John Henry Smith

John Henry Smith
Second Counselor in the First Presidency
April 7, 1910 – October 13, 1911
Called by	Joseph F. Smith
Predecessor	Anthon H. Lund
Successor	Charles W. Penrose
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
October 27, 1880 – April 7, 1910
Called by	John Taylor
Predecessor	Francis M. Lyman
Successor	George Teasdale
End reason	Called as Second Counselor in the First Presidency
LDS Church Apostle
October 27, 1880 – October 13, 1911
Called by	John Taylor
Reason	Reorganization of First Presidency[1]
Reorganization at end of term	Charles W. Penrose added to First Presidency; James E. Talmage ordained
Personal details
Born	John Henry Smith September 18, 1848 Carbunca, Iowa, United States
Died	October 13, 1911 (aged 63) Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Cause of death	Pulmonary hemorrhage
Resting place	Salt Lake City Cemetery 40°46′37″N 111°51′29″W / 40.777°N 111.858°W
Spouse(s)	Sarah Farr Josephine G. Smith
Children	19
Parents	George A. Smith Sarah Ann Libby
Signature

John Henry Smith (September 18, 1848 – October 13, 1911) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was a prominent politician in Utah and played an important role in the transition from Utah as a territory to a state of the United States.

LDS Church service

In 1874 and 1875, Smith served as a missionary in Europe. He spent most of this mission in England, particularly in and around the city of Birmingham.

From 1875 to 1880, Smith was the bishop of the Salt Lake 17th Ward.

In October 1880, LDS Church president John Taylor called Smith to be a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. On October 27 of that year, he was ordained an apostle by Wilford Woodruff, who at that time was the quorum president. Smith served in that capacity until the death of First Presidency member John R. Winder in 1910; he was then asked by church president Joseph F. Smith to take Winder's place as a member of the First Presidency. John Henry Smith served in this capacity until his death the next year.

Political contributions

Smith was a prominent Republican in Utah politics. In 1882, he was elected a member of the Utah Territorial Legislature. Smith was unanimously elected by the 107 delegates to be the Chair of the Utah Constitutional Convention that was held between March 4 and May 8, 1895. The result of the Convention was a draft Constitution for the proposed State of Utah, which was accepted by the United States Congress in 1896 when Utah officially became a state of the United States.

Marriage and family

Born in Carbunca, Iowa, Smith was the son of Sarah Ann Libby and LDS Church apostle and First Presidency member, George A. Smith.

Smith practiced plural marriage and was the father of 19 children. One of his sons was George Albert Smith, who became an LDS apostle and served as the church's 8th president. Smith and George Albert Smith are the only father and son pair to have been members of the Quorum of the Twelve at the same time, serving together from 1903 to 1910. Smith was also the father of Nicholas G. Smith.

Smith's first wife, Sarah Farr, was the daughter of Lorin Farr, who was mayor of Ogden, Utah. Smith's second wife, Josephine Groesbeck, spent 1888 until 1896 in exile in Manassa, Colorado, to avoid being called as a witness in a criminal unlawful cohabitation trial against Smith.^[2]

Death

Smith died of a pulmonary hemorrhage in Salt Lake City^[3] and was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery.

• 

  Monument to four generations of a branch of the Smith family, prominent in LDS history.

• 

  Back of monument.

• 

  Headstone of John H. Smith.

Notes

1. Smith and Francis M. Lyman were ordained apostles on the same date. After their ordinations, there were still only 11 members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
2. article on polygamy exiles in Manassa
3. State of Utah Death Certificate.

References

• Andrew Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, vol. 1, p. 141.
• White, Jean Bickmore, ed. (1990), Church, State, and Politics: The Diaries of John Henry Smith, Signature Books, ISBN 0-941214-85-0