APOSTLES — Familial Relationships
QUESTION: One of our recent apostles had a brother who served in the Second Quorum of the Seventy. Can you name the apostle and his brother?
ANSWER: Elder Merrill C. Oaks, the brother of Elder Dallin H. Oaks, served in the Second Quorum of the Seventy from 1998 to 2004. Elder Merrill C. Oaks was born in 1936 in Twin Falls, Idaho, and President Dallin H. Oaks was born in 1932 in Provo, UtaH. Click here to read more about President Dallin H. Oaks.
QUESTION: One of our recent apostles had a brother serve in the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy. Can you name this apostle and his brother?
ANSWER: Elder James Mitchel Scott, the brother of Elder Richard G. Scott, served in the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy. Elder James M. Scott was born in 1940 in Washington, D.C., and Elder Richard G. Scott was born in 1928 in Pocatello, Idaho. Click here to read about other interesting familial relationships amongst the general authorities of the Church.
QUESTION: Three of the apostles in the original Quorum of the Twelve were brothers-in-law. Can you name these three apostles and their marriage connection?
ANSWER: The three apostles in the original Quorum of the Twelve that were brothers-in-law were Orson Hyde, Luke Johnson, and Lyman E. Johnson. Orson Hyde married Miranda Nancy Johnson, Luke and Lyman’s sister, on September 4, 1834 in Kirtland, Ohio. Click here to see other interesting relationships in the Quorum of the Twelve.
QUESTION: Earlier in this dispensation, a father and his son, both of whom were serving as apostles, died within 10 months of each other. Can you name these two apostles?
ANSWER: Hyrum Mack Smith, the son of Joseph F. Smith, died on January 23, 1918 at the relatively young age of 45. He served as an apostle for over 16 years. In Andrew Jenson’s LDS Biographies, it states that Elder Smith “was stricken with his last illness, from the effects of which he died.” Joseph F. Smith, the 6th President of the Church, died on November 19, 1918 at the age of 80. Click here for other father-son apostolic relationships.
QUESTION: Only once in Church history have a father and his son served in the Quorum of the Twelve at the same time. Can you identify this unusual occurrence?
ANSWER: The father and son who served concurrently in the Quorum of the Twelve were John Henry Smith and George Albert Smith. John Henry Smith had been serving in the Quorum of the Twelve for 23 years when his son, George Albert Smith, was ordained an apostle in 1903. They served together in the Quorum for six and one-half years, at which time John Henry Smith was called to serve as 2nd Counselor in the First Presidency. Click here to see other father/son apostolic relationships.
QUESTION: From April 7, 1910 to October 13, 1911, five of the fifteen apostles serving in the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve had the last name of Smith. Can you name these five brethren?
ANSWER: The five Smiths were Joseph F. Smith (President of the Church), John Henry Smith (2nd counselor in the First Presidency), Hyrum Mack Smith (member of the Quorum of 12), George Albert Smith (Quorum of 12), and Joseph Fielding Smith (Quorum of 12). Joseph F. Smith was the father of Hyrum Mack Smith and Joseph Fielding Smith, and John Henry Smith was the father of George Albert Smith. Joseph F. Smith and John Henry Smith were 2nd cousins (Asael Smith was the great-grandfather of both these brethren). Interestingly, during this same time period, David Asael Smith (Joseph F. Smith’s son) was serving as the 2nd Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, and John Smith (Hyrum Smith’s son) was serving as the Patriarch of the Church. Click here to see more information about the last names of our modern-day apostles.
QUESTION: One of our latter-day apostles had a great-grandson serve as an apostle without having had a son or a grandson serve as an apostle. Can you name this apostle and his famous great-grandson? (Hint: the great-grandson ultimately served as President of the Church.)
ANSWER: Ezra T. Benson was ordained an apostle on July 16, 1846 at the age of 35. His great-grandson, Ezra Taft Benson, was ordained an apostle on October 7, 1943. President Benson became the 13th President of the Church on November 10, 1985. Click here to see more apostolic relationships.
QUESTION: How many of our latter-day apostles have had both a son and a grandson serve as apostles?
ANSWER: Four of our latter-day apostles have had both a son and a grandson serve as apostles. These four brethren, followed by their apostle son and grandson, are Hyrum Smith (Joseph F. Smith, Joseph Fielding Smith), George A. Smith (John Henry Smith, George Albert Smith), Amasa M. Lyman (Francis M. Lyman, Richard R. Lyman), and Franklin D. Richards (George F. Richards, LeGrand Richards). Consider Hyrum Smith’s unique situation: he had a brother, a son, and a grandson who all served as Presidents of the Church (and they all had the same first name!). It should also be mentioned that Elder Quentin L. Cook is a great-great-grandson of Heber C. Kimball, an early apostle in this dispensation. Click here to see more apostolic relationships.
