Mormon Church Admits Founder Joseph Smith Had Up To 40 Wives : The Two-Way : NPR. Eventually, however, she encountered a trial that became more than she thought she could handle. . . Three days later they reached De Witt, where they sold a property deed and bought a yoke of steers for $25 and a wagon for $30. Her funeral was held May 2, 1879, in Nauvoo with RLDS Church minister Mark Hill Forscutt preaching the sermon. Since she left no journal, we dont really know what the entire truth about Emma Smith isbut we do know she was remarkable. Before long, typhoid fever came into West Lebanon and "raged tremendously.". I asked my mother one day, why don't Grandma laugh with her eyes like you do, and my mother said because she has a deep sorrow in her heart. They reached the bank of the Mississippi in eight days and found the river frozen over. The Mormon Reinvention of Emma Smith - Religion News Service First, Emma had intense anxiety over the protection of Joseph's and Hyrum's bodies. And where shall they be sent? the newspaper asked. On Nov. 4th, astoundingly, Richard McCarty obtained a warrant for the arrest of the men who had caught him in the act of looting the Gilbert store, charging them with assault and false imprisonment. [63] Eliza R. Snow, an Immortal: Selected Works by Eliza R. Snow (Salt Lake City: Nicholas G. Morgan Sr., 1957), 1011. She joined in his efforts to protect them from thieves and acted on occasion as his scribe. When the Twelve returned from Far West in early May, they rejoiced to see him a free man in Illinois. [108] According to calculations found in Samuel H. Williamson, Six Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a U.S. Dollar Amount, 1790 to Present, MeasuringWorth, 2008, a dollar in the year 2007 is 29.99 times what a dollar is 1839 was worth based on consumer price indexes. He instructed them to have the women pray about the request. We had the last company of the poor with us that could be removed.[96], But the exodus was not quite complete because five prisoners were still in Liberty Jail and six in Richmonds jail, including King Follett, who had just been arrested that month while trying to leave Missouri. Although she never lost her faith in the Mormon religion and in the sacred nature of the Book of Mormon, she had no testimony of Brigham Young and other polygamous LDS leaders. Emma was baptized in Colesville, New York, on June 28, 1830. Sister Emma cried and said that they [thieves] had taken all of her bed clothes, except one quilt and blanket, and what could she do? So Caroline and other sisters told Emma to send hers to Joseph, which she did, and they gave her replacement bedding for her family. It turned out that such calls had gone out to bishops and stake presidents in several states. And when people say she was wrong for remaining in Nauvoo, they are implying they know what she should have done," Richard Delewski said at the Sunstone Symposium on Aug. 13. In May that year the Mormon History Association held their annual meetings there. The group then included one man, two women, and children ages seven, four, three, and one. She was well-educated and taught school. A Comfort unto My Servant, Joseph. Women of faith in the latter days. [55] Martha and the children reached the Quincy side and waited, sitting at night on their bed, wrapped in bed clothes and shivering in the cold wind until Daniel arrived. The Saints persecution in several states and then expulsion by order of a state governor helps explain why they obtained a charter for a self-defensive city-state in Nauvoo with the Nauvoo Legion; why some Saints justified retaliation against persecutors; why many gladly exited the United States and headed toward Mexican territory in 1846; and why many Saints, if not the Church, expressed distaste for judges, courts, deputies, the federal army during the Utah War, and antipolygamy laws. What happened to Emma Smith? By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Thank you for your insight about and compassion for Emma, and for taking the time to write about and share it with us. If that were the only document people used to learn about Joseph Smith and his life, they would naturally assume that he was married once, to Emma, and not to approximately three dozen other women. We will look forward to reading more of your work. Levis nearly five-year-old son Mosiah recalled, The snow was deep enough to take me to the middle of the thigh, and I was bare footed and in my shirt tail. They hitched their horse old Tom to the cart, Mosiah said, and father drove the horse and carried the rifle on his shoulder. When eternal marriage was first introduced, many families carried out sealings with friends and those they wanted to be eternally associated with, not entirely understanding what the revelation meant. Conflicts between church members and neighbors also continued to escalate, and eventually Young made the decision to relocate the church to the Salt Lake Valley. I have witnesses of this scene all around, who can testify that I am now telling the truth. He never charged them rent. She wrote to him that only God knew how hard it was for her to flee her home with