CHAPTER VIII

OLD AGE: 1906-1914

In 1906 the RLDS General Conference was held in Independence, Missouri.
While there, Joseph Smith III discovered that there was considerable sentiment
that he should relocate in "Zion." Before leaving for Lamoni, he looked about for
a potential new home in Independence. Later, with financial assistance from
friends in the church, he was able to purchase the modest two-story home he had
selected, which lay within easy walking distance of the Temple Lot and the Stone
Church. During the summer the legal transaction was consummated, the family's
goods loaded onto a boxcar, and the move from Lamoni to Independence quickly
accomplished. Joseph left the rigorous aspects of moving to younger hands. "The
only help I gave was in opening boxes of books, or other light work, my principal
object," he recalled, "being to keep out of the way."¹

He had been considering such a move for some time. He explained his
reasons in a letter to his daughter Carrie:

I am past much physical labor. I can not do as I have for all my life
"pitch in," no matter what is to be done; this demands a stop.

My neuralgic trouble has partially unfitted me for Herald work. I
must get away from office work; I go to pieces too soon upon close
application to Desk work, and can only work at intervals.

Besides all this, the center of gravitation in the gathering idea is
here, and I have been charged with being "shaky" on the gathering
because I did not "gather," and it ought to be a fact that sooner or later I
should gather, or come here to live. I am soon 74; and, if I should come
at all to be of any use, it should be soon. I want to emphasize my faith
by works.

If any of the authorities of the Utah contingent come here to locate
they will find me on the ground. ...

So now, Dear girl, remember that I have tried to follow the lead of
the Spirit. My duty is more to the work at large than to the Saints at
Lamoni; that I am as much obligated to those here as to those there; and
my final home and resting place are here.²

Joseph Smith III was conscious of his increasing years. During the
remainder of 1906 his health prohibited extensive travel or preaching. He busied
himself with such editorial work and correspondence as he felt capable of
handling. Early in 1907 he set his temporal affairs in order, in the event of his
death. He decided to busy himself with what work he could until his allotted time
should expire.³

Travels

Joseph's neuralgic troubles abated sufficiently that he was able to return to
work "in the field," in the next few years. His principal journeys were to
Philadelphia and Hawaii (1907), and Canada and the East Coast (1908).

Visit to Hawaii. Joseph Smith Ill's second and last trans-oceanic missionary
journey occurred in the fall of 1907, when he visited Hawaii to dedicate the first
RLDS church building in the Islands. Joseph stayed in Hawaii from October 12th
through November 6th. His visit assumed something of the character of a
vacation as he toured about, observed Hawaii's natural wonders, feasted upon its
cuisine, and visited with various dignitaries.

He also had occasion to do some preaching, both to the small RLDS flock
and to curious outsiders. Mormon missionaries had served in Hawaii for decades,
and LDS work was well established there. On several occasions, Joseph Smith III
had opportunities to address LDS listeners. As usual, he avoided harsh or
disrespectful language, while setting forth clearly the differences between the
two churches. His presentations were persuasive enough that at least one local
paper, the Pacific Commercial Advertiser, gave him extsnsive favorable
coverage. For example, the Advertiser said the following about his sermon of
October 21st:
The purpose of President Smith's address was to demonstrate that
polygamy was never a doctrine taught or tolerated by the Prophet,
Joseph Smith, nor held in the church during his lifetime, nor ever held or
taught by any authority recognized by the church, and is, in fact, a
heresy, the acceptance of which has amounted to apostasy by the Utah
branch of the church.⁴

During his travels on Oahu he observed some of the Mormon businesses.
His opinions about them were less than flattering:

. . . we took a drive through the pineapple plantations, being much
interested in all we observed. I may say that so far as the Mormon sugar
industry at Laie was concerned, it appeared that everything about it was
kept closely under the secret and dominant rule of the churchly
hierarchy.⁵

Before his departure he was honored with a luau. On his seventy-fifth
birthday he boarded a ship for San Francisco. A throng of well-wishers loaded him
down with leis and other gifts. On the homeward voyage he was pleased by the
captain's request that he lead the Sunday worship service aboard ship. He had
achieved such a measure of respectability that a Protestant minister named
Dodge was happy to assist him with the services.⁶

Visit to the North and East. During the summer of 1908 Joseph, Ada, and
their youngest son made a trip to Ontario. After holding some meetings and
visiting, it was decided to join the Saints in Massachusetts for their Eastern
Reunion. While traversing the rapids on the St. Lawrence River, near Montreal,
Joseph took a nasty shipboard fall. The resultant laceration to his shin did not
heal properly for two years. At the reunion he found his step uncertain, due to his
injury and failing eyesight. After some sightseeing they returned to Ontario by
train and visited Ada's family. On the way home they visited some other RLDS
branches. This was Joseph Smith Ill's last major journey. While in Canada he read
a life of Napoleon, which proved to be the last book of any length he ever read.
He was blind in one eye, and sight in the other was failing. Henceforth he
was to lead the life of a semi-invalid.⁷

Retiring from the Healm

Joseph Smith III took a realistic view of aging. He realized that he was
unable to work as he had in former years and gradually transferred his duties to
younger men. In 1906, while incapacitated much of the time by illness, he
delegated more and more of the First Presidency's routine work to his counselors.⁸
Associate Editor Elbert A. Smith remained in Lamoni, where the Herald was
published, and exercised general oversight of the church's official publication, still
nominally edited by Joseph Smith III. Joseph, however, continued to submit
editorial matter.⁹ In the fields of history and apologetics, Apostle Heman C.
Smith assumed the sorts of duties which Joseph had handled personally in former
years. ¹⁰

The death of his brother Alexander (August 12, 1909) emphasized to Joseph
that his own life was drawing to a close. Already at the General Conference of
1909 he had taken steps to prepare the church for his own departure by formally
returning to the church the gavel which he long had used as the presiding officer at
conferences. He recognized that his own failing eyesight and hearing made it
increasingly difficult for him to preside over the conference's business.¹¹

