Our great friend Steven E. Smoot recently spoke at our 2021 Firm Foundation Conference. He has been sharing his messages for many years now. Steve is a friend, a saint, a lover of the Native Americans, and a very honorable man.
In my opinion his very informative book called “Lost American Antiquities” shares the basis of the history about the Ancient Americans of North America and the important clues of how the Adena Culture are likely to be the Jaredites and the Hopewell Culture as paralleling the Nephites of the Book of Mormon. It speaks about these Lost Civilizations of North America, and shows revealing new research into Americas ancient civilizations and how history has been handed down to our day. Learn how early men of science, John Wesley Powell and Lewis Henry Morgan changed nearly every aspect of modern society; and why their philosophies matter today. Why did the Smithsonian hide the truth about intelligent Native Americans and other ancient people of North America? With hundreds of referenced works and thousands of quotes this masterpiece of thought will inspire. 360 page hardcover with DVD
Steven Edgar Smoot is President of the Family First Foundation and President of Excel Investment Corporation and Watchman Properties. He is also co-producer of many documentaries, including, The Lost Civilizations of North America and Demographic Winter the Decline of the Human Family.
He has been an invited speaker on the Decline of the Human Family and Demographics at the European Union and at many World Congress of Families events worldwide. Steven has also spoken at many ancient origin conference’s on the silence and science surrounding America’s ancient civilizations. Answering the why, how and who questions as to why we haven’t heard more about these ancient mound building cultures.
Steven also shares findings that show how migration patterns and the trading of precious metals, tobacco and Indian slaves can answer an age old question as to how religious teachings and practices became common to ancient cultures on many continents. Inter-twined through each of his documentaries is a common thread that shows that society cannot always rely on today’s scientific and academic communities for scholarly truths. One would think that by using scientific methods that scientists would be encouraged to follow the evidences wherever they may lead and in time come to a truthful conclusion. But since the mid 1800’s as these documentaries reveal, Social Engineers have learned that they can use the sciences and their influential political positions as a powerful tool to crush dissent on the origin and evolution of man and a myriad of other social and political issues..”
Steven E. Smoot Author, Historian, Film Producer, Commercial Developer lostcivilizationsdvd.com familyfirstfoundation.org demographicbomb.com
Steven is the oldest son of Stanley and Mary Ellen Smoot. Sister Mary Ellen Smoot served on the editorial board for the Children’s Friend from 1966 to1971. She and her husband served seven years on Church public affairs committees and were directors of Church Hosting for VIPS from 1993 to1997.
At the church’s April 1997 general conference, Sister Smoot was accepted as the Relief Society General President, with Virginia U. Jensen and Sheri L. Dew as her counselors. Smoot succeeded Elaine L. Jack, who had served since 1990. Smoot was the first president to call an unmarried woman (Dew) as a member of the Relief Society General Presidency.
Under her leadership, the Relief Society was the fastest growing women’s organization in the world. The Relief Society, which had 3.9 million members when she became president in 1997, had 4.4 million by 2002. In 1999 she introduced a new mission statement for the Relief Society, the Salt Lake Tribune described it as emphasizing women’s role in, “strengthening testimonies of Jesus Christ, seeking inspiration from the Holy Ghost, rededicating themselves to home and family, performing community service, sustaining the faith’s priesthood and worshiping in the church’s temples.”
Abraham O. Smoot’s Legacy
Sister Mary Ellen Smoot has nurtured a wonderful legacy including her oldest son, Steven E. Smoot, and his wife Kathy, who are great friends, and are excellent examples as a family legacy of A.O. Smoot. Sharm Smoot, a younger brother of Steve, is also an honorable and great man, as I have known him since High School. Abraham O. Smoot has left an amazing legacy as one of the great men in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“A.O. Smoot was the first president of the board of trustees of BYA from 1875 until his death in 1895. Board members such as Harvey H. Cluff and Martha Jane Knowlton Coray [Who was the only female member of the first board of trustees of Brigham Young Academy and a scribe for the history of Joseph Smith by his mother, Lucy Mack Smith], and served under the direction of A.O. Smoot for twenty years. Smoot is credited with making major financial contributions to BYA that allowed for its continued operations. Enrollment increased from 70 students to 313 during Smoot’s tenure. BYA eventually developed into BYU.” Source
“Abraham O. Smoot served as mayor of Salt Lake City, then as mayor of Provo. His leadership involved almost every facet of the development of the whole territory and its rapidly expanding population.