her children, abandoning all her possessions and leaving her husband to endure whatever was to come. Many of them started from scratch and built up religious communities in Illinois and Iowa. Caroline Butler, whose husband had fled Missouri in November, couldnt care for her four young children, ages seven years to two months, and drive her wagon at the same time. The Church News asked Church historians to answer the question "What should Church members know about Emma Hale Smith?" Here's what they had to say: Emma Smith would make tremendous sacrifices for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for her husband, and for the church. About sunset we landed in Quincy, Lucy said. Some church members inappropriately rejected her because of her rejection of polygamy and her outspokenness on the subject. . It was the anniversary of the death of the twins she lost in Kirtland. Emma Hale Smith - Biography - Joseph Smith Papers [12] John Butlers escape route apparently was across northern Missouri. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. In the middle of the 19th century it was common, according to Delewski, for a mother to lose more than one child to the birthing process or disease. . They left Far West on February 14. Joseph and Emma apparently discussing the nastiness of cleaning up from cleaning up spit on the . For your free copy of the Bible, go to Free Holy Bible and for a free Book of Mormon, go to Free Book of Mormon, Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress. A later First Presidency report about the exodus noted that women and children marked their footsteps on the frozen ground with blood, it being the dead of winter.[54] Was this an exaggeration? To understand her, we have to place her in her own setting and time, not in our own. At Huntsville, the driver said his horses could not go on, so the Knights unhitched the wagon and camped. Its a beautiful article, but its not a fully honest one; polygamy is not mentioned once anywhere. While in Liberty Jail, Joseph Smith had instructed them to compile statements and affidavits about their losses and sufferings with the design of securing redress from the federal government for the losses they suffered in Missouri (Doctrine and Covenants 123:113). These hymns had a great influence on the Saints during the early days of the Church. At Quincy, where some Church members lived, John taught school for a short period. [114] Close Friends as Witnesses: Joseph Smith and the Joseph Knight Families, in Joseph Smith: The Prophet, the Man, ed. She is known in Church history for being well educated and was able to act as a scribe for Joseph when he was translating the plates because of it. [22] Aroet Lucius Hale, age ten, recalled that while his father was helping others, My dear mother was lying sick in a wagon box in a tent.[23] James Carroll said that his family had to remain in an open frame in the Cold weather when the Snow fell in torrents and would Blow upon us in the Night and we with our Little ones would have to Crawl out of our Beds while the[y] were Coverd frequently with Snow that would blow in to the frame from the north and we had to endure it.[24] William F. Cahoon said, Both me and my family Suffred much on account of Could & hunger because we was not permitted to go out Side of the guard to obtain wood and provision.[25], After her husband John left, Caroline Butler faced three difficult tasks. He went to the room where the Committee of Removal was meeting and told them to wind up affairs and be off to save their lives. Newel said, Bro. She comforted other women, instructed them, and helped them to build their own faith. We had heavy loads, were obliged to walk from 2 to 8 miles a day thro mud and water, camped out on the wet ground 3 nights before we arrived at the River. She worried if John had escaped Missouri or been caught. Brigham, for all his strengths, had little patience for anyone who would betray the prophet, which he perceived Emma doing on multiple levels. I understand Long meter and Common meter, but what is PM? Joseph Knight Jr., for one, claimed $200 for a mill burned down, $50 for a house burned, $50 for 3 acres of land and 50 peach trees, $25 for hay and corn, $475 for losses of land and town properties, and $150 for expenses for moving twice. Emma Smith, My Story Removes False Traditions The religion rapidly gained converts, and Smith set up . This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The episode seems to have been a family quarrel between Joseph and Emmatwo mortals living in something of a fishbowl, under enormous pressures and strains. Not six months before the death of Joseph, he called his wife Emma into a secret council, and there he told her the truth, and called upon her to deny it if she could. In that revelation she was designed the "Elect Lady" which Joseph later explained means one elected "to preside.". [70] John Taylor, Brigham Young, Isaac Higbee, Israel Barlow, John P. Greene to Dear Brethren, March 29, 1839, at Quincy, reprinted in Kate B. Carter, comp., Our Pioneer Heritage (Salt Lake City: Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1960), 3:122. On March 21 Wilford Woodruff said the apostolic company passed through Huntsville and found the roads were full of Saints that were fleeing Missouri.