by Richard Neitzel Holzapfel

“He manifested the same spirit that was upon his Uncle Joseph Smith.”

Never-before-published photograph of Joseph F. Smith, ca. 1889-90, C. R. Savage, Manuscripts Division, J. Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah (Used by Permission). This beautiful cabinet-card-size image by Charles R. Savage was sent to a family member sometime between November 1889 and November 1890. Note Joseph F. Smith’s age reference at the bottom of the card stock.

A Powerful Preacher of Righteousness
President Joseph F. Smith was a powerful preacher of righteousness. One finds countless comments about the effects of his sermons and talks from those who heard him speak during his lifetime.

One of the earliest observations comes from Wilford Woodruff in 1866, just weeks before Joseph F. Smith was ordained an Apostle by President Brigham Young. Joseph F. Smith spoke in the Bowery, a shaded structure on the Temple Block, during the regular Sabbath-day meeting. Elder Woodruff observed: “Joseph F Smith spoke in the Afternoon 1 Hour 15 minutes & the power of God was upon him & he manifested the same spirit that was upon his Uncle Joseph Smith & his Father Hyram Smith.” (1)

The Deseret News reported a brief synopsis of the discourse a few days later:

“Elder J. F. Smith treated on the nature and magnitude of the work which the Saints are engaged in to combat sin and overcome evil, and the importance of their being fully alive to their duties. He reviewed our condition to-day, urged that all our energies should be devoted to serving God and seeking to overcome iniquity; and strongly advised the young particularly, and all generally, to keep the company of those who are the friends of God and truth, and who are striving to walk in righteousness before the Lord.” (2)

Later, after Joseph F. Smith became President of the Church, Emmeline B. Wells noted in her impressions after listening to him in the Salt Lake Temple in November 1905: “At the Temple today Pres. Jos. F. smith made a most telling address, in which he gave his views on the subject of charity. Every one present must have felt its power.” (3)

One of Joseph F. Smith’s most significant and important talks, entitled “In the Presence of the Divine,” was given in the April General Conference of the Church in 1916.

The Latter-day Saints gathered in the Tabernacle on Temple Square for the first time in many months because of repairs and enhancement of the world-famous organ. President Joseph F. Smith told those present:

“Sometimes the Lord expands our vision from this point of view and this side of the veil, so that we feel and seem to realize that we can look beyond the thin veil which separates us from that other sphere. If we can see, by the enlightening influence of the Spirit of God, beyond the veil that separates us from the spirit world, surely those who have passed beyond, can see more clearly through the veil back here to us than it is possible for us to see them from our sphere of action. I believe we move and have our being in the presence of heavenly messengers and of heavenly beings.” (4)

Many of those listening felt the divine inspiration that accompanied the delivery of this remarkable sermon on 6 April 1916. The talk is one of the most important given during his presidency. President Joseph F. Smith indicated that he needed “the assistance of the Good Spirit, and of the good feeling and faith and sympathy of my brethren and sisters this morning in an endeavor to speak to you for a short time.”

He added:

“I can not express my gratitude, with the language in my possession, which I feel this morning in being permitted, under the mercies of the Father of us all, to be present with you and behold the sight that I see in the assembled multitudes gathered here in the opening session of this conference, on the eighty-sixth anniversary of the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
In a section identified as “Those Who Have Gone Before Rejoice With Us,” President Smith indicated: “I feel sure that the Prophet Joseph Smith and his associates, who, under the guidance and inspiration of the Almighty, and by his power, began this latter-day work, would rejoice and do rejoice, if they are permitted to look down upon the scene that I behold in this tabernacle.”

He continued:

“I thank God for the feeling that I possess and enjoy, and for the realization that I have, that I stand not only in the presence of Almighty God, my Maker and Father, but in the presence of his Only Begotten Son in the flesh, the Savior of the world; and I stand in the presence of Peter and James (and perhaps the eyes of John are also upon us and we know it not); and that I stand also in the presence of Joseph and Hyrum and Brigham and John, and Wilford, and Lorenzo, and those who have been valiant in the testimony of Jesus Christ and faithful to their mission in the world, who have gone before.”

At this point, President Smith was overcome by emotion and said:

“I hope you will forgive me for my emotion. You would have peculiar emotions, would you not? if you felt that you stood in the presence of your Father, in the very presence of Almighty God, in the very presence of the Son of God and of holy angels? You would feel rather emotional, rather sensitive. I feel it to the very depths of my soul this moment. So I hope you will forgive me, if I exhibit some of my real feelings, I am only a child.”