When Brigham Young died in 1877, the leadership of BYA fell heavily on Smoot, acting as liaison between a dubious but hopeful public, and an ambitious, driving leader in Karl G. Maeser. He gave his life and his fortune to build up the Academy.
In his last days he assumed the debts of BYA amounting to more than $100,000. He mortgaged his properties and holdings to liquidate them. A wealthy man, he died practically penniless to save the honor of the Church and the Academy. After he died on March 6, 1895 at the age of 80, over 5,000 people came to the Provo Tabernacle to pay honor to him.” Source
Abraham O. Smoot who served at least 13 missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Brigham Young an incredible leader and Prophet, and many of our inspired Founding Fathers, have all been accused of racism by some, which is a sad commentary that good men and women are called racist no matter what the facts say. See my blog here called Slavery and Abolition. Because of this accusation of racism against great men, I want to spend a little time about the evils of racism.
Our Prophet Russell M. Nelson and Elder Dallin H. Oaks about Racism
“Each of us has a divine potential because each is a child of God. Each is equal in His eyes. The implications of this truth are profound. Brothers and sisters, please listen carefully to what I am about to say. God does not love one race more than another. His doctrine on this matter is clear. He invites all to come unto Him, “black and white, bond and free, male and female.”
I assure you that your standing before God is not determined by the color of your skin. Favor or disfavor with God is dependent upon your devotion to God and His commandments and not the color of your skin.
I grieve that our Black brothers and sisters the world over are enduring the pains of racism and prejudice. Today I call upon our members everywhere to lead out in abandoning attitudes and actions of prejudice. I plead with you to promote respect for all of God’s children.
The question for each of us, regardless of race, is the same. Are you willing to let God prevail in your life? Are you willing to let God be the most important influence in your life? Will you allow His words, His commandments, and His covenants to influence what you do each day? Will you allow His voice to take priority over any other? Are you willing to let whatever He needs you to do take precedence over every other ambition? Are you willing to have your will swallowed up in His?” Let God Prevail By President Russell M. Nelson
Racism: root it out (Church News)
“President Oaks then focused the remainder of Tuesday’s devotional on the topic of racism. He referenced President Russell M. Nelson’s recent teachings on that subject during the recent general conference, along with his own plea for Latter-day Saints to “root out” racism.
Elder Oaks said, “To do that we must have clear thinking about how current events should be analyzed and acted upon in view of this nation’s shameful history of Black slavery. We need to understand how the founders postponed resolving that moral issue to obtain the ratification of the Constitution for the creation of this nation.”
Statues of prominent historical figures associated with slavery have been torn down or replaced during the recent protests in the United States. Institutions changed names of buildings honoring persons with any connection to slavery. And a small number on BYU’s campus called for changing the names of some buildings — and even the name of Brigham Young University.
Are the advocates and actors in these efforts aware of what they are attempting to erase? asked President Oaks.
“For reasons that every serious student of American History understands, even the Constitution of the United States is stained with concessions to slavery that were made in order to get the whole document ratified.
“Those textual stains were, of course, removed by the amendments following the Civil War, which cost hundreds of thousands of lives throughout the North and the South. I cannot condone our now erasing all mention and honor of prominent leaders like George Washington who established our nation and gave us our constitution because they lived at a time with legal approvals and traditions that condoned slavery.”
Quoting the words of Winston Churchill, President Oaks warned of opening a “quarrel between the past and present” at the cost of jeopardizing attempts to improve the future.”
“We share our history and enjoy the advantages of our constitutional government and the prosperity of this nation,” he said. “The predecessors of many Americans of different backgrounds made great sacrifices to establish this nation. Whatever those sacrifices — of freedom, property or even life — let us now honor them for what they have done for us and forgo quarrelling over the past.
“Ours is the duty to unite and improve the future we will share.”
The younger generation’s cries for justice and help should be heard by utilizing three “obvious helps”: inspiration, education and clear thinking.
“That combination is surely to be preferred over symbolic actions that accomplish nothing but a bow to the cause of political correctness.” President Nelson calls upon Latter-day Saints ‘to lead out in abandoning attitudes and actions of prejudice’, by Sarah Jane Weaver Church News
Racism Divides
Usually individuals who are truly racist themselves, will call a God-fearing man like Abraham O. Smoot or Brigham Young as a racist. I feel racism is one of the greatest tools of Satan to separate individuals. Critical Race Theory is also evil and being forced on many, or adopted by many of our schools today. CRT in my opinion is reverse Racism saying that because someone is white, they are automatically a racist and those who teach CRT say all white people need to admit they are racist. This is another lie of the evil one.
