Hyrum G. Smith

Hyrum Gibbs Smith (July 8, 1879 – February 4, 1932) was Presiding Patriarch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1912 until his death.

Biography

Smith was born in South Jordan, Salt Lake County, Utah Territory, to Hyrum Fisher Smith and Annie Maria Gibbs.

While Smith was training in California to become a dentist, his grandfather John Smith, the Patriarch to the Church, died. The younger Smith was recalled to Utah to succeed him in the full-time position. He was ordained a high priest and Patriarch to the Church on May 9, 1912 by LDS Church president Joseph F. Smith. John Smith was the son of Hyrum Smith, the elder brother of Joseph Smith, the founder of the LDS Church.

Smith died of pneumonia in Salt Lake City. After his death, the office of Presiding Patriarch was left vacant for several years, but was eventually filled by Smith's second cousin Joseph Fielding Smith. In 1947, Hyrum G. Smith's son, Eldred G. Smith, became the Patriarch to the Church.