At the General Conference of 1910, Frederick Madison Smith sat in the
chair. This conference was designated as the "Golden Jubilee Conference," in
honor of Joseph Smith Ill's fifty years as president. In speeches, ceremonies,
prayers, music, poetry, and other exercises, the church's venerable president was
showered with honors.¹² Church Historian Heman C. Smith, in a review of Joseph
Smith Ill's career as president of the church, concluded:

Though President Smith has reached the advanced age of nearly
seventy-eight years and his bodily powers are becoming impaired, he has
lived to see one of his earliest predictions realized, viz., that he would
live to see the name of a Latter Day Saint honorable among men; and he
has had the satisfaction of seeing the little band with whom he cast his
lot fifty years ago become a mighty host, and the message they bore
carried triumphantly to almost every part of his native land, to many
parts of Europe, to far-away Australia, and the islands of the sea. ¹³

Responding to one of the many honors bestowed upon him, Joseph Smith III
summed up the philosophy which had governed his career:

I pledge myself, as I did fifty years ago, that the cause we represent
shall not be brought into disrepute by act or teaching of mine contrary to
the standard books of the church and the code of good morals. I renew
that pledge at the beginning of this session of Conference. I do it from
many considerations, chief perhaps being one that has been with me all
my life, a resolution formed when I was but a boy, after my baptism by
my father, and strengthened when, after the death of himself and my
Uncle Hyrum, I faced the world and was recognized everywhere as the
son of the Prophet—sometimes in language unfit for men to name, under
the influence of which I was always a marked boy and a marked man.
That resolution was this—I have uttered it in the hearing of many of you;
I do so again: That if there was truth in the axiom, "Like father, like
son," no man, speaking from my conduct, should call my father a bad
man. After fifty years of coservice, you all know whether or not I have
kept that pledge.

.... If there has been any portion of wisdom given me to exercise
the rule of President, it has been from the Master and at his good will,
and it shall be my prayer that to these younger men who take my place,
there shall be given such portion of that wisdom coming from God that is
first pure, gentle, and easy to be entreated; that those burdens may be
borne, and the authority resting with them be exercised, as the Master
would have his servants do, as honorable, Christian gentlemen, lovers of
truth, fearless in its defense, and willing to make the sacrifice that God
requires of human ambitions for human things of the love of power for
power's sake, of the love of wealth for its surroundings; and that they
shall always seek to discharge those duties imposed by Divine Calling in
such manner that when at last the shades of night shall gather over their
weakened frames, as they are gathering over mine. they shall still be
found men of truth, able and willing to trust in God.¹⁴

Succession

Not only did Joseph Smith III delegate more and more of his duties to
others, but he attempted to make the succession of his son Frederick to the
presidency as smooth as possible. The Reorganization was founded upon the
principles of monogamy and lineal succession in the priesthood, but Joseph
realized from past Latter Day Saint history that the absence of clearly spelled-
out procedures for succession to the presidency could create problems ranging
from confusion to schism.

For some time Fred M. had been groomed to succeed his father. In 1902
Joseph delivered a revelation to the church elevating Frederick Madison Smith to
the First Presidency.¹⁵ At that time he expressed his anticipation that his son
eventually would succeed him in office:

I have been importuned to settle the question as to who should be
my successor. We have advanced upon the hypothesis of lineal
priesthood in this regard, and while I believe in it, I believe it is
connected with fitness and propriety, and no son of mine will be entitled
to follow me as my successor, unless at the time he is chosen he is found
to be worthy in character. I should not expect it. I now state to you,
brethren, under the influence of, to me, the Spirit of God, that should I
be overtaken by death before some of the things which are anticipated
shall be wrought, you have my successor in your midst. I do not say that
he should be chosen; if at the time that this emergency should occur he
is found to be worthy let him be chosen, if unworthy let him be rejected
and another chosen from the body as the revelation provides. And should
he be found unworthy and another of my sons found worthy, let the line
descend, as I believe that it ought to; for a man should be called to the
office to serve the church who has proved himself to be worthy of
confidence and trust.¹⁶

According to Joseph Smith Ill's understanding, several factors should
coalesce in determining his successor: lineal succession, worthiness, and
designation by revelation. This last factor came into play in 1906, when Joseph
delivered a revelation which declared:

... in case of the removal of my servant now presiding over the church
by death or transgression, my servant Frederick M. Smith, if he remain
faithful and steadfast, should be chosen, in accordance with the
revelations which have been hitherto given to the church concerning the
priesthood. Should my servant Frederick M. Smith prove unstable and
unfaithful, another may be chosen, according to the law already given.¹⁷

In 1909 Joseph Smith III received a revelation dropping R. C. Evans as
second counselor in the First Presidency and replacing him with Elbert A. Smith,
the son of David H. Smith. Removing the ambitious and egotistical Evans paved
the way for the unimpeded succession of Frederick. ¹⁸

Despite Fred M. Smith's substantial involvement in ecclesiastical
administration and his designation by revelation as heir-apparent, Joseph felt the
need for further clarification of the succession. In 1912 he circulated a
questionnaire to members of the RLDS hierarchy. It surveyed their ideas
concerning the theology and mechanics of succession.¹⁹ After digesting the
replies, Joseph prepared a lengthy "Letter of Instruction." He hoped that the
"Letter of Instruction" would eliminate division, confusion, or uncertainty after
his own death.²⁰

The "Letter of Instruction" spelled out in considerable detail the steps to
be followed upon the death or removal of the president of the church. For
example, it stipulated that so long as two members of the First Presidency
remained, the presidency as a quorum was still intact. The first and second
counselors were more than mere advisors; they were also presidents of the high
priesthood. As such, they could continue to perform the routine duties of the
presidency until a new president was chosen. Upon the death of the president,
direction of the church would not devolve upon the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles. Only in the event that the Quorum of the First Presidency were
dissolved (through the removal of two of its members) or no longer functioning
properly (through the two remaining members quarrelling or attempting to seize
arbitrary power) would the Twelve be authorized to intervene. Even in that case,
the Twelve would have to act in conjunction with the Quorum of Seventy. All of
this was in marked contrast to LDS practice and reflected years of RLDS
criticism of the Quorum of Twelve's behavior after the death of Joseph Smith.

