Joseph Fielding Smith

Who was Joseph Fielding Smith?

Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr. was the tenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1970 until his death in 1972. He was the son of Joseph F. Smith, who was the sixth president of the LDS Church, and grandson of Hyrum Smith, brother of LDS Church founder Joseph Smith.

Smith was named to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1910, when his father was the church's president. When he became president of the LDS Church, he was the oldest person to attain that office, when appointed. He was the oldest person to hold that office until Gordon B. Hinckley reached Smith's equivalent age in June 2006. Smith's tenure as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1951 to 1970 is the third-longest in church history; he served in that capacity during the entire presidency of David O. McKay.

Smith spent some of his years among the Twelve Apostles as the Church Historian and Recorder. He was a religious scholar and a prolific writer. Many of his works are used as references for church members.