What is Critical Race Theory?
“An outgrowth of the European Marxist school of critical theory, critical race theory is an academic movement which seeks to link racism, race, and power. Unlike the Civil Rights movement, which sought to work within the structures of American democracy, critical race theorists challenge the very foundations of the liberal order, such as rationalism, constitutional law, and legal reasoning. Critical race theorists argue that American social life, political structures, and economic systems are founded upon race, which (in their view) is a social construct.
Systemic racism, in the eyes of critical race theorists, stems from the dominance of race in American life. Critical race theorists and anti-racist advocates argue that, because race is a predominant part of American life, racism itself has become internalized into the American conscience. It is because of this, they argue, that there have been significantly different legal and economic outcomes between different racial groups.” Source
Great Smoot Descendants
The descendants of Abraham O. Smoot acknowledge that their ancestor was from the South and was a slaveholder.
“We know that he shared the restored gospel with Jerry and Tom. It is documented that Jerry and Tom joined [the church] prior to A.O. Smoot giving them their freedom. Nine years after joining the church, Tom died at the age of 42 of ‘inflammation of the chest,’” the letter continues. “After being given his freedom, Jerry stayed with and lived with the Smoot family and also moved with the family when [they moved] to Provo.”
The Smoot family letter (more below), signed by more than a dozen descendants, reasons that the BYU administration building bears his name “because of his monumental sacrifice and contribution to this institution.”
(Leah Hogsten | Tribune file photo Right) The Abraham O. Smoot Building, Aug. 8, 2019, on the campus of Brigham Young University. Some former and current BYU students want to remove Smoot’s name from the building. Smoot held slaves back in the 1800s.
Slavery and Abolition- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Statement
Abraham Owen Smoot Family Organization
We, the Abraham Owen Smoot Family Organization, denounce slavery. Slavery is wrong. It is terrible that it was very prevalent in the American culture and that it has existed in many cultures throughout history. Praise the Lord that our great grandparents finally took a stand and said “NO” to it—even though many of them were raised in a culture where it was accepted. Some of our great grandparents even gave their lives in an effort to eradicate it from American society…
Latter-day Saints and friends of the Church throughout Utah continually turned to him because they trusted his judgment, his wisdom and his good heart. Native American chiefs and tribes revered him and viewed him as one of their closest friends and allies. These early settlers of the Salt Lake Valley chose him:
- To be the first Justice of the Peace
- To serve in the State Legislature multiple times
- To serve as mayor of Salt Lake City and later as mayor of Provo
Brigham Young continually turned to him to take on heavy responsibility:
- To serve a total of nine proselyting missions in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ
- To serve as bishop five times: Winter Quarters, SLC 15th Ward, Cottonwood Ward, Sugarhouse Ward and as Presiding Bishop in the Provo Area
- To nurture and grow a small startup B.Y. Academy
- To build the Provo Tabernacle—which is now the Provo City Center Temple
- To serve for 13 years as Stake President in Provo https://aosmoot.blogspot.com/
Descendants of slaveholder Smoot argue renaming BYU building ‘accomplishes nothing’ in addressing racism
(Photo courtesy Utah State Historical Society) Abraham Smoot
“Abraham O. Smoot led a rich life, full of achievement and service to the people of 19th-century Utah, to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and to the faculty of Brigham Young Academy (later University), including paying their salaries for some years.
Smoot was a justice of the peace, mayor of Salt Lake City and, later, Provo, and a state legislator. He served nine proselytizing missions, was a bishop four times, and a stake (regional) president for 13 years.
The early Mormon leader and businessman also held three slaves — Tom (Church) from Tennessee, Jerry (Lewis) from Kentucky, and Lucy (Crosby) (Lay) from Mississippi.
That is why a group of current and former BYU students has launched a petition to remove Smoot’s name from the school’s administration building.
“Despite not being raised in a slaveholding home, and initially supporting [church founder] Joseph Smith’s abolitionist sentiments, upon moving to Utah he made the decision to become a slaveholder,” the petition reads. “… We must change the name of the building housing the university’s highest officers. It cannot continue to bear the name of a man who held slaves, some of whom were near the age of the students on campus.”
Now the Smoot family — which includes about 14,000 descendants — wants to provide a fuller picture of the man.
In a recent letter to Smoot’s progeny and to BYU, leaders of the family argue that their forefather deserves to be remembered for all of his contributions, not just for being a slaveholder.
