{"id":4407,"date":"2026-07-31T17:08:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T17:08:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=4407"},"modified":"2026-07-31T17:08:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T17:08:27","slug":"the-idea-that-connects-joseph-smith-john-f-kennedy-and-camille-n-johnson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=4407","title":{"rendered":"The idea that connects Joseph Smith, John F. Kennedy and Camille N. Johnson"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This article is an excerpt from the weekly<\/i> ChurchBeat newsletter<\/i>. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each Wednesday night.<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Spain faces humanitarian crisis following surge of 60,000 Moroccan migrants<\/a><\/p>\n

Reporting on the innovative leadership of the Relief Society\u2019s $119 million campaign to provide aid to millions of women and children led me to connect unanticipated dots.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t clear when work began that I would run into a thread of ideas that ran from Joseph Smith to John F. Kennedy to Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson and President Dallin H. Oaks.<\/p>\n

President Johnson agreed to field a question about the idea, but the thread and her response didn\u2019t appear in the story due to its focus and length. So I\u2019ll share it with you here today.<\/p>\n

As I prepared to interview President Johnson about serving as grand marshal of the Days of \u201847 Parade on Utah\u2019s Pioneer Day, I was reminded that U.S. President John F. Kennedy spoke at the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City two months before he was assassinated in 1963.<\/p>\n

What JFK said about the qualities of Latter-day Saint pioneers<\/h3>\n

\u201cOf all the stories of American pioneers and settlers,\u201d Kennedy said, \u201cnone is more inspiring than the Mormon Trail. The qualities of the founders of this community are the qualities that we seek in America, the qualities which we like to feel this country has \u2014 courage, patience, faith, self-reliance, perseverance and, above all, an unflagging determination to see the right prevail.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those pioneers fled to Utah for their lives and for religious liberty. They went as pioneers, Kennedy said, \u201cto a land of peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joseph Smith\u2019s charge to the Relief Society<\/h3>\n

A quick return to the origin story of the Relief Society, the women\u2019s organization with over 8 million members, uncovered the fact that peacemaking was one of the charges Joseph Smith gave the society when he created it in 1842.<\/p>\n

In one of six lessons he shared with the women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that summer, he encouraged them to \u201cbecome a holy people\u201d and to \u201cbe at peace with the Lord, with those around them, and with themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

President Johnson\u2019s response<\/h3>\n

\u201cIsn\u2019t that beautiful?\u201d President Johnson said.<\/p>\n

She continued to respond to the question, \u201cIn what ways is the Relief Society an organization that seeks peace in a world of division\u201d beyond the humanitarian aid it is spearheading in 12 countries with the Caring for Women and Children Global Initiative?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that women meeting and working together helps promote peace,\u201d President Johnson said. \u201cWe\u2019re naturally peacemakers.<\/p>\n

President Johnson said she recently read the book by Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee, who showed how peace came to Liberia after women got a seat at the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat doesn\u2019t always happen,\u201d President Johnson said. \u201cWomen don\u2019t get to be at the table, and then peace comes a little more slowly. We forget about the needs of women and children if they\u2019re not represented there at the table where peacemaking is made.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you don\u2019t consider the needs of women and children, peace is always temporary.\u201d<\/p>\n

President Johnson spoke eloquently about the idea of peace to religious educators in June. She emphasized what she called a poignant and beautiful trio of teachings \u2014 love they neighbor, avoid contention and seek peace.<\/p>\n

\u201cLoving even our adversaries changes our hearts,\u201d she said. \u201cAvoiding contention sets the tone. And making peace will change the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

President Johnson\u2019s response to JFK was to ask people to emulate the Mormon Trail pioneers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat if we emulated those pioneer attributes he mentioned then \u2014 courage, patience, faith, self-reliance, perseverance, and unflagging determination to see what is right prevail?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat if we amplified them? The world would be a more peaceful place. There would be less disrespect, there\u2019d be more unity of purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

The counsel President Oaks gave about peace in April<\/h3>\n

President Oaks emphasized peacemaking in his first full general conference talk as the 18th president and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow it would change the world if followers of Christ would forgo harsh and hurtful words in all their communications,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He added an admonition: \u201cAs followers of Christ, let us follow him by forgoing contention and by using the language and methods of peacemakers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pioneers and the Native Americans<\/h3>\n

