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| Joseph
Smith, Jr. (1805-1844), often referred to as the Prophet Joseph
Smith, was the founding prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. Latter-day Saints call him "the Prophet" because,
in the tradition of Old and New Testament prophets, he depended
on revelation from God for his teachings, not on his own learning.
They accept his revelations, many of them published as the Doctrine
and Covenants and as the Pearl of Great Price, as scripture to accompany
the Bible. As a young man, Joseph Smith also translated a sacred
record from ancient America known as the Book of Mormon. These revelations
and records restored to the earth the pure gospel of Christ. Joseph
Smith's role in history was to found the Church of Jesus Christ
based on this restored gospel in preparation for the second coming
of Christ. For more info click HERE |
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| Colonizer,
territorial governor, and President of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints, Brigham Young (1801-1877) was born in Whitingham,
Vermont, on June 1, 1801, the ninth of eleven children born to John
Young and Abigail (Nabby) Howe. Following service in the Revolutionary
Army of George Washington, John Young settled on a farm in Hopkinton,
Massachusetts. After sixteen years in Hopkinton, John and Nabby
moved to southern Vermont, where Brigham was born. When Brigham
was three the family moved to central New York state, and when he
was ten, to Sherburne, in south-central New York. Brigham helped
clear land for farming, trapped for fur animals, fished, built sheds
and dug cellars, and helped with planting, cultivating, and harvesting
crops. He also cared for his mother, who was seriously ill with
tuberculosis. For more info click HERE |
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| John
Taylor (1808-1887), the third President of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints, was born in Milnthorpe, Westmorland (now Cumbria),
England, a son of James and Agnes Taylor. After john's formal schooling
ended at the age of fourteen, he became a skilled woodturner and
cabinetmaker. Much of his youth was spent in a picturesque region
that inspired many of England's finest artists, poets, and writers.
John himself would later be recognized for his cultural refinement
and literary ability. For more info click HERE |
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| Wilford
Woodruff (1807-1898), the fourth President of the Church, is especially
remembered for his 1890 Manifesto, which led to the discontinuance
of plural marriage among the Latter-day Saints and to the assimilation
of Utah into the political and economic mainstream of America. Prior
to that event he led a strenuous life, notable for his remarkable
success as a missionary and his diligence as one of the Church's
premier diarists. For more info click HERE |
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| Lorenzo
Snow (1814-1901) was the fifth President of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, from 1898 to 1901. A well-educated
and refined man, he served many missions for the Church, traveling
to England, Italy, and the Pacific, as well as in the southern and
northwestern United States. Coming to the presidency when the Church
suffered under a crushing weight of debt, President Snow reinvigorated
tithe-paying among the Saints and put the Church on the road to
financial solvency. For more info click HERE |
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| Joseph
F. Smith (1838-1918), sixth President of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints (1901-1918), led the Church in the first two
decades of the twentieth century and helped it win increasing respect
in American society. He was a son of Hyrum Smith and Mary Fielding
Smith and a nephew of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Joseph Fielding
Smith (his full name) was born in Far West, Missouri, on November
13, 1838, during one of the most strife-torn years in the Church's
history. He was named after his uncle, the Prophet, and a maternal
uncle, Joseph Fielding. Less than two weeks earlier, Joseph and
Hyrum Smith had been arrested by the Missouri militia during the
Battle of Far West . Mary Fielding, a Canadian convert to the Church
who married Hyrum after the death of Jerusha Barden Smith, was severely
ill when she gave birth to Joseph, her firstborn. Fortunately, Mary's
sister Mercy Fielding Thompson, already nursing a five-month-old
daughter, was able to nurse Joseph. One day soon after his birth,
hostile men entered the house and ransacked the family's valuables.
In the commotion, they threw bedding on the baby Joseph, and he
nearly suffocated. For more info click HERE |
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| Heber
J. Grant (1856-1945), seventh President of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints, was a business leader and a devoted follower
of the gospel of Jesus Christ who used his talents in the service
of his Church. As an apostle, he was instrumental in preserving
Mormonism's credit and reputation after the economic devastation
of the Panic of 1893. As President, he was a model of strong character
and an ambassador of goodwill to the world. For more info click
HERE |
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| George
Albert Smith (1870-1951), the eighth president of the Church, was
born April 4, 1870, in Salt Lake City, the son of John Henry Smith
and Sarah Farr. His grandfather, George A. Smith, was an apostle
and counselor to President Brigham Young, and his father, John Henry
Smith, was an apostle and counselor to President Joseph F. Smith.