“We, the Abraham Owen Smoot Family Organization, denounce slavery. Slavery is wrong,” the letter begins. “It is terrible that it was very prevalent in the American culture and that it has existed in many cultures throughout history.”
Still, it is impossible to understand “enough of the context, culture and happenings 160 years ago,” the letter continues, “to be able to place judgment on the motives, decisions and virtues of those early pioneers.” Source By Peggy Fletcher Stack
Statue of Brigham Young covered in paint at BYU with the word ‘racist’ sprayed at the base
By Courtney Tanner | June 19, 2020
(Photo courtesy of BYU Police) Pictured is the statue of Brigham Young on campus that was painted red on June 14 or 15, 2020.
The iconic statue of Brigham Young on campus at the Provo university named for him was doused in red paint earlier this week and the word “racist” was sprayed onto the base.
The vandalism occurred sometime late Sunday night or early Monday morning, said Brigham Young University police Lt. Rich Christianson. And it included someone also marking an “X” over the sign of the Abraham O. Smoot Administration Building; the statue sits at its entrance.
“It looks like they had a whole gallon of red latex paint,” Christianson said.
The markings on campus come as many nationwide have protested for weeks against racism and discrimination of Black people, particularly by law enforcement. And it has fueled a new reckoning over monuments and statues that celebrate the Confederacy and slaveholders and have become symbols of oppression.
In Oregon, demonstrators toppled a statue of Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father who enslaved more than 600 people. In Virginia, they threw a statue of Italian colonizer Christopher Columbus into a lake.
The BYU statue of Young — who espoused racist teachings — was coated in paint. It was still wet when officers arrived, according to the police report obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune in a public records request.
The statue was quickly cleaned off the morning it was discovered, Christianson said, though the report notes the paint on the building sign, made of stone, had to be sanded off. He estimates it caused about $1,000 in damage.
From surveillance footage captured nearby, it appears to have been done by two individuals. Police can’t see their faces, though, because the cameras were too far away. Source
What a sad commentary about wonderful men. It is more disheartening that it is happening at such a fantastic University as BYU. May we reject racism wherever it is found.
Abraham O. Smoot Video
This is a documentary and tribute to Abraham Owen Smoot. It was produced by Scott Freebairn for the “This is the Place Heritage Park” where a replica of the Smoot Hall has been built.
The Tragedy of the Steamboat Saluda
In 1852 the steamboat Saluda, exploded and 40 Mormon immigrants lost their lives. The article below is an attempt to honor their lives and their sacrifice.
Apostle Abraham O. Smoot had inspected the Saluda and advised the agent against using her, based on the condition of the boilers and the general state of repair. His advice was not heeded, and on April 2, 1852, the Saluda left the St. Louis dock with about 190 passengers, half of them Mormon converts. Many died.
Abraham O. Smoot and the Saluda Steamboat Explosion, 9 April 1852
By L. Douglas Smoot
The following remarks were given by L. Douglas Smoot at the Lexington Historical Association banquet held in Lexington, Missouri, on 13 June 2004. Dr. Smoot is an emeritus professor of chemical engineering at Brigham Young University, where he also served as chair of the Chemical Engineering Department and dean of the College of Engineering and Technology. In 1986, he founded BYU’s Advanced Combustion Engineering Research Center, one of the largest academic research centers in combustion, serving as its director until 1997. He is a world-wide consultant in combustion, energy, and propulsion and has consulted with over sixty companies and agencies in energy combustion and propulsion in the United States, Europe, and the Orient. As a researcher and scholar, he has presented or published over two hundred technical articles and four books on combustion. He has served on the governor’s advisory board in science and technology for the state of Utah and was appointed by the U.S. Senate to serve on the scientific advisory council of the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment. Recently, he led the Brigham Young Academy Foundation’s efforts to preserve the historic Brigham Young Academy Building in Provo, Utah.
It is a privilege for me to be here with you this evening, in commemoration of the tragic Saluda explosion at Lexington, Missouri, on 9 April 1852. First, a disclaimer—I am an engineering professor, not a professional historian. However, I have a great love for history and have authored or coauthored three historical books. BYU Professor Fred E. Woods, upon learning of my interest in history and my service as president of the Abraham Owen Smoot Family Organization (he being my great-grandfather), initially suggested I might consider being here this evening. As far as I can tell from my reading of the history surrounding the Saluda explosion, Abraham Owen Smoot was the LDS Church leader most closely associated with this tragedy. May I briefly share with you his history, his experiences in Missouri in 1837–39, and his involvement in the Saluda explosion.
