George A. Smith
Encyclopedia
George Albert Smith (commonly known as George A. Smith to distinguish him from his grandson
of the same name) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement
and served in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and as a member of the church's First Presidency
.
, St. Lawrence County
, New York
, the son of John Smith
and Clarissa Lyman, and a nephew of Joseph Smith, Sr.
In September 1832 at the age of fifteen, George A. Smith was baptized into the new Church founded by his cousin Joseph Smith, Jr. The following year, John Smith and his family moved to Kirtland
, Ohio
, the headquarters of the Church. There Smith met his cousin, Joseph Smith, Jr. for the first time. In 1838, he moved with his parents and a large body of church members to the state of Missouri
.
, was intended to bring aid to suffering members of the church in Missouri. He served as a missionary
to the eastern states, traveling and preaching during the summers of 1835, 1836, and 1837, while attending school during each winter.
Smith was ordained a Seventy in the priesthood on March 1, 1835 by Joseph Smith, Jr. On April 26, 1839, at the age of 21, George A. Smith was ordained an Apostle and he became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
of the Church. Future President of the Church Wilford Woodruff
was also ordained as an apostle on the same day. The two men replaced former Apostles Thomas B. Marsh
, who had apostatized, and Orson Hyde
, who had been disfellowshipped and removed from his position.
After Joseph Smith, Jr.'s death and the relocation of the LDS Church to Utah
, Smith led a company of 118 volunteers and about 30 families to establish a colony near the Little Salt Lake in Iron County. They arrived at Centre Creek, 265 miles from Salt Lake City, on January 13, 1851. Under direction from the General Assembly of Deseret, the group organized the political entity of Iron County and elected Smith as chief justice. During the winter of 1850-51, the settlers constructed a fort enclosing homes, a meeting house to serve for meetings, a school, and a watch tower. They named their community Parowan
. Smith taught school during the first winter. He later served as a member of Utah's territorial
legislature.
In 1868, Smith was called to replace Heber C. Kimball
as First Counselor in the First Presidency
under Church President Brigham Young
. Smith served in this position until his death on September 1, 1875. He was interred at the Salt Lake City Cemetery. Smith's first wife, Bathsheba W. Smith
served as general president of the LDS Relief Society
from 1901 to 1910. A son, John Henry Smith
, also served as an Apostle and member of the First Presidency. George A. Smith's grandson and namesake, George Albert Smith
, also became an Apostle and later served as the eighth President of the Church
Smith was the eighth official Church Historian of the LDS Church between 1854 and 1871.
into Utah Territory, Smith left Salt Lake City to visit southern Utah communities. Scholars have asserted that Smith's tour, speeches, and personal actions contributed to the fear and tension in these communities, and influenced the decision to attack and destroy the Baker-Fancher emigrant train near Mountain Meadows, Utah. This event was later known as the Mountain Meadows massacre
.
Leaving on August 3, 1857, Smith arrived at Parowan
on August 8, 1857, and on August 15, 1857, he set off on a tour of the local military district manned by the Utah militia known as the Nauvoo Legion, led by Stake President-Colonel W. H. Dame. Although Smith's rank in the Legion was simply a private (see George A. Smith [July 4, 1852], JD 1:79; ), one Parowan resident understood that part of the purpose of Apostle Smith's trip was represent the church leadership and to organize the regiment, inspect the troops, and provide instructions (see ). During the tour, Smith gave military speeches and counseled Mormons that they should prepare to "...touch fire to their homes, and hide themselves in the mountains, and to defend their country to the very last extremity." Smith instructed church members to stockpile grain, and not to sell it to emigrants or use it for animal feed.
In addition to Parowan, Smith's tour included visits to Cedar City
and Santa Clara. The group stopped at Mountain Meadows to eat dinner on August 20 (see ) with a group of resident missionaries(see ). Smith addressed a group of Indians in Santa Clara, counseling them that "the Americans" were approaching with a large army, and were a threat to the Indians as well as the Mormons. Riding in a wagon afterwards, John D. Lee
said he warned Smith that the Indians would likely attack emigrant trains, and that Mormons were anxious to avenge the blood of the prophets, and according to Lee, Smith seemed pleased, and said "he had had a long talk with Major Haight
on the same subject".