As the pioneers sought peace from the attacks they\u2019d experienced across the United States and fled the country, they moved into territory inhabited by Native Americans.<\/p>\n

Read more August events and activities in Utah<\/a><\/p>\n

Both groups sought peaceful relations generally, but painful conflicts also erupted into violence and war.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose realities should never be minimized,\u201d Shoshone historian Darren Parry told the Deseret News last week. \u201cThey are part of our shared history. Neither, however, should they erase the sacrifices of the pioneers who crossed the plains seeking a place where they could worship freely. Both stories belong to this land, and both deserve to be told honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parry shared his view \u2014 \u201chistory is rarely divided neatly between heroes and villains,\u201d he said \u2014 in a piece by one of my colleagues last week that I highly recommend. You can reading this story: \u201cCelebrating Pioneer Day doesn\u2019t mean overlooking conflicts with Native Americans, scholars say.\u201d<\/p>\n

My Recent Stories<\/b><\/h3>\n

3 new statues of Jesus Christ added to Temple Square, 2 more coming soon (July 27)<\/p>\n

A pioneering innovation drives the Relief Society\u2019s $100 million humanitarian campaign<\/p>\n

About the church<\/b><\/h3>\n

President Dallin H. Oaks joined the Days of \u201847 Parade on Pioneer Day. See photos here.<\/p>\n

President Oaks also spoke about pulling together as families at a family reunion with 600 descendants of a pioneer couple.<\/p>\n

Elder Ronald A. Rasband wrote an article in the Liahona magazine about single men and women over 40 who are answering the call to serve missions.<\/p>\n

Read about the mission that is on track to baptize 10,000 converts in just two years.<\/p>\n

General Relief Society President Camille N. Johnson served as the grand marshal for the Days of \u201847 Parade. See my story above about her leadership of the Relief Society\u2019s innovative $119 million humanitarian campaign.<\/p>\n

The new hymnbook continues to get thicker. Here are the latest 10 songs added to the Latter-day Saint hymnal.<\/p>\n

A second temple will be dedicated this fall in Mexico.<\/p>\n

The Church of Jesus Christ expanded its million-dollar earthquake response in Venezuela.<\/p>\n

Celebrating Pioneer Day doesn\u2019t mean overlooking conflicts with Native Americans, scholars say.<\/p>\n

A world horseshoe pitching champion traded horseshoes for a missionary name tag.<\/p>\n

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Colorado Springs Colorado Temple will be held on Sept. 12. It will be the state\u2019s fourth temple.<\/p>\n

Remembering the pioneer-era missions that built Utah.<\/p>\n

The 2026 Utah Area YSA Conference is Aug. 14-15. The list of keynote speakers includes three General Authority Seventies, two general officers and two art studio directors.<\/p>\n

ICYMI, the church has introduced new, simplified meetinghouses in remote areas of the Pacific.<\/p>\n

What I\u2019m reading<\/b><\/h3>\n

Jocelyn Erickson is a rare professional softball player who just played in the championship series won by the Utah Talons: a left-handed catcher and Latter-day Saint.<\/p>\n

Why are batters are being hit by pitches more than ever. \u201cThere just is less time to get out of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

From rubble to refuge: How displaced seniors in Ukraine found new lives.<\/p>\n

NASA released one of the most detailed visualizations ever created of Earth\u2019s ocean currents. Enjoy:<\/p>\n

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NASA has released one of the most detailed visualizations ever created of Earth\u2019s ocean currents. <\/p>\n

Using data from satellites and advanced ocean models, the map reveals massive rivers of moving water, swirling eddies hundreds of miles wide, and the powerful Gulf Stream carrying\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/iiciDBqQ56<\/p>\n

\u2014 All day Astronomy (@forallcurious) July 27, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

This is a social media post that was included in the story about Utah pioneers and Native Americans that I recommended above. It was posted last week and is very interesting:<\/p>\n

Read more Deseret News archives: Vidmar, U.S. gymnasts make another Olympic miracle<\/a><\/p>\n

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Behind the Scenes<\/b><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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