QUESTION: How many of our latter-day apostles have had a son that also served as an apostle? How many of our apostles have had more than one son serve as apostles?
ANSWER: Fifteen of our latter-day apostles have had a son serve as an apostle. These 15 brethren, followed by their apostle sons, are Brigham Young (Joseph Angell Young, Brigham Young, Jr., and John Willard Young), Hyrum Smith (Joseph F. Smith), John Taylor (John W. Taylor), Wilford Woodruff (Abraham O. Woodruff), George A. Smith (John Henry Smith), Amasa M. Lyman (Francis M. Lyman), Franklin D. Richards (George F. Richards), Jedediah M. Grant (Heber J. Grant), George Q. Cannon (Abraham H. Cannon and Sylvester Quayle Cannon), Joseph F. Smith (Hyrum Mack Smith and Joseph Fielding Smith), Francis M. Lyman (Richard R. Lyman), John Henry Smith (George Albert Smith), Marriner W. Merrill (Joseph F. Merrill), Matthias F. Cowley (Matthew Cowley), and George F. Richards (LeGrand Richards). As can be seen above, only three of our apostles have had more than one son serve as apostles (Brigham Young, George Q. Cannon, and Joseph F. Smith). Click here to see more apostolic relationships.
QUESTION: How many of our latter-day apostles have had a grandson serve as an apostle without having had a son serve as an apostle?
ANSWER: Four of our latter-day apostles have had a grandson serve as an apostle without having had a son serve as an apostle. These four brethren, followed by their apostle grandsons, are Heber C. Kimball (Orson F. Whitney and Spencer W. Kimball), Willard Richards (Stephen L. Richards), Hyrum Mack Smith (M. Russell
Ballard), and Melvin J. Ballard (M. Russell Ballard). As can be noted above, both of M. Russell Ballard’s grandfathers were apostles, and Spencer W. Kimball and Orson F. Whitney were cousins. Click here to see more apostolic relationships.
QUESTION: One of the apostles of this dispensation had both a son and a grandson serve as Presidents of the Church. Can you name this apostle?
ANSWER: Hyrum Smith, brother of the Prophet Joseph. Joseph F. Smith, Hyrum’s son, served as the sixth President of the Church. Joseph Fielding Smith, Joseph F. Smith’s son and Hyrum’s grandson, served as the tenth President of the Church. As a side note, one other apostle had a son serve as the President of the Church. John Henry Smith, the 38th apostle in this dispensation, had his son George Albert Smith serve as the 8th President of the Church. Thus, Hyrum Smith, Joseph F. Smith, and John Henry Smith are the three apostles who have had sons serve as Presidents of the Church, and Hyrum Smith is the only apostle to have a son and a grandson serve as President. Click here to see more apostolic relationships.
QUESTION: When one particular President of the Church in this dispensation passed away, the vacancy thus created amongst the apostles was filled by this President’s son-in-law. Can you name the President and the son-in-law?
ANSWER: The President was Joseph Fielding Smith, and the son-in-law was Bruce R. McConkie. Elder McConkie was married to President Smith’s youngest daughter, Amelia. Click here to see other familial relationships, and look under McConkie in the listing.
QUESTION: Can you name the apostles of this dispensation who have had sons serve as President of the Church?
ANSWER: Four apostles have had sons serve as President of the Church. Hyrum Smith, ordained as an apostle on November 7, 1837, was the father of Joseph F. Smith, the sixth President of the Church. Jedediah M. Grant, ordained an apostle on April 7, 1854, was the father of Heber J. Grant, the seventh President of the church. John Henry Smith, ordained an apostle on October 27, 1880, was the father of George Albert Smith, the 8th President of the Church. Joseph F. Smith, ordained an apostle on July 1, 1866, was the father of Joseph Fielding Smith, the tenth President of the Church. Click here to see more apostolic relationships.
QUESTION: Earlier in this dispensation, three brothers were ordained apostles on the same day. Can you name them?
ANSWER: The three brothers were John Willard Young (age 19), Brigham Young, Jr. (age 26), and Joseph Angell Young (age 29). These brothers were the sons of Brigham Young and Mary Ann Angell, and they were all ordained apostles on February 4, 1864. Neither John nor Joseph served in the Quorum of the 12, but Brigham Young, Jr. served in the Quorum, eventually becoming the President of the Quorum of the Twelve. Click here for more sibling apostolic relationships.