After Fremont’s expedition was rescued by the Mormons at Parowan in early February 1854, Carvalho remained for a few months in the region.
It was during this time he made the painting of Smoot. In his memoirs he recorded that before leaving for California, “I painted several portraits in Great Salt Lake City; among them were two of Gov. Brigham Young; one of Lieut. General [Daniel H.] Wells, Attorney General Seth Blair, Apostle [Wilford] Woodruff; Bishop [Abraham O.] Smoot, Col. Ferrimore Little and lady, Mrs.
Wheelock, and several others.” (Solomon Nunes Carvalho, Incidents of Travel and Adventure in the FarWest [Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1954], 247). The painting depicts Smoot about one year after the Saluda dis- aster. Photograph courtesy of Loretta D. Nixon.
Southerner, born in Owenton, Kentucky, on 17 February 1815. Concerning his early days, he noted, “From my early child- hood, almost from my infancy, I was afflicted with a lung disease and supposed it to be consumption. When I was about nine years old, my death seemed so imminent that my burial clothes were made.”1 He survived, however, was converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1835 at the age of twenty, and made his way to Kirtland, Ohio. In January1837, while in Kirtland, he received a blessing from Joseph Smith Sr., who promised him that “thou shalt be made whole from this hour ……….. Be faithful Brother and thou shalt have health and be blessed in thy labours. . . . Thou shalt have much persecution on earth, thy enemies will seek thy life but thou shalt be delivered out of their hands and return to Zion when thy labors in the Lord’s vineyard are ended.”
In 1837, Joseph Smith asked A. O. to return to the Southern states to raise up a company of Church members to immigrate to Far West, Missouri, where other Church members were then congregating. He indicated, “I accordingly went South, and in the month of May had succeeded in organizing a company of about two hundred souls with about forty teams and started on our journey. The trip occupied about two months.” A. O. settled on a farm two miles south of Far West.
Peace prevailed over the next year with promising crops in the summer of 1838. However, by that summer, further hostilities between Missourians and the Mormons arose. A. O. noted in his journal: “It became a continual round [of] invasion from our enemies on every side from the1st of August until the first day of November at which time we were compelled . . . to give up our arms and surrender.” These hostilities included the Battle of Crooked River, the Haun’s Mill Massacre, and the “Extermination Order” of Missouri Governor Lilburn W. Boggs, which forced the Mormons to evacuate Missouri.
With martial law prevailing, his farm destroyed, his animals scattered or stolen, and Church leaders in Liberty Jail, A. O. was married in Far West by a Missouri justice to Margaret Thompson, which he said was proof “that I had not lost hope.”5 The Smoots left Missouri shortly after the marriage, in the dead of winter, heading east across northern Missouri with the John Butler family, arriving in Quincy, Illinois, on 1 March 1839. Margaret noted in her journal: “The sufferings and privations of this period of my life can- not be portrayed by mortal tongue.”
By 1839, A. O. and Margaret settled in Nauvoo where they remained for the next seven years. In February 1846, they crossed the frozen Mississippi, heading to the West with the main body of the Mormon community. They arrived in the Salt Lake Valley eighteen months later in September of 1847. In Salt Lake City, A. O. became a prominent civic and business leader while continuing his Church leadership duties.
In early 1852, while he was serving a mission for the Church in England, A. O. received a letter from Elder Franklin D. Richards, directing A. O. to assist in the emigration of some Latter-day Saints from Great Britain. It was this assignment that led to his being in Lexington, Missouri, on 9 April 1852, since his specific assignment was to remove the Mormons who had sailed on the Kennebec and Ellen Maria “from the Missouri River to the Great Salt Lake City.” A. O. left Liverpool on 28 January 1852; and, after arriving in New York, he wrote to Margaret about the company’s ordeal crossing the Atlantic: “It would be impossible for me to describe the appearance of a . . . tempestuous sea which we had for seven successive days and nights without cessation. The [ship’s] officers that had been to sea for some 21 and 25 years said that they had never saw so severe a storm before.”
