Brigham had very little patience for those who demeaned or rejected Joseph; the difficulties that Joseph experienced with Emma can only have frustrated the loyal Brigham. [108] The extended Knight familys losses were at least $14,562, or about $320,000 in todays currency. Early Life and Marriage of Emma Smith. Following Josephs murder, Emma refused to go west with the Saints. Her heartaches were very real and would have been a challenge to any woman, particularly without the lens of understanding time brings. Latest from Mormon Land: Slowest church growth since 1857; 'surprise To understand her, we have to place her in her own setting and time, not in our own. All rights reserved. They were enough to wear out any woman and if she, in the end, was tired of fighting her way through life, that can be understood. the Gospel Doctrine manual for church history. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Why did God ask Emma Smith to accept the plates? His wife joined the Reorganized LDS Church (now Community of Christ) and the family moved to Independence in 1870. That same day Latter-day Saint men assembled at the town square at bayonet point and, one by one, signed deeds that gave their land to the state of Missouri to pay the costs of the Mormon War. On November 6, soldiers took more prisoners and then ordered all Saints out of Missouri by spring. [11] Charles C. Rich, A Sketch that I was an eye witness to in the state of Missouri, holograph, Charles C. Rich Papers, Church History Library, Salt Lake City. [35] A Missouri map published in 1840 by L. Augustus Mitchell, on file in the National Archives Branch in College Park, Maryland, shows roads that provided two possible routes, an upper and a lower one. Is probably the most famous Latter Day Saint polygamist with 55 wives. He attended school as they courted, trying to live up to her. After Alvin's untimely death, Joseph was told his replacement would be revealed by revelation. [76] They moved in with Judge John Cleveland and his Latter-day Saint wife, Sarah, four miles east of Quincy. Initially, when Joseph admitted to her that he had received a revelation about polygamy and was told he absolutely must carry it out, she accepted it. In that revelation she was designed the "Elect Lady" which Joseph later explained means one elected "to preside.". Emma Smith was the wife of the first Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith. She is remembered for her unrelenting strength and ability to overcome hardships. Shortly after her baptism in July 1830, Emma Smithwas called by God to compile a hymnbook to edify the Church. . Since he did father many children with Emma, parenthood was possible, but there is, at this time, no biological proof of traditional marriage relationships and the only accounts came from others, not the women or Joseph. . The mormon church is excellent with marketing, so many assume it's just a slightly strange but happy family filled religion. The next day, Missouri troops brought Joseph and Hyrum Smith and five other prisoners into town in wagons to pick up personal effects and say good-bye. . Im guessing something to do with the meter, but I cant figure it out! . [28] Greene, Expulsion of the Saints from Missouri, 8. Emma Smith - Wikipedia The hymnbook she created included familiar favorites from other denominations and hymns newly written specifically for the Latter-day Saints. Emma and Joseph's descendants grew up separated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In July 1830, Joseph Smith received a revelation addressed specifically to Emma. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Many were stripped of clothing and bedding, John P. Greene reported, and many without cattle, horses, or waggons, had no means of conveyance.[28] To provide them help required leadership. Emma and Brigham also disagreed about which parts of Joseph's estate were personal property, and which belonged to the Church.[1]. Their first twenty miles was through snow six inches deep. It is fairly well known that these twins were adopted by Emma and Joseph as infants shortly after their own set of newborn twins died. God commanded and Joseph obeyed. The topic of this video has been pro. Joseph and Emma apparently discussing the nastiness of cleaning up from cleaning up spit on the . John Murdock's wife also dies after delivering twins the same day. "I will suggest that she didn't change. 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. And Brigham, his relationship with Emma strained at best, did not bother to separate the inflammatory rhetoric of Babbitt's letters from the less dramatic probabilities. Her health partially returned, but she has never been able to work much since, her husband wrote in 1845. So adamant was Emma on this point that the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held it as an article of faith, and Emma's children never accepted the idea that Joseph had instituted plural marriage. Emma Hale Smith Bidamon passed away in Nauvoo on April 30, 1879 , and is buried next to Joseph. Because if the LDS Church is false, none of those things matter! The Missouri Arguss editor argued incorrectly on December 20, 1838, that they cannot be driven beyond the limits of the statethat is certain. [38] Larry C. Porter, Brigham Young and the Twelve in Quincy: A Return to the Eye of the Missouri Storm, 26 April 1839, in A City of Refuge: Quincy, Illinois, ed. They had a reasonably good relationship despite these challenges. [70], Saints chose to go to Quincy for several reasons. 