Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. was an American religious leader and writer who served as the tenth president of The Church from 1970 until his death in 1972. He was the son of former church president Joseph F. Smith and the great-nephew of the prophet Joseph Smith.
Smith was named to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1910, when his father was the church's president. When Smith became president of the LDS Church, he was 93 years old; he began his presidential term at an older age than any other president in church history. Smith's tenure as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1951 to 1970 is the third-longest in church history;[1] he served in that capacity during the entire presidency of David O. McKay.
Smith spent some of his years among the Twelve Apostles as the Church Historian and Recorder. He was a religious scholar and a prolific writer. Many of his works are used as references for church members. [2]
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- ↑ Orson Hyde's tenure was from 1847 to 1875 and Rudger Clawson's tenure was from 1921 to 1943.
- ↑ [Gibbons, Francis M. (1992), Joseph Fielding Smith: Gospel Scholar, Prophet of God, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, ISBN 0-87579-537-4.]