His mother was a daughter of Lorin Farr, the pioneer founder and
early mayor of Ogden, Utah. On May 25, 1892, George Albert Smith
married Lucy Emily Woodruff, the daughter of Wilford Woodruff, Jr.,
and Emily Jane Smith. They had three children: Emily (Mrs. Robert
M. Stewart), Edith (Mrs. George O. Elliott), and George Albert,
Jr. George Albert Smith was ordained an apostle at thirty-three
years of age on October 8, 1903, by President Joseph F. Smith. For
more info click HERE |
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| David
O. McKay (1873-1970), sustained as the ninth President of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 9, 1951, served as
a General Authority for nearly sixty-four years, longer than any
other person in Church history. During that time he served as a
counselor in the First Presidency for seventeen years and was President
for nearly nineteen years. He is remembered for his contributions
to education, his exemplary family life, his emphasis on missionary
work, his humanitarianism, his practical advice on achieving a happy
life, and his participation in civic affairs, and for leading the
Church toward increased internationalism. For more info click HERE |
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| Joseph
Fielding Smith (1876-1972), the tenth President of the Church, was
born July 19, 1876, in Salt Lake City, the firstborn son of Joseph
F. Smith, an apostle who would become the sixth President of the
Church, and Julina Lambson, the first of his six plural wives. His
grandfather was the Patriarch Hyrum Smith. Under the tutelage of
his parents, Joseph Fielding, as he became known in the Church,
grew up with a deep affection for the Prophet Joseph Smith and his
teachings. Upon learning to read, he constantly studied Church magazines,
pamphlets, and other publications, reading the Book of Mormon twice
by age ten. A few years later, he read the lengthy History of the
Church, published in the Millennial Star. In his late teens he studied
the New Testament in transit to and from his merchandizing job at
ZCMI (Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution), the Church department
store. He built the lasting scholarship on this foundation of constant
learning that later distinguished his prolific writings. For more
info click HERE |
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| Harold
Bingham Lee (1899-1973) became the eleventh President of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on July 7, 1972, and served
until his death on December 26, 1973. His 538-day tenure was the
shortest service by a Church President in history, despite the fact
that at age seventy-three President Lee was the youngest person
to hold the office initially in nearly forty years. One of his greatest
contributions to the Church, the organization of the correlation
program, was made when he was still a member of the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles. For more info click HERE |
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| Spencer
Woolley Kimball (1895-1985), twelfth President of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1973-1985), came to the Presidency
at the age of seventy-eight. Little new had been expected of his
administration because of his age and long history of serious health
problems, but his personal energy, broad vision, and openness to
change produced a dynamic period consistent with the Church's growing
awareness of itself as an increasingly international institution.
Under his leadership, access to the temple and the priesthood was
extended, regardless of race; the number of missionaries greatly
increased; administrative innovations significantly changed Church
governance; and a burst of temple building occurred. His tenure
proved to be one of the most active periods in twentieth-century
Church history. For more info click HERE |
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| Ezra
Taft Benson (1899-1994), thirteenth President of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, is noted for his extensive Church service
and his distinguished career in government. He served forty-two
years as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and was U.S.
secretary of agriculture for eight years in the administration of
President Dwight D. Eisenhower. As President of the Church, he repeatedly
bore witness that the Book of Mormon is the major instrument to
bring the members of the Church and the world to Christ, and he
admonished the Saints to strengthen their families and to preserve
their God-given freedoms. For more info click HERE |
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| President
Howard W. Hunter was ordained and set apart as the 14th president
of the Church on June 5, 1994, at age 86, after serving nearly 35
years in the Council of the Twelve. He is the first Church president
born in the 20th century. For more info click HERE |
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| President
Gordon Bitner Hinckley, President of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints, was born on 23 June 1910 in Salt Lake City
to Bryant Stringham Hinckley and Ada Bitner Hinckley. One of his
forebears, Stephen Hopkins, came to America on the Mayflower. Another,
Thomas Hinckley, served as governor of Plymouth - Colony from 1681
to 1692. For more info click HERE |
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