AN APPRECIATION

President Joseph Fielding Smith, sixth and beloved President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has without question seen longer service in the Church than has any other living man. For sixty-five years he has been in the active ministry, under a great variety of callings; for fifty-one years he has held the apostolic calling; since 1867 he has been one of the general authorities of the Church; during seventeen years he has been President of the Church. No other man is so beloved in the Church. To advertise that President Smith will be at a meeting is to warn the people that standing room will be at a premium. His words are accepted as of inspired authority; his acts as of an honest man, tried long and severely in the crucible of life.

The confidence of the people in their President, Prophet, Seer and Revelator, has not come alone from the exalted positions he has so long occupied. The Latter-day Saints have been gathered from all comers of the earth, and from all walks, after they had become convinced that the gospel as restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith is of certain truth. Intelligence rules in the earthly Zion. The leaders of the people are subjected to searching consideration by the people, and the confidence given them is in proportion to their deserts. It is, therefore, a noble tribute to the worthiness of the man Joseph F. Smith that he is the synonym for all that the people respect and hold dear.

Surely, this man who presides over the Church, and whose life is an open book, has been prepared for his labor. If weakness were in him he would have had ample opportunity to fall. From his birth, the spirit of the great latter-day work has hovered over him; and with every passing year he has been immersed in the history of the Church.

When he was born, in Far West, on November 13, 1838, apostasy, jealousy, persecution and the beckoning hands of untruth were shaking the Church. The Church did not fall, but the hearts of the faithful were sorely tried, and even the baby, Joseph F., must have assimilated some of the solemnity of those days when the Church was being purified for its future work It was a preparation of noble extent to sit, in those early years, on the knees of his patriarch father or of his prophet uncle, even though the wide import of their conversation was not understood by the boy. It was a training in steely strength, even for the child, to witness the homecoming of the bodies of his murdered father and uncle. For such robbery of the dearest in life the human breast naturally and instinctively clamors for revenge. Yet, the whole life of the boy, grown to manhood, has been that of forgiving and loving, so that all may be made to see the truth. Who knows at what cost the man within has been conquered? The Church has suffered such unjust yet persistent opposition from the beginning that one wonders that it retains its gentle love for all the children of men.

It was splendid preparation for the man who was to be in God's harness all the years of a long life to witness the exodus of Nauvoo. Home and lands, household property and trinkets of sentiment—all had to be left behind. The driven people were in the desert with their God, and lo! their faith waxed strong. It was during the exodus that President Smith learned lessons of faith that never have been forgotten. Their cattle were lost and their hope was gone, but the praying mother, in communion with the Source of Truth, arose and went directly to the place where the oxen had strayed. Though only eight years old, the boy drove an ox team across Iowa.

"In 1848, when nine years old, I drove a four-ox team across the plains to Salt Lake City," writes President Smith, in an album of a friend. That was training for the boy! From the days of that blistering, dusty journey there was no relapse to a longing for the easy things of life. After the arrival in the valley came the toilsome conquest of Widow Smith's farm. The father was gone and the children were young. Our President, from his own life, can understand the lot of the widow and the fatherless.

Then the mother died. The strong spirit and wise mind could no longer guide the boy. The father had been murdered in cold blood because he was fearless in the cause of truth; the mother had died from the strain and sorrow of a life tossed in the furious storm of those days; no material wealth was his. Thus stood the fourteen-year-old boy who was to become the leader of his people. Men are shorn of earthly support that they may grow strong in Godly ways!

The training had been severe, but of infinite value. When the boy was only fifteen years old he was called to go on a mission to the Sandwich Islands. By the labor of his hands he worked his way to California; by more labor, earned his passage to the islands. To object or to question was not possible for one who had survived his training. During that first mission the spirit of the work came upon him. In sermon, by visit, through his quiet influence, he led men and women into the way of everlasting truth. By the power of the priesthood he held, he healed the sick, drove out evil spirits, and brought peace to the souls of those who were heavy laden.

