Smith, Joseph, III, 1832-1914
Dates
- Existence: 1832 - 1914
Biography
Joseph Smith III (1832-1914) was the eldest surviving son of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and Emma Hale Smith. He was the first Prophet-President of what became known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church), now called the Community of Christ.
Joseph Smith III was born on November 6, 1832, in Kirtland, Ohio, to Joseph and Emma Hale Smith. He moved with his parents to Far West, Missouri, in 1838, then to Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1839 while his father was imprisoned. While in Nauvoo, Joseph III became a general of the junior Nauvoo militia.
After his father's death at Carthage (Illinois) Jail in June 1844, the majority of church members chose to follow Brigham Young and the Twelve Apostles, who left Nauvoo in 1846. Due to a strained relationship with Young and the Apostles, the Smiths and some other families chose to recognize James J. Strang as church president and remained in Nauvoo.
Joseph III began to study and eventually practiced law. In 1856, he married Emmeline Griswold and they had five children. After Emmeline died of probable tuberculosis, he married their housekeeper, Bertha Madison, on November 12, 1869, with whom he had seven children. Bertha Madison Smith died from injuries sustained in a carriage accident in 1895. On January 12, 1898 Joseph Smith III wed Ada Rachel Clark of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and they had three sons.
By the early 1850s the midwestern Latter Day Saints who had followed Strang until he started practicing polygamy began to call for the need to establish a reorganization of the Church, and many believed Joseph III should be its head. Smith would not take on this mantle until he felt inspired to do so, which occurred at a conference in Amboy, Illinois on April 6, 1860, where, at age 28, he was sustained as president of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church). During his time as president, Joseph III sought to distinguish the RLDS Church from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah, particularly in his opposition to the doctrine and practice of plural marriage and other teachings from his father's later years in Nauvoo.
Joseph III moved from Nauvoo to Plano, Illinois, in 1866 where he took over editorship of "The Saint's Herald," and Plano became the headquarters of the RLDS Church. In 1881 he moved to Lamoni, Iowa, which then became the new headquarters for the church. In Smith's final years, members of the church began to move to Independence, Missouri, and Joseph III moved there in 1906, where he entered a state of semi-retirement. His son, Frederick, remained in Lamoni and took over active leadership of the church.
Joseph Smith III died on December 10, 1914, in Independence, Missouri.
Found in 26 Collections and/or Records:
Joseph Smith III diary
Joseph Smith III diary, 1859, includes small entries from 1 January to 31 December 1859 as written by Joseph Smith III.
Joseph Smith III letter
Handwritten and signed letter. The date of the item is uncertain. Smith writes for his mother, Emma Hale Smith, concerning her family and where they lived in Pennsylvania.
Joseph Smith III letters
Photocopies of handwritten and signed letters. The items were written from Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri and were addressed to "Cousin" Samuel H. B. Smith. The materials relate to the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to politics in Utah.
Joseph Smith typescripts of letterpress books
This collection consists of typescripts from nine letterpress books written by Joseph Smith III, which spans the period from 1876 to 1897. The letterpress books document the presidential years of Joseph Smith III and his correspondence with members of the RLDS and LDS Churches.
Samuel H. B. Smith letter
Photocopy of a handwritten letter, addressed to George A. Smith, and dated 10 July 1860. Samuel Smith writes while he is on a mission for the Mormon Church. He tells about a visit with Joseph Smith (1832-1914), the first president of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and seeing Emma Hale Smith Bidamon and her husband.
Enoch B. Tripp papers
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