• Born 1876 Salt Lake City, Utah
• Baptized as a child; Aaronic Priesthood as a youth; Melchizedek Priesthood as a young man
• Married Emily Louie Shurtliff 1898; two children
• Mission to Britain 1899-1901
• Married Ethel Georgina Reynolds 1908; nine children
• Ordained Apostle and called to the Quorum of the Twelve 1910
• Married Jessie Ella Evans 1938; no children
• Acting President of the Twelve 1950-1951
• President of the Twelve 1951-1970
• Counselor in First Presidency 1965-1970
• Tenth President of the Church 1970-1972
• Died 1972 Salt Lake City, Utah

    Joseph Fielding Smith was the tenth President of the Church. He was born July 19, 1876, in Salt Lake City, the firstborn son of Joseph F. Smith, an apostle who would become the sixth President of the Church, and Julina Lambson,. Perhaps no General Authority has ever come from a more distinguished lineage, with a father, grandfather, and great grandfather all of whom held the Keys of the Presidency.

    He was called Joseph Fielding to distinguish him from his father who was more generally called Joseph F. He was an inveterate student and scholar, reading and studying insatiably. As a result of this he became known as perhaps the most learned theologian and historian in the Church. One can only imagine hearing a Gospel discussion between Joseph Fielding Smith, James E. Talmadge, John A. Widtsoe, and Charles A. Callis.

    Young Joseph was married on April 26, 1898 to Emily Louie Shurtliff. The couple had two children before Emily's death March 28, 1908. Perhaps concerned about his young children's need for a mother, he remarried within a year of wife's death, this time wedding Ethel Georgina Reynolds on November 2, 1908. Ethel bore him nine children. She died August 26, 1937.

    Joseph Fielding was ordained an Apostle in 1910 and immediately became the object of ridicule by the Salt Lake Tribune which editorialized that his calling was because of family connections. The criticism, of course... typical of the Trtb, ignored the monumental qualifications and intellect he brought to the calling.

    During his apostolic tenure, amid many responsibilities and duties, Joseph Fielding Smith was best known, and is best remembered, as a theologian and gospel scholar. President Heber J. Grant called him "the best posted man on the scriptures of the General Authorities of the Church that we have" (Letter to Joseph Fielding Smith, Dec. 31, 1938, HDC). He published more books and articles than any other man who became President of the Church, though it was never his main intent to become an author. Many of his writings were discourses, answers to questions posed to him, instructions for Church leaders, and efforts to clarify common uncertainties. He was a prolific author with many of his works becoming classics in Church literature while others remain a bit too lofty for the popular market.

    After the death of his second wife, Elder Smith married a third time, this time wedding Jessie Ella Evans on April 12, 1938. Jessie bore him no children.

    Elder Smith worked in the Church Historian's Office and later as the Church Historian for many years both before and after his call as a General Authority.

    Joseph Fielding Smith became the tenth President of the Church on January 23, 1970, following the death of President David O. McKay. His two-and-one-half-year tenure was marked by steady missionary growth; the dedication of the Ogden and Provo temples; some significant organizational restructuring, including reorganizations in the Church Sunday School system and the Church Department of Social Services; and a revamping of portions of the Church internal communication systems, which led to the consolidation of all general Church magazines into three.

    He died July 2, 1972, in Salt Lake City.

You will note that some are available only as text while others are available only in the MP3 Audio format.

Talks marked with an asterisk (*) are not (to my knowledge) available anywhere else on the web. As a service, they have been copied onto this web site.