At St. Louis, A. O. acquired supplies for the Mormon companies and then made his way up the Missouri River toward Lexington. He arrived in Lexington on 8 April on the steamship Isabel, just behind the Saluda. Around 7:00 a.m. on the morning of 9 April, A. O. visited the Mormon passengers on the Saluda. While he was walking back to the Isabel, he heard and felt the explosion. He recalled: I saw the bodies of many of the unfortunate passengers and various parts of the boat flying in the air in every direction. Fortunately for the Saints on board, they were mostly on the deck of the boat and pretty well towards the stern, and they consequently fared better than those below, or on the forepart of the boat, which was blown entirely to pieces. My own preservation I can only attribute to the providence of the Almighty, for if I had remained a moment on the wharf to see the boat start, as would have been very natural for a person to do, I would have been blown into eternity as those were who stood there.
A. O. estimated seventy-five passengers were killed, whereas other estimates indicate that ninety to one hundred were killed. After the explosion, he noted: I had a very narrow escape on the occasion of the Saluda disaster. I had purchased the supplies for my company to make its overland journey with, except cattle, at St. Louis and had decided to go farther up the river to buy the stock, when Eli B. Kelsey came to me to consult me in regard to chartering the Saluda to convey an independent company of saints up the river. I went with him to examine the boat, and on finding that it was an old hulk of a freight boat, fitted up with a single engine, I strongly advised him against having anything to do with it. He seemed to be influenced in making choice of it entirely by fact he could get it cheaper than a better one; but in my opinion it seemed folly, for in addition to the danger of accident, the length of time likely to be occupied in making the journey would more than counterbalance what might be saved in the charge of the transit. However, he decided to charter it, and then both he and captain urged me strongly to take passage with them, offering to carry me free of cost if I would only go; but I could not feel satisfied to do so.
A. O. remained in Lexington for ten days, during which time he observed the heroic and compassionate service rendered by the people of Lexington to the dead and injured. He wrote: I shall never forget the kindness of the citizens of Lexington in caring for the living and burying the dead. The Lord certainly inspired them to do all that sympathy and benevolence could suggest in aid of the afflicted. The city council set apart a piece of ground in which to bury the Saints who had died, and William H. Russell, the great government freighter, and many other prominent citizens did all they could to comfort and help the afflicted survivors. Besides their devoted attentions, their contributions in aid of the Saints amounted to thousands of dollars.
Following the disaster, A. O. returned to St. Louis and then made his way to Atchison, Kansas, the last staging area before crossing the plains to the Salt Lake Valley. Here, he headed up a company of 230 Saints for the journey to the West. At Atchison, a number of the group contracted cholera, including A. O. His illness lasted four weeks, during which time he lost seventy-five pounds and said that he “beheld myself in the jaws of death.”
In 1868, A. O., who had settled in Salt Lake City with his family, was sent to Provo by Brigham Young to build up the Church. He subsequently became the first president of the Board of Trustees of the Brigham Young Academy, now Brigham Young University, in 1875. He died in 1895 at the age of eighty after living a valiant life of service and sacrifice. As has been briefly recounted, A. O.’s life was in danger on several occasions, but he lived to realize the promises made to him in Kirtland, Ohio, in 1837.
I am honored and pleased to donate to your Lexington Historical Association a copy of the book, Abraham Owen Smoot, A Testament of His Life, which recounts much of his history, and I extend my appreciation for the privilege of being with you on this occasion.” (See a Digital Version of the Book Here)
Saluda- Mormon Passengers
Brown Family
- Harry Brown (1808-1852): – Veteran of Zion’s Camp (1834), Traveling Companion of Wilford Woodruff (1807-1898), Harry was the only LDS General Authority to die in 1852 Steamboat Saluda tragedy. He succumbed to his mortal injuries about three weeks after the blast. His family continued on as far as Fort Laramie.
- Sarah Brown (1834-1909) – (daughter of Harry Brown) plural wife of LDS Church leader Wilford Woodruff (1807-1898), survivor of 1852 steamboat Saluda tragedy. Continued to Salt Lake City with a pioneer wagon company. Wrote pioneer autobiography and history of the Saluda explostion.
- Rhoda North (1811-1865) – wife of Harry, uninjured, went as far as Fort Laramie then returned to Ohio with two children.
- Ira Brown – son, leg broken in explosion, later amputated at Fort Laramie.
- Jane Brown – daughter, uninjured.
Dunbar Family
- William Dunbar, a Scottish convert to the Morman Church, and his family had three opportunities to avoid passage on the ill-fated craft, the first time literally missing the boat. The family succeeded in boarding in time to be victims of the explosion; his wife and both of their children perished. He said he received care, kindness and hospitality in the home of a man who “admitted that he was one of those who years ago had shouldered his gun to help drive the ‘Mormons’ out of Missouri.
