Samuel Harrison SMITH

                   Samuel Harrison was traditionally recognized as the first missionary ofthe Church.  He was sent to preach with Orson Pratt in Ohio, 1831; withWilliam E McLellan to Eastern Lands; with Orson Hyde in the EasternCountries, where they baptized 60 people in 11 months.  He assisted inlaying the foundation stones for the Kirtland Temple, Jul 1833.  Heattended the School of the Prophets in Kirtland.  He owned land inKirtland.  He participated in the dedication of the Kirtland Temple.  Heserved a mission to New York the summer of 1836.  He was a member of theKirtland Safety Society; was called to the presiding Bishopric of theChurch in Jan 1841.  He served as Bishop of the Nauvoo Ward.  He was amember of the Nauvoo Legion.  He served a mission to Scott County IL1841.  He was initiated into Masonry, 9 Apr 1842.

---- Reference: Revelations of Joseph Smith.  Cook, Lyndon. 1981  Page: 34


Samuel was a member of the Kirtland high council

---  Reference: Far West Record by Don Cannon.  Page: 1, 3, 6, 15, 19,162, 289


Samuel was one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon.  In hisearly life he assisted his father in farming.  He possessed a religiousturn of mind, and at an early age joined the Presbyterian Church, towhich sect he belonged until he visited his brother Joseph inPennsylvania in May, 1829, when Joseph informed him that the Lord wasabout to commence His latter-day work.  He also showed him that part ofthe Book of Mormon which he had translated, and labored to persuade himconcerning the gospel of Jesus Christ, which was about to be revealed inits fullness.  Samuel was not, however, very easily persuaded of thesethings, but after much inquiry and explanation he retired and prayed thathe might obtain from the Lord wisdom to enable him to judge for himself;the result was that he obtained revelation for himself sufficient toconvince him of the truth of the testimony of his brother, Joseph.

---  Reference: LDS Biographical Encyclopedia.  Jenson, Andrew. 1951 VolI  Page: 278


Samuel Harrison made several missionary trips to Livonia, Livingston, NewYork, and to other places in that area with considerable opposition andpersecution.  He filled a number of missions for the Church and at lastfell a martyr for the truth's sake through being chased by a mob inIllinois.  He was one of the 8 witnesses to the Book of Mormon, served asa High Councilor in Kirtland OH.  He was called by revelation on aspecial mission to Missouri.  He traveled with Reynolds Cahoon andpreached in the states of OH, IN, IL, and Missouri.  He labored as amissionary in OH, together with William E McLellin and did considerablepreaching and baptizing.  He labored with Orson Hyde in Pennsylvania, NY,CT, NH, ME, and RI.

---  Reference: Journal History of the Church


Comments from Samuel Harrison Smith's Journal: -- Started on mission withWilliam McLellin at end of 1831.  Returned for conference in Amherst,January 1832.  Mission with Orson Hyde to "eastern lands" (New England),1832.  Travels from place to place, often stopping in small villages.Conversations with individuals.  Also frequently held public meetings.Reception was unfavorable.  (Went from house to house and many duringthat day rejected us.  We shook off the dust from our feet as a testimonyagainst them.")  Healed sick.  Met Seth and Joel Johnson, who had latestnews from Kirtland.  ("They had the Vision with them which Joseph andSidney had seen and we had the privilege of reading it.")  Sold copies ofBook of Mormon.

Met Thomas Marsh and his friends, brother of Orson Hyde ("hard andunbelieving"), father-in-law of Brother Whitney.  Aroused considerableinterest in Boston.  Opposition from clergy.  Reluctance of newlybaptized Saints to move to Missouri.  ("Generally the cry among them [is]that the Lord will save us here as well as in Missouri...and thus we hadto labor to get the people to understand the council of the Lord.")Return to Kirtland.  Attended solemn assembly.  Worked with hands.  To 8May 1833.

The typescript is titled "Events in the Life of Samuel Harrison Smithincluding his Missionary Journal for the Year 1832."