QUESTION: Which apostle had both his father and grandfather serve as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles?
ANSWER: Elder LeGrand Richards’ father, George Franklin Richards, served as President of the Quorum of the Twelve from May 1845 until his death in August 1950. Elder LeGrand Richards’ grandfather, Franklin D. Richards, served as President of the Quorum of Twelve from 1898 to 1899. Click here to see more apostolic relationships.
QUESTION: Five times in church history we have had a father and a son (or sons) holding the apostleship at the same time. Can you name these five apostles and their son or sons?
ANSWER: Brigham Young and three of his sons (Brigham Young, Jr., Joseph A. Young, and John W. Young), John Taylor and his son John W. Taylor, Wilford Woodruff and his son Abraham O. Woodruff, John Henry Smith and his son George Albert Smith, and Joseph F. Smith and two of his sons (Hyrum Mack Smith and Joseph Fielding Smith). Click here to see more apostolic relationships.
QUESTION: At one point in church history we had two sets of brothers serving in the Quorum of the Twelve at the same time? Can you name these two sets of brothers?
ANSWER: There were two sets of brothers in the original Quorum of the Twelve. They were Parley P. and Orson Pratt, and Luke and Lyman Johnson. Click here for more sibling apostolic relationships.
QUESTION: Can you name another set of brothers that served concurrently in the Quorum of the Twelve?
ANSWER: Hyrum Mack Smith and Joseph Fielding Smith, sons of Joseph F. Smith, served together in the Quorum of the Twelve from 1910 to 1918. Click here for more sibling apostolic relationships.
QUESTION: Two of our recent apostles had the same middle name. Can you name them? Were they related?
ANSWER: Gordon Bitner Hinckley and Joseph Bitner Wirthlin were first-cousins, having the same grandfather (Breneman Barr Bitner). They had, however, different grandmothers. Click here to see other interesting familial relationships amongst our general authorities.
QUESTION: One of our apostles had the unique privilege of being considered ‘the son of President Joseph Smith’. Can you name this apostle and the circumstances surrounding this designation?
ANSWER: Heber J. Grant was the apostle with this unique designation. He wrote of this is his own personal journal thusly: “I then spoke for 15 minutes. Brother Joseph F. Smith followed, occupying the remainder of the time. He announced that he looked upon me as being the seed actually of the Prophet Joseph Smith under the new and everlasting covenant, my mother having been sealed to the Prophet for all eternity, and only married to my father for time. This remark was called forth because of Joseph E. Taylor saying that the Lord would not forget the seed of the Prophet Joseph Smith, but that they would be remembered.” Joseph F. Smith did not mention my name, but he announced that the Lord had not forgotten the seed of the Prophet Joseph, that his seed held the high priesthood in the church, and that he had a son who was sitting not far from where he was then standing – I knew Brother Smith meant me as on other occasions he had referred to me as the son of President Joseph Smith.” Look under Heber J. Grant in the listing on this page.
QUESTION: Of our recent apostles, one was the great-grandson of an earlier apostle and the other was the great-great grandson of an earlier apostle. In both instances, none of the intervening fathers or grandfathers in these families served as apostles. Can you name the apostles involved?
ANSWER: President Ezra Taft Benson (1943) was the great grandson of Elder Ezra T. Benson (1846). President James E. Faust (1978) was the great-great grandson of Elder Amasa M. Lyman (1842). The dates are the years of ordination to the apostleship. Click here to see other apostolic relationships.
QUESTION: One of our recent presidents of the Church had a son serve in the First Quorum of the Seventy during the president’s term of service as Church president. Can you name the Church president and his son?
ANSWER: The president of the Church was President Gordon B. Hinckley, and his son that served in the Seventy was Richard G. Hinckley. Elder Richard Hinckley began his service in the Seventy in April of 2005. It should also be noted that in the April 2020, Elder Matthew Holland, the son of Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland, was sustained as a General Authority Seventy. Click here to see similar situations.
QUESTION: One of our recent apostles (currently serving in April 2024) is the great-great-grandson of Elder Heber C. Kimball, an early apostle in the Church. Can you name this apostle?
ANSWER: Elder Quentin L. Cook is the great-great-grandson of Elder Heber C. Kimball, an early leader and apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Click here to see similar situations.
Click here to return to the start of this quiz page
Click here to return to the Quiz menu
Click here to return to the Main Menu page