Detailed procedures were spelled out by which the General Conference
subsequent to the president's death should select a successor. All of these
procedures were designed to secure an orderly, well-considered vote.
Several paragraphs in the "Letter of Instruction" treated the doctrine of
lineal succession in the priesthood. The Doctrine and Covenants contained the
statement that priesthood descended from father to son, but Joseph Smith III
explained that this referred to priesthood generally, not to any specific office in
the priesthood. There was, he stated, no automatic succession of sons to their
fathers' offices. A son, he emphasized, must first be worthy and qualified before
he could be called to the priesthood or any office in it. If so qualified, a son
might succeed to his father's office if called by revelation, chosen by the proper
ecclesiastical authority, and ordained. All these conditions having been met, sons
were eligible to succeed to their fathers' offices, precedence being given to the
oldest living son.

Several paragraphs painted an historical retrospective of the succession-
crisis which occurred following Joseph Smith's death in 1844. Three different
patterns of succession were examined and criticized.

First, the assumption of supreme authority by the Quorum of Twelve was
wrong. The usurpation of control by one of the three co-equal quorums was
arbitrary and dictatorial. This ecclesiastical coup d'etat denuded the church of its
proper checks and balances and led to the "public proclamation of the plural
marriage dogma with its concomitant corruptions of the doctrines of the church."
The Doctrine and Covenants provided a safeguard against such efforts of "one or
more ambitious men, more mindful of self-exaltation and aggrandizement than
. . . the good of a spiritual people, to so far obtain control in authority that
mischievous and pernicious theories and doctrines" would be introduced. This
safeguard consisted of three quorums—Presidency, Twelve, and Seventy—"holding
equal authority in matters of extreme decision, forming a three-fold cord in
spiritual affairs . . . ." When the First Presidency was disorganized by the deaths
of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, in 1844, the Twelve and Seventy should have
governed the church jointly—possibly with the High Council temporarily acting in
the role of a third quorum—according to the principle of three-fold spiritual
control, until the presidency could be reorganized according to law. The LDS
practice of restricting the presidency to members of the Twelve was baseless.

Second, the precedents established by factional leaders such as James J.
Strang, Lyman Wight, William Smith, and others were dismissed as being purely of
negative value. They served "as warnings against deviating from the letter and
the spirit of what had been given to the church . .. ."

Third, the procedure followed by the early Reorganization was said to
provide an incomplete precedent for the future. The situation in the 1850s was
unique. There had been a disorganization of the church and an interregnum. The
principles of lineal succession and designation of the successor by revelation were
sound, but a more orderly method of succession than that employed in the 1850s
was needed.

Specifically turning to the question of his own successor, Joseph Smith III
endorsed the principle of lineal succession, all the while taking care not to elevate
it into an absolute dogma. God, he reasoned, had the right to designate whomever
he desired. But, following the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants, the
"legendary teaching of the eldership," and the precedent established by the early
Reorganization, Joseph Smith III concluded that the president's oldest son was
"eligible" to succeed his father. This eligibility had to be confirmed by
qualifications and revelation. Such father-to-son succession would be the normal
pattern, he believed, "unless such action was contravened by revelation directing
otherwise." In the event that a president died without specifically naming a
successor, the existing revelations established the principle of lineal succession
with sufficient clarity that the church would be justified in choosing and ordaining
his son to succeed him.

To avoid confusion or controversy, Joseph Smith III then specifically
designated his eldest living son as his successor:

Assuming the right seemingly conferred in the revelations contained
in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants and conforming to the safer
principles enunciated in the legendary teaching of the eldership, I, Joseph
Smith, the present incumbent of the office of president of the
Reorganized Church, definitely designate my eldest living son,
Frederick Madison Smith, as the proper person to be chosen by the
church as my successor in office, believing as I do that the Spirit of
revelation and wisdom has manifested to me that such choice should be
made as directed by the Spirit of the great Master-builder.

Joseph Smith Ill's careful measures resulted in an orderly succession
following his death in 1914. Frederick Madison Smith was ordained his successor
without opposition. To the present day, the RLDS president has always been a
male descendant of Joseph Smith III. Theology, history, tradition, and apologetics
have combined to make this hereditary presidency one of the distinguishing
characteristics of the RLDS Church.

Relatives

As he gradually retired from active life, Joseph Smith Ill's family became
an increasing focus of interest to him. He was delighted, for example, at the
birth of his first Smith grandson in 1912. Named Joseph Perrine Smith, the lad
gave him hope that the RLDS line of Smiths would continue.²¹

With the passing of years, it became increasingly obvious that neither the
Missouri nor the Utah branches of the Smith family were going to alter their
religious views. This division of the family was a source of sorrow to all
concerned. Nevertheless, Joseph Smith III continued to entertain a lively feeling
of kinship for his cousins in Utah, a feeling which was reciprocated in most cases.

John Henry Smith. Joseph Smith III and Mormon Apostle John Henry Smith
continued their longtime friendship in old age. After Joseph III moved to
Independence, John Henry made a point of visiting him whenever he passed
through Kansas City. During these visits, John Henry sadly observed Joseph's
physical deterioration. He recorded in his journal that Joseph was worn with age,
suffered from neuralgia, and was losing his sight and hearing. However, he found
that Joseph had lost none of his mental acuteness. The cousins thoroughly enjoyed
their conversations, as in former times.²²

They also continued to correspond. When John Henry learned of the death
of Alexander H. Smith, he sent a moving letter of condolence to Joseph.
Awareness of their underlying religious differences was voiced even at such a
time, however:

I recognize the fact that time is passing, and that you and John and
Samuel and Joseph and Silas S. Smith, the old men of our race will soon
meet their call. I trust that conditions may arise sometime or
somewhere in the early future that shall lead us to a complete
understanding with each other, that there shall be no dividing of
interests when we stand in the presence of the quick and the dead.²³

Joseph's reply to John Henry thanked him for his sympathy. Joseph went
on to comment about the prospect of death and judgment:

Yes, Cousin John Henry, time is passing, and while I know that it
can be but a little longer until I too must pass over to the great majority,
I feel impressed that others now living will go before me. For what
purpose this impression is fastened upon my mind, and why I have been so
long left while others younger have been taken, I know not; but my faith
in God, and the law of divine compensation has filled my soul with a
peace and restfulness passing human comprehension, except with those
who experience it, and gives me assurance that when I shall pass to the
judgment of him who sees us all, I will be dealt with leniently for my
faults and my failures, and that the good that I have wrought, if any, will
receive commensurate consideration with those who have gone before
me hitherto. To you, with whom I have conversed more freely than with
others who have believed and practiced as you have done, and who has
known of my life and public conduct for nearly a half century, I have no
need to state that what I have done and said has been the result of
conviction; and for my earnestness I make no apology to humanity.

