Territory's first elected justice of the peace. Alongside Shadrach Roundy, Jedediah M. Grant, and John S. Fullmer, Smoot started the Great Salt Lake Valley Carrying Company, a business venture that involved the transportation of goods and people across the Great Plains during the California Gold Rush. Smoot himself led thirteen such trips. He was also an alderman from the Sugar House district from 1854 to 1857. He was elected as the second mayor of Salt Lake City in 1857, after the death of his business partner and the city's first mayor, Grant. Smoot was re-elected and served as mayor until 1866. During this time, he was also a bishop in Salt Lake City. After stepping down as mayor, he served for twelve years in the upper house of the Utah legislature. Provo and Brigham Young Academy Early in 1868, Young called Smoot to be president of the church's Utah Stake in Provo. Young was concerned with the unity and cooperation of church members and he expected Smoot to improve the situation. According to family tradition, Smoot initially protested the call. After more than three decades of church and civic service, including nine missions, Smoot was apparently looking forward to enjoying the comforts brought by his hard work and successful business ventures. When Young told Smoot about the assignment, he reportedly said, "There are three places, all on a par, one is as good as the other. They are Provo, Hell, or Texas. You can take your choice." Although Smoot supposedly responded, "I would sooner go to Hell than to Provo," he eventually chose Provo. Smoot thought that church service should come before personal interests; while writing about this experience of moving to Provo, Smoot concluded: "We should be willing to be dictated by the priesthood in all our ways." By February 1868, Smoot had settled in Provo with his family. Young had named him the Presiding Bishop of Provo; some members there had departed from the teachings of the church and needed a leader to unify them. Within his first week in the city, Smoot was elected mayor, an office he held until 1881. His motto as the political and religious leader of Provo was: "Ye Elders of Israel, know that ye are right and then go straight ahead." He reportedly received no compensation for his public service in both Provo and Salt Lake City. Under his leadership, the Utah