[93] On April 24 they met three members of the Committee of Removal who had just been driven from Far West, who also joined them. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our. Jeremy made the Letter available online. That covenant became the foundation for the Churchs emigration programs from then until 1869, producing the Perpetual Emigrating Fund in 1849, the handcart program from 1856 to 1860, and the 1860s team trains going down and back from Utah to provide transportation to Utah for emigrants in need.[126]. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 1856Emma takes in orphaned Elizabeth Agnes Kendall, eight years old, and rears her as her own daughter . And the last words out of Brighams mouth, and he died before Emma, were Joseph,' Elggren said. However, I discovered there was a different attitude about Emma. This tendency toward privacy continued even after Joseph Smith's death. He raised his hand and stopped me saying Hush, Hush. Huntington said that Joseph had come by ferryboat about 8:00 a.m. and was drest in an old pair of boots full of holes, pants torn, tucked inside of boots, blue cloak with collar turned up, wide brim black hat, rim sloped down, not been shaved for some time, looked pale & haggard. Dimick asked if he wished to see his father and mother, but Joseph wanted to see Emma and the children first. She was finally confirmed in August 1830. Emma Hale Smith Bidamon passed away in Nauvoo on April 30, 1879 , and is buried next to Joseph. How old was Emma Smith when Joseph Smith died? Why Emma Smith didn't let the destruction of her first - LDS Living Finally, Brigham was Joseph's successor, and Emma challenged that succession by supporting her son, Joseph Smith III, as the 'proper' leader, and as one who would not teach the hated doctrine of polygamy (which Emma falsely claimed Brigham had foisted on the Church). A painting by C. C. A. Christensen, Exodus of the Saints from Missouri, is the only depiction the author has seen of winter exodus experience. How others feel about her decision, Delewski said, depends upon their own knowledge and understanding. We invite you to give back. I fitted up a small wagon, procured a span of ponies, and sent my Wife and three children, in company with Bro. Many wished to be associated with the prophet for the eternal blessings they felt this would bring. Sarah later became Emmas first counselor in the Nauvoo Relief Society. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Smith came and consecrated the Temple Lot in June 1831. Emma Smith would make tremendous sacrifices for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for her husband, and for the church. She helped to care for Josephs mother and her mother-in-law noted that few women had endured as many trials as she had with so much grace. Why didnt Emma Smith go west with the Saints? Illinois law at the time held that no church could hold more than ten acres of property, and so much of the church's properties were held in Joseph's name. The Saints exodus from Nauvoo took place a year and a half later, leaving Emma, a 41-year-old widow, with her aged mother-in-law, Lucy Mack Smith, and five children, ranging in age from fourteen years to fifteen months old, to care for. There are several reasons Emma stayed in Nauvoo after Joseph Smith's death, but a few in particular stand out. When asked if he had read the biography, Elder Oaks said he had seen several excerpts from it, and found that the authors views of Joseph Smith were nontraditional.. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Tucked between popular Church history chapters about Liberty Jail and Nauvoo is a little-known but vitally important chapter dealing with the Latter-day Saints seven-month struggle to survive the winter of 183839 in Missouri and to leave there by spring 1839. . I could have commanded some two thousand dollars but now I had only 1 yoke of old oxen and 2 cows left.[20], Two families moved in with Newel Knights family. Later, when Brigham Young was the prophet, the practice would be refined so that the first wife had to approve each subsequent wife, but as we also see in the Bible, refinements of new practices often come over time as prophets continue to pray for guidance. She finally gained a sense of stability and a place to raise her children when she moved into the Mansion House in Nauvoo. Emma Smith would make tremendous sacrifices for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for her husband, and for the church. I hope this helps too! One Latter-day Saint and two Missourians were killed. Emma and her family were forced to leave the state with the majority of Latter Day Saints. Thats likely why its content was acceptable for the Ensign nearly a century after the Church had begun distancing itself from polygamy. He was the son of Joseph and Lucy Mack Smith. On horseback, he, fellow Kentuckian David Lewis, and Elias Higbee endured December snows, cold, and meager food to reach Quincy, Illinois. Conflicts between church members and neighbors also continued to escalate, and eventually Young made the decision to relocate the church to the Salt Lake Valley. He rode with the Mormon militia who fought in the Battle of Crooked River. Mormons had a divorce rate of about 1 percent. a boy whom many Saints felt to be Smiths rightful prophetic heir, The biography Linda and Valeen published with Doubleday several years later. Its an improvement that shes discussed at all. 21 Reasons to Leave the Mormon Church, Even if it is True (Emma's schism church.) 