Lost Legacy: The Mormon Office of Presiding Patriarch

291 Pages·2018·4.201 MB·English

by  Irene Bates, E Gary Smith

Mormon Studies /
Bates
Religion
and
Smith
second edition
second
1
edition
Joseph Smith’s father, Joseph Smith Sr., first
occupied the hereditary office of Presiding l
first edition:
Patriarch of the Church of Jesus Christ of LOST LEGAC Y
Winner of the Mormon History
Latter-day Saints. Thereafter, it became a focal o
Association Best Book Award
point for struggle between those appointed and
those born to leadership positions. The revised s
and supplemented new edition of Lost Legacy The Mormon Office of Presiding Patriarch
new in this second edition: t
updates the award-winning history of the office.
The Story of Final Presiding
Irene M. Bates and E. Gary Smith chronicle the
Patriarch Eldred G. Smith’s Irene M. Bates and E. Gary Smith
ongoing tensions around the existence of a Pre-
Lengthy Emeritus Status l
siding Patriarch as a source of conflict between
the Smith family and the rest of the leadership.
e
Their narrative continues through the dawning
realization that familial authority was incom- “A fascinating story. . . . For Latter-day g
patible with the LDS’s structured leadership to Saints who revere Church authorities
the decision to abolish the office of Presiding as inspired prophets, the book will a
Patriarch in 1979. undoubtedly read a little like an exposé.
This edition provides a new preface and . . . Far from demeaning the authorities, c
chapter by E. Gary Smith. this illuminating history can reassure
received a Ph.D. in history from readers that difficult problems are sen- y
Irene M. Bates
UCLA. She died in 2015. sitively handled in the upper councils of
the Church.” —BYU Studies
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is the son of the last Presiding
E. Gary Smith r
Patriarch and is retired after being senior part- esi e M
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Front over images: U.S. Geological
Survey topographical map of Salt
Lake, Utah, 1895, Perry-Castañeda
Library Map Collection, University of
Texas Libraries. Hyrum Fisher Smith
family, ca. 1885. Courtesy of E. Gary
Smith. Patriarch Emeritus Eldred G.
Smith reviewing documents in his
office, 2013. Courtesy of E. Gary
Smith. Back cover images: Portraits of
the eight Church Patriarchs.
Bates cover_REVISED.indd 1 12/7/17 2:43 PM
(cid:2)
Lost Legacy

Lost
(cid:2)
Legacy
The Mormon Offi ce
of Presiding Patriarch
Second Edition
Irene M. Bates and
E. Gary Smith
© 1996, 2018 by the Board of Trustees
of the University of Illinois
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Bates, Irene M., 1921–2015, author. | Smith, E. Gary, 1938– author.
Title: Lost legacy : the Mormon offi ce of Presiding Patriarch / Irene M. Bates and
E. Gary Smith.
Description: Second edition. | [Urbana, Illinois] : [University of Illinois Press],
[2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Identifi ers: LCCN
2017024250 (print) | LCCN 2017025294 (ebook) | ISBN 9780252050138
(ebook) | ISBN 9780252071157 | ISBN 9780252071157 (hardcover : alk. pa-
per) | ISBN 9780252083099 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Patriarchs (Mormon theology)—History of doctrines. | Smith,
Joseph, Sr., 1771–1840. | Smith, Hyrum, 1800–1844. | Smith, William, 1811–
1893. | Smith, John, 1781-1854. | Smith, John, 1832–1911. | Smith, Hyrum
Gibbs, 1879–1932. | Smith, Joseph F. (Joseph Fielding), 1899–1964. | Smith,
Eldred G. (Eldred Gee), 1907–2013. | Mormon Church—United States—
Biography. | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—Biography. |
LCGFT: Biographies.
Classifi cation: LCC BX8643.P36 (ebook) | LCC BX8643.P36 B37 2017 (print) |
DDC 262/.13—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017024250
(cid:2)
Contents
Preface to the second edition vii
Prologue 1
Introduction 5
1. Charisma and Authority 13
The Crucible for the Offi ce of Patriarch
2. “Like the Patriarchs of Old” 29
Joseph Smith, Sr.—First Patriarch, 1833–40
3. “By Blessing and Also by Right” 59
Hyrum Smith—Second Patriarch, 1841–44
4. Offi ce in Crisis 72
William Smith—Third Patriarch, May 1845–October 1845
5. Patriarchal Bridge 104
Interregnum, 1845–47, and Uncle John Smith—Fourth
Patriarch, 1847–54
6. Continuing the Tradition 123
John Smith—Fifth Patriarch, 1855–1911
7. A Question of Primacy 151
Hyrum G. Smith—Sixth Patriarch, 1912–32
8. Decade of Uncertainty, 1932–42, and the Compromise 173
Joseph F. Smith II—Seventh Patriarch, 1942–46
9. The End of the Line 201
Eldred G. Smith—Eighth Patriarch, 1947–79
10. Unique Emeritus
Eldred G. Smith—Patriarch/General Authority Emeritus,
1979–2013 221
Conclusion 239
Appendix A: Presiding Patriarchs and Presidents of the
Mormon Church 251
Appendix B: Mormon Presiding Patriarchs 253
Bibliography 255
Index 269