Isaac C. Haight, LDS stake president of Cedar City
, and second in military command under Dame, met with Smith again on August 21. Haight told Smith he had heard reports that 600 troops were already approaching Cedar City from the East, and that if the rumors were true, Haight would have to act without waiting for instructions from Salt Lake City. Smith agreed, and "admired his grit". Smith later said he was uncomfortable, perhaps "on account of my extreme timidity", because some of the militia members were eager that "their enemies might come and give them a chance to fight and take vengeance for the cruelties that had been inflicted upon us in the States", such as the Haun's Mill massacre
where 18 Mormons were killed in 1838 in a skirmish with the Missouri Militia during the Mormon War .
On the way back to Salt Lake City, Smith was accompanied by a party including Jacob Hamblin
of Santa Clara
, a newly appointed Mormon missionary to the Natives in the region who also ran a federally funded "Indian farm" next to Mountain Meadows. Also traveling north with the Smith party were several Native chiefs of the southern Utah Territory
On August 25, 1857, Smith's group camped next to the Fancher-Baker party, headed the opposite direction, at Corn Creek (now Kanosh
). Smith later said he had no knowledge of the Baker-Fancher party prior to meeting them on the trail. When the Baker-Fancher party inquired about places to stop for water and grazing, Hamblin directed them to Mountain Meadows, near the "Indian farm" there, a regular stopover on the Old Spanish Trail
.
leaders in the nineteenth century, George A. Smith practiced plural marriage
. Known for his somewhat bombastic speaking style, Smith once said: We breathe the free air, we have the best looking men and handsomest women, and if they (Non-Mormons) envy us our position, well they may, for they are a poor, narrow-minded, pinch-backed race of men, who chain themselves down to the law of monogamy, and live all their days under the dominion of one wife. They ought to be ashamed of such conduct, and the still fouler channel which flows from their practices; and it is not to be wondered at that they should envy those who so much better understand the social relations. (Journal of Discourses, vol. 3, p. 291)
In addition to his first wife Bathsheba, Smith married Lucy Smith, Nancy Clement, Sarah Ann Libby, Hannah Maria Libby, Zilpha Stark and Susan E. West. His wives bore him twenty children, eleven of whom were still living when Smith died.
to wipe his brow while preaching. After seeing him remove his hair, glasses, and false teeth, Paiute
s gave him the name Non-choko-wicher, or "takes himself apart".
. He was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery
.
George Albert Smith
George Albert Smith, Sr. was the eighth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .-Early life:...
of the same name) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
and served in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and as a member of the church's First Presidency
First Presidency (LDS Church)
The First Presidency is the presiding or governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It is composed of the President of the Church and his counselors. The First Presidency currently consists of President Thomas S. Monson and his two counselors, Henry B...
.
Childhood
Smith was born in PotsdamPotsdam (town), New York
Potsdam is a town located in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 15,957 at the 2000 census. The ZIP code is 13676. The town is named after the city of Potsdam in Germany...
, St. Lawrence County
St. Lawrence County, New York
St. Lawrence County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 111,944. The county seat is Canton. The county is named for the Saint Lawrence River, which in turn was named for the Catholic saint on whose Feast day the river was discovered by...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, the son of John Smith
John Smith (1781-1854)
John Smith , known as Uncle John, was an early leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ....
and Clarissa Lyman, and a nephew of Joseph Smith, Sr.
Joseph Smith, Sr.
Joseph Smith, Sr. was the father of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Joseph Sr. was also one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, which Mormons believe was translated by Joseph Jr. from the Golden Plates. In 1833 Joseph Sr...