Those who lost their lives in the Saluda disaster: Lois Locke Bailey* Mary Ann Bailey* Capt. Francis T. Belt Jonathan Blackburn J. Brick William J. Bridges Jonathan Brock Daican Campbell* Jane Campbell* Neile Campbell* James Campbell* Josiah Clancy Helen Dunbar* Euphermia Dunbar* Franklin Lorenzo Dunbar* John Evans Farmers on the Saluda (5) Mr. Foleyfisher Lewis Goerette Laura Henry* Mr. Kramer Mrs. Kramer Charles S. LaBarge Mr. Laynell Mr. Legatt N. McCallister William Mitchell* Preston Mitchell* Josephine Mitchell* Mr. Nash R. Nash William Roberts Selina Roberts Sons of Roberts (4) William Rowland, Sr.* William Rowland, Jr.* David Rowland* Robert Rowland* Sarah Rowland* John Sargent* Joseph Sargent* E. Shaffer Lewis Tebor S. Wag Wayley Sister Whitaker* Mary Gleadhall Whitehead* George Whitehead* Catherine Whitehead* George Whitehead (son)* Isabel Whitehead*
- Denotes Latter-Day Saints. Source
The Legacy of Abraham Smoot by Michael Teh
“When President Brigham Young extended the call to Abraham Smoot to uproot his family and relocate to Utah, he was characteristically blunt: “There are three places, all on a par, one is as good as the other. They are Provo, Hell, or Texas. You can take your choice.”¹
At the time, Smoot lived in Salt Lake City, where he had served as mayor for 10 years. He had no personal desire to relocate to Provo or Texas (or Hell, for that matter). For Smoot, however, there was no choice other than to follow the counsel of the prophet and do what he had been called to do. A strong sense of duty was part of his nature.
Smoot’s legacy would be largely defined by his time in Provo, where he would help establish and ultimately save Brigham Young Academy. During Homecoming 2015 BYU will honor him as a founder. Homecoming’s theme, Make Your Mark, hearkens back to Smoot’s efforts to sustain the academy.
“He made his mark in dramatic fashion by financing the physical structure of the academy and also advocating for the goals and mission of BYU,” says John C. Lewis (BA ’77, MBA ’79), former associate advancement vice president.
Undaunted, powerful, and immovable are words contemporaries used to describe Smoot’s character. Orson F. Whitney, Smoot’s son-in-law, noted, “There was a dignity to his presence, a rugged grandeur that made him a striking personality wherever he appeared. When he spoke, men listened.”² Smoot served in many leadership positions throughout his life, including as branch president, pioneer captain, and mayor.
Born in 1815, Smoot was a sickly child and so received little formal education growing up in the small town of Owenton, Ky. Still, he was shrewd, and at 20 he began looking for truth and religion. He investigated various doctrines “but could never feel satisfied to join any of the religious sects.”³ When he met two Mormon missionaries, however, Smoot was quickly convinced of the truthfulness of the gospel and was baptized. During his confirmation he was blessed to be healed of his ailment, and he “began to grow strong immediately.”⁴
Smoot grew stronger spiritually and socially as well. Just two months after his baptism, he was ordained a deacon and promptly called to be the leader of his local branch. During this time Smoot met the future fourth President of the Church, Wilford Woodruff. The two became fast friends and later mission companions when Woodruff called Smoot to preach with him in Tennessee and Kentucky, the first of nine missions that Smoot served.
Smoot and Woodruff ended their mission in Ohio, where they enrolled at Kirtland High School to study Greek and Latin. Though he attended for only two months, the 21-year-old Smoot developed a love for learning that would become important later in his life.
Over the next few years, Smoot led a company of Saints to Far West, Mo., and continued to serve as a missionary there until the city fell under the control of a mob and the state militia. Smoot surrendered and was taken prisoner, but while in captivity he married Margaret Adkinson, one of the women he had led to Far West. Margaret was a great companion throughout Smoot’s life, and he described her as “devoted to her religion and ready to sacrifice or endure anything to further its interests.”⁵ After he started practicing polygamy, he would eventually marry five additional women.
In 1847 Smoot led a company of 120 wagons to Salt Lake City, where he was elected mayor in 1856. Smoot was also part of the first high council in the Salt Lake area and acted as Utah’s first justice of peace. It was during this time of expanding influence for Smoot that Brigham Young called him to uproot his home and settle in Provo—a rough, disorganized place that needed a leader.