He told John Henry that he shared his desire for a resolution of their religious
differences, but that such must be built upon divine law. He argued that God was
not a changeable being, and that "when God laid the foundations of this Latter
Day Work ... he gave his laws to his people in harmony with his own unchanging
and eternal design and purpose." He would receive all revelations in harmony with
previous revelation, but could not accept anything contradictory to previously
revealed divine law. "This is the testimony of more than my fifty years of
advocacy and defence of the faith as delivered to Joseph Smith, my honored
father."²⁴

Joseph was not above needling his Utah cousin. In 1911 he observed that
some of the ongoing attacks on Mormonism in popular magazines were scurrilous.
But, he asked, did not John Henry's own continued practice of polygamy invite
such attacks?
But, say, Cousin John Henry, had you not better get a revision of
Webster as to the definition of polygamy or plural marriage. Is not the
example of Cousin Joseph F., yourself, Francis M. Lyman, and others, in
living in polygamous wedlock, a direct personal denial of the position
taken by President Joseph F. and others at the last conference[?] This
is sub rosa between you and me, as you know you and I can give each
other a sly slap without getting angry. The agitation against you people
in England seems to be bringing the question of your sincerity to the trial
of public opinion, abroad as well as at home.²⁵

John Henry Smith died on October 13, 1911. Shortly before John Henry's
death, Joseph III had a premonition of his cousin's impending demise. Some
visiting Utah elders had informed him that John Henry had been ill. Not long
after learning this, Joseph dreamed that he saw John Henry and Joseph F. Smith
together. John Henry appeared quite ill, and Joseph F.'s dissheveled hair and
beard seemed to express his anxiety for John Henry's health. Joseph Smith III had
experienced many premonitions and dreams which later came to pass.
Accordingly he was very worried about his cousin and wrote to him on September
14, 1911 expressing his concern.²⁶

John Henry replied to Joseph's letter on September 18th, stating that he
had not felt better in five years and expected to live for many years to come.
This good-natured rebuke proved unfortunately mistaken. Not a month passed
before Joseph III received a letter from Joseph F. informing him of John Henry's
sudden demise. Joseph III replied at once, offering his condolences to the Smiths
in Utah. However, he harbored a certain unexpressed satisfaction at this "new
evidence" that the "spirit of prophecy had not deserted the family."²⁷

John Smith. The following month another of Joseph's Utah cousins passed
away. John Smith—son of Hyrum Smith, half-brother of Joseph F. Smith, and
Patriarch of the Mormon Church—died suddenly of pneumonia on November 6,
1911. LDS President Joseph F. Smith courteously notified his RLDS counterpart
by telegram of John's death. Both John and Joseph III were born in 1832. They
has been great childhood friends in Nauvoo. Although John never kept up a
voluminous correspondence with Joseph III, whenever Joseph was in Utah they had
enjoyed each other's company immensely. Joseph always found a ready welcome
in John's (monogamous) household and suspected that John secretly sympathized
with his stand against polygamy. John Smith's passing left Joseph Smith III the
oldest living representative of the Smith family.²⁸

George Albert Smith. George Albert Smith was the oldest surviving son of
John Henry Smith. He had been elevated to the LDS Quorum of Twelve Apostles
in 1903. Joseph Smith III had formed a friendship with George Albert in 1905,
during his visit to Salt Lake City. A friendship had also developed between
George Albert and Frederick Madison Smith during Fred M.'s stay in Salt Lake
City. In later years, whenever George Albert made a trip to the East, he enjoyed
visiting Joseph III and Frederick in lndependence.²⁹

As illnesses and deaths occurred in the Smith family, George Albert and
the Missouri Smiths exchanged letters of concern and condolence. After George
Albert—who never enjoyed a robust constitution—suffered a nervous breakdown in
1909, Joseph Smith III sent a letter of sympathy to the family:

By your card to Fred M. my son, I learned that Cousin George A.
was confined to his bed. I regret to hear this, though I was impressed
last Fall when I last saw George A., that he was breaking down, and it
was only a question of time. I was rather strongly impressed that he
would not soon be rid of his sickness. I think the strength of his
constitution has been sapped, though I hope earnestly for his recovery.
We may differ in beliefs and sentiments, but I cherish no enmity, and am
making no war on individuals. Principles are what will count in the day
of judgment. If I have been wrong and am now wrong, I must lose; if
George A. and his people have not been right, they must lose in the great
arbitrament.³⁰

When his father John Henry Smith passed away, George Albert wrote to Frederick
Madison Smith to thank the Missouri Smiths for their words of consolation. He
remarked: "Father has always been a real friend to your branch of the family and
has appreciated the kindness manifested by your dear father and his family
whenever he was with them."³¹

After one of George Albert's visits to Independence, in 1913, Joseph III sent
him a letter expressing his pleasure at the visit and inviting him to call again. He
recalled his kind reception in Salt Lake City in 1905 and the warm feelings
between their branches of the family. He expressed his profound respect for the
late John Henry Smith:

Your father . . . met me on one of my visits to Utah with such frankness
and kindly exhibition of manly friendship, notwithstanding our
differences of belief, in such courtliness of manner as won my
confidence and esteem. He was always welcome and I was always
pleased to exchange such courtesies as time would permit. And I cherish
his memory as being one of the noble men among men.³²

When Joseph Smith III passed away the following year, George Albert Smith
sent condolences to Frederick M. Smith. Frederick and George Albert—one the
second president of the Reorganized Church (1915-1946) and the latter to become
the eighth president of the Mormon Church (1945-1951)—continued to maintain
their warm feelings of kinship for one another throughout the rest of their lives.³³

Samuel H. B. Smith. Joseph Smith III had enjoyed friendly relations with
his cousin Samuel H. B. Smith. Joseph felt that financial distress, marital
unhappiness, and ecclesiastical dissatisfaction had clouded Samuel's mental
condition in later years. In May 1914, learning that Samuel was seriously ill, he
sent his dying cousin some words of sympathy:

By letter from Mary B. Norman I learn of your extreme illness which
seems to be the premising of your early departure from this life. I use
the word early departure with the idea that it is nearer than the years
you may have passed would seem to indicate. But you have lived a hard-
working life and have used your wonderful strength much to your own
personal injury, and in a sense may now be suffering the penalty of such
overtaxing of powers.