In September 1832 at the age of fifteen, George A. Smith was baptized into the new Church founded by his cousin Joseph Smith, Jr. The following year, John Smith and his family moved to Kirtland
Kirtland, Ohio
Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, USA. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census. Kirtland is famous for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Origins of Kirtland:...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, the headquarters of the Church. There Smith met his cousin, Joseph Smith, Jr. for the first time. In 1838, he moved with his parents and a large body of church members to the state of Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
.
Church service
In the spring of 1834, the sixteen-year-old George A. Smith accompanied a group Latter Day Saints on a 2000-mile march to Missouri and back to Ohio. This trip, known as Zion's CampZion's Camp
Zion's Camp was a paramilitary expedition of Latter Day Saints, led by Joseph Smith, Jr., from Kirtland, Ohio to Clay County, Missouri during May and June 1834 in an unsuccessful attempt to regain land from which the Saints had been expelled by non-Mormon settlers...
, was intended to bring aid to suffering members of the church in Missouri. He served as a missionary
Mormon missionary
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...
to the eastern states, traveling and preaching during the summers of 1835, 1836, and 1837, while attending school during each winter.
Smith was ordained a Seventy in the priesthood on March 1, 1835 by Joseph Smith, Jr. On April 26, 1839, at the age of 21, George A. Smith was ordained an Apostle and he became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is one of the governing bodies in the church hierarchy...
of the Church. Future President of the Church Wilford Woodruff
Wilford Woodruff
Wilford Woodruff, Sr. was the fourth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1889 until his death...
was also ordained as an apostle on the same day. The two men replaced former Apostles Thomas B. Marsh
Thomas B. Marsh
Thomas Baldwin Marsh was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He served as the first President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from 1835 to 1839...
, who had apostatized, and Orson Hyde
Orson Hyde
Orson Hyde was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles...
, who had been disfellowshipped and removed from his position.
After Joseph Smith, Jr.'s death and the relocation of the LDS Church to Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, Smith led a company of 118 volunteers and about 30 families to establish a colony near the Little Salt Lake in Iron County. They arrived at Centre Creek, 265 miles from Salt Lake City, on January 13, 1851. Under direction from the General Assembly of Deseret, the group organized the political entity of Iron County and elected Smith as chief justice. During the winter of 1850-51, the settlers constructed a fort enclosing homes, a meeting house to serve for meetings, a school, and a watch tower. They named their community Parowan
Parowan, Utah
Parowan is a city in and the county seat of Iron County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,790 at the 2010 census.Parowan became the first incorporated city in Iron County in 1851. A fort that had been constructed on the east side of Center Creek the previous year was an initial in the...
. Smith taught school during the first winter. He later served as a member of Utah's territorial
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....
legislature.
In 1868, Smith was called to replace Heber C. Kimball
Heber C. Kimball
Heber Chase Kimball was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement. He served as one of the original twelve apostles in the early Latter Day Saint church, and as first counselor to Brigham Young in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his...
as First Counselor in the First Presidency
First Presidency
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency was the highest governing body in the Latter Day Saint church established by Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1832, and is the highest governing body of several modern Latter Day Saint denominations...
under Church President Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
. Smith served in this position until his death on September 1, 1875. He was interred at the Salt Lake City Cemetery. Smith's first wife, Bathsheba W. Smith
Bathsheba W. Smith
Bathsheba Wilson Bigler Smith was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement. She was the fourth general president of the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a matron of the Salt Lake Temple, a member of the Board of Directors of Deseret Hospital, Salt Lake...
served as general president of the LDS Relief Society
Relief Society
The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization and an official auxiliary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, USA and has approximately 6 million members in over 170 countries and territories...
from 1901 to 1910. A son, John Henry Smith
John Henry Smith
John Henry Smith was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
, also served as an Apostle and member of the First Presidency. George A. Smith's grandson and namesake, George Albert Smith
George Albert Smith
George Albert Smith, Sr. was the eighth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .-Early life:...
, also became an Apostle and later served as the eighth President of the Church
Smith was the eighth official Church Historian of the LDS Church between 1854 and 1871.
