionaries in

. On July 16, 1891, they met with King George Tupou I, who granted them permission to proselyte in Tonga. The first proselyting session in Tonga was held by Smoot and Butler on August 1, 1881. On November 22, 1881, Smoot and Butler leased the first piece of land for the LDS Church. On January 24, 1892, the first official LDS church meeting was conducted by Smoot and Butler in the mission home. Smoot dedicated the mission home on May 15, 1892. He later became the president of the Tongan Mission of the LDS Church from July 14, 1891, to October 24, 1892. He returned to Utah in December 1892.

Career

After returning from his mission, Brigham Smoot graduated with a degree in chemical engineering from

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, is a private university, private research university. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been mixed ...

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton and Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Bethle ...

, in 1898. After graduation, Smoot returned to Utah and worked for the mining industry in Eureka. On June 20, 1900, he married Margaret Annella Nesbit in Provo, Utah. Roland Nesbit Smoot was born on May 7, 1901. A year later, he had a daughter named Annella Kerstina Smoot. Beginning in 1901, he worked as a supervisor for the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company, which processed sugar cane. Smoot was eventually promoted to general superintendent. After he retired in 1937, he moved to

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

. He lived there until his death on December 16, 1946.

Footnotes

References

External links

Brigham Smoot family papers
Vault MSS 3315, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library,

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

Brigham Smoot journals and letter
Vault MSS 3315 Series 1, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library,

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smoot, Brigham 1869 births 1946 deaths 19th-century Mormon missionaries American chemical engineers American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American Mormon missionaries in Samoa American Mormon missionaries in Tonga Brigham Young Academy alumni Lehigh University alumni Mission presidents (LDS Church) People from Provo, Utah Smoot–Rowlett family Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saints from Pennsylvania Latter Day Saints from California