Israel A. Smith

Who was Israel A. Smith?

Israel Alexander Smith was the fourth son of Joseph Smith III and a grandson of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Israel A. Smith succeeded his brother, Frederick M. Smith, as Prophet–President of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on April 9, 1946.

Smith was born in Plano, Illinois on February 2, 1876, the third son and fourth child of Joseph Smith III and his second wife Bertha Madison. In 1881, he moved with his family to Lamoni, Iowa, the site of a growing colony of Latter Day Saints of the Reorganization. He attended Graceland College from 1898 to 1900 and later received a B.A. in law from Lincoln-Jefferson University of Hammond, Indiana. From 1911 to 1913 he served as a Republican in the Iowa House of Representatives.

Smith's brother, Frederick, became Prophet-President in 1914. Smith became a counselor in the Presiding Bishopric in 1920. In 1922, many believed that Smith would be called to fill a vacancy in the First Presidency, but Frederick instead called Floyd M. McDowell. Frederick also introduced the concept of "Supreme Directional Control," which Israel opposed as contrary to the teachings of their father, Joseph Smith III. In 1925, Israel was released from the Presiding Bishopric.