October 1, 2023

Dear Joseph F. Smith Family Members,

What a joy it is to gather as a family each November and celebrate the birthday of our beloved
grandfather, Joseph F. Smith! It is exciting to know that his posterity continues to grow and do
so exponentially! And with that growth comes the on-going challenge of keeping the family
contact information database up to date. Mary Donoho, who served as the Master Data Steward on the JFS Family Board, dedicated countless hours over many decades gathering and updating address and contact information for “Papa’s” ever-growing family. Many stalwart data stewards, who represented the families of Joseph F. Smith’s five wives, worked together keeping the JFS Family Database as current as possible. Then, in September of 2021, our dear Mary Donoho was called Home.

With Mary’s unexpected passing, the JFS Family Board has concluded that the JFS database upkeep has reached a pivot point where we need to change the model for managing family contacts. We will be using technology to improve the database upkeep, protect the privacy of family members and keep their information safe. To that end, the JFS Family Board has unanimously adopted the following approach regarding how the family contact information will be gathered, updated, and maintained for the foreseeable future:

1) All Data Stewards will be “released” from their duties with a huge THANK YOU for all their efforts to gather family contact information!

2) Each nuclear family will be responsible to keep their own family’s contact information updated. As children move out of their parent’s home and have their own physical address, they are responsible to update their own contact information.

3) To enter or update your contact information, please visit https://josephfsmith.org/subscribe and fill out the form. By doing so, each family member can make sure their physical address and/or email address is up to date.

4) Family members who keep their contact information current will receive their invitation to the annual family reunion by mail or email and be apprised of JFS Family news.

5) The deadline for entering or updating one’s contact information is October 1 of any given year.

We appreciate the opportunity to serve the posterity of Joseph F. Smith and hope this change will be supported by the family members as we continue to gather each year and celebrate “Papa’s” birthday.

Sincerely,

The 2023 Joseph F. Smith Family Board