---  Reference: Guide to Mormon Diaries & Autobiographies.  Bitton, DavisJournal of Samuel HarrisonSmith.


The next day he [Samuel Harrison Smith] journeyed eight miles toBloomington NY where he met John P Greene, a Methodist preacher.Although Greene did not initially accept the Book of Mormon, he consentedto take a book on his next preaching tour.  Later Smith returned to thehome of Reverend Greene.  His persistence eventually led to the baptismsof John P Greene, Brigham Young, and Heber C Kimball.

---  Reference: Early Missionary Journeys.  Black, Susan Easton


My father [Samuel Harrison Smith], at the time of his brothers' arrestand imprisonment in Carthage jail, determined to go to them at once, wellknowing that their lives were in danger.  He set out for Carthage, takingwith him a 14-year-old boy who was working for him.  They traveled byteam and wagon, and when they neared Carthage, were met by a guard of themob who, apprehending his coming, had been placed there to intercepthim.  They allowed the boy to proceed with the team, but he was turnedback.  He gave the boy instructions to go direct to the Hamilton House inCarthage and there await further orders.  He then returned home asquickly as possible, purchased a horse noted for its speed, anddetermined to reach his brothers in time to be of assistance to them,although the hope seemed a forlorn one.  He went unarmed, and as he againneared Carthage, he met several people coming from there in great haste,among them a man and a woman in a buggy of whom he asked what hadhappened and received answer that "the two Smiths had been killed by themob."

The terrible shock was too much for him and for an instant he reeled inhis saddle and they expected him to fall.  Then, as the necessity ofimmediate action flashed across his mind, he steadied himself saying,"God help me  I must go to them," and he again pressed forward.  Themob, expecting his return and intent upon murder were secreted in athicket and two men on horseback with rifles gave chase.  As they emergedfrom the thicket, the man in the buggy gave a warning shout.  My father,turning his head quickly, took in the situation at a glance and put hishorse to its utmost speed, still keeping his course straight towardCarthage.  His splendid horsemanship kept him somewhat out of the rangeof the bullets sent after him; the one passed through the top of hishat.  The chase was a long and exciting one, but he finally out-distancedthem and rode into Carthage and made his way to the jail, being the firstto arrive there after the tragedy.  The mob, in the meantime, haddispersed.

Mr Hamilton of the Hamilton Hotel met my father [Samuel Harrison Smith]and gave him all the assistance that lay in his power in caring for thebodies of his murdered brothers.  The next day, in company with WillardRichards and others, my father accompanied the bodies to Nauvoo and tothe Nauvoo Mansion where they lay in state in the large dining hall whilethousands of the mourning multitude passed through to get a last look attheir beloved prophet and his devoted brother.

My father [Samuel Harrison Smith], after the funeral of his brothers,moved to Nauvoo and took up his residence in a two-story frame houseopposite the Mansion House.  Soon there was a strange quiet pervading thehouse.  My sister, my brother, and myself were banished to the room abovewith the injunction to keep quiet; our father was very sick.  We nolonger had our romps as often in times past -- we would make the circuitof the room in a wild chase to see which could clamber first to his kneeto get the first kiss, often all on his knee at once, then clamber downagain and renew the chase; then when my little brother, Samuel, who wasthe youngest, would become tired, we would have to give way to him, andmy father would take him on his knee and sing him to sleep.  To our greatwonderment, all this had become a thing of the past.  Finally, for a dayor two, we only went down to our meals.  The tread in the sick roombecame more soft, the whispers more low, then a silence save for sobs --our kind and noble father had passed to the great beyond to meet hismartyred brothers and all the dear ones gone before him, and we threewere left orphans, for our mother had died a victim of the Missouripersecutions.

---  Reference: Biographical Sketch of Samuel Harrison Smith by hisdaughter, Mary Bailey Smith Norman, typescript, LDS Church Archives.Grammar has been standardized.