Elias Smith (Mormon)
| Elias Smith | |
|---|---|
Elias Smith ca. 1880
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| Members of the Council of Fifty | |
| 1844 – June 24, 1888 | |
| Called by | Joseph Smith |
| Probate judge | |
| In office | |
| 1851 – 1882 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
September 6, 1804 Royalton, Vermont, United States |
| Died | June 24, 1888 (aged 83) Salt Lake City, Utah, United States |
| Resting place |
Salt Lake City Cemetery 40°46′38″N 111°51′29″W / 40.7772°N 111.8580°W |
| Occupation | Business manager |
| Employer | Deseret News |
| Spouse(s) | Lucy Brown Amy Jane King |
| Parents | Asahel Smith Elizabeth Schellenger |
Elias Smith (September 6, 1804 – June 24, 1888) was one of the early leaders in Latter Day Saint movement. Smith was president of the high priests in the church from 1870 to 1877 and president of the high priests quorum in the Salt Lake Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1877 to 1888.
Smith was born in Royalton, Vermont, the son of Asael Smith, Jr. and Elizabeth Schellenger. In 1809, his father emigrated to , where Elias was raised on a farm with few opportunities for schooling. At the age of twenty-one, he entered public life and held various offices in the town of Stockholm. He also taught school for several terms.
The announcement of a new faith by his cousin, Joseph Smith, drew several members of the Smith family into the new church. George A. Smith was a missionary at the age of sixteen, but his elder cousin Elias was thirty-one years of age when he joined the Latter Day Saints. After the organization of the church, Joseph Smith, Sr., first patriarch of the church, with his son Don Carlos, paid the families of his brothers Asael Jr., Samuel, Silas, and John a visit in August 1830, and brought them a copy of the Book of Mormon. They all expressed interest in the new religion, but none of them were baptized until 1835, except John, who later became patriarch of the LDS Church and was the father of apostle George A. Smith. In 1835, Hyrum Smith and David Whitmer visited the area and the families of Asael Jr. and Silas were baptized, most of them on July 1. However, Elias was not baptized until August 27, 1835, and the next morning he was ordained an elder. In the town and neighborhood of Stockholm, the Smiths established a branch of the church, and in May 1836, the families of Asael Jr. and Silas Smith, with their converts, started for Kirtland, Ohio.
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