Menlo F. Smith is a prominent St. Louis

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

 businessman. He has also been a leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) both in St. Louis and in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. He is also a benefactor of Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...

 and the founder of Enterprise Mentors International

Enterprise Mentors International

Enterprise Mentors International is a 501, nonprofit organization based in Draper, Utah, that uses microenterprise, mentoring, and business training to alleviate poverty worldwide. Mentors International was officially founded in 1990 by a group of businessmen with extensive international business...

.

Smith was born in St. David, Arizona

St. David, Arizona

St. David is a census-designated place in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,744 at the 2000 census.-History:...

. He graduated from the University of Utah

University of Utah

The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...

. He is the founder of the Sunmark Companies.

During the 1980s, Smith served as president

Mission president

Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . A mission president presides over a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission...

 of the LDS Church's Philippines Baguio Mission

Mission (LDS Church)

A mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a geographical administrative area to which church missionaries are assigned. Almost all areas of the world are within the boundaries of an LDS Church mission, whether or not Mormon missionaries live or proselytize in the area...

. There he saw many people living in poverty and suffering from having to lend money at rates at times as high as 300%. After ending his service as mission president he formed Enterprise Mentors International as a micro-credit organization. Besides helping people in the Philippines, it also has helped people start small businesses in El Salvador

El Salvador

El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...

 and Guatemala

Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

.

From 1997 to 2000 Smith was the first president

Temple President

Temple president is a priesthood leadership position in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A temple president's primary responsibility is to supervise the affairs of an LDS temple in both an administrative and spiritual capacity....

 of the LDS Church's St. Louis Missouri Temple

St. Louis Missouri Temple

The St. Louis Missouri Temple is the 50th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is located in Town and Country, Missouri, a St. Louis suburb...

. He has also been a regional representative of the Twelve

Regional representative of the Twelve

Regional representative of the Twelve, commonly shorted to regional representative or regional rep, was a priesthood calling in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1968 and 1995...

 and a bishop in the LDS Church.

Smith serves as member of the board of directors of the Mercatus Center

Mercatus Center

The Mercatus Center at George Mason University in the United States is a non-profit market-oriented research, education, and outreach think tank affiliated with the Koch family. It works with policy experts, lobbyists, and government officials to connect academic learning and real-world practice...

 of George Mason University

George Mason University

George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...

.

Smith is also a donor to BYU and recognized as one of the founders of the Center for Entrepreneurship of the Marriot School of Management.