Category: Uncategorized

November, 2011

My Dear Cousins,

I want to express my deep love for each of you and thank all of you for what you are doing in honoring the names of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith. The cemetery is a credit to all of the family members that have participated in helping to maintain and beautify the sacred spot where the Prophet Joseph Smith and those dearest to him are buried: Emma, Mother and Father Smith, Hyrum, Samuel, and others of the family. We must never ever lose the sense of appreciation and gratitude for those who have laid the foundation for this great work and have given us so much.

All of us should consider it an honor to support the work of the family, and so I encourage each of you to be as generous as you possibly can in providing financial support so that the work can move forward year after year, touching the lives of more of our family members.

I suppose that there will not be anything that will be more thrilling for anyone of us than to eventually be embraced by Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack and by our other forefathers and loved ones, and have them say to us, “Thank you, thank you, for keeping the cemetery beautiful. Thank you for seeking out the family members and building unity and love and strength within our family.”

We are on the Lord’s errand. There is a great family work that we must accomplish in His holy name. May we be blessed to do so is the prayer of my heart.

Sincerely,

Elder M. Russell Ballard

21st Biennial Reunion in Kirtland, Ohio
August 4-7, 2011

“Wherefore, my dear children, I pray, beseech, and adjure you by all the relations and dearness that hath ever been betwixt us and by the heartrending pangs of dying father whose soul hath been ever bound in the bundle of life with yours, that you know one another. Visit as you may each one another… if possible, once every year…or if you cannot meet, send to and hear from each other yearly and oftener if you can; and when you have neither father nor mother left be so many fathers and mothers to each other, so you shall understand the blessings mentioned in the 133 Psalm.”

Asael Smith, father of Joseph Smith, Sr.

Cemetery upkeep includes repairs to walkways, lighting fixtures and lamps that illuminate pathways, reseeding worn lawn areas, flowerbeds and irrigation upgrades.

Tax deductible gifts for refurbishing the cemetery can be made to:
The Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith Foundation.

Please mail your check to:
Craig Frogley
10763 S 2000 E
Sandy UT 84092

After the LDS church celebrated Eldred G. Smith’s 100th birthday, January 9, 2007 at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, the Joseph Smith Sr Family celebrated his birthday at the Joseph Smith Sr. Reunion, August 7, 2007. Youth joined adults in time to hear Eldred and Hortense speak in the morning. All attending had the opportunity to see church artifacts from Hyrum Smith–bullet marked clothing, a bullet pierced pocketwatch, and a wooden box from Alvin Smith that had been used to hold the plates of the Book of Mormon.

That evening the family enjoyed a birthday party that included a poem from his wife Hortense–Gifted Hands–and a tribute by retired English professor Richard Cracroft.

The family enjoyed cake from cake decorator Karen Webber who had created 10 cakes, each cake representing one decade of Eldred’s life.

The family concluded the evening by planting a tree for each of the 11 children of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith. Portions of their patriarchal blessings were read for each of the living children; at each tree family members then placed a rock which had been engraved with the child’s name, birth and death year.

March 9, 2008, Salt Lake Tabernacle at Temple Square, 6:00 p.m.

The Samuel H. Smith Foundation, in conjunction with the Joseph Smith Sr and Lucy Mack Smith Family Foundation, is pleased to announce a special event celebrating the 200th birthday of Samuel H. Smith. The theme is “Faith of Our Fathers.”

Invited guests include the descendants of Joseph Smith Sr., Brigham and Phineas Young, Heber C. Kimball, and John P. Green. Having these descendants and others makes this fireside exciting because it visually shows the impact of one young missionary’s testimony and the Book of Mormon.

Speakers include Sister Ardeth Kapp, descendant of Rachel and John P. Green, and Elder Ballar descendant of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith. Music will be provided by the Orem Institute Choir. For more information, and to request tickets, please log on to www.samuelhsmith.org.

The Joseph Smith Jr. Family gathered in Independence and Nauvoo from June 6 to June 10, 2007. The theme, “Joseph, Where are the rest of my children” was chosen from Emma’s personal experience just before her death.

Mike Kennedy, the Joseph Smith Jr. Family Organization President said, “We wanted to show that Emma went through many trials of her own and shared her husband’s trials and could have abandoned her husband, freeing herself from much grief if she just walked away. But she bore her trials not because of her faith in her husband, but because of her faith in Jesus Christ who she knew called her husband to the work he performed.”

Descendants filled out family group sheets, participated in DNA testing, and enjoyed presentations on the Smith family as they toured historical settings. The family greatly appreciated the lectures by Paul Smith and Ken Smith from the Utah LDS Church education system, and Bill Curtis, a local historian. Family visited the LDS Visitors center, the Community of Christ Auditorium and Temple, and the Temple lot. A grave site ceremony concluded the Independence visit.

In Missouri, the family visited Liberty jail and viewed the film “Joseph.” After the film, their whole countenances had changed. They later said they had never known these things about their ancestors.

They also saw a short film on Emma’s life by Gary Cook (LDS Motion Picture Studio) and a powerpoint presentation by Paul Smith (CES). They joined in singing the chorus of “Mother, We are Here” a song by Emma’s great, great granddaughter Lorena Normandeau. This song had a tremendous impact on the family and left few dry eyes. “Even today, a few weeks later” Mike and Darcy Kennedy say, “we receive email where descendants tell us they are always caught humming this song.”

A highlight of the Nauvoo trip was the grave site ceremony at Lamoni. Each descendant took flowers and a list of progenitors to find. Finding their relatives became a real experience for our families, even the youth. Australians visiting these sites for the first time were beyond simple emotion as they found Alexander Hale’s grave.

The family spent the rest of the trip touring the Old City, Nauvoo. Most of the family lodged at the Riverside Mansion, Emma’s home. They called it “Gramma’s home.” This name still continues today. Emma Belle Kennedy performed a reenactment of her third great grandmother’s experience seeing Emma for the last time.

The family concluded the event at Joseph and Emma’s grave site. Ivor Jones spoke of the love for family that must continue. Michael Kennedy spoke on the importance of the family gatherings and the need for Joseph and Emma’s posterity to stand up and bear witness of who they were. As the world takes notice of Joseph, his children must stand up as the lion and bear witness of Joseph’s divine calling and no longer hide in obscurity.