The Saints felt the power of his testimony as he continued his discourse:

“It is my duty to proclaim to my brethren, to the household of faith, as well as to the world, when opportunity presents, that I believe in the living God, the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who begot his Son, his Only Begotten in the flesh, and that Son grew from his birth unto his manhood, and developed into the very image and likeness of his Father. . . . This is the gospel of Jesus Christ, to know the only true and living God and his Son whom he has sent into the world, which knowledge comes through obedience to all his commandments, faith, repentance of sin, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands by divine authority, and not by the will of man. This, then, is the gospel of Jesus Christ which is the power of God unto salvation: obedience to the truth, submission to the order that God has established in his house, for the house of God is a house of order and not a house of confusion. God has set in his Church apostles and prophets and evangelists, and pastors and teachers, whose duty it is to administer to the people, to teach, instruct, expound, exhort, admonish and lead in the path of righteousness.”

He closed his remarks as he blessed the Saints:

“God bless you and all the household of faith, and help us to be true and faithful to the end, realizing that the battle is not to the strong, nor the race to the swift, but to him that endures to the end. Amen.” (5)

Shortly after Joseph F. Smith’s death in 1918, his faithful counselor, Anthon H. Lund, stated:

“He was a great preacher of righteousness. How often have I sat listening to his voice and rejoiced in the truths that he put forth, the encouraging words he spoke and the words of warning he gave unto the people! Take a view of his life. God had given him a strong and abiding faith. He never wavered. . . . He loved the gospel. He loved to bear his testimony that Jesus was the Redeemer and Savior of the world. He bore testimony to the truth of the gospel, and to the divinity of the mission of Joseph Smith, and his testimony always strengthened the faith of those who listened to him.” (6)

President Joseph F. Smith left the Church a great legacy of gospel scholarship through his countless sermons and essays. Shortly after being called as the new President of the Church in 1972, President Harold B. Lee said: “When I want to seek for a more clear definition of doctrinal subjects, I have usually turned to the writings and sermons of President Joseph F. Smith.” (7) It has been so for many before and since President Lee.

First Discourse Published
In February 1867, twenty-eight-year-old Joseph F. Smith spoke in the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City. This talk was apparently the first complete talk of Joseph F. Smith to be published. He began: “Very unexpectedly to me I have been asked to stand before you for a short time this afternoon; and although to me it is a great task to attempt to speak to so many, yet it is a pleasure to be able to express my feelings in relation to the truth.”

President Smith added: “I desire so to live continually that my thoughts and feelings may be right before God, that my heart may be pure and open to the influences and dictations of the Holy Spirit, that I may be led wholly by the truth, and in the path that leads to eternal life.”

He also stated:

“This is a great and important work–one that we do not fully comprehend. When the Spirit of the Lord rests powerfully upon us, we realize it to some extent; but we do not always have that Spirit in such copious measure, and when we are left to ourselves we are weak, frail and liable to err. This shows to us that we should be more faithful than we have ever been, and that day and night, wherever we are and under whatever circumstances we may be placed, in order to enjoy the Spirit of the Gospel we must live to God by observing truth, honoring his law, and ever manifest a vigorous determination to accomplish the work he has assigned us.”

He concluded:

“I thank the Lord that I have the privilege of being associated with this people; and, whatever men may say or do, I desire that the testimony of the truth may continue with me, that I may ever realize for myself that the Gospel has again been revealed to man on the earth. . . . I feel well and thankful to have the privilege of being a Saint; and I hope, brethren and sisters, that anything good that is said to us we will feel like carrying out in our lives. It is our duty, and we should never fail to do so. May God bless us and all Israel, and keep us in the paths of truth. . . . May God grant it, and help us all to be faithful, that we may be numbered among those who obtain a crown and inheritance, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.” (8)

This fully reported discourse became the first of a large and important body of teachings by Joseph F. Smith to which members of the Church continue turn to find counsel, wisdom, and admonitions.

First Presidency Doctrinal Statements
It is not only his discourses that form the basis of Joseph F. Smith’s doctrinal legacy. During his presidency, several important documents signed by the First Presidency and/or the Twelve were issued that still serve as a touch stone of Latter-day Saint belief. One such document, The Origin of Man: By the First Presidency, was issued in 1909 during a time when evolution was gaining attention in the academic world. (9)

They wrote:

“In presenting the statement that follows we are not conscious of putting forth anything essentially new; neither is it our desire so to do. Truth is what we wish to present, and truth–eternal truth–is fundamentally old. A restatement of the original attitude of the Church relative to this matter is all that will be attempted here. To tell the truth as God has revealed it, and commend it to the acceptance of those who need to conform their opinions thereto, is the sole purpose of this presentation. ‘God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.’ In these plain and pointed words the inspired author of the book of Genesis made known to the world the truth concerning the origin of the human family.” (10)

