John Smith (uncle of Joseph Smith)

John Smith (July 16, 1781 – May 23, 1854), known as Uncle John, was an early leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).[1][2]

John Smith
4th Presiding Patriarch
January 1, 1849 (1849-01-01) – May 23, 1854 (1854-05-23)
Assistant Counselor in the First Presidency
September 3, 1837 (1837-09-03) – June 27, 1844 (1844-06-27)
End reasonFirst Presidency dissolved upon death of Joseph Smith
Personal details
Born(1781-07-16)July 16, 1781
Derryfield, New Hampshire, United States
DiedMay 23, 1854(1854-05-23) (aged 72)
Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, United States
Resting placeSalt Lake City Cemetery
40.77592°N 111.86247°W / 40.77592; -111.86247 (Salt Lake City Cemetery)

Smith was the younger brother of Joseph Smith Sr., uncle of Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith, father of George A. Smith, grandfather of John Henry Smith, and great-grandfather of George Albert Smith. He served as a member of the first presiding high council in Kirtland, Ohio, as an assistant counselor in the First Presidency under Joseph Smith, and as presiding patriarch under Brigham Young. He was succeeded as presiding patriarch by his great nephew, who was also named John Smith.

Smith served as president of the stake in Lee County, Iowa, during the Nauvoo period.[3] He was also the first president of the Salt Lake Stake, the first stake in Utah Territory, and as such was the leader of the Latter-day Saints in Utah in the winter of 1847–48.

Smith practiced plural marriage and fathered four children.

Smith died at Salt Lake City and was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery.

  • Monument to four generations of a branch of the Smith family, prominent in LDS history
    Monument to four generations of a branch of the Smith family, prominent in LDS history
  • Back of monument
    Back of monument
  • Headstone of John Smith
    Headstone of John Smith

Notes
Portrait of John Smith that was displayed in the Celestial Room of the Nauvoo Temple[4]
  1. John Smith Archived 2018-09-23 at the Wayback Machine in Lawrence R. Flake, Prophets and Apostles of the Last Dispensation (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2001), 311–13.
  2. "John_Smith_(1781-1854)". Archived from the original on 2018-01-22. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  3. He is the only person to serve as a stake president after being a member of the First Presidency.
  4. Major, Jill C. “Artworks in the Celestial Room of the First Nauvoo Temple.” Brigham Young University Studies, vol. 41, no. 2, Brigham Young University, 2002, pp. 47–69, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43044321.

Further reading
  • Jeremy C. Schwendiman (2016). Uncle of the Prophet - The Life and Achievements of John Smith. Jeremy C. Schwendiman. ISBN 978-1890718473.
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