Wallace Bunnell Anthony Smith (born July 29, 1929) is an American who was Prophet-President of the

Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...

(RLDS) (now

Community of Christ The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...

), from April 5, 1978, through April 15, 1996. The son of

W. Wallace Smith William Wallace Smith ( – ) was a grandson of Joseph Smith Jr. and Prophet-President of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now known as Community of Christ), from October 6, 1958, to April 5, 1978, when he retire ...

, he was designated as his father’s successor in 1976 and ordained church president in 1978, when his father retired to

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

status. Wallace B. Smith is a great-grandson 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, h ...

(founder of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

), and was a practicing

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a med ...

in the

Independence, Missouri Independence is the fifth-largest city in Missouri and the county seat of Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson County. Independence is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro ...

, area before accepting ordination to RLDS leadership. Smith's presidency was notable for authorizing construction of the church’s

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

in Independence, Missouri, with construction occurring from 1990 to 1994. His presidency was also noted for promoting a church conference vote on April 5, 1984, which approved ordination of females to priesthood offices: The first ordination took place on November 17, 1985. Smith is also credited with being one of the first church leaders to formally propose a name-change for the church, at a Joint Council retreat in 1994. At the subsequent World Conference in 1996, the proposed name change (to "Community of Christ" from "Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints") was not approved by a majority vote at that time, but conference approval did take place during the April 2000 World Conference, four years after Smith's retirement as the church's prophet-president. On September 19, 1995, Smith announced he was retiring as

prophet, seer and revelator Prophet, seer, and revelator is an ecclesiastical title used in the Latter Day Saint movement. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is the largest denomination of the movement, and it currently applies the terms to the membe ...

of the church, and designated W. Grant McMurray as his successor. Smith formally retired on April 15, 1996, at which time his successor McMurray was ordained in a ceremony at the

RLDS Auditorium The Auditorium (formerly the RLDS Auditorium) is a house of worship and office building located on the greater Temple Lot in Independence, Missouri. The Auditorium is part of the headquarters complex of Community of Christ which also includes the ...

. Smith was designated "President Emeritus," as his father likewise had been designated in 1978 upon ordination of his son. Smith still holds the position to this day.

References

External links

Community of Christ's online history of Wallace B. Smith

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Wallace B. 1929 births American Latter Day Saints American leaders of the Community of Christ Doctrine and Covenants people Living people People from Lamoni, Iowa Prophet-Presidents of the Community of Christ Religious leaders from Iowa Smith family (Latter Day Saints)

References

Further reading

External links