Joseph Fielding Smith

Joseph Fielding Smith
10th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
January 23, 1970 (1970-01-23) – July 2, 1972 (1972-07-02)
PredecessorDavid O. McKay
SuccessorHarold B. Lee
Counselor in the First Presidency
October 29, 1965 (1965-10-29) – January 18, 1970 (1970-01-18)
Called byDavid O. McKay
End reasonDissolution of First Presidency upon the death of David O. McKay
President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
April 9, 1951 (1951-04-09) – January 23, 1970 (1970-01-23)
PredecessorDavid O. McKay
SuccessorHarold B. Lee
End reasonBecame President of the Church
Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
August 8, 1950 (1950-08-08) – April 4, 1951 (1951-04-04)
ReasonDavid O. McKay was serving as Second Counselor in the First Presidency to George Albert Smith
End reasonBecame President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
April 7, 1910 (1910-04-07) – January 23, 1970 (1970-01-23)
Called byJoseph F. Smith
End reasonBecame President of the Church
LDS Church Apostle
April 7, 1910 (1910-04-07) – July 2, 1972 (1972-07-02T1876)
Called byJoseph F. Smith
ReasonDeath of John R. Winder; John Henry Smith added to First Presidency
Reorganization
at end of term
Bruce R. McConkie ordained
Personal details
BornJoseph Fielding Smith, Jr.
(1876-07-19)July 19, 1876
Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, U.S.
DiedJuly 2, 1972(1972-07-02) (aged 95)
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Resting placeSalt Lake City Cemetery
40°46′37.92″N 111°51′28.8″W / 40.7772000°N 111.858000°W / 40.7772000; -111.858000
Spouse(s)
Louie Emily Shurtliff
(m. 1898; died 1908)
Ethel Georgina Reynolds
(m. 1908; died 1937)
Jessie Ella Evans
(m. 1938; died 1971)
Children11
ParentsJoseph F. Smith
Julina Lambson Smith
Signature 
Signature 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 the son of former church president Joseph F. Smith and the great-nephew of Church founder Joseph Smith.

Smith was named to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1910, when his father was the church's president. When Smith became president of the Church, he was 93 years and 6 months old; he began his presidential term at an older age than any other president in church history. Smith's tenure as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1951 to 1970 is the third-longest in church history;[1] he served in that capacity during the entire presidency of David O. McKay.

Smith spent some of his years among the Twelve Apostles as the Church Historian and Recorder. He was a religious scholar and a prolific writer. Many of his works are used as references for church members. Doctrinally, Smith was known for rigid orthodoxy and as an arch-conservative in his views on evolution and race, although it has been said that age had softened him and as a result he put up less resistance to reforms by the time he had become president.[2][3]

  1. ^ Orson Hyde's tenure was from 1847 to 1875 and Rudger Clawson's tenure was from 1921 to 1943.
  2. ^ Arrington, Leonard (1998). Adventures of a Church Historian. p. 91.
  3. ^ Wiley, Peter (1985). "The Lee Revolution and the Rise of Correlation" (PDF). Sunstone: 21. Retrieved September 5, 2016.