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). Saddleback Church doubles down on support for female pastors, Mormonisms slow shift away from demonizing working mothers, Faith leaders urge Biden to sign executive order for reparations study by Juneteenth, For many congregations, wiping out medical debt has become a popular calling, More Jesus, less touching: 14 changes to the Mormon temple endowment ceremony, Real Housewife Heather Gay pens a juicy ex-Mormon memoir, How to stay Mormon after a faith crisis (if staying is what you want), Copyright 2020, Religion News Service. The Church was already in a period of great stress and grief as people struggled to decide who the next prophet would be and they faced the realization that they were again in great danger with an uncertain future. Many people have focused almost entirely on the decisions she made in the last years of Joseph Smiths life and after his death, and sometimes those events trouble Mormons and please non-Mormons. With other refugees, she and six children ages two through nine accompanied their small wagon, pulled by a blind horse. We had not the privilege of hunting our cattle and horses.[14] Newel Knight noted that because the Saints were unarmed, they became prey for small parties of armed men insulting our women, driving off our stock, and plundering. To him it seemed as though all hell was aroused to do us injury.[15] Newels cousin Reed Peck said that some horses, wagons and much other property were stolen from the Mormons by some of the militia who were villains enough to plunder.[16] By late November, most crops around Far West were unharvested, and potatoes still in the ground were frose solid. Soldiers rifled through homes, Albert Rockwood said, and our sheep & hogs, & horses [are] drove off before our eyes by the Missourians who come in small companies well armed.[17], In neighboring Daviess County, Missouri militia ordered all the Saints out and gave William Huntington and eleven other Mormons four weeks to round up the Latter-day Saints livestock, wagons, and personal property. Turley, Richard E., and Brittany A. Chapman. Albert Rockwood and his family left Far West with another family on January 10. In fact, he generally took another man with him or even asked a father or brother to approach the woman. 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. [90] Diaries of William Huntington, 8; Isaac Leany Petition in Johnson, ed., Mormon Redress Petitions, 485. Print. [74] Greene, Expulsion of the Saints from Missouri, 40. The second day we had to cross a long prairie, and were not able to reach the settlement. Louis. LDS Church History documents that their mormon founder, Joseph Smith, lied to a large group of people about his having multiple wives. Who Is Leaving the Church? - BYU Studies [55] The shoes belonged to the oldest boy, Morgan. Answer (1 of 10): At the time of her husbands death, not much changed. Sarah later became Emmas first counselor in the Nauvoo Relief Society. What experience do you need to become a teacher? Emma Hale Smith was the seventh of nine children. Smith came and consecrated the Temple Lot in June 1831. If Mormonism is not true, it is a fraudulent version of Christianity and an enormous sham. Also, three men were sent to locate possible settlement sites up the Mississippi River in Illinois. Martha, about eight months pregnant, said, To hear them [children] crying at night with their feet cracked and bleeding was hardly bearable. [84] Aroet Hale, Autobiography, typescript, 6, Perry Special Collections. were destroyed or lost.[92], A year earlier, Joseph Smith had received a commandment for the Twelve to leave for missions over the great waters from the Far West temple site on April 26, 1839 (Doctrine and Covenants 118). [32] The committee surveyed the needs and weighed requests for help. The religion he founded continues to the present day, with millions of global adherents. After Brigham Young assumed a leadership role, he and his supporters considered Joseph Smith's physical property as property of the church. She also learned how to cook and be a good host when her parents ran a boarding house. 11. 801-422-6975. [26] Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 8586. He looked at Emma Smith's decision to remain in Nauvoo through the eyes of a therapist. One is that Emma had lived her adult life moving from place to place and house to house, crossing frozen rivers and walking in lots of mud and snow. Joseph Smith - Wikipedia [71], Quincy is on the east bank of the Mississippi on a limestone bluff 125 feet above the river. Abraham agreed to drive the Butlers wagon and two-horse team for Caroline, and Caroline let the Smoots put their baggage in the Butler wagon. He had even dislocated his jaw while vomiting once before; and five weeks after the 1843 dinner episode, he was sick again, vomiting more violently than ever. [73], Church members living in Quincy and nearby tried to help the refugees when they crossed the river. 