They added:

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, basing its belief on divine revelation, ancient and modern, proclaims man to be the direct and lineal offspring of Deity. God Himself is an exalted man, perfected, enthroned, and supreme. By His almighty power He organized the earth, and all that it contains, from spirit and element, which exist co-eternally with Himself. He formed every plant that grows, and every animal that breathes, each after its own kind, spiritually and temporally–‘that which is spiritual being in the likeness of that which is temporal, and that which is temporal in the likeness of that which is spiritual.’ He made the tadpole and the ape, the lion and the elephant but He did not make them in His own image, nor endow them with Godlike reason and intelligence. Nevertheless, the whole animal creation will be perfected and perpetuated in the Hereafter, each class in its ‘distinct order or sphere,’ and will enjoy ‘eternal felicity.’ . . . Man is the child of God, formed in the divine image and endowed with divine attributes, and even as the infant son of an earthly father and mother is capable in due time of becoming a man, so the undeveloped offspring of celestial parentage is capable, by experience through ages and aeons, of evolving into a God.” (11)

Another important doctrinal statement issued during Joseph F. Smith’s presidency was

released on 30 June 1916 under the signatures of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve. Entitled “The Father and The Son; A Doctrinal Exposition by The First Presidency and The Twelve,” it appeared in the Improvement Era in August 1916 and as a separate pamphlet about the same time. (12)

Outlining how the term “Father” in used in scriptures, they wrote: “The term ‘Father’ as applied to Deity occurs in sacred writ with plainly different meanings. Each of the four significations specified in the following treatment should be carefully segregated.”

President Joseph F. Smith and his counselors and members of the Twelve indicated that in some cases, the term “Father” is applied to God because He is our literal parent.” Second, the term “Father” is applied to Jesus Christ because He is the Creator of heaven and Earth, or “The Father of the heavens and of the earth.” Third, the term “Father” is applied to Jesus Christ because those who accept His gospel become his “sons and daughters” through spiritual rebirth. Finally, the term “Father” is applied to Jesus Christ by His “Divine Investiture of Authority” where He represents His “Father in power and authority.”

These official statements released during Joseph F. Smith’s presidency provided the Latter-day Saints with responses to important questions and remain, to this day, the basis of LDS doctrine on the subjects.

Teachings of Joseph F. Smith
The most comprehensive, single-volume collection of Joseph F. Smith’s teachings is the book Gospel Doctrine: Selections from the Sermons and Writings of Joseph F. Smith Sixth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, originally published in 1919. (13) The contents include sections on “Truth, the Foundation,” “The Eternal Nature of the Church, the Priesthood, and Man,” “Revelation,” “Free Agency,” “God and Man,” “The Purpose and the Mission of the Church,” “The First Principles of the Gospel,” “The Church and the Man,” “Priesthood,” “Spiritual Gifts,” “Obedience,” “Prayer,” “Tithing; the Poor; Industry,” “Temperance; the Sabbath,” “Many Duties of Man,” “Auxiliary Organizations,” “Political Government,” “Eternal Life and Salvation,” and “Joseph Smith, the Prophet.”

The compilers added additional sections, including “Personal Testimonies and Blessing” and “President Joseph F. Smith.” The latter contains an essay by Elder John A. Widstoe written in 1914 entitled “An Appreciation”; “Reminiscences,” by Charles W. Nibley, Presiding Bishop of the Church; “A Biographic Sketch,” by Edward H. Anderson, originally published in 1901; and another brief essay by Anderson entitled “Last of the Old School of Veteran Leaders.”

Reprinted numerous times, including as a two-volume manual released in 1970-71 and 1971-72 for a two-year course of study in the Melchizedek Priesthood quorums of the Church, this book is found in many homes and libraries throughout the Church.

So monumental is this book that Deseret Book released it as part of its “Classics in Mormon Literature Series” in October 1986. President Joseph F. Smith’s great-grandson, Joseph Fielding McConkie, provided a new preface for this edition, highlighting the significance of President Smith’s teachings and life. (14)

The goal in compiling the original collection of extracts was to get the “grist of his teachings without including the scaffolding.” (15) The compilers searched through a number of sources to find the pearls of his teachings, including the Journal of Discourses, Deseret News, Young Woman’s Journal, Contributor, Millennial Star, Logan Journal, Relief Society Magazine, Women’s Exponent, Juvenile Instructor, Genealogical Magazine, and the Conference Reports.

