Smith was born in
Tyringham, Massachusetts. He was a farmer, teacher, and carpenter by trade. He was
baptized into the
Church of Christ some time before May 1831.
Oliver Cowdery ordained him a
high priest on October 25, 1831. During 1832, he served as a traveling
missionary on a journey from
Ohio to
Vermont.
Zion's Camp Smith was a member of
Zion's Camp in 1834, where in the words of
Heber C. Kimball he displayed "refractory feelings." During Zion's Camp he was blamed for "confrontations with
Joseph Smith (to whom he was no relation), insubordination, threatening Joseph's dog, arguing with him, and refusing to share bread." Upon the return of Zion's Camp to
Kirtland, Ohio, Smith's complaints against Joseph Smith resulted in the only time in church history that the
Common Council of the Church has been convened to try a
President of the Church. The August 1834 Council, which was presided over by
Bishop Newel K. Whitney, determined that Joseph Smith had "acted in every respect in an honorable and proper manner with all monies and properties entrusted to his charge." In September 1834, Sylvester Smith reconciled with the high council and was dropped from the council without protesting.
Kirtland life On February 14, 1835, Smith attended the meeting where the inaugural
Quorum of the Twelve was called, and three days later he was appointed to the Kirtland
High Council. He continued to serve on the Kirtland High Council, from which he was released in early 1836. five of the seven presidents of the Seventy previously ordained as High Priests, including Smith, were released and returned to the High Priests
quorum in April 1837.
George A. Smith later reported that by 1837 Sylvester was numbered among the dissenters from Joseph Smith and the church. By 1838, Smith had left the church. ==Footnotes==