After nearly five years he was allowed to return home. Again he had to work his way. At last he was again with the body of his people in Salt Lake City, but penniless. The Lord does not always reward in gold and silver. He was not permitted to remain home long, for mission succeeded mission. From the Sandwich Islands he was called to England for three years; then from England again to the Sandwich Islands. To preach the gospel without purse and scrip became the order of his life.

Joseph F. Smith's ceaseless devotion to the gospel did not escape the notice of the watchful, keen-eyed leader, Brigham Young, who loved with a mighty love the memory of the martyrs Joseph and Hyrum Smith. It was a joy to the Prophet Brigham Young to find one of the blood of the martyrs giving himself to the cause for which they died. In various ways did President Young test the materials of which Joseph F. Smith was made. However, the long and hard training of boyhood and the insistent discipline in the mission field had not been in vain. President Young found him loyal to his family, his country, his Church and his God. Not even his bitterest enemy will deny that President Smith is loyal.

After some years, on July 1, 1866, a beautiful and solemn day, President Brigham Young ordained Joseph F. Smith to the apostleship. A year later, in October, 1867, he was admitted to the quorum of the Twelve. If there can be any talk in the Church of Christ of earning a position, Joseph F. Smith had earned his place in the apostolic quorum, by his purity, his intelligence, his integrity and his activity in behalf of the Church. Moreover, the people of the Church delight to honor the blood of the Prophet who was God's instrument in the mighty work of the restoration of the gospel. Welcome was he, when he entered upon his work as one of the general authorities of the Church.

As a member of the quorum of the Twelve, Joseph F. Smith showed the same activity that had so emphatically characterized his former labors. From settlement to settlement he traveled, to counsel, to preach and to take active part in the building of the West, which was yet in its swaddling clothes of conquest. Vigorous were his words wherever he went. Without doubt was his faith. His testimony of the gospel was as the highest knowledge. He was then as now a fearless champion of truth.

At the time Apostle Smith assumed a place among the general authorities of the Church, Utah conditions were rapidly changing. Many non-members of the Church, who had come in to share in the bounties of the desert made to blossom by the Saints, could not content themselves with their rich material harvest, but must needs take up arms against the Church. When the leaders of the Church were charged with disloyalty to the country, when their motives were painted as those of devils, when the whole system of "Mormon" faith was branded as the rottenest immorality, the people who remembered the days of Carthage and Nauvoo had difficulty to keep down the cry of vengeance. Across the weary desert they had trailed, leaving many by the way; in the sweat of their brows they had won the wilderness to their use, and all this that they might serve unmolested their holy God, in a worship founded on purity and truth. It was then that the clear-visioned, clear-thinking leaders raised their voices in protest against further injustice. Apostle Smith, a man of deep affections, had fought away from himself the desire for revenge for the beastly murder of his manly father; but, being a man of strength, he could not submit indifferently to the new injustice that was proposed. The Fighting Apostle they called him, as he hurled back the untruths about "Mormonism," and his relentless watchfulness became a deterrent power among those who planned evil for a good and peaceful people.

A fighting apostle he has always been—fighting for the cause of truth. Yet, Joseph F. Smith is temperamentally a man of peace. Gentle and kind are his ways. A gentleman, is the instinctive appellation bestowed upon him by all who meet him. In character, voice and manner he is the dignified peace maker. Nevertheless, his loyalty is such, and his convictions are so firmly established, that evil may not be spoken about truth without arousing the lion within him. To measure the ground; to give the foe full place and warning, to try strength according to the laws of decency, but never to give quarter to evil or untruth or injustice—that is the method of Joseph F. Smith.

In time, the years of toil wore upon President Brigham Young, who asked that more counselors, to act as assistants, be given him. Among those whom he chose for this purpose was Joseph F. Smith. This indicated that during his apostolic career he had not forfeited the confidence of the president which he had won earlier in his life. When, at length, the great founder of Utah passed away, and the first presidency was again reorganized, the abilities and character of Apostle Smith made him, under God's inspiration, a counselor to President John Taylor. Under the administrations of Presidents Taylor, Woodruff, and Snow, for twenty-one years, President Smith remained as a counselor in the first presidency, until at length, in the providence of God, he became the president of the Church.

