Junius Free Wells (June 1, 1854 – April 15, 1930)State of Utah Death Certificate
/ref> was the first head of the

Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association The Young Men (often referred to as Young Men's) is a youth organization and official program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Its purpose is to assist the church's Aaronic priesthood-aged young men in their growt ...

, an organization which is today the

Young Men organization The Young Men (often referred to as Young Men's) is a youth organization and official program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Its purpose is to assist the church's Aaronic priesthood-aged young men in their growt ...

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 nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church). He also was a magazine founder, an author, and the chief organizer of the LDS Church's efforts to build a number of historical monuments in the early 1900s.

Early life and education

Born in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

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 ...

, Wells was the son of LDS Church leader Daniel H. Wells and his fourth wife, Hannah Corrilla Free. He studied at the

University of Deseret The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of D ...

. On 17 June 1879 Wells married Helena Middleton Fobes.

Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association leadership

In 1875, church president

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

organized the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association. The first implementation of the organization was in the Salt Lake 13th

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

, with Junius F. Wells as president. Among his counselors was

Heber J. Grant Heber Jeddy Grant (November 22, 1856 – May 14, 1945) was an American religious leader who served as the seventh president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Grant worked as a bookkeeper and a cashier, then wa ...

. In 1876, Young selected Wells to lead the organization throughout the church. In 1880, John Taylor released Wells from his duties and revised the leadership of the YMMIA, appointing

Wilford Woodruff Wilford Woodruff Sr. (March 1, 1807September 2, 1898) was an American religious leader who served as the fourth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1889 until his death. He ended the public practice of ...

as the general superintendent. After Wells's release, the church's organization for young men would be led by general authorities of the church until 1935.

''The Contributor'' and other works

Wells was also the founding editor and publisher of '' The Contributor'', an independent publication that sought to represent the YMMIA and the church's equivalent organization for young women. Wells continued in these roles until 1892, when the magazine was purchased by the Cannon family and Abraham H. Cannon became the editor and publisher. ''The Contributor'' ceased publication in 1896. Wells was also the author of eleven biographies, including those of John C. Frémont, Thomas L. Kane, Charles C. Rich,

James A. Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...

, and Orson Pratt. He also authored numerous articles and short stories, the majority of which appeared in ''The Contributor''.

Mormon historical monuments

In 1884, Wells visited the birthplace of church founder

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, ...

Sharon, Vermont Sharon is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. It had a population of 1,560 at the 2020 census. Sharon is the birthplace of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and as such is an important historical site for m ...

, and conceived a plan to build a monument to the

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into severa ...

prophet. Under the direction of Joseph F. Smith, Wells oversaw the construction of the

Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial The Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial is a granite obelisk on a hill in the White River Valley near Sharon and South Royalton in the U.S. state of Vermont. It marks the spot where Joseph Smith was born on December 23, 1805. The monument was erec ...

in 1905. The monument was dedicated by Smith on December 23, 1905, the 100th anniversary of Joseph Smith's birth. Wells also was the chief organizer in having a monument erected by the church to the

Three Witnesses The Three Witnesses is the collective name for three men connected with the early Latter Day Saint movement who stated that an angel had shown them the golden plates from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon; they also stated tha ...

Richmond, Missouri Richmond is a city in Ray County, Missouri, and part of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the United States. The population was 6,013 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ray County. History Richmond was platted in 1828. The comm ...

, in 1911. Other works created by Wells included the Hyrum Smith monument created in Salt Lake City in 1918. From 1921 to 1930 Wells was Assistant Church historian. Among other works in this position he arranged for the purchase of the class plate negatives of George Edward Anderson's work.

Junius F. Wells Award

In 2005, the

Mormon Historic Sites Foundation The Ensign Peak Foundation (formerly the Mormon Historic Sites Foundation) is an independent organization that seeks to contribute to the memorialization of sites important to the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The o ...

created the Junius F. Wells Award, to be awarded to individuals who promote the purposes of the Foundation.

Award recipients

*2005:

Gordon B. Hinckley Gordon Bitner Hinckley (June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008) was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from March 1995 until his death in January 200 ...

Junius F. Wells Award
Shaun D. Stahle
"Preserving the past: President Hinckley honored with Junius F. Wells Award"
''

Church News The ''Church News'' (or ''LDS Church News'') is a weekly tabloid-sized supplement to the ''Deseret News'' and the ''MormonTimes'', a Salt Lake City, Utah newspaper owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It is t ...

'', 2005-05-21. *2006: Karl Ricks Anderson and

Richard Lloyd Anderson Richard Lloyd Anderson (9 May 1926 – 12 August 2018) was an American lawyer and theologist of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who was a professor of church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University (BYU). His book ''Inve ...

*2007: M. Russell Ballard *2010: Florence S. JacobsenR. Scott Lloyd
"Life of building: Florence S. Jacobsen honored for preserving Church sites"
''

'', 2010-05-01.

Missionary service

As of 1919 Wells was serving as the chief assistant to

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 ...

in running the British and European missions.Woodger, Mary Jane. ''Against the Odds: The Life of George Albert Smith''. p. 137 He also served another mission to Britain.

Death

Wells died in the Hotel Utah in

Salt Lake City, Utah 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 ...

, at age 75.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Junius F. 1854 births 1930 deaths People of Utah Territory American Latter Day Saint writers American magazine editors Editors of Latter Day Saint publications General Presidents of the Young Men (organization) Official historians of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Writers from Salt Lake City Young people and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints People from Salt Lake City Latter Day Saints from Utah