He was one of the two first Mormon missionaries to preach in Tonga and served as president of the LDS Church's Tongan mission from July 1891 to October 1892.
[3] His family moved to the frontier town of Provo, Utah Territory, when his father was called by Brigham Young to establish a church stake there.
[9][8] Sent to open a mission in July 1891, Smoot and Alva J. Butler became the first LDS missionaries in Tonga.
[10][11][12][13] On July 16, 1891, they met with King George Tupou I, who granted them permission to proselyte in Tonga.
[16]: 16 On January 24, 1892, the first official LDS church meeting was conducted by Smoot and Butler in the mission home.
[18][16]: 13 After returning from his mission, Brigham Smoot graduated with a degree in chemical engineering from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 1898.