'I'm not lost. If anything, I'm found': 3 Alberta women share - CBC You might also enjoy Emma Smith: My Storyor Emma and Lucy. The Saints of the Colesville Branch settle in Thompson. In 1984, Linda wrote, with Valeen Tippetts Avery, Mormon Enigma:Emma Hale Smith, which has stood for nearly three decades as the definitive biography of Emma. Until that time, Emma had been largely written out of official LDS history. | April 1, 2022, 6:08 a.m. "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" often addresses Latter-day Saint issues, even though there are no fully active members of the faith in . She said, The teams were puffing and the wagons dragging so heavily that we were all on foot, tugging along as best we could.[63], During Zera Pulsiphers exodus that March, he and his son-in-law lost horses. Emma raised her as her own daughter, and Elizabeth Agnes eventually married Emma's biological son, Alexander Hale Smith. [71] In 1837 the population was 1,653 according to Pat. [64] History of Zera Pulsipher As Written by Himself, typescript, 1516, Perry Special Collections. The comfortable and peaceful life she had led as a girl had done little to prepare her for this new life, but she faced it with faith. They pulled out of Far West on February 18, leaving behind a house and farm. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. For him, it appears the marriages were fairly impersonal and meant to fulfill the requirement given him by an angel and to join certain families together in the eternities. While locals let the suffering Saints crowd into farms, sheds, huts, and tents, they judged the refugees to be generally of the poorer and more illiterate classes.[78] On February 25, Quincy leaders met and adopted measures to provide relief. For more on Emma Smith, check out the new acclaimed film Jane and Emma. to ignore it entirely. [89] In consequence of the sale of Lands in Jackson County, William Huntington, head of the Committee of Removal, said, We ware able to remove All the poor who had a desire To leave the state by April 13, the day he left Far West. A few visitors from Brigham Young's faction of the Latter-day Saints came from Utah Territory to visit Smith at this house. It nearly broke both of our hearts. The city cemeterys tombstones marking where some two hundred Saints are buried are long gone, and the site has become farmland. Caroline suffered from dropsy, or painful swellings, and the cold intensified her pain. We all just made it on the opposite bank when the ice started to snap and pile up in great heaps, and the water broke thru! It's dangerous and it ruins lives, even if the members don't understand that that's what's happening to them. It is the county seat for Adams County. Its seven members, soon expanded to eleven, agreed to move first the families of the Presidency and of the other prisoners. Today, the world is divided into two, torn apart on whether or not to believe the story due to the lack of evidence. [17] Dean C. Jesse and David J. Whittaker, The Last Months of Mormonism in Missouri: The Albert Perry Rockwood Journal, BYU Studies 28 (Winter 1988): 2729. At other times, she found she could not handle the choices she had made, much as Sarah in the Old Testament first encouraged her husband to marry her handmaiden and then discovered it was more than she was prepared to handle. Joseph and Emma Smith's sorrow over this matter was, for the most part, very private, according to Delewski. It struck Martha on the knees and little Keziah above the eyes. He crossed the river and found some hundred of the brethren waiting for the new ferry boat to be completed, which was done the next day. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. On March 5, Bishop Edward Partridge reported in Quincy that ice had been running for three days so that no one could cross the Mississippi. After 17 years of marriage, Emma's second husband, Lewis Bidamon, had a child with another woman named Nancy Abercrombie. . She also learned how to cook and be a good host when her parents ran a boarding house. [58] Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 8790. The second day we had to cross a long prairie, and were not able to reach the settlement. That morning we crossed over to Quincy, Illinois. Refugees moved as individuals, by families, or in small clusters of wagons whenever they were ready. However, a significant number had taken refuge in St. Louis, a Missouri city that became an oasis of tolerance for Mormons. The streets and city square became corn fields. Richard Bushman writes of the poisoning accusation: Through the late fall and winter of 1843 and 1844, Joseph and Emma's relationship broke