Preparation
Joseph Fielding Smith was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Joseph Fielding Smith and Julina Lambson.
Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. as a small boy
Joseph was baptized and confirmed by his father, Joseph F. Smith, who gave him his first personal copy of the Book of Mormon.
Age 24 Joseph served a full-time mission to England.
Missionaries in England, May 28, 1901; Joseph Fielding Smith, second from left
Ministry
Joseph Fielding Smith was ordained an Apostle at the young age of 33.
Portrait of President Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., 1923 
Ministry of Joseph Fielding Smith: The Church Historian 
Joseph Fielding Smith at Historians Office
Joseph Fielding Smith served as head of the Church Historian's Office from 1921–1970. Joseph Fielding Smith became President of the Church at the age of 93. He served for two years (1970–72).
Joseph Fielding Smith was a prolific writer. He authored 25 books and numerous articles on historical and doctrinal subjects.
Teachings
“We are to preach the doctrines of salvation as they are recorded in the scriptures, in plainness and simplicity and as guided by the Spirit.”
Teachings of Joseph Fielding Smith: A Voice of Warning
“Do you spend as much time making your family and home successful as you do in pursuing social and professional success? Are you devoting your best creative energy to the most important unit in society—the family? Or is your relationship with your family merely a routine, unrewarding part of life? Parent and child must . . . put family responsibilities first in order to achieve family exaltation.”
President Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. with his wife Jessie Ella Evans Smith 
Teachings of Joseph Fielding Smith: Sanctity of the Family
“There is one thing which we should have exceedingly clear in our minds. Neither the President of the Church, nor the First Presidency, nor the united voice of the First Presidency and the Twelve will ever lead the Saints astray or send forth counsel to the world that is contrary to the mind and will of the Lord.”
Joseph Fielding Smith at the Oakland California Temple dedication, 1962
President Smith Singing at General Conference, 1970 
Teachings of Joseph Fielding Smith: A Beloved Father “We must so live as to acquire the attributes of godliness and become the kind of people who can enjoy the glory and wonders of the celestial kingdom.”
“The Plan of Salvation,” Ensign, Nov. 1971, 5
Testimony
“I think of the mission of our Lord, what he did for me, and when these feelings come upon me I say to myself, I cannot be untrue to him. He loved me with a perfect love, as he has done for all men, especially those who serve him, and I must love him with all the love I can.”
Further Reading
Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith
Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith, 2013.
Presidents of the Church: Student Manual, Religion 345, Salt Lake City: Church Educational System, 2003.
Bruce R. McConkie, “Joseph Fielding Smith: Apostle, Prophet, Father in Israel,” August, 1972.
Joseph Fielding Smith, Essentials in Church History, Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press 1922.
