Amanda Barnes Smith

Amanda Barnes Smith (February 22, 1809 – June 30, 1886) was an American Mormon pioneer. She survived the Hawn's Mill massacre of 1838 in Missouri. She also helped organize the first Relief Society in Salt Lake City.

Early life Amanda Barnes was born on February 22, 1809, in Becket, Massachusetts, to Ezekiel and Fanny Johnson Barnes. She was the fifth of their nine children. Her father did not belong to any religious denomination. Her mother was Presbyterian. After her birth, the family moved to Ohio, where she grew up. In 1832, the family moved to Kirtland, Ohio, selling their house in Amherst, Ohio. Her parents did not approve of their decision to convert and wished to never see them again.

Smith was shot at, but not harmed in the shooting. She escaped with her two daughters. The family's house had been robbed and their money was stolen, leaving them with nothing.

While Alma was recovering, the family had to stay in Missouri, since the boy could not be moved. There was fear that the mob would strike again. Smith recalls crawling to a corn field and offering a prayer. After praying, she recorded that she heard a voice that repeated the words from "How Firm a Foundation", a Mormon hymn:

Throughout this event, Smith states that she had the faith that she and her family would be all right and that God would heal her son.

When Alma was healed, the remaining family members moved to Quincy, Illinois, on February 1, 1839. The news of the apparently miraculous recovery of her son led several physicians to approach her, asking how she had performed the surgery that healed her son. She replied that Jesus Christ had healed him. In Quincy, she became a schoolteacher to support her family.

Later years and death Smith married another Warren Smith, who was not related to her first husband. With him she had three children. The couple later divorced. She saw the completion of the Nauvoo Temple in July 1847, where she received her endowment. Smith was a member of the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo. She traveled with Emma Smith and Eliza R. Snow to visit the governor of Illinois, Thomas Carlin.

In 1850, Smith traveled westward to the Salt Lake Valley. She helped organize the first Relief Society in Salt Lake City. Smith was called as the Assistant Secretary of the organization on January 24, 1854, and served in that position until Brigham Young reorganized the Relief Society. She later served as the President of Relief Society in the 12th Ward. She also helped in the organization of Sunday School

She died on June 30, 1886, and was buried in Richmond, Utah. At the time of her death, she was visiting her daughter Alvira Hendricks.