down only once. He sealed that witness with his life. Newel prayed for help, for I knew not how to extricate myself but as I had never been forsaken by my Heavenly Father I commited myself and family into his care. For a week they were stranded, but finally a man asked his son to drive the Knights the rest of the way. They developed communities, farms, roads, livestock herds, commerce, and trade in parts of Adam and Hancock counties, Illinois, and in Lee County, Iowa. The biography Linda and Valeen published with Doubleday several years later was not so guarded, detailing Josephs many polygamous alliances, his repeated lies to Emma about those marriages, and her conflicts with his plural wivesincluding a much-debated stair-pushing catfight with Eliza R. Snow. [49] Linda King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery, Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1984), 79. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. . A woman living in a nearby house ran to find out what was wrong. [97] During a change of venue from Daviess to Boone County, Joseph Smith and the four others who had been in Liberty Jail were allowed to escape on April 16, and they found their way to Illinois safely. [90] Diaries of William Huntington, 8; Isaac Leany Petition in Johnson, ed., Mormon Redress Petitions, 485. First in Ohio and then three times in Missouri, they had practiced starting over. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992. Emma Smith was born in 1804 in Pennsylvania and had unusual opportunities for a girl in her time. Emma Smith & Mary Whitmer Witnesses to the Gold Plates The John Murdock family left on February 4 without any team or animal or carriage of any kind. They put Mrs. Murdock and the household furniture in a Brother Humphreys wagon. Emma Smith had so much on her plate, so its inspiring to learn how she was willing to contribute to the growth of the Church while she was dealing with everything else. Elder Young, when his life seemed in danger, left Far West for Illinois on February 14, but Elder Kimball stayed behind to help with the removals.[38]. The religion he founded continues to the present day, with millions of global adherents. Latest from Mormon Land: Slowest church growth since 1857; 'surprise In July 1830 the Lord outlined her mission, in a revelation: Thou art an elect lady, whom I have called. [10] They crossed the icy Mississippi River, some at Quincy, where Charles C. Rich said, We found friends and was kindly received.[11], Another half dozen Mormon militiamen led by Dimick Huntington left separately. [97] Liberty Jail prisoners were Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Lyman Wight, Alexander McRae, and Caleb Baldwin. . He helped shepherd Saints across Missouri by advancing with one part of the camp as rapidly and as far as possible and then returning with the teams to move others out. They restarted on February 14 and reached the Mississippi two weeks later, on March 1, where they camped and waited for more than a week.[47]. But in a series of new essays, it describes the now-banned practice in detail. She endured the jeering and insults of mobs. Emma Hale Smith - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Has anyone seen the gold plates of mormon? - burungbeo.churchrez.org She, like others who knew him well, saw an innate intelligence, a willingness to work very hard, and great integrity. Though there probably was an argument, the poisoning accusation was unfounded. [107] Johnson, ed., Mormon Redress Petitions, xixxxvii. Browse the pages of the original 1835 hymnbook. Louis. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. [72] It is about 130 miles upriver from St. Louis and 45 miles directly south of where Nauvoo now is. Richard Neitzel Holzapfel and Kent P. Jackson (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2010), 34790. He looked at Emma Smith's decision to remain in Nauvoo through the eyes of a therapist. Taking a direction shown him by the Spirit, Samuel and two others found a wigwam where an Indian woman baked cakes for all the company. On February 7 and 8, both men visited Liberty Jail, then returned to Far West. When the river opened, the Thomases used two boats to move their effects across, while Daniel and son Morgan, twelve, stayed behind to ferry the cow across later. Food was scarce, and housing inadequate. Hope this helps! The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church. The Lord says in Doctrine and Covenants 25:12, My soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.. On four she had to move because of disruption caused by neighbors. [26] Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 8586. ", Delewski said, "If someone with Emma's experience came to me, I would talk about these deaths and see what effects sorrow had had upon her. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Baggage filled the wagon, so Martha and Caroline sometimes took turns riding next to Abraham, the driver, while the other walked with and carried children. Provo, UT 84602 [96] Manuscript History of Brigham Young, Church History Library, 28.
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