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Preface to the Second Edition
Lost Legacy: The Mormon Offi ce of Presiding Patriarch was fi rst pub-
lished in 1996 by the University of Illinois Press.1 At that time the last
patriarch to hold the position of Patriarch to the Church was only eighty-
nine years old. “Only,” because Eldred Gee Smith lived another seventeen
years, to the age of 106. Thus, the fi nal chapter of this interesting offi ce in
the Mormon ecclesiastical hierarchy was still unwritten at that time. The
story of those fi nal years is now included in this new edition.2
Those emeritus years were different from the way Eldred would have
spent them as an active General Authority, but they were also different
from those of other emeritus General Authority Seventies. Those years
involved a unique emeritus status—one that included signifi cant active
General Authority dimensions, but with an invisibility that resulted in a
sometimes complex and uncomfortable situation for Patriarch Smith. This
revised edition inserts a new chapter to tell this story; it also contains a
few corrections and footnote additions in other parts of the book. This
preface has been expanded to include personal comments from the author
of this new edition.
Eldred G. “Gee” Smith was called to be Patriarch to the Church in 1947.
His eldest son, E. (Eldred) Gary Smith, was then nine years old. Eldred was
the eighth person to hold the hereditary offi ce that had descended from
father to eldest son through the lineage of Joseph Smith Sr. Gary remem-
bers that shortly after his father had been made Patriarch to the Church,
several men in his ward asked him at different times if he was the eldest
son in the family. They then congratulated him, told him he had a great
heritage to live up to, and assured him that someday he would follow his
father as the Patriarch to the Church. Gary has no recollection of discuss-
ing any of this with his father until well after he was an adult. However,
soon after the encounters with the men in the ward he recalls going to
his mother3 to ask what this was all about. She confi rmed that there was
a tradition of this offi ce going from eldest son to eldest son, starting with
Joseph Smith Sr. and Hyrum Smith. However, she was adamant: “It may
never happen. Never plan on it. Don’t make decisions based on it. Always
live so that if it occurs you will be worthy of it.”
viii Preface
As Gary later learned from his parents and other family members, this
was not the message that Eldred received from his mother, Martha Electa
Gee Smith.4 Martha was anxious for her son to follow in the steps of her
husband. Shortly before Hyrum G. Smith’s death at age fi fty-two he asked
Martha to bring Eldred so that he could ordain him as successor to the
offi ce of Presiding Patriarch, similar to the way Joseph Smith Sr. shortly
before his death, had bestowed the offi ce on Hyrum Smith. Martha as-
sured Hyrum that he was not going to die at such a young age, and so no
ordination took place.5 But he did die, and after that Martha wanted very
much for her son to succeed her husband in the patriarchal offi ce.6
As discussed in chapter 8, Eldred waited ten years after the death of his
father before he learned that the decision had been made to call someone
else to the position. George Albert Smith, when referring to this deci-
sion in his journal, said he was disappointed, and added, “I am sure that
Martha and Eldred will feel bad about it.”7 It is telling that George Albert
Smith was concerned not just that Eldred would feel bad, but Martha also.
He knew that Martha saw the offi ce as her son’s birthright. This feeling
of birthright entitlement was inculcated into Eldred’s vision of his life’s
purpose.
During Gary’s mission to the British Isles from 1958 to 1960, Selvoy J.
Boyer, the fi rst president of the London Temple, shared with him stories
about the history of the offi ce of Church Patriarch. Gary had not known
that there were controversial aspects to the history. After completing law
school and settling down to his profession Gary began collecting infor-
mation and documents with the intent of someday writing a history of