The Utah War
During the hurried series of actions Brigham Young and LDS Church leaders initiated on learning of the eminent arrival of U.S. troopsUtah War
The Utah War, also known as the Utah Expedition, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between LDS settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the United States government. The confrontation lasted from May 1857 until July 1858...
into Utah Territory, Smith left Salt Lake City to visit southern Utah communities. Scholars have asserted that Smith's tour, speeches, and personal actions contributed to the fear and tension in these communities, and influenced the decision to attack and destroy the Baker-Fancher emigrant train near Mountain Meadows, Utah. This event was later known as the Mountain Meadows massacre
Mountain Meadows massacre
The Mountain Meadows massacre was a series of attacks on the Baker–Fancher emigrant wagon train, at Mountain Meadows in southern Utah. The attacks culminated on September 11, 1857 in the mass slaughter of the emigrant party by the Iron County district of the Utah Territorial Militia and some local...
.
Leaving on August 3, 1857, Smith arrived at Parowan
Parowan, Utah
Parowan is a city in and the county seat of Iron County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,790 at the 2010 census.Parowan became the first incorporated city in Iron County in 1851. A fort that had been constructed on the east side of Center Creek the previous year was an initial in the...
on August 8, 1857, and on August 15, 1857, he set off on a tour of the local military district manned by the Utah militia known as the Nauvoo Legion, led by Stake President-Colonel W. H. Dame. Although Smith's rank in the Legion was simply a private (see George A. Smith [July 4, 1852], JD 1:79; ), one Parowan resident understood that part of the purpose of Apostle Smith's trip was represent the church leadership and to organize the regiment, inspect the troops, and provide instructions (see ). During the tour, Smith gave military speeches and counseled Mormons that they should prepare to "...touch fire to their homes, and hide themselves in the mountains, and to defend their country to the very last extremity." Smith instructed church members to stockpile grain, and not to sell it to emigrants or use it for animal feed.
In addition to Parowan, Smith's tour included visits to Cedar City
Cedar City, Utah
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,527 people, 6,486 households, and 4,682 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,021.8 people per square mile . There were 7,109 housing units at an average density of 353.9 per square mile...
and Santa Clara. The group stopped at Mountain Meadows to eat dinner on August 20 (see ) with a group of resident missionaries(see ). Smith addressed a group of Indians in Santa Clara, counseling them that "the Americans" were approaching with a large army, and were a threat to the Indians as well as the Mormons. Riding in a wagon afterwards, John D. Lee
John D. Lee
John Doyle Lee was a prominent early Latter-day Saint who was executed for his role in the Mountain Meadows massacre.-Early Mormon leader:...
said he warned Smith that the Indians would likely attack emigrant trains, and that Mormons were anxious to avenge the blood of the prophets, and according to Lee, Smith seemed pleased, and said "he had had a long talk with Major Haight
Isaac C. Haight
Isaac Chauncey Haight , an early convert to Mormonism, was a colonist of the American West remembered as a major conspirator of the Mountain Meadows massacre....
on the same subject".
Isaac C. Haight, LDS stake president of Cedar City
Cedar City, Utah
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,527 people, 6,486 households, and 4,682 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,021.8 people per square mile . There were 7,109 housing units at an average density of 353.9 per square mile...
, and second in military command under Dame, met with Smith again on August 21. Haight told Smith he had heard reports that 600 troops were already approaching Cedar City from the East, and that if the rumors were true, Haight would have to act without waiting for instructions from Salt Lake City. Smith agreed, and "admired his grit". Smith later said he was uncomfortable, perhaps "on account of my extreme timidity", because some of the militia members were eager that "their enemies might come and give them a chance to fight and take vengeance for the cruelties that had been inflicted upon us in the States", such as the Haun's Mill massacre
Haun's Mill massacre
The Haun's Mill massacre was an event in the history of the Latter Day Saint movement. It occurred on October 30, 1838 when a mob/militia unit from Livingston County attacked a Mormon settlement in eastern Caldwell County, Missouri, United States, after the Battle of Crooked River...
where 18 Mormons were killed in 1838 in a skirmish with the Missouri Militia during the Mormon War .
