Photo: Editors: Cathy Tillack and Karen Still / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Born on July 19, 1876 in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, Joseph Fielding Smith was a genealogist, hymnwriter and prophet. Death is recorded on July 2, 1972, at the age of 95. Education on record includes Ensign College.
My Take
Joseph Fielding Smith fascinates me as a study in continuity. Born in 1876, the son of one church president and great-nephew of the founder, he could have coasted on lineage. Instead he became a serious genealogist, a hymnwriter, and finally, at 94, the tenth president of the LDS Church, serving until his death. Nearly a century devoted to a single faith and its records is a kind of dedication I find genuinely humbling. Whatever one believes, the sheer staying power and scholarly patience here command respect. He embodies how institutions are sustained less by charisma than by quiet, decades-long faithfulness.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Joseph Fielding Smith
- Name (Japanese)
- ジョセフ・フィールディング・スミス
- Reading
- じょせふ・ふぃーるでぃんぐ・すみす
- Born
- July 19, 1876 – July 2, 1972
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Cancer / Rat
- Origin
- Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
- Occupation
- genealogist / hymnwriter / prophet
2. Background
- University
- Ensign College
3. Links
- Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph%20Fielding%20Smith
- Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1392595
4. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-21
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Joseph Fielding Smith born?
Born July 19, 1876.
When did Joseph Fielding Smith die?
Died July 2, 1972, aged 95.
Where was Joseph Fielding Smith from?
Joseph Fielding Smith was from Salt Lake City, Utah, United States.
What did Joseph Fielding Smith do?
Joseph Fielding Smith worked as genealogist, hymnwriter, prophet.