The original preface, written by the compilers, provides the best justification for the compilation:

“President Joseph F. Smith was so long in the public service of the Church that his published sermons and writings would fill many volumes. The difficult problem of the compilers of this volume has been to make a collection of extracts that would do full justice to the man and that, at the same time, could be contained in a volume of moderate size. Every reader who knows Church literature will note the shortcomings of the work; and none more than the compilers. However, incomplete as it may be, this collection is well worth while, for it contains a wealth of gospel wisdom, to instruct, comfort, and inspire the Saints.

“The literature of the Church has been carefully and systematically searched to discover all of President Smith’s public writings and sermons. Those of a historical nature have not been used in this collection, as they may well be made into another volume. The compilers give their thanks to the many who, with hearts full of love for President Smith, have helped in the work. The work has reaffirmed to us that prophets, speaking for God, are with us.” (16)

The original introduction, written in May 1919 by the Committee on Courses of Study for the Priesthood, provides the background on how it came to be published in the first place:

“President Joseph F. Smith incidentally stated on one occasion that when he should pass away, unlike many of his brethren, he would leave no written work, by which he might be remembered. It was his modest way of viewing his own ministry and literary labors, for President Smith would live in the hearts of the people even if he had said nothing for the printed page; but on the contrary, it was discovered that there are volumes in print, though at that time it had not been gathered and was therefore not so well known.

“One of the compilers of this volume, Dr. John A. Widtsoe, listening to his remark, thought to himself, ‘certainly it cannot be true that he has left no written work.’ He then decided to look into his published writings and sermons, conceived the idea of making extracts from them and arranging these extracts by subjects and in chapters, in the form of a book. The result is this splendid volume now presented to the public under the title GOSPEL DOCTRINE.

“Doctor John A. Widtsoe interested his brother, Prof. Osborne J. P. Widtsoe, also Albert E. Bowen, Doctor F. S. Harris, and Joseph Quinney, in the work of compiling and classifying from the voluminous writings and sermons of President Smith, such extracts as would bear upon the subjects chosen for consideration–subjects covering a wide range in gospel doctrine and philosophy, as taught by the Latter-day Saints. Lorenzo N. Stohl generously paid the expenses of the work.

“Without price, and as a matter of love for the work in hand, these brethren proceeded with the compilation, had four typewritten copies prepared, nicely bound and titled, and were privileged, sometime before the death of the President, to offer him the first typewritten copy of the work, with their love and gratitude for his life, his example, and his inspired teachings, as well as for his gentle kindness and constant helpfulness to each of them. Needless to say, the presentation and the work were gladly accepted and gave President Smith great delight.

“The Committee on Study for the Priesthood Quorums, being apprised by the compilers of the work, conceived the idea, under the initiative of Elder David O. McKay, of the Council of the Twelve, of making it a text book for the Priesthood. The volume is now presented to the Melchizedek Priesthood Quorums of the Church for their study and consideration. To accompany it is ‘A Guide’ for the direction of teachers and students, and adopted for convenience in reference and study.

“The sermons and writings of President Joseph F. Smith teach, in wisdom and moderation, practically every essential doctrine of the Latter-day Saints concerning the present life and the life hereafter. Not only that, but they abound in helpful counsel and advice on everyday practices in right living, stated in simple and persuasive language. President Smith’s sermons and writings breathe the true spirit of the Gospel, are sound as gold in tenet and precept, and express the will of the Master in every word. Gathered, classified, arranged, and printed as in this volume, they constitute a compendium of the doctrine and teachings of the Church that we believe will stand as a safe guide for its members for generations to come.

“In presenting this compilation to the public, we are confident that every reader will be fully repaid in its perusal, containing, as it does, rich and vital selections from the sayings, teachings and sermons of one of the foremost prophets of the Lord in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times.” (17)

Vision of the Redemption of the Dead
Of all the writings, sermons, and personal teachings, Joseph F. Smith’s greatest doctrinal legacy is the vision he had shortly before his death. With decades of spiritual preparation, Joseph F. Smith was given a vision in Salt Lake City, Utah, on 3 October 1918. Before the end of the month the written account was submitted to the counselors in the First Presidency, the Council of the Twelve, and the Patriarch, and was unanimously accepted by the them.

