Heman C. Smith
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Heman Conomon Smith (September 27, 1850 – April 17, 1919) was a leader in and official
historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
of the
Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Community of Christ, known legally and 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 ...
(RLDS Church, now the
Community of Christ Community of Christ, known legally and 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 ...
).


Early life

Smith was born in the
Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
settlement of
Zodiac, Texas Zodiac is a vanished Mormon settlement established in 1847 on the Pedernales River, located southeast of Fredericksburg, in Gillespie County, in the U.S. state of Texas. The area it was located on eventually converted to private acreage, and n ...
. His grandfather was
Lyman Wight Lyman Wight (May 9, 1796 – March 31, 1858) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the leader of the Latter Day Saints in Daviess County, Missouri, in 1838. In 1841, he was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apo ...
, one of the original
apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...
of the
Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * Christianity, the Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ * Christian Church, an ecclesiological term used by denominations to describe the true body of Christia ...
established by Joseph Smith, Jr. After Joseph Smith's death, the church divided into several groups, one of which Wight led to Texas. In 1858, Heman's family left Texas, and they eventually settled in
Shelby County, Iowa Shelby County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 11,746. The county seat is Harlan, Iowa, Harlan. Its name is in honor of Isaac Shelby, th ...
. In 1862, Smith and his family were baptized into the RLDS Church.


RLDS Church service

Smith was a Seventy and an RLDS missionary in
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
,
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
,
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
,
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
,
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
,
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
,
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
,
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
,
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
,
Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...
, and eastern Canada. In 1885, Smith became one of the church's seven presidents of the Seventy, and in 1887 he was selected as a member of the Council of the Twelve; he was officially ordained an
apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...
by
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 ...
in 1888. In 1893, Smith moved to
Lamoni, Iowa Lamoni is a city in Decatur County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,969 at the time of the 2020 Census. Lamoni is the home of Graceland University, affiliated with the Community of Christ, a denomination of the Latter Day Saint move ...
. During 1897 and 1898, Smith oversaw the RLDS Church mission in England and Wales. In 1897, Smith became the official historian of the RLDS Church, and in this capacity co-wrote with
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 ...
the first four volumes of the RLDS Church's ''History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints''.


Marriage and family

In 1886, Smith married Vida Elizabeth Smith, who was the daughter of
Alexander Hale Smith Alexander Hale Smith (June 2, 1838 – August 12, 1909) was the third surviving son of Joseph Smith and Emma Hale Smith. Smith was born in Far West, Missouri, and was named after Alexander Doniphan, who had refused an order to execute Joseph ...
and a granddaughter of church founder Joseph Smith, Jr.


References


"Heman C. Smith"
in J. M. Howell (ed.) (1915). ''History of Decateur County, Iowa and Its People'' (Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing) 2:45. {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Heman C. 1850 births 1919 deaths American Latter Day Saint missionaries Apostles of the Community of Christ Latter Day Saint missionaries in Canada Latter Day Saint missionaries in England Latter Day Saint missionaries in the United States Community of Christ missionaries Historians of the Latter Day Saint movement American Latter Day Saint writers Smith family (Latter Day Saints) People from Lamoni, Iowa People from Shelby County, Iowa People from Gillespie County, Texas Doctrine and Covenants people American leaders of the Community of Christ Historians from Iowa Historians from Texas