The fourth presiding Patriarch of the L.D.S. (Mormon) Church, was the son of Asahel Smith and Mary Duty, and brother of Joseph Smith, senior, the Prophet's father. He... married Betsy Schillinger March 21, 1802. In 1809 he settled in St. Lawrence county, N.Y. When Joseph Smith, sen., accompanied by his son Don Carlos, visited his father and brother in St. Lawrence county, in August, 1830, Asahel received his testimony, and though he was not baptized till 1835, he became (from the time of this visit of his brother Joseph) a warm advocate of the Book of Mormon and the restoration of the everlasting gospel, for which he received much abuse from his brother Jesse. He was baptized by Lyman E. Johnson June 29, 1835, in Stockholm, St. Lawrence county, New York, and removed with his family to Kirtland, Ohio, in 1836. Soon after his arrival there he was ordained a High Priest by Don Carlos Smith, and in 1837 he became a member of the High Council at Kirtland. He was chosen to fill a similar position in Lee county, Iowa, when a Stake of Zion was organized there Oct. 5, 1839, and served in that capacity until Jan. 6, 1842, when the Stake organization in Iowa was discontinued. During this time Brother Smith resided at Nashville, Iowa. He was ordained a Patriarch by the Twelve Apostles in Nauvoo, Ill., Oct. 7, 1844, and after the rejection of William Smith (his nephew) in 1845, the patriarchal office, according to the hereditary order, belonged to Asahel Smith; but as his health was poor, he is not known to have taken any active part in the office of presiding Patriarch. He died July 20, 1848, at Iowaville, Wapello county, Iowa, en route for the West. The following is recorded about him in Church history: "His principles, precepts and examples were worthy of imitation, and shed a lustre that does honor to his high and holy calling; he died after a long and painful illness, and has left a numerous family to mourn his loss." (LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, Andrew Jenson, Vol. 1, p.182)
The fourth presiding Patriarch of the L.D.S. (Mormon) Church, was the son of Asahel Smith and Mary Duty, and brother of Joseph Smith, senior, the Prophet's father. He... married Betsy Schillinger March 21, 1802. In 1809 he settled in St. Lawrence county, N.Y. When Joseph Smith, sen., accompanied by his son Don Carlos, visited his father and brother in St. Lawrence county, in August, 1830, Asahel received his testimony, and though he was not baptized till 1835, he became (from the time of this visit of his brother Joseph) a warm advocate of the Book of Mormon and the restoration of the everlasting gospel, for which he received much abuse from his brother Jesse. He was baptized by Lyman E. Johnson June 29, 1835, in Stockholm, St. Lawrence county, New York, and removed with his family to Kirtland, Ohio, in 1836. Soon after his arrival there he was ordained a High Priest by Don Carlos Smith, and in 1837 he became a member of the High Council at Kirtland. He was chosen to fill a similar position in Lee county, Iowa, when a Stake of Zion was organized there Oct. 5, 1839, and served in that capacity until Jan. 6, 1842, when the Stake organization in Iowa was discontinued. During this time Brother Smith resided at Nashville, Iowa. He was ordained a Patriarch by the Twelve Apostles in Nauvoo, Ill., Oct. 7, 1844, and after the rejection of William Smith (his nephew) in 1845, the patriarchal office, according to the hereditary order, belonged to Asahel Smith; but as his health was poor, he is not known to have taken any active part in the office of presiding Patriarch. He died July 20, 1848, at Iowaville, Wapello county, Iowa, en route for the West. The following is recorded about him in Church history: "His principles, precepts and examples were worthy of imitation, and shed a lustre that does honor to his high and holy calling; he died after a long and painful illness, and has left a numerous family to mourn his loss." (LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, Andrew Jenson, Vol. 1, p.182)
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