Administration As President of The Church
Smith became President of the Church on January 23, 1970, following the death of President David O. McKay. Although he only served as president of the church for two and a half years, his administration introduced several new initiatives: Area Conferences were introduced; some significant organizational restructuring in the Church Sunday School system and the Church Department of Social Services; and the church magazines were realigned into the Ensign, New Era and Friend in English, with centralized planning for all publications. His tenure was also marked by steady growth in the number of serving missionaries and the dedication of LDS temples in Ogden and Provo, Utah.
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