The vast gathering in the great Tabernacle, November 10, 1901, will ever be remembered by those present. The priesthood of the Church were seated according to their offices in the priesthood. One by one the quorums arose, elders, seventies, high priests and the others, and voted to sustain the appointment of Joseph Fielding Smith to the Presidency. In his vigorous, later manhood, his eye clear, his voice distinct, his spirit compelling, he was vividly the greatest among the thousands of able men, the flower of a vigorous people, who had assembled there that day.

The day was the fulfilment of prophecy, for, many years before, his attainment of the exalted position of the Presidency had been predicted with the voice of authority.

Of the administration of the affairs of the Church under Joseph F. Smith's presidency nothing need be said—for we live in it and know its eloquent message. The stakes at home, the missions in Europe and in the islands of the sea, have been visited by the President in his official capacity. Prosperity, good will, spiritual power and growth, overshadow the Church. The stakes of Zion have been increased, the wards multiplied, hundreds of beautiful meeting-houses have been constructed, the priesthood has risen to a fuller recognition of its place in the Church, the temples have become crowded, new temples are being built, new converts have been added in mighty numbers, and in a thousand other ways has the Church prospered; and above all, in the face of a most bitter persecution, which has been heralded throughout the world, the faith of the people has increased until it is nigh unto impregnable. If any doubt all this, let him journey over the Church then visit one of the general conferences of the Church. There is faith in Israel!

Not only long but varied has been the experience of this great man who presides over the Church. True to the genius of "Mormonism," he has been closely identified with all the affairs of the community in which he has lived. For seven successive terms he was a member of the Utah legislature. When the Johnston army pantomime was in progress, President Smith joined the militia and assisted in making preparations to protect the homes of the people. He has helped to locate settlements and to find ways for bringing water upon the thirsting land. He has encouraged all legitimate business and, as far as time has permitted, has taken part in it. From his earliest life he has managed his farm, and even today, with his sons, has built one of the most modern livestock farms in the West, as an example to others.

Education, guided in schools, was largely denied him, but educated is President Smith. He has read widely, spoken with many men of many minds, and has thought deeply. Of broad and generous sympathies with everything that is noble and good, he has acquired a culture, which none dares question. Schools, the public press, the theater, music and the fine arts have been encouraged by him. As a most illuminating sidelight upon his wisdom is the fact that if not all of a family can be educated, he insists that the girls must be given the first chance, for they are the mothers and makers of men.

To those who do not know President Smith, it must seem strange that the honors that have almost overwhelmed him have all come unsought. President Smith is a modest man. Like all truly great men he is not immersed in thoughts of his own greatness. Rather does he admiringly place the power he observes in other men above his own. Nevertheless, and most naturally, position after position involving trust has come to him, though he has never sought one. Those who must find flaws in the Church point out that President Smith is officially connected with many business enterprises. Yet, those who find fault with this condition will not realize that men who can be absolutely trusted to guard the affairs of others as they would their own, are everywhere sought after. President Smith's demonstrated integrity has brought many offices which no doubt he would gladly relinquish to others. But "Mormon," Jew, and Gentile know that as far as President Smith can control things, only honor and justice and simple honesty will prevail wherever he is found.

During the Smoot investigations it seemed as if the whole United States was arrayed against the relatively few people who, during half a century, had given themselves to the conquest of the Great American Desert. The charges filed against this people, if sustained, would make the "Mormon" people unfit to dwell in the "land of the free and the home of the brave." To face the investigating Committee on Privileges and Elections, composed of the best minds of the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States Congress, many were subpoenaed. The first witness was President Smith. Fortunately, the hearing is preserved and printed so that all may read it. Matching mind and will and heart and sense against the great ones of the land, President Smith was easily their compeer. Read it. Who has ever heard of that hearing used as a campaign document against "Mormons"? When Joseph F. Smith's history is written, his mighty contest with the most authoritative body in the land will make his figure stand out in noble relief. Among the men of earth, high or low, President Smith is never at a disadvantage.

