John Smith (July 16, 1781 – May 23, 1854), known as Uncle John, was an early leader of

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). Smith was the younger brother of

Joseph Smith Sr. Joseph Smith Sr. (July 12, 1771 – September 14, 1840) 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 ...

, uncle of

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

and

Hyrum Smith Hyrum Smith (February 9, 1800 – June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the older brother of the movement's founder, J ...

, father of George A. Smith, grandfather of

John Henry Smith John Henry Smith (September 18, 1848 – October 13, 1911) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church), Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency (LDS Church), First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of ...

, and great-grandfather of

George Albert Smith George Albert Smith Sr. (April 4, 1870 – April 4, 1951) was an American religious leader who served as the eighth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Early life Born in Salt Lake City, Utah Territor ...

. He served as a member of the first

presiding high council In the Latter Day Saint movement, there are two presiding high councils, one said to be "standing," and the other "traveling." The traveling high council is generally known as the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. Both councils, at least in theory, presid ...

Kirtland, Ohio Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,937 at the 2020 census. Kirtland is known for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement from 1831 to 1837 and is the site of the movement's first t ...

, as an assistant counselor in the

First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...

under Joseph Smith, and as

presiding patriarch In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Presiding Patriarch (also called Presiding Evangelist, Patriarch over the Church, Patriarch of the Church, or Patriarch to the Church) is a church-wide leadership office within the priesthood. Among the duties ...

under

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 ...

. He was succeeded as presiding patriarch by his great nephew, who was also named John Smith. Smith served as president of the stake in

Lee County, Iowa Lee County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,555. The county seats are Fort Madison and Keokuk. Lee County is part of the Fort Madison–Keokuk, IA- IL- MO Micropolitan Sta ...

, during the Nauvoo period.He is the only person to serve as a stake president after being a member of the First Presidency. He was also the first president of the Salt Lake Stake, the first stake in

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. ...

, and as such was the leader of the Latter-day Saints in Utah in the winter of 1847–48. Smith practiced

plural marriage Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more tha ...

and fathered four children. Smith died at Salt Lake City and was buried at

Salt Lake City Cemetery The Salt Lake City Cemetery is a cemetery in northeastern Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, that is one of the largest city-operated cemeteries in the United States. Description The cemetery is located above 4th Avenue and east of N Street in ...

. File:JohnGeorgeSmithsMonumentFront.jpg, Monument to four generations of a branch of the Smith family, prominent in LDS history File:JohnGeorgeSmithsMonumentBack.jpg, Back of monument File:JohnSmithb1781Grave.jpg, Headstone of John Smith

Notes

Notes

Further reading