On the way back to Salt Lake City, Smith was accompanied by a party including Jacob Hamblin
Jacob Hamblin
Jacob Vernon Hamblin was a Western pioneer, Mormon missionary, and diplomat to various Native American Tribes of the Southwest and Great Basin. During his life, he helped settle large areas of southern Utah and northern Arizona where he was seen as an honest broker between Mormon settlers and the...
of Santa Clara
Santa Clara, Utah
Santa Clara is a city in Washington County, Utah, United States. The population was 4,630 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.9 square miles , of which, 4.9 square miles of it is land and 0.04 square miles of it...
, a newly appointed Mormon missionary to the Natives in the region who also ran a federally funded "Indian farm" next to Mountain Meadows. Also traveling north with the Smith party were several Native chiefs of the southern Utah Territory
On August 25, 1857, Smith's group camped next to the Fancher-Baker party, headed the opposite direction, at Corn Creek (now Kanosh
Kanosh, Utah
Kanosh is a town in Millard County, Utah, United States. The population was 485 at the 2000 census.- Geography :Kanosh is located at ....
). Smith later said he had no knowledge of the Baker-Fancher party prior to meeting them on the trail. When the Baker-Fancher party inquired about places to stop for water and grazing, Hamblin directed them to Mountain Meadows, near the "Indian farm" there, a regular stopover on the Old Spanish Trail
Old Spanish Trail (trade route)
The Old Spanish Trail is a historical trade route which connected the northern New Mexico settlements near or in Santa Fe, New Mexico with that of Los Angeles, California and southern California. Approximately long, it ran through areas of high mountains, arid deserts, and deep canyons. It is...
.
Plural marriage
Like many MormonMormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
leaders in the nineteenth century, George A. Smith practiced plural marriage
Plural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
. Known for his somewhat bombastic speaking style, Smith once said: We breathe the free air, we have the best looking men and handsomest women, and if they (Non-Mormons) envy us our position, well they may, for they are a poor, narrow-minded, pinch-backed race of men, who chain themselves down to the law of monogamy, and live all their days under the dominion of one wife. They ought to be ashamed of such conduct, and the still fouler channel which flows from their practices; and it is not to be wondered at that they should envy those who so much better understand the social relations. (Journal of Discourses, vol. 3, p. 291)
In addition to his first wife Bathsheba, Smith married Lucy Smith, Nancy Clement, Sarah Ann Libby, Hannah Maria Libby, Zilpha Stark and Susan E. West. His wives bore him twenty children, eleven of whom were still living when Smith died.
Physical characteristics
Smith was a portly man, at 5 in 10 in (1.78 m) and at least 250 pounds (113.4 kg). He was humorously known for sometimes removing his wigWig
A wig is a head of hair made from horsehair, human hair, wool, feathers, yak hair, buffalo hair, or synthetic materials which is worn on the head for fashion or various other aesthetic and stylistic reasons, including cultural and religious observance. The word wig is short for periwig and first...
to wipe his brow while preaching. After seeing him remove his hair, glasses, and false teeth, Paiute
Paiute
Paiute refers to three closely related groups of Native Americans — the Northern Paiute of California, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon; the Owens Valley Paiute of California and Nevada; and the Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California and Nevada, and Utah.-Origin of name:The origin of...
s gave him the name Non-choko-wicher, or "takes himself apart".
Death
Smith died at Salt Lake City, Utah TerritoryUtah 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....
. He was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery
Salt Lake City Cemetery
thumb|The northern section of the cemetery at night, looking towards Salt Lake CityThe Salt Lake City Cemetery is in The Avenues neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah. Approximately 120,000 persons are buried in the cemetery. Many religious leaders and politicians, particularly many leaders of The...
.