It is needless for me to say that I sympathize with you; you already
know this, but it gives me pleasure to assure you that notwithstanding we
may have differed in regard to religion touching the faith and personal
conduct, my love and regard for you as a member of my father's family
has never wavered. I have always regarded you with affection and
relationship love and you still hold that position in my affections and will
under divine Providence whatever may be the issue.

I do not say, cousin Samuel, that I pray for your recovery, for I feel
that you are in divine hands, but while I feel thus I seem to know for
some reason that the Providence that has looked over us both so long will
not permit a much longer continuance of life for either and that you will
proceed me. My prayer is, therefore, that you may retain your faculties
to the last and trustful in divine mercy you may pass into the beyond as
it is written of some of the old time fathers.³⁴

Joseph F. Smith. The chilly relations between Joseph Smith III and Joseph
F. Smith continued in their old age. The two cousins stood as presidents of rival
churches, each claiming to be the true church in succession from that founded by
their namesake, Joseph Smith. Each had elevated a son into the hierarchy who
showed intentions of continuing the polemical controversy between the two
churches.

Joseph III and Joseph F. maintained an attitude of outward propriety and
stiff civility toward one another. Upon the death of a member of the family, they
would exchange the customary condolences. But unlike others of the Utah Smiths,
Joseph F. avoided social contact with Joseph III. Since the exodus from Nauvoo,
they had spoken to each other only twice: once in 1860 and again in 1876. The
meeting in 1876 had been strained in the extreme. During Joseph Ill's visits to
Utah in the 1880s the two had not met, due to Joseph F.'s being in hiding from
Federal authorities. In 1905 Joseph III had seen his cousin presiding at the LDS
Semi-Annual Conference, but they had not spoken to one another.

In 1913, with Joseph III blind, nearly deaf, and obviously nearing the end of
his life, a slight thaw occurred in their relationship. In late October Joseph F.
and George Albert Smith journeyed to Chicago to dedicate two LDS chapels.
They returned west via Missouri, stopping to see important Mormon historical
sites. They visited Independence and on November 4th called on Joseph Smith III.
One of Joseph F.'s polygamous wives was with him, but nevertheless they were
received courteously by Joseph III and Ada. The visit was marked by propriety
and was somewhat perfunctory. Items of religious controversy were studiously
avoided. Afterwards the relatives exchanged thank-you notes.³⁵

Theological reconciliation was long since out of the question. Each man
was deeply convinced that the other had turned his back on the truth and on his
heritage. A sense of familial loyalty required them to observe social niceties, but
each did so with a deep sense of sadness and regret at the other's course.

The two cousins never saw one another after November 4, 1913. Broken
down with the debilities of old age, Joseph III died the following year. Joseph F.
continued to preside over the LDS Church until 1918, when he died in the great
influenza epidemic. Even on his deathbed Joseph Smith III could not put his Utah
cousin from his mind, regretfully reviewing Joseph F.'s domestic situation and
ruefully contemplating his cousin's fate at the Judgment.³⁶ The seeds of
controversy sown in Nauvoo, in the 1840s, continued to bear their bitter fruit.

Final Literary Efforts

Joseph Smith III continued to hold the title "Editor" of the Saints' Herald
until his death. But by 1909 most of the editorial content was written by Elbert
A. Smith. By then Joseph retained sight in only one eye, and he found that he
could not bear the strain of sustained reading. By 1911 he was totally blind.
Although he learned to dictate ecclesiastical, editorial, and personal
correspondence to stenographers, he found himself capable of handling an ever
decreasing amount of work. Besides waning strength, blindness, and poor hearing,
his bouts with facial neuralgia proved the greatest obstacle to his continuing
literary production. The neuralgic attacks often were severe enough to unfit him
for simple dictation for weeks at a time.

Joseph—ever an active man—chafed at the idea of lying about in idleness.
The day-to-day affairs of the First Presidency were handled by his counselors.
Ada managed the household. The Herald was supervised ably by Elbert. And his
physical condition confined him to the vicinity of home. He might preach
occasionally, health permitting, but he desired to do more.

In view of his physical limitations, Joseph decided to devote his remaining
time and strength to writing. He still submitted occasional articles to RLDS
publications. Aside from these, he undertook three additional literary endeavors.
Everybody's Magazine. In 1911 a number of magazines featured articles
critical of Mormonism. One of these was Everybody's Magazine, which ran a
series by Frank J. Cannon entitled, "Under the Prophet in Utah." Cannon's
articles—written from the perspective of a former insider—attacked the LDS
hierarchy for insincerity in their repudiation of polygamy, ecclesiastical
absolutism, economic aggrandizement, and political manipulation.³⁷ Joseph
Smith III felt that some of Cannon's criticisms were justified and was content to
watch developments as a spectator until the appearance of the April issue of
Everybody's. The installment of Cannon's series in this number contained two
pages of photographs bearing the description, "A Study in Mormon Leaders:
Members of the Mormon Hierarchy—of a Religious Absolutism Which Enslaves
Men and Women in Polygamy, and Holds the State of Utah under Political
Domination." Featured prominently was a picture of Joseph Smith III, and to
compound matters there was no picture of LDS President Joseph F. Smith.³⁸ On
the cover was a caricature of a white-maned Mormon despot, seated upon a
throne and holding a Cupid-topped sceptre. This cover illustration bore a striking
resemblance to Joseph Smith III. Someone at Everybody's apparently had confused
Joseph III with his cousin Joseph F. Smith.

