Category Archives: Resources

Letter from the Board – 2026

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Joseph F. Smith Family Reunion

Monday, November 9, 2026
Monument Park Stake Center | 1320 East Wasatch Drive, Salt Lake City
Registration: 6:30 PM | Program: 7:00 PM

Family connects the past, present, and future. As descendants of Joseph F. Smith, we share a rich heritage of faith, family, and history. This year, we will give special attention to his wives and their stories while also reflecting on the stories from our own lives and families. As we remember those who came before us and preserve our own experiences, we strengthen our connections with one another and with our Father in Heaven.

We are delighted to welcome author and family member Kim Poole, who will speak on “Connecting Through Stories.” She will invite us to consider the memories, experiences, and everyday moments we want future generations to know and remember. We also hope you’ll stretch yourself a little: meet a cousin you don’t know, share a story, and discover a new family connection.

One of our favorite traditions is honoring our 8- and 12-year-olds, who will sing the verses of “We’ll Bring the World His Truth” while the family joins them on the chorus. Please help your children become familiar with the song beforehand. A children’s program for ages 3–7 will be held in the Primary Room beginning after 6:45 PM. Please pick up your children promptly following the program.

Afterward, join us in the cultural hall for refreshments and time together. Reconnect with someone you haven’t seen for a while, introduce yourself to someone new, and share a family memory.

Family Contact Information & Donations

Beginning in 2027, reunion letters and programs will be sent by email rather than postal mail. Please use the QR code available at registration or visit https://josephfsmith.org/subscribe to make sure your family’s contact information is current.

Donations help cover reunion and website expenses. The suggested donation is $10–$30, payable at registration by cash or check. Mailed checks or Bill Pay donations may be sent to:

Joseph F. Smith Family Association, c/o Paul Smith – Treasurer, 2273 West Smith Legacy Cove, Taylorsville, UT 84129

We hope you will join us in carrying forward the Smith family legacy by living the gospel, strengthening your family, and helping the next generation know and cherish the stories of those who came before them. The lives we live today become the family history of tomorrow. Our examples can strengthen our posterity, but only when our stories are known, preserved, and shared.

Come meet a new cousin, renew an old friendship, and discover another piece of our family story. You might even consider serving on the family board. For me, that service has been an unexpected privilege and has deepened my appreciation for the blessing of family.

We are grateful that each of you is part of our family story.

Cara Johnson
2026 JFS Family Association Chairman

P.S. Save the date: Our 2027 reunion will be on September 18 at This Is the Place Monument. The Board is also considering warmer-weather weekend gatherings in future years to make it easier for families with young children to attend. Come enjoy our longtime tradition at the Monument Park Stake Center this year as we celebrate our heritage and the connections that keep our family close.

Livestream 2025

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Joseph F. Smith Family Association Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/jfsfamily

Uncle John Smith’s Salve

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This recipe dates to 1900 or before.

Mutton tallow – rendered; heat in oven until grease is out; grease must weigh 1 lb
1 1/2 lbs. beeswax – brown
1 1/2 lbs. rosin – crushed
12 oz castor oil
1 teaspoon turpentine

  1. Cut mutton tallow into pieces and heat in a low oven and press fat out and strain into pan.
  2. Heat grease on stove and add beeswax and rosin until all is melted. Remove from heat.
  3. Add castor oil and stir well.
  4. Add turpentine and stir well.
  5. Pour into glass jars. Allow it to cool, then close tight with lid.

    Yield:
    2 1/2 quarts – will last a lifetime. This recipe will fill approximately one hundred glass Gerber baby food jars.

    Note: Do not use pans and utensils for food consumption!

    Many thanks to Nathan Tippetts, Frank Nilson, Asenath Smith Conklin, and Bonnie Tippetts for preserving and making this recipe available.

Livestream 2024

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Joseph F Smith Family Association Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/jfsfamily

Joseph F. Smith Family Reunion – 2020 Program

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Welcome to the 2020 Joseph F. Smith Family Reunion program. As the rules for meeting together in Salt Lake City have shifted over the past months, we, the trustees of the Joseph F. Smith Association, decided our best approach would be to provide an outline and presentation for you to use in your own Family Home Evening, to remember our dear prophet, Joseph F. Smith.

We love you, and hope that what we’ve prepared for you here helps you remember our grandfather Joseph F. Smith, and with his example, encourages you in your goals to do what’s right.

I am Paul Smith, and I am the chairman of our reunion this year. We would like to recognize the Trustees of the Joseph F. Smith association, who are: Paul Smith (Mary), Alice Watson (Alice), Shauna Sandberg (Sarah), Sarah Adams (Julina), and Craig Smith (Edna). We also recognize: Mary Donoho, our principal genealogy data steward and address coordinator; Jared Glade, our website and online database coordinator; Chris Rasmussen, our secretary, and Paul Smith, our treasurer. Keeping track of the family is a tough job, and we thank our data stewards: Mary Donoho (Julina), Chris Rasmussen (Sarah), Marilyn Wood (Alice), Jared Glade (Edna), and Becky Lowe – recently replaced by David Scott (Mary). As you have changes in your family, please let your family data steward or Mary Donoho know.

Please recognize those in your family who have been or will be baptized this year or who have turned 12. We plan to have them join us on the stand when we meet in person next year. We also encourage you to appreciate Joseph F. Smith’s living grandchildren, and those you have passed on.

For our primary-age children, we have a coloring book you can download here: Joseph F. Smith Booklet.pdf

Due to the format of our reunion this year, President Ballard has also recorded his message. We are grateful to have both he and President Oaks as part of our family.

Here is the outline we encourage you to follow, including links to music you can play and sing along with, hosted on the website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Feel free to adapt it to the special needs of your family.

Opening Hymn: 19 We Thank Thee O God For a Prophet. After clicking on this link, you’ll see a ‘Play’ button that will let you play the music. When you’re done with the song, come back to this page.

Opening Prayer: Someone from your family

Paul Smith

Paul Smith – Joseph F. Smith

As a family, discuss how being related to the Lord’s prophet Joseph F. Smith, encourages each of you to do and be better. How do his example, and that of his wives, help you be kind to everyone, and to focus on the Gospel, your own family, and all of God’s children?

President M. Russell Ballard

President M. Russell Ballard – Joseph F. Smith

Closing Hymn: 21 Come, Listen to a Prophet’s Voice. After clicking on this link, you’ll see a ‘Play’ button that will let you play the music. When you’re done with the song, come back to this page.

Closing Prayer: Someone from your family

Refreshments of your choice 😉