Brigham Roland Smoot (June 15, 1869 – December 16, 1946) was a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) and an executive of the

Utah-Idaho Sugar Company The Utah-Idaho Sugar Company was a large sugar beet processing company based in Utah. It was owned and controlled by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and its leaders. It was notable for developing a valuable cash crop a ...

. He was one of the two first Mormon missionaries to preach in

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

and served as president of the LDS Church's Tongan

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

from July 1891 to October 1892. Smoot was the son of Abraham O. Smoot and the brother of

Reed Smoot Reed Smoot (January 10, 1862February 9, 1941) was an American politician, businessman, and apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). First elected by the Utah State Legislature to the U.S. Senate in 1902, he serv ...

Early life and family

Brigham Smoot was born on June 15, 1869, in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

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, the 45th state. ...

, to Abraham O. Smoot and Anne K. Mauritsen, his fifth of six plural wives. Brigham's brother

went on to be a businessman and an

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

in the LDS Church before being elected by the state legislature as

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from Utah in 1903. Smoot was baptized into the LDS Church on June 17, 1877. His family moved to the frontier town of Provo, Utah Territory, when his father was called by

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...

to establish a church stake there. Brigham Smoot graduated from

Brigham Young Academy Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

in Provo, a school for which his father had been the major financial backer.

Missionary work

In June 1889, Brigham Smoot was sent at the age of 20 on a mission for the LDS Church to

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

. Smoot sailed there and was assigned as a companion to Edward J. Wood. During his second day in Samoa, Smoot joined Wood and the other missionaries for a bath in the ocean. While wading in the ocean, Smoot slipped into a deep hole in the reef. After being dead for several minutes, Smoot was revived by Butler by what they described as a priesthood blessing. Sent to open a mission in July 1891, Smoot and Alva J. Butler became the first LDS missionaries in

. On July 16, 1891, they met with King

George Tupou I George Tupou I (4 December 1797 – 18 February 1893), originally known as Tāufaʻāhau I, was the first king of modern Tonga. He adopted the name Siaosi (originally Jiaoji), the Tongan equivalent of ''George'', after King George III of the U ...

, who granted them permission to proselyte in Tonga. The first proselyting session in Tonga was held by Smoot and Butler on August 1, 1881. On November 22, 1881 Smoot and Butler leased the first piece of land for the LDS Church. On January 24, 1892 the first official LDS church meeting was conducted by Smoot and Butler in the mission home. Smoot dedicated the mission home on May 15, 1892. He later became the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the Tongan

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

of the LDS Church from July 14, 1891 to October 24, 1892. He returned to Utah in December 1892.

Career

After returning from his mission, Brigham Smoot graduated with a degree in chemical engineering from

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epis ...

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...

, in 1898. After graduation, Smoot returned to Utah and worked for the mining industry in

Eureka Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...

. On June 20, 1900, he married Margaret Annella Nesbit in Provo, Utah. Roland Nesbit Smoot was born on May 7, 1901. A year later, he had a daughter named Annella Kerstina Smoot. Beginning in 1901, he worked as a supervisor for the

, which processed sugar cane. Smoot was eventually promoted to general superintendent. After he retired in 1937, he moved to

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

. He lived there until his death on December 16, 1946.

Footnotes

References

External links

Brigham Smoot family papers
Vault MSS 3315, L. Tom Perry Special Collections,

Harold B. Lee Library The Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is the main academic library of Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. The library started as a small collection of books in the president's office in 1876 before moving in 1891. The Heber J. Gr ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

Brigham Smoot journals and letter
Vault MSS 3315 Series 1, L. Tom Perry Special Collections,

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smoot, Brigham 1869 births 1946 deaths 19th-century Mormon missionaries American chemical engineers American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American Mormon missionaries in Samoa American Mormon missionaries in Tonga Brigham Young Academy alumni Lehigh University alumni Mission presidents (LDS Church) People from Provo, Utah Smoot–Rowlett family Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saints from Pennsylvania Latter Day Saints from California Harold B. Lee Library-related 19th century articles