The Sin of Criticizing * Note: This is the first address delivered by Elder Joseph Fielding Smith in the General Conference in which he was called as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ and sustained to the Council of the Twelve. In it, Elder Smith excoriates those who criticize the Lord's Annointed. Given the criticism of nepotism leveled by the Salt Lake Tribune at his calling, one wonders if this was sending return fire across their bow, given in his own defense and/or that of his father, Joseph F. Smith, then the President of The Church.	General Conference 7 October 1910
The Whole World Groaneth * Note: Elder Smith delivered this address just two days after President Woodrow Wilson approved and signed The Congressional Declaration of War which propelled the United States into World War I.	General Conference 8 April 1917
Changes in Life Must Come * Note: The occasion was the 89th Annual General Conference, held in June this year because the world-wide influenza epidemic, which killed millions, was rampaging through Utah in April. Joseph Fielding Smith's father, President Joseph F. Smith had died in November of the preceding year and the Solemn Assembly had just sustained his successor, President Heber J. Grant. Elder Smith was overcome by the emotions of the day and demurred at speaking on the first day of Conference, stating only the few words given here as the "First Address." On the Second day of conference, he delivered the second and longer address. By this time, he was sixth in seniority in the Twelve, ahead of such illuminaries as James E. Talmage.	General Conference 1 June 1919
Reaffirmation of Faith * Note: This address was delivered to the 100th Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This Conference celebrated the 100th anniversary of the restoration of the Church to the earth. It was delivered in the Great Mormon Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah.	General Conference 8 April 1930
An Opportunity of Salvation * Note: Although this General Conference talk was Elder Joseph Fielding Smith's first since the bombing of Pearl Harbor and America's entry into World War II, he does not mention the earthly conflict, but rather focuses on the Plan of Salvation with emphases on family relationships, Temple work, and the Three Degrees of Glory.	General Conference April 1942
The Law of Divine Witnesses	BYU Devotional, 18 October 1949	MP3
Divine Witnesses	BYU Devotional, 20 June 1951	MP3
Leadership Week: Fulfilment of Prophecy	BYU Devotional, 16 June 1952	MP3
The Origin of Man	BYU Devotional, 22 April 1953	MP3
The Immutable Laws of God	BYU Devotional, 15 June 1953	MP3
What Does It Mean to Know the Gospel?	BYU Devotional, 15 June 1953	MP3
The Divine Law of Witnesses	BYU Devotional, 8 December 1953	MP3
The Knowledge That Saves	BYU Devotional, 23 June 1954	MP3
The Atonement of Jesus Christ	BYU Devotional, 25 January 1955	MP3
The Purpose of Mortal Life	BYU Devotional, 1 May 1956	MP3
A Knowledge of Countries and of Kingdoms	BYU Devotional, 18 June 1956	MP3
How Do We Teach Reverence?	BYU Devotional, 18 June 1956	MP3
For Ye Are Bought with a Price	BYU Devotional, 14 May 1957	MP3
Summerhays Planetarium Dedication	BYU Address, 7 March 1958	MP3
Ye Are the Temple of God	BYU Devotional, 6 May 1958	MP3
The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles	BYU Devotional, 18 June 1958	MP3
Seeking Salvation in the Kingdom of God	BYU Devotional, 22 January 1961	MP3
We Are Here to Be Tried, Tested, Proved	BYU Devotional, 25 October 1961	MP3
The Gospel in Asia In this talk President Smith addresses the issue of the blessings of Abraham and the Asian people.	BYU Devotional, 15 November 1962	MP3
Essentials of Faith	BYU Devotional, 24 June 1964	MP3
We Are Here to Be Tried Tested Proved	BYU Devotional, 21 October 1965	MP3
My Missionary Experiences	BYU Devotional, 29 March 1966	MP3
Predicted Judgments	BYU Devotional, 21 March 1967	MP3
Adam’s Role in Bringing Us Mortality	General Conference, October 1967
The Blessings of Eternal Glory	BYU Devotional, 23 April 1968	MP3
Reins of Responsibility and Leadership * Note: Presented here are actually two talks. President David O. McKay had died and President Smith had been called as the President of the Church. The first talk consists of Introductory Remarks and was the first address of the Sunday Morning Session of the Conference in which he was sustained. The second talk, "Reins of Responsibility and Leadership" was the concluding talk of the same session.	General Conference 6 April 1970
Message from the First Presidency Note: This is the first "Message from the First Presidency" from the first issue of the then new Church Magazine, The Ensign.	Ensign, January 1971
Sealing Power and Salvation	BYU Devotional, 12 January 1971	MP3
Message from the First Presidency: Salvation Universal	Ensign, February 1971
The Most Important Knowledge	Ensign, May 1971
Our Responsibilities As Priesthood Holders	Ensign, June 1971
Out of the Darkness	Ensign, June 1971
A Witness and a Blessing	Ensign, June 1971
The First Prophet of the Last Dispensation	Ensign, August 1971
To the Saints in Great Britain	Ensign, September 1971
The Plan of Salvation	Ensign, November 1971
Blessings of the Priesthood	Ensign, December 1971
Let the Spirit of Oneness Prevail	Ensign, December 1971
“I Know That My Redeemer Liveth”	Ensign, December 1971
The Coming of Elijah	Ensign, January 1972
Justice for the Dead	Ensign, March 1972
Devotional	BYU Devotional, 18 April 1972	MP3
“Seek Ye Earnestly the Best Gifts”	Ensign, June 1972
Eternal Keys and the Right to Preside	Ensign, July 1972
Counsel to the Saints and to the World	Ensign, July 1972
A Prophet’s Blessing Note: This is the last General Conference address delivered by President Smith prior to his death.	Ensign, July 1972