Those who had even slight acquaintance with President Smith were not surprised at the evidence of his power among men. In all his public work he is masterful. He is endowed with high physical attractiveness, his musical voice is compelling, his language chaste and correct, and his thoughts appeal to the intellect as well as to the emotions. Those who have seen him before the ten thousand, at the great Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, have no fear that he may not be measured with the men he meets.

Perhaps the best evidence of the high intellect of President Smith is shown in his clear understanding and explanation of the principles of the gospel. Men often sink to oblivion in quagmires of theological vagueness. In matters of theological doctrine the President is lucid as the noon-day light. Some few years ago, certain men, loving to conjecture the improbable, insisted on knowing what would happen if all the men holding the priesthood were to die, save one elder. At one of the great conferences (general), before ten thousand assembled Saints, President Smith, in one-half dozen sentences cleared up the whole subject. It would be the privilege and duty of the one remaining elder to organize again the whole Church with apostles, prophets, etc., according to the revelation. The powers and purpose and duty of the priesthood were thus driven into the understandings of the people, as they never had been before. His sermons abound in such clarifying statements, backed by a simple, unfailing faith that looks for simplicity rather than mystery in the things of God.

Perhaps enough has been said. The man of whom we write is tender and gentle, and withal does not love much praise. To him and his families many children have been born. To them he is loyal with all his power, for he well knows that loyalty, with all other virtues, begins at home. Over his families he watches with tender solicitude. They in turn love him with an invariable love. It is common knowledge that when the children were young, his rest was not easy if he had not seen the little ones properly tucked away for the night. The same father-heart beats for the people whose accepted leader he is. The hearts of the people ache over the long hours he spends in the office working out the affairs of the Church, especially now that he is no longer as young as he once was. But, he is not to be dissuaded. He must see his people tucked away for the night, before his heart will be at peace. So works love! and who shall say him nay, whose care from boyhood has been the welfare of his people?

"Has this man no faults?" asks the green-eyed critic. To be sure he has, for he is mortal. But, this writing is not to show his faults; and indeed, the writer does not know them, any more than he knows the full virtue of this man who for eighty long years has lived his life openly among his people, and who is the freest from adverse criticism in his community. Men are not measured by their faults, but by their worthy deeds and qualities. In the scales of eternal justice the main requirement is that our virtues outweigh our failings. Curiously enough, the only current criticism of President Smith, among those who oppose him, is that he is too loyal to his people, his friends, his convictions. Is not that the eternal cry of the enemy who reaches out for deserters? In every manly quality, friend and foe agree that he reaches above the majority of men.

Sure is our President of his reward. For him God will richly provide. Our question may rather be, has he had during the earth's journey, his full measure of reward? Have we done our full duty? For the cause of the Church he was bereft of father and mother. In the service of the Church he has been unable to use his splendid talents for the gathering of wealth—in our day he might justly be called a poor man. The ease of life has been denied him, for almost daily he has been "under orders." Above all, as a leader in Israel, the calumny and hatred of the Church have been heaped upon him. Only a few years ago, when past his prime, the most heartless persecution to which any member of the Church has been submitted was his. For several years an influential newspaper, standing at that time for the persecution of the Church, by means fair or foul, printed daily vile cartoons of President Smith and equally vile editorials about him and his work. Every indignity conceivable to the human mind was offered him because he was the embodiment of the Church.

Should the question be put to him, he would answer that he has had a rich reward. Perhaps he feels, let it be hoped he does, the outpouring of loving thoughts from the people whenever his name is mentioned. He has been blessed to serve. That is also a great reward for effort. His life has been crowned with the assurance, from all, that his work has been well done. That is the most satisfying reward.

May his health be preserved and his life be lengthened out. There is much work yet to be done, and men do not frequently rise to the fulness of his measure! At the beginning of his eighty-first year, the people give loving greetings and good wishes and heartfelt gratitude to Joseph F. Smith, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.—Dr. John A. Widtsoe, 1918; also in Improvement Era, Vol. 18, November, 1914, pp. 38-45.