Joseph Smith III hastened to register his protest with the magazine's
editors. To include his picture among those of the Utah hierarchy, he wrote, was
"an inexcusable blunder, or a wilful and malicious mistake." He demanded a
correction, in order, as he put it, to relieve him of the "opprobrium to which such
publication" subjected him. The editors published his letter of protest in the next
issue, together with an apology.³⁹

Cannon's series concluded in the August number of Everybody's. After the
last installment, Joseph Smith III again wrote to the editors. His objective was to
make sure that the magazine's readers understood the differences between the
Reorganized Church and the Mormon Church. He argued that polygamy was no
part of original Mormonism, that Brigham Young led only a small fraction of the
original church to Utah, and that some of those who remained faithful to the
original teachings of the church reorganized it along non-polygamous lines in the
1850s. He argued that the scriptures of the Latter Day Saints condemned
polygamy, that none of Joseph Smith's immediate family accepted Brigham
Young's rule or the dogma of plural marriage, and that U.S. courts twice had ruled
the RLDS Church to be the legal successor of the church organized by Joseph
Smith in 1830. He concluded:

It is because of these things that the Reorganized Church, over
which Joseph Smith, the son of the prophet, has presided for fifty-one
years,—that this body, now some sixty-five thousand strong, protests
against being classified as "Mormons," or being confounded in any way
with the supporters of polygamy. The Reorganized Church is
monogamous in its belief and practise, under the laws and institutions of
the United States of America, and its members, as citizens, ask proper
recognition at the hand of their fellow-men.⁴⁰

This article was reprinted by the RLDS Church as a four-page tract.⁴¹

A Study of Moral Ethics. Sometime around 1910, Joseph Smith III
conceived the idea of writing a book, to be titled A Study of Moral Ethics. The
book was intended to be a critique of Mormon polygamy. In May 1911, however,
feeling some urgency due to his advancing years, Joseph abandoned work on A
Study of Moral Ethics and decided to devote himself fully to work on a volume of
memoirs. He knew that this probably would be his last great undertaking in
life.⁴²

Memoirs. Joseph found that composing his memoirs was no small task. In
the first place, he was dependent upon others to read to him and to do his
research in written sources. Additional barriers were the great length and
eventfulness of his career, the brevity of the memoranda he had entered in his
journals, his poor memory for dates, and the pain which dictation entailed.
Nevertheless, he made the effort. Despite the handicaps under which he labored,
he possessed an aptitude for the work. Years of editorial experience, a logical
mind, ready documentation for many of his activities (after 1860) in the pages of
the Herald, and an excellent memory for people and events (if not for dates)
proved valuable assets.

Joseph Smith Ill's memoirs occupied his attention during the last four years
of his life. The dedication was dictated May 22, 1911, and the final two
paragraphs were dictated during his terminal illness in November 1914. Progress
on the memoirs was sporadic until Israel A. Smith moved to Independence, in
1913, and took up duties as his father's secretary. Then the hitherto haphazard
work on the memoirs assumed a new urgency; fully two-thirds of the work was
dictated during Israel's year-and-a-half as amanuensis.⁴³

Joseph Smith III left his memoirs in a state of semi-completion. He had
carried the narrative of his life up through 1910, but had not had an opportunity to
rework the first draft when he died. He left instructions that his children polish
the notes into publishable form. This they did after the lapse of some years.⁴⁴

Joseph's memoirs were primarily a personal rather than an ecclesiastical
history. Recollections of acquaintances and journeys figured much more
prominently than details of ecclesiastical administration. Through the end of the
Civil War, Joseph's narrative was a rather loosely connected collection of topical
reminiscences. Thereafter the organization became decidedly more
chronological.

As published, the memoirs are an imperfect but nevertheless valuable
historical resource.⁴⁵ The considerable material treating Joseph Smith Ill's
relations with the Mormons of Utah has been noticed at the appropriate places in
this study, but it may be well to take note of several larger themes which
permeate the work.

Joseph spent relatively little time speaking directly of his father. This is
hardly remarkable given the fact that he was only eleven years old at the time of
his father's death. Joseph Smith, Jr. was depicted as both a human father and a
divine prophet. On the human side, Joseph protrayed his father as a robust man,
one in love with life and family, but one capable of making mistakes (such as
installing a bar in his newly furbished hotel). Religiously, little attention was paid
to the prophet's teachings. There was simply the pervasive assumption that
Joseph Smith, Jr. was God's prophet, the divinely commissioned head of the
church, an upright man who was hounded unto death by persecutors. Joseph's
portrait of his father was marked by love, respect, not a small element of family
pride, and a certain naivete.

Emma Smith was depicted as a decisive influence during Joseph's
childhood. Joseph dedicated the work to her, stating:

I acknowledge with gratitude to my heavenly Father that to the
precept and example of my father's humble wife I owe the love for right
and the hatred for wrong which have characterized my life. She early
impressed upon my mind the conviction that under Divine Providence
only truth and right would live and that error and wrong must perish.

Upon those teachings I have tried to build the foundation and rear
the structure of my life's services to God, ever bearing in mind the
nobility of that character to which she pointed, by precept and example,
as the best and the highest that through effort could be attained by
man.⁴⁶

His mother was clearly the heroine of the early years: courageously facing
persecution in Missouri, industriously managing a large household and hotel in
Nauvoo, stoically withstanding the designs of wicked apostates after the prophet's
death, making a new life for herself in the wake of the exodus, and raising her
children to love good and hate evil.