Known as the “Vision of the Redemption of the Dead,” Doctrine and Covenants 138 is second only to “The Vision,” Doctrine and Covenants 76, in providing light and truth concerning salvation beyond the grave. Robert L. Millet, Dean of BYU Religious Education, placed the vision in context: “The knowledge of a universal salvation revealed initially through the Prophet Joseph continued to be expanded and elaborated as the ongoing Restoration made further truths available ‘line upon line.’ It is to the Prophet’s nephew–Joseph F. Smith–that we now turn for precious insights into the manner in which the gospel is preached in the world of spirits.” (18)

Truly, Joseph F. Smith’s vision: “broadens our own perspective and points us towards eternities. . . . [setting] forth with remarkable clarity the manner in which the Savior ‘declared liberty to the captives’ in the meridian of time, and also unfolds the pattern by which the doctrine of salvation continue to be made known in the world beyond the grave.” (19)

A New Century and Beyond
In 1999, Deseret Book released a special paperback edition of Gospel Doctrine in anticipation of the two-year course study of President Joseph F. Smith’s teaching in the priesthood and Relief Society organizations of the Church. (20) Beginning now (January 2000) and for the next two years, Latter-day Saints across the world will study the teachings of President Joseph F. Smith. The Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society manual, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, provides an important collection from President Joseph F. Smith’s teachings on a variety of timeless issues and fundamental doctrines of the restored gospel.

Conclusion
Joseph F. Smith left the Latter-day Saints a great doctrinal legacy. His successor, President Heber J. Grant, spoke of this legacy in the June 1919 Church conference, the first held since the passing of Joseph F. Smith:

“I bear witness to you that from my early childhood days, when I could not thoroughly understand and comprehend the teachings of the gospel, that I have had my very being thrilled, and tears have rolled down my cheeks, under the inspiration of the living God, as I have listened to Joseph F. Smith when preaching the gospel. I believe that Joseph F. Smith and his son Hyrum M. Smith more than any other men to whom I have listened, who were born in the Church of Christ in our day, were the greatest preachers of righteousness. I know that whenever I heard that Joseph F. Smith was going to speak in one of the wards that time and time again as a young man I have left my own ward and gone to listen to him, because he always filled my being and lifted me up as I listened to him proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. I bear witness that he was one of the greatest prophets of God that has ever lived; that God was with him from the day that he went forth as a little boy of fifteen years of age, to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ in the Hawaiian Islands, until the day when, after giving sixty-five years of his life to the work of God, he closed his earthly career.

“May God bless each and all of us who have a knowledge of the divinity of the work in which we are engaged, and may we be faithful to the end as our prophet was, our beloved leader who has left us, Joseph F. Smith, is my prayer, and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.” (21)

About the Author
Richard Neitzel Holzapfel is an Associate Professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University. He is the author or coauthor of many articles and books, including the forthcoming Brigham Young: Images of a Mormon Prophet (June 2000) and Joseph F. Smith: Portrait of a Prophet (August 2000), cowritten with R. Q. Shupe.

Notes

1. Wilford Woodruff Journal, 24 June 1866, LDSCA; as cited in Scott G. Kenney, ed., Wilford Woodruff’s Journals, 1833-1898, 9 vols. (Midvale, Utah: Signature Books, 1983-85), 6:289.

2. “Home Items,” Deseret News, 28 June 1866, 236.

3. Emmeline B. Wells Journal, 5 November 1905, typescript, BYU.

4. Conference Report, April 1916, 2-3; hereafter cited as CR.

5. Joseph F. Smith, “In the Presence of the Divine,” Improvement Era, 19 (May 1916): 646-52.

6. CR, June 1919, 17-19.

7. CR, October 1972, 18.

8. Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. (London: Latter-day Saints’ Book Depot, 1854-1886), 11:305 -14.

9. James R. Clark, comp., Messages of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 5 vols. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, Inc., 1965-71), 4: 200; hereafter cited as MFP.

10. MFP, 4:201.

11. MFP, 4:201-7.

12. “The Father and the Son: A Doctrinal Exposition by the First Presidency and the Twelve,” Improvement Era, 19 (August 1916):,934-42.

13. Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine: Selections from the Sermons and Writings of Joseph F. Smith, Sixth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1919); hereafter cited as GD.

14. See Joseph Fielding McConkie, “Preface to Classics in Mormon Literature Edition,” Gospel Doctrine: Sermons and Writings of President Joseph F. Smith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1986), vii-xii.

15. John A. Widstoe to F. S. Harris, 31 August 1917, provided by Allan K. Parrish, Orem Utah.

16. GD, v.

17. GD, v-vi.

18. Robert L. Millet, “Salvation Beyond the Grave,” Studies in Scripture: Volume One, The Doctrine and Covenants (Sandy, Utah: Randall Book, 1984), 544.

19. Millet, “Salvation Beyond the Grave,” 561-62.

20. See Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1998).

21. CR, June 1919, 11-14.

© 2000 Meridian Magazine. All Rights Reserved.