After he was elected mayor of the town, Smoot attempted to rid Provo of problems such as drinking, gambling, and vagrancy. In government, business, and church endeavors, Smoot quickly established himself as an integral figure in almost every aspect of Provo life.
In business Smoot served as president of multiple companies and helped organize two banks in Provo. With his financial success, Smoot directed the construction of several Provo roads and helped complete the Utah Southern Railroad.
As a stake president, Smoot rallied members of the Church to donate to the construction of the Provo Tabernacle, which was finished in 1898. Photo (left) courtesy L. Tom Perry Special Collections UAP 2 F-044
Among his most notable projects was the Provo Tabernacle, a Provo icon for more than 100 years. Given his influence and commitment to Provo, Smoot would become known as the “father of Utah Valley development.”⁶
“He made major contributions in this valley . . . that are unrivaled,” says L. Douglas Smoot (BS ’57), Smoot’s great-grandson and coauthor of Abraham Owen Smoot: A Testament of His Life.
After Brigham Young’s death in 1877, Smoot acquired another role, this time as an advocate for Brigham Young Academy (BYA).
When Karl G. Maeser was appointed principal of BYA in 1876, he was disappointed to find the “premises inadequate, facilities limited, students few in number, and financial conditions exceedingly discouraging.”⁷ As head of the board of trustees, Smoot rallied Provo citizens to support the academy. And he joined in the efforts, donating funds from his own pocket.
Under Smoot’s leadership, school membership increased from 70 students to 313. Then, just when it seemed as if BYA was making steady progress and on the verge of financial stability, disaster struck.
After an 1884 fire devastated the Lewis Building, which housed Brigham Young Academy, Smoot offered his bank and home for classes. Photo courtesy L. Tom Perry Special Collections UAP 2-F018
On Jan. 27, 1884, the Lewis Building, which housed BYA at the time, burned down. It was a devastating blow to the BYA community; all they had worked to build up was destroyed in one night. An 1892 article about Smoot recounted,
Of all who gazed on that sad spectacle that night, there was no heavier, sadder heart than that of its foster-father A.O. Smoot. The Institution had grown into his very heart of hearts, and to see the results of years of toil and hard-earned blessings blazing on the altar of sacrifice, wilted his feelings to the uttermost.⁸
But as was his nature, Smoot remained undaunted and committed to the school. The morning after the fire, he met with the BYA Board of Trustees, who made arrangements for classes to continue without delay. Smoot allocated the second floor of a bank he owned for classes, which resumed with only one day’s loss.
Over the next several years, BYA encountered many more obstacles, most of them financial. By 1892 BYA was between $75,000 and $85,000 in debt. While many considered the academy a lost cause, Smoot never gave up on the school. Even with his own bank failing, he offered land, donated money, and, as a stake president, fervently invited members of the Church to give of their means.
In an 1893 letter to his wife Anne, he wrote,
I haven’t a piece of property that is not mortgaged. I have had to do it to raise money to keep the Brigham Young Academy going. That was given to me as a mission and I would sooner lose all than to fail in fulfilling this responsibility. I love that school and I can see what it means to our youth to have a spiritual as well as book learning. It must live.
Although Abraham Smoot died in 1895 and did not live to see the fruits of his efforts, hundreds of thousands of lives have been affected by his unwavering commitment and firm leadership. The Abraham O. Smoot Administration Building was dedicated in his honor in 1962.” Source
NOTES
1. C. Elliott Berlin, “Abraham Owen Smoot: Pioneer Mormon Leader,” master’s thesis (BYU, 1955), p. 88.
2. Orson F. Whitney, History of Utah, Vol. IV (Salt Lake City: George Q. Cannon & Sons, 1904), p. 98.
3. A. O. Smoot, “Early Experience of A. O. Smoot,” Early Scenes in Church History, Eighth Book of the Faith-Promoting Series (Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1882), p. 18.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid., p. 21.
6. Berlin, p. 90.
7. Karl G. Maeser, “A Retrospect,” The Normal 1, no. 9 (Jan. 4, 1892): p. 67.
8. “President A. O. Smoot,” The Young Woman’s Journal 3, no. 10 (July 1892): p. 436.
9. Loretta D. Nixon and L. Douglas Smoot, Abraham Owen Smoot: A Testament of His Life (Provo: BYU Press, 1994), pp. 247–48.
Personally, I am very thankful to the Smoot family and the legacy that Abraham O. Smoot left us. They have been great examples and touched the lives of many individuals, including mine.