There was a deliberate restraint displayed when speaking of Brigham Young
and the Twelve, between 1844 and 1846. Joseph spoke frankly of the difficulties
his family faced, but muted his criticism of the ecclesiastical leaders. A similar
policy of not speaking "harsh words" generally was followed throughout the
memoirs.
Polygamy was always at or very near the surface of the story. Polygamy—
the ghost which ever haunted his steps, the demon which would not be exorcised,
the legacy which would not die—polygamy was the Northstar which guided
Joseph's movements, the undercurrent which ever tugged at his soul. About many
subjects Joseph was surprisingly candid—e.g., his step-father's indiscretions or his
youthful dabbling in Spiritualism—but concerning polygamy he pursued the
opposite course. Although he made a great show of gathering evidence and
questioning witnesses, his soul could not bear the truth. In reality, his position
was based upon moral, spiritual, and emotional considerations which had nothing
to do with empirical evidence. As he himself confessed, when discussing his
decision to join the Reorganization, the thought of his father's involvement in
polygamy was

not only repulsive in itself to my feelings and strongly condemned by my
judgment, but was contrary to my knowledge of, and belief in him, would
serve to neutralize at once the intention I had formed to redeem his
memory from false accusations and make honorable in the sight of men
the religion for which he became a martyr, and would result in an utter
failure on my part to accomplish that which I felt divinely urged to do.
... I am grateful as I reflect that in over fifty years of active service
dedicated to the objects I had in view, there has never been presented to
me any evidence worthy to be called proof by which I have been
compelled to reverse the conviction of my judgment on these important
matters, made at the time I took up my ministry. Nor have I been called
to suffer shame before God and man by having to receive and admit a
knowledge that my father was guilty of such gross immorality ... .⁴⁷

His accounts of his conversations in Utah were truncated. Like lawyers' briefs,
they told only the side of the story favorable to his own position. Contrary
evidence was passed over in silence.

Another recurring theme was Joseph's quest for respectability. He was
determined to vindicate the Smith name. Every slight from "sectarian" ministers
wounded him, and every evidence of approval from the "Gentiles" was recorded
with a sense of vindication. He sought to plead his case before the bar of
American public opinion and felt that he had triumphed in large measure.

Legalism was another theme. Both in apologetics and court cases, Joseph
sought to establish that the Reorganization was the lawful successor to the
original church. In theology, also, his approach was legalistic. Appeal was made
to the standard works of the church and to official ecclesiastical publications in
order to establish true doctrine. The Utah Church was constantly arraigned for
having gone beyond or against these published standards.

Patriotism was another recurring theme. Many of the Mormon Church's
controversies with the federal government were chronicled. The Reorganization,
by contrast, was depicted as law-abiding and loyal.

One final theme may be noted: spiritual manifestations. Throughout his
religious career, Joseph placed great confidence in spiritual manifestations-
revelations, spiritual impressions, tongues, interpretations of tongues, prophecy,
and the like—and felt that Providence had guided his pathways. There is no doubt
that he felt his religious career and lifelong opposition to Utah Mormonism to
have been guided, sustained, and approved by God, as evidenced by these
testimonies.

Joseph's memoirs were, in a real sense, his last testiment. A contemporary
reader will find that they reveal the mind of the man and permit a detailed
analysis of the roots and consequences of his conflict with the LDS Church.

Passing of the Old Guard

The year 1914 was one of transition for both the world and the Reorganized
Church. Europe became engulfed in a conflagration which eventually destroyed
four empires. The old order was also passing within the RLDS Church, albeit in a
less dramatic fashion. The death of Joseph Smith III, late in the year, marked the
departure of that generation which had known Joseph Smith, Jr., and which had
been involved in the early Reorganization. Already the old interest in debates
with Mormons was waning.⁴⁸ Under Elbert A. Smith's editorship, less and
less space in the Herald was devoted to items dealing with Mormonism.⁴⁹ The
percentage of polygamists in the Utah Church was gradually dwindling, as new
plural marriages ceased to be solemnized. In coming years it would no longer be
sufficient for the RLDS Church to identify itself as a body of "non-polygamous
Latter Day Saints." The very success of the campaign against polygamy contained
the seeds of a future identity-crisis for the church. In any case, the RLDS Church
itself was inexorably moving away from its "sectarian" origins toward
"denominational" respectability.⁵⁰ This movement was personified in the
leadership of First Counselor Frederick Madison Smith, who undertook work on his
Ph.D. in psychology at Clark University in 1914.⁵¹ When Joseph Smith III
breathed his last, on December 10, 1914, an epoch in RLDS history had ended.

Final Illness

On November 26, 1914—Thanksgiving Day—Joseph Smith III was stricken
with a heart attack. He had nearly completed the final chapter of his memoirs
when the attack came. When told by his physician that he probably would not
survive, he called Israel A. Smith to his bedside and dictated the final paragraphs
of his memoirs. He told his family and friends that he now considered his life's
work to be completed.

The family was called to his bedside. But Joseph lingered for two more
weeks. Although in great physical distress, he was lucid much of the time.
Family and friends would enter and leave his room, and converse with him and
with one another. Much of the time one of the family would sit by the bedside
with pencil in hand, transcribing the conversation.⁵²

On the evening of November 27th he dictated his last message to the
church:

In the presence of these witnesses, as the last word to the church:

You of the priesthood all know how hard I have tried to give the church
to understand that its life and work did not depend upon only one man;
and I bequeath the church the mass of the eldership beginning with those
associated with me, the Twelve and the Seventy, the responsible quorums
of the church, together with all others. I counsel the church to choose
wisely, according to the instructions given; the one who will succeed me
as presiding elder of the priesthood.

I have not consciously wronged any man or woman. I have no fear to
go beyond the vale. I know not what awaits me, but I have faith in Him
who fashioned the world and who gave the laws to organize the church
and permit the Spirit of truth to rest upon the entire body, not confined
to one alone, but to all who have had the ability to become conscious of
knowledge.

My peace I leave with those I have labored with. My blessings I
leave with those I leave behind me.

I counsel my boys to be honest in word and in deed. Honor is that
which men do by virtue of their integrity. My boys I can not leave
wealth, but I can leave them an honorable name. This I do.

I ask the church to give consideration to my family in the time they
shall need it; and leave my blessing with my companion who has so
faithfully cared for me, and on my boys who have stood by me, and my
girls who have shown such love and regard for me; and the friends that I
have I leave with regret, but they will remember me.

