President Emeritus Wallace B. Smith of the Community of Christ passed away peacefully on Friday, 22 September. A great-grandson of Joseph Smith, Jr., and Emma Smith, he served as prophet-president of the Reorganizeed Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from 1978 to 1994.
He was called to be church president by his father, W. Wallace Smith, in 1976 and served for two years as president designate before being ordained as prophet-president. He left a successful medical practice of opthalmology for his new calling.
He will be remembered first of all for prophetic direction in Doctrine and Covenants Section 156. That inspired document opened the RLDS priesthood to women and focused the church’s theology related to its new temple in Independence, Missouri, on peace and justice themes.
The Temple was dedicated in 1993, a year before he called the first non-Smith descendant, W. Grant McMurray, to succeed him in the prophetic office. The church’s name was changed to Community of Christ in 2001.
A personal note: I began work as an editor at the church’s publishing division, Herald Publishing House, in 1986. The First Presidency are editors in chief of all church publications, and I occasionally had the good fortune to interact with President Smith. He was always kind and interested in my work and personal life. Those interactions continued well into his retirement years.
His contributions to the church will be honored and remembered by the whole church. His life and ministry exemplified the gospel of Jesus Christ. I and so many others were blessed to know him.
Wheat & Tares 
I issue my strongest possible condemnation to the pernicious disease that took the life of President Smith. President Smith had a focus on peace and justice that is especially relevant now.
It was our pleasure to meet and know Wallace B Smith. We met him at or Chatham Congregation years ago. He was the last profit of the RLDS. R.I.P. dear Wallace B Smith.
Thanks for sharing. Sounds like he led the CoC well and helped move it toward a more viable and more meaningful long-term mission.
Jeff A:
Wallce B. Smith was the last of Joseph and Emma’s great-grandchildren. Grant McMurray was prophet-president in 2001 when the church began using Community of Christ as its primary name.
JCS:
He had surgery a few weeks ago for a broken hip, and that was not his first bone break. Coupled with his age, 94, I think those complications had more to do with his death than disease.
I met the prophet at a local church service in Indiana, enjoyed Sunday school discussion and he gave a sermon. Afterwards, I offered him a ride back to the airport and got some one-on-one time. He had a gentle and generous smile and the JS connection helped me appreciate our fantastic heritage.
It will surprise many LDS to know that WB Smith was very up-close and personal with the membership. Most referred to him as “Brother Wally”. I attended a youth conference in august 1978where he presided and performed “Blue Moon” on the ukelele. He posed with youth delegations for pictures (ours included).
When I was assigned to Ellsworth Air Force Base, near Rapid City, South Dakota ,(from 1984 to 1988), I was elected as the Presiding Elder of the RLDS branch in Rapid City, South Dakota.. We invited then Prophet-President Wallace B. Smith to our small RLDS branch in Rapid City, South Dakota after the members paid off the mortgage for the building. President Smith agreed to travel to South Dakota after World Conference. He was very gracious as he provided ministry to our branch and members gathered from the Wyoming District. President Smith stayed in our home. I remember our conversations as we discussed the situation of the church (at that time) and the future course of the church. It is very interesting to see the dramatic changes that the RLDS church has gone through during the last 37+ years. May he go on to his reward.
The decision to grant women the priesthood in 1984 was a bold one that cost the church approximately 1/3 its members. Yet prophets rarely win popularity contests and their pronouncements aren’t beholden to popular sentiments. We sing “do what is right let the consequence follow”, but too often shirk at making hard calls against popular opinion. There’s much to be respected in solitary (lonely) leadership.
Rest in peace- Smith descendant. Till we all gather together in the last day and the schism is healed.
I think Jeff A may be obliquely referring to the attitude prevalent among a number of CoC members (or ex-CoC members!) that the RLDS Church lost its way when they handed the reins to a non-descendant of Joseph Smith. I was once lounging around a campfire with a pard, as we say, at the 150th anniversary reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg, and we got to talking. He’s basically an atheist, but to my surprise, he’s a descendant of Joseph Smith. His father basically left activity when WB retired and McMurray became President/Prophet.
As a “Brighamite” who has his own doubts about our own prophetic selection process – longevity seems no more useful a process than ancestry, especially after watching Benson and Monson – I have no axe to grind about CoC prophetic selection. But I was impressed, a couple of years ago at Sunstone, to chat with and observe CoC apostle Lachlan McKay in shorts, sandals, and a polo shirt, sitting in a circle of camp chairs in the conference center, while contrasting that with the public appearances of LDS apostles in suits and ties with the security detail, earpieces in and briefcase in hand like they had the nuclear football. We’ve lost something important.