the offi ce. In the late 1970s Gary received encouragement from Leonard
Arrington (then Church Historian), Valleen Tippets Avery, and Linda
Newell to begin writing the book. At the 1980 Mormon History Associa-
tion annual meeting he received further encouragement from Jan Shipps,
Lavina Fielding Anderson, and others.
Gary then asked long-time friend Irene Bates if she would work with
him on the project. She agreed. The research was not easy. D. Michael
Quinn, an accomplished historian of the Mormon hierarchy even at that
time, said in an early letter to Gary, “There is no single source or set of
sources that provide the evidence for the kind of study that you desire.”
He noted, too, the sketchiness of the diaries of Hyrum Smith (1800–1844),
Uncle John Smith (1781–1854), young John Smith (1832–1911), and Hyrum
Gibbs Smith (1879–1932)—all important persons in the contemplated his-
tory. Quinn concluded his letter by pointing out, “The only way one could
do the kind of study you want is for them to read virtually every possible
document of interest in Mormon History for the purpose of collecting
those many needles in thousands of haystacks that would make such a
study of the patriarchal offi ce possible.”
Preface ix
Gary and Irene began searching haystacks for needles, and along the
way each of them published several articles on their subject. They accessed
archives from coast to coast and scoured both primary and secondary
sources. During a hiatus in Gary’s available time Irene returned to UCLA,
where she had been valedictorian of her class a few years before, and
obtained her master’s degree. She then received her doctorate in history
in 1991, having drawn on the research from the book project for her dis-
sertation.
Then the writing of this book began in earnest. Throughout, Irene and
Gary enjoyed the unique benefi ts of friendship with others in the fi eld of
Mormon history. Many knowledgeable scholars, as well as Smith family
members, shared freely their sources and information. Among those in
this category are Valeen Tippetts Avery, Ian Barber, Maureen Ursenbach
Beecher, Gary Bergera, Bunny and Verona Clark, Lyndon Cook, Joseph
Geisner, B. Carmon Hardy, Cleone Isom, William Knecht, Linda King
Newell, Greg Prince, D. Michael Quinn, Ralph and Geneva Smith, Brian
Stuy, and Buddy Youngreen.
The authors are grateful for the courtesy and professional assistance
of the librarians and staff of the Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscripts
Library, Yale University, Coe Collection, New Haven, Connecticut; Har-
old B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah; Henry E.
Huntington Library and Art Gallery, San Marino, California; Historical
Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake
City, Utah; RLDS Library-Archives, Independence, Missouri; University
of Utah Marriott Library, Salt Lake City, Utah; State Historical Society of
Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin; and the Utah State Historical Society,
Salt Lake City, Utah.
It would be impossible to name all those who gave advice and en-
couragement, but among them are Lavina Fielding Anderson, Leonard
Arrington, Lowell L. Bennion, Ruth Bloch, Daniel Walker Howe, Jeffrey
Johnson, Stanley Kimball, David Shibley, and Jan Shipps.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has not reviewed or
approved any edition of this book, and the authors, and the authors alone,
take full responsibility for what is written. The permission of Patriarch
Eldred G. Smith to use his personal papers as a resource for this book is
especially appreciated. His cooperation was extended from the beginning
of the project, and he provided written permission for the use of his pa-
pers on October 5, 1990. It must be made clear, however, that this book
was not approved by Patriarch Smith, nor is it in any way his product. He
did not participate in the research or writing. During a visit with Gary in
California, Gary shared with his father the chapter dealing with Eldred’s
incumbency and summarized the book in general. Eldred replied, “This is
a story that needs to be told.” Although he later requested that the efforts