The Spirit and the Bride say Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Have
faith in God and worship him forever and ever. Amen.⁵³

Later he reiterated the conviction which had sustained him throughout his
long career:

You men who hear me now must remember what I say: My father
was not a bad man as the Brighamites have charged him, to my
knowledge. I knew him to be an upright, virtuous, pure man with his
family; and I have maintained the uprightness and integrity of his
character in good faith. I know of no reason that has been presented
that I should change my belief and now admit that he was a bad man.
That was my living testimony; that is my dying declaration.⁵⁴

Sometime after being stricken, Joseph's old friend and confidant Dr.
Joseph Luff informed him that if he wished to make any last statement, he should
do so at that time. He called Israel to his bedside to take dictation. Breathlessly
the watchers about the dying man's couch listened as he gave his last testimony:
"I know the testimony in the Book of Covenants is true, that Jesus is the Christ,
the Savior of the world." A few moments later he said: "I have no fear, and if a
man can be happy in dying and leaving a home like mine, and friends like I have,
such a host of them, for the Master's cause, I can die happy. O blessed rest,
blessed rest; I know that my Redeemer lives and ever prays for me."⁵⁵

Frederick M. Smith was in Worcester, Massachusetts, pursuing his doctoral
studies, when his father was stricken. Fred arrived at his father's bedside on
Sunday, November 29th. Joseph informed his oldest son that he had lived in
physical distress long enough and that he welcomed death. They discussed the
future of the church. Joseph suggested that Israel A. Smith be ordained a high
priest so that his business and legal ability might be put to good use in the
councils of the church. The dying RLDS president told his heir that the
revelations he had received and the "Letter of Instruction" should leave the
question of succession clear.⁵⁶

Joseph Smith III lingered for two weeks before dying. His daughter
Audentio later recalled that those were "blessed weeks for those who were
permitted to be near and to hear the words of precious wisdom and gentle counsel
which would fall from his lips. . . ." She reported:

... it was indicative of where the man's life work had lain, that my
father's mind would constantly revert to the subject of polygamy and
kindred evil doctrines of the apostate church. He would review, in
memory, some of the battles and struggles he had experienced in his
efforts to combat these evil teachings, and to clear his father's name and
work, and expressed anew his indignation that even then, some of the
leaders in Utah were living in the city of Salt Lake with numerous wives,
and could do so without hindrance from the Government, or people who
were supposed to love righteousness and chastity.⁵⁷

At one point, he inquired:

"Do you think that those people out West will begin baptizing for me when I
die?"

T. W. Chatburn replied:

"No, I don't think the leaders out there think enough of you."

"I hope they don't," Joseph replied. "But do you know, I believe that, deep
down in the bottom of his heart, Joseph F. Smith knows I'm right! Well, God
knows—and I know!"

"And he'll find it out:," added Chatburn.

"Yes, he'll find it out—and in a terrible way;," Joseph concluded.⁵⁸

On another occasion he again reflected upon his relationship with his
cousin, Joseph F. Smith:

I don't know that I have, yet I may have grown one enemy in that
polygamous camp. I stated to Joseph F. Smith things that are true which
he bitterly resents. Do you know that he was here and the wife that was
with him was one of the three he introduced to me in 1876 in Utah, and
he was here a year ago with a younger woman that was his wife, as she
said to Ada .... I believe some of those fellows are polygamous,
actually practising it right here in this state. Well, I won't talk about it.
It gets my blood up.⁵⁹

On November 22nd the Mormon Church had dedicated a chapel valued at
$25,000 in Independence. Two members of the LDS First Presidency, two
apostles, and the Presiding Bishop took part in the dedication. One of the apostles
was Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr. The presence of so many prominent Mormons in
Independence occasioned a Sunday evening sermon reviewing the differences
between the two churches by Joseph Luff. Dr. Luff was a former RLDS apostle,
former missionary to Utah, longtime friend of Joseph Smith III, and the dying
president's personal physician. Joseph Smith III congratulated his companion and
friend:

You and I have been through some stormy scenes, Joseph. I'm so glad
you took up the cudgel last Sunday night. They opened the scene for us.
I'm glad Joseph F. Jr. was there. They make a great mistake when they
say we are unwilling to meet them.

He asked another of his bedside visitors: "Did you think to ask those fellows how
it was that neither Joseph nor Hyrum had any children by those polygamous
marriages?"⁶⁰

Joseph Smith Ill's strength gradually failed. Prayer and anointing with oil
failed to arrest his steady decline. He was in constant pain and longed for the
release of death. As the end approached, he slipped in and out of delirium.
Finally he expired on December 10, 1914.

Epilogue

As news of Joseph Smith Ill's death spread, many tributes were published in
the secular press. Characteristically the tributes mentioned his abhorrence of
polygamy and his exemplary character. His lifelong quest for respectability had
been realized. Perhaps typical were the comments of the Concordia Daily
Kansan:

Joseph Smith . . . devoted his entire life ... to a consistent,
effective fight against the polygamous teachings of the Utah Mormons.
It was around his strong personality and fine Christian character that the
followers of the founder of the church gathered, because they repudiated
the doctrines of polygamy promulgated by Brigham Young and formed an
organization . . . fighting polygamy every jump of the road. The church
of which Joseph Smith was the head, has done more than any other
organization to eradicate the baneful influence of polygamy in its
western stronghold.

A more lovable personality than Joseph Smith one can rarely meet.
He was no ignorant fanatic—he was an educated gentleman, trained to
the ways of the world as a practicing attorney. The sanctity of the
home, love of wife—just one—love of children, and on upright, patriotic
American citizenship, was the vision held out by Joseph Smith to all in
the church of which he was the temporal head. No man ever lived a
cleaner life than Joseph Smith. Aside from his religion, his home and his
family were all the world to him.

We are not a follower of Joseph Smith, or his church, but we have
known the man—the upright American citizen, the fine gentleman that
he was—for many, many years, and it pains us to see his name reviled
unjustly because of ignorance of the character of the man.⁶¹

While in Nauvoo, Young Joseph had formed two resolutions: to belie by his
own good conduct the aspersions of those who reviled the name, Joseph Smith; and
to lose no opportunity to make his father's religion honorable in the eyes of
others. One measure of his success was the steady growth of membership in the
RLDS Church: from less than one thousand in 1860 to sixty-eight thousand in
1914. A greater measure of his success was the widespread esteem in which he
was held by non-members of his church.