Don Carlos Smith

(1816–41)

A brother of Joseph Smith Jr., Don Carlos Smith was born in Norwich, Vermont, in 1816. In June 1830, he was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Seneca Lake, New York. The following August, he accompanied his father, Joseph Smith Sr., on a mission to the family of his grandfather Asael Smith in St. Lawrence County, New York. In May 1831, Don Carlos moved to Kirtland, Ohio, where he worked at the Kirtland printing shop. He married Agnes Moulton Coolbrith in 1835. The following year, he was ordained a high priest, was appointed president of the Kirtland high priests quorum, and served a mission to Pennsylvania and New York. In 1838 he served a mission to Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio and another to Kentucky and Tennessee. In 1839 he and other Latter-day Saints were expelled from Missouri and forced to resettle in Commerce, Illinois, which was later renamed Nauvoo, where Smith was appointed president of the high priests. From 1839 to 1841, he helped edit and publish the Church newspaper Times and Seasons. He also held several public positions in the city. He died in Nauvoo in 1841.

References in the Doctrine and Covenants

Doctrine and Covenants 124

Additional Information

Biographical facts and sources, The Joseph Smith Papers

Saints, vol. 1, The Standard of Truth