Category Archives: Reunion

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.

Letter From The Board – 2025

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Dear Joseph F. Smith Family,

I am forever grateful to have been blessed to be a part of this significant and spiritually strong family as a descendant of Joseph F. Smith. We are his greatest joy, as he mentioned repeatedly in his letters and writings. There was nothing more important to Joseph F. Smith than his family, and he expressed his deep love for us, even his children’s children through the generations, hoping we would feel his love and always stay close to the Lord. Gathering each year in honor of him helps us remember who we are and whose we are as his precious posterity and children of God.

Joseph F. Smith Family Reunion – Monday, November 10, 2025
Monument Park Stake Center (1320 East Wasatch Drive, SLC)
Registration begins at 6:30 PM – Program starts promptly at 7:00 PM

This year, we are extremely fortunate to have Jed Woodworth share with us his deep wealth of knowledge about our beloved ancestor as he presents, “All the Feelings of a Tender Parent: Joseph F. Smith as a Father.” Jed was the managing historian over the Church’s multivolume history, Saints, Volumes 2, 3, and 4, which cover the lifespan of Joseph F. Smith. We can all look forward to getting to know our dear “Papa” even better.

As always, we will honor our 8- and 12-year-old family members. Please have your children review the song “We’ll Bring the World His Truth” so they will feel comfortable coming forward and singing the verses as we join them on the chorus. There will also be our usual children’s program provided for 3–7-year-olds in the Primary Room. They are welcome to arrive there after 6:45 PM. Please pick up your little ones promptly after the program is over and take time to mingle with each other over refreshments served in the cultural hall.

As you register to get your family name tags, please remember that all family members are now responsible for updating and maintaining their own family contact information. At the table, there will be a QR code from which you can access the family website to update your family’s contact info. Please be aware that by 2027, we plan to discontinue sending the reunion letter and program via postal mail and will convey them through email, so please make sure your email information is up to date. You can also go to the family website at https://josephfsmith.org/subscribe to submit or update your email and contact information.

At the registration table, you can also make your family donations to cover reunion and website costs. The suggested amount is $10 to $30, which can be paid with cash, check, or by using your bank’s Bill Pay service. For those wishing to mail donations, please make checks or Bill Pay-type payments payable to:

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

We look forward to seeing you at the reunion and hope you will actively participate in carrying on the Smith Family legacy by living the gospel, strengthening your family, and helping your children come to better know and cherish their great heritage as descendants of Joseph F. Smith, as well as Hyrum & Mary Fielding Smith, and Joseph Smith Sr. & Lucy Mack Smith. They sacrificed so much to pave the way and establish a firm foundation for us to build our lives upon with their examples of faith in Jesus Christ and His restored gospel. We have been so richly blessed. Let us do all we can to maintain this feeling of gratitude in our posterity!

We love you all,

Suzanne Lindsay, 2025 JFS Family Association Chairman

P.S. Please be aware that the JFS Family Board is considering changing the time of year and location of our reunion to a weekend during a warmer-weather month to avoid school-night conflicts. We hope that the change will enable families with young children to more easily attend. So come and take advantage of this longtime tradition of gathering at the Monument Park Stake Center, which was arranged by our beloved family member, Elder M. Russell Ballard, before it becomes a thing of the past.

Links:
Online Version of this Letter
2025 Program

Letter from the Board – 2024

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Dear Joseph F. Smith Family,

I am pleased to invite you to attend our annual Joseph F. Smith Family Reunion in celebration of Papa’s 186th birthday where we will enjoy another opportunity to gather, honor his life and remember the noble heritage with which we are blessed. It will be great to see you there!

One day prior to last year’s reunion, our beloved family champion President M. Russell Ballard passed beyond the Veil. We offer our love and condolences to his family and express our deep gratitude for his apostolic leadership, support and love over many decades. His wisdom and influence are greatly missed by us all.  

