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| 2015 Abraham Owen Smoot Family Reunion at the BYU Wilkinson Center |
We, the Abraham Owen Smoot Family Organization, denounce slavery. Slavery is wrong. It is terrible that it was very prevalent in the American culture and that it has existed in many cultures throughout history. Praise the Lord that our great grandparents finally took a stand and said “NO” to it—even though many of them were raised in a culture where it was accepted. Some of our great grandparents even gave their lives in an effort to eradicate it from American society.
Dr. Dennis Lythgoe said, “I think you have to view it (slavery) in context. It was the standard practice of the day. When Southerners were converted to Mormonism, they naturally brought their slaves with them. Since the LDS Church had no official position against slavery, and the territorial government sanctioned slavery in 1852, the status quo was the status quo.” (U of U graduate and Professor Emeritus of History, Bridgewater State University, Bridge Water, Mass.)
Matt Grow said, “As a historian, I try to follow the advice of a British novelist. He said: ‘The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there’ (L. P. Hartley, The Go-Between [1953], prologue). That means when we visit the past, we don’t want to be an ‘ugly tourist.’ We want to try to understand people within their own context and their own culture. We want to be patient with what we perceive as their faults. We want to be humble about the limits of our own knowledge. And we want to have a spirit of charity about the past.” (Ensign July 2020)
Although we, the posterity of Abraham Owen Smoot, know much about him—we too do not suppose that we understand enough of the context, culture and happenings 160 years ago to be able to place judgment on the motives, decisions and virtues of those early pioneers.
No one today has enough detail to recreate the way things were. There is so much we do not know.
A. O. had no desire to go to Provo. In Salt Lake, he had just finished building a new home on South Temple Street. He had struggled hard to build his businesses in Salt Lake. He was well-established in the community and had recently served for 10 years as Salt Lake City mayor.
Latter-day Saints and friends of the Church throughout Utah continually turned to him because they trusted his judgment, his wisdom and his good heart. Native American chiefs and tribes revered him and viewed him as one of their closest friends and allies. These early settlers of the Salt Lake Valley chose him:
- To be the first Justice of the Peace
- To serve in the State Legislature multiple times
- To serve as mayor of Salt Lake City and later as mayor of Provo
Brigham Young continually turned to him to take on heavy responsibility:
- To serve a total of nine proselyting missions in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ
- To serve as bishop five times: Winter Quarters, SLC 15th Ward, Cottonwood Ward, Sugarhouse Ward and as Presiding Bishop in the Provo Area
- To nurture and grow a small startup B.Y. Academy
- To build the Provo Tabernacle—which is now the Provo City Center Temple
- To serve for 13 years as Stake President in Provo
We have studied his writings, his sermons, and his sacrifices and what his contemporaries said about him. Brigham Young asked him to lead the 4th company of Saints to cross the plains and arrive in the Salt Lake Valley in September 1847. Then, crossing the plains 13 times, he helped bring many struggling families and supplies from the East to Utah. He also led the first Perpetual Immigration group from England to America. Continually reaching out and serving the poor, the stranded and oppressed was his legacy.
Brigham Young’s mandate to A. O. was to have the academy flourish—which then became his life’s mission. In his last 20 years, he gave his entire fortune, energy and time to keep the Brigham Young Academy afloat. He died in heavy debt as a result. His all-consuming commitment was to keep the academy doors open so the young people could receive the type of education that only the B. Y. Academy could provide. For a period of time, he personally paid the salaries of the teachers to keep the academy going. When the academy building burned to the ground, he was the visionary who rallied all possible resources to continue classes in various buildings spread throughout Provo—until he and others were able to earn the funds and build a new magnificent edifice for learning. As the President of the Academy’s Board of Directors and as the stake president, he carried a heavy load during this period. While on one of his long journeys away from home, he wrote back to his beloved wife, Anne:
“Annie I haven’t a piece of property that is not mortgaged. I have had to do it to raise money to keep the Brigham Young Academy going. That was given to me as a mission and I would sooner lose all than fail in fulfilling this responsibility. I love that school and I can see what it means to our youth to have a spiritual as well as book learning. It must live.” (Abraham Owen Smoot, A Testament of his Life, by Nixon and Smoot, pg. 247)
His greatest impact has been on his more than 14,000 descendants. He was firm but tender, kind and nurturing. He instilled confidence, obedience and strong testimonies in his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
The BYU Administration Building bears his name because of his monumental sacrifice and contribution to this institution. Removing his name accomplishes nothing. In addressing racism at BYU, solutions are available. A diverse and well-qualified BYU Committee on Race, Equity and Belonging has been assembled. If you examine who is on this committee, you realize nothing will be overlooked. Racism will be addressed. Solutions are possible. An attempt to smear and cancel A. O. Smoot and Brigham Young and what they did 160 years ago accomplishes nothing.
We can all hope that having his name on a building causes everyone to desire to know who he was. In doing so they will learn of a magnificent man who lived a diverse and difficult life and did phenomenal things for our community—which have since blessed thousands of people of every race. He came unto Jesus, and as a result, his transformed life showed his Christianity more and more the longer he lived. A. O. Smoot was a perfect example of someone who was born into the tradition of slavery but changed his ways. We need more examples like A. O. Smoot in the world, not less.
Executive Committee
The Abraham Owen Smoot Family Organization
Sharman Smoot, President
Alan Smoot, Vice-President
Bonnie Kofford, Secretary
Janelle Brimhall Lysenko
Shauna Smoot Essig
Cullen Brimhall
Abraham Owen Smoot VI
Nanette Maxfield Garrett
Mary Ellen Smoot
Christine Beck Perry
Julie Earl Larson
Jonathan Lysenko
Loretta Nixon
Richard Nixon
Kathrine Raile
Melissa Engle Bilic
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