Samuel H. Smith

Samuel Harrison Smith was the younger brother of Joseph Smith and one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon. He testified that he saw and handled the golden plates in June 1829. He was one of the six original members when the church was organized on April 6, 1830.

Samuel is often considered the first formal missionary of the restored church. His missionary efforts in 1830, distributing copies of the Book of Mormon, led indirectly to the conversion of Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball—both future church presidents. He served on the Kirtland High Council and conducted numerous missions throughout his life.

Samuel was present during the martyrdom crisis of June 1844. He was ambushed by mobbers while traveling to aid his brothers Joseph and Hyrum at Carthage Jail, but escaped. He later retrieved their bodies and returned them to Nauvoo. The trauma and exertion contributed to his illness, and he died of bilious fever on July 30, 1844—just one month after his brothers’ deaths.