The 2024 Joseph F. Smith Family Reunion will be held on Monday, November 11, with registration beginning at 6:30 PM and the program at 7:00 PM. We will gather at the usual location: Monument Park Stake Center, 1320 South Wasatch Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Our presenter this year is Dr. Kenneth L. Alford, a professor of Church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University. A retired colonel in the US Army, he has published and presented on a wide variety of American and Church history subjects, with a specialty in the Doctrine and Covenants. He has been invited to share with us his experiences working on the Hyrum Smith Papers project. (Additional information about his career is available on the JFS family website, https://josephfsmith.org.

A children’s program will also be provided. Please remember that it is for children ages 3-7. Parents are to pick up their children immediately after the adult program concludes.

For those unable to attend in person, the reunion will be live-streamed on Facebook and available for later viewing at https://www.facebook.com/jfsfamily.

As announced last year, all family members are now responsible to review, update and maintain their own family contact information by using the https://josephfsmith.org/subscribe website. Please access this website on a regular basis to keep your family contact info up to date. As a reminder, all data stewards have been released from this responsibility and we again thank them for their countless hours of selfless service.

Your donations to the family organization are most appreciated and help cover the cost of printing, postage, refreshments, website domain renewal costs, etc. The suggested donation amount this year is $10 to $30 per household. You can make your donation at the reunion registration table, send a personal check or use the online bill-pay feature at your bank or credit union. Thank you for your contributions. 

Make checks payable to: Joseph F. Smith Family Association
c/o Paul Smith – Treasurer, 2273 West Smith Legacy Cove, Taylorsville, Utah 84129

We love you and hope that you will actively participate in carrying on the Smith Family legacy by living the gospel, strengthening your family and reporting family contact-information changes. May we keep our family connected and united in faith! You might even consider volunteering to serve on the family board. It is a great experience getting to know our “cousins.” 

Craig M. Smith
2024 JFS Family Association Chairman

Joseph F. Smith Reunion 2023 – Livestream

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Here’s the link for the livestream on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/jfsfamily

Letter from the Board – 2023

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Dear Joseph F. Smith Family,

I am pleased to announce our upcoming Joseph F. Smith reunion in celebration of Papa’s birthday! What a blessing it is to join together in remembering and honoring the great heritage he left. It is such a delight to have another opportunity to gather as his family in commemorating the great work of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We hope you will come join us!

Our presenter this year is church historian and curator, Andrea Maxfield, who has recently worked on restoring the Beehive Home to the Joseph F. Smith era. Some of you had an opportunity to tour the Beehive House, and anyone who did with Andrea, got a special treat. She is one of the rare experts on Papa, and can bring him to life like few can, so this reunion promises to be special! You can find additional information about Andrea this project on the family website.

We are grateful for the children’s program service provided and would like to remind the family that this program is for children ages 3-7.

The reunion will be:

When: Monday, November 13th at 7 pm
Where: Monument Park Stake Center
            1320 South Wasatch Drive
            Salt Lake City, Utah

The Reunion will also be live streamed on Facebook and will be available for later
viewing at https://www.facebook.com/jfsfamily

We would like to recognize the passing of Mary Donoho and express our sincere gratitude for the countless hours she spent as the family’s Principal Genealogy Data Steward & Address Coordinator. Our family has reached a tectonic shift in how we will maintain our family data. Please refer to the additional handout in this mailing for further details on how to manage your own data. We would like to thank all data stewards who have sacrificed their time and effort in maintaining that data to this point.

Please consider making a family donation so our reunion can continue to be an annual event.  The donations cover invitation postage, refreshments, website domain renewal, sharing family history research, etc.  Suggested donation this year is $10-30 per household.  You can make your donation at the reunion registration table or send it to the family treasurer’s address below.  Thank you for your contributions!

Joseph F. Smith Family Association
Paul Smith – Treasurer
2273 West Smith Legacy Cove
Taylorsville, Utah 84129

We love you and hope that you will be active participants in carrying on the Smith Family legacy by living the gospel, visiting the family website, strengthening your family, helping to keep our family connected, reporting to data stewards, and perhaps volunteering to serve on a committee, which is a great experience.  It is such a privilege to be part of a modern-day prophet’s family.

Sarah Richins
2023 JFS Reunion Committee Chairman

Links:
Online version of this letter
Contact Management Letter
2023 Program