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. The exodus from Missouri generated a rich store of documents and records. Innumerable able-bodied men needed jobs. Moroni first instructed Joseph to enlist his oldest brother, Alvin, to help him recover the plates. Some church members inappropriately rejected her because of her rejection of polygamy and her outspokenness on the subject. She taught school before she met Joseph Smith. . [119] Henry Jackson petition in Johnson, Mormon Redress Petitions, 247. [19] John P. Greene, Facts Relative to the Expulsion of the Mormons or Latter-day Saints from the State of Missouri, Under the Exterminating Order (Cincinnati: R. P. Brooks, 1839), 8. [58], The Butlers and Smoots reached the Mississippi on March 10 or 11. He remained her companion until her death on 30 April 1879 at the age of 75 in Nauvoo. At Huntsville, the driver said his horses could not go on, so the Knights unhitched the wagon and camped. [106] Johnson, ed., Mormon Redress Petitions, xix. It was the anniversary of the death of the twins she lost in Kirtland. Today, you can find her happily organizing and reorganizing her house, scrap booking, reading books to her sons, or still writing an occasional freelance article. How Orrin Hatch protected people of faith, KSL Newsradio is preparing to celebrate its 100th anniversary. She carried two children while two others hung on to her skirt. When morning came, he and Abraham Smoot crossed to Quincy, leaving their families with the wagon. Joseph quickly shut the door when he heard Emma coming, but Emma kept knocking and called out Eliza's . I have witnesses of this scene all around, who can testify that I am now telling the truth. [107] Johnson, ed., Mormon Redress Petitions, xixxxvii. After inspections, the Church agreed to buy twenty thousand acres of land at Commerce, Illinois, and across the river in Lee County, Iowa. Mormon Church Admits Founder Joseph Smith Had Up To 40 Wives : The Two-Way The Church of Latter-day Saints never denied polygamy was part of its history. . Slipping through the guard, he had to cross a creek by taking off his clothes and wading across the bitter cold water. According to historian Richard Bushman, Joseph saw polygamy simply as a way to join families together for eternity. At least one man escaped west to Fort Leavenworth. See http://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/uscompare. If they choose to remain, we must be content. We put our goods into the wagon a second time, but the wagon was wanted for Emma and her family, so our goods were again taken out.[48] Stephen Markham, a member of the Committee of Removal, helped Emma Smith leave on February 7. Young put on board some of his goods into the wagon carrying the Knights, and both families resumed their journeys. Her husband was arrested, essentially for being Mormon, leaving her alone to care for her children. The Twelve then offered kneeling prayer at the southeast cornerstone, sang Adam-ondi-Ahman, and dismissed so they could leave there for their missions to England. 6 What did Lucy Mack Smith say about Emma Smith? Though there probably was an argument, the poisoning accusation was unfounded. The exodus had no large, organized wagon trains. Emma's brothers and sisters were all named after family members, either on her mother's side or her father's. Emma died peacefully in the Nauvoo House on April 30, 1879 at the age of 74. They started in February, but it was bitter cold, and they suffered fearfully, Caroline said. [123] Butler denounced the hard-heartedness that Missourians had shown his wife and children and Church authorities. Then, because it was planting season, they moved about ten miles out and rented a farm. 10 Interesting Facts About Emma Smith | LDS Daily However, I discovered there was a different attitude about Emma. [14] Autobiography of Anson Call, typescript, 13, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University. Some of them are still included in the current hymnbook that was published 150 years later in 1985. Emma's disappearance from LDS history was so total that Linda says when she and Valeen co-authored an article about her for the Ensign in 1979, it was the first writing about her to appear in. Social conversation and discretion were traits for which she was well-known. 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. Why Did Emma Smith Remain in Nauvoo after the Death of Joseph Smith? During the exodus, Truman Angells wife Elizabeth, already ill, took a cold upon cold and was expected to die. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. [22] William Huntington Diary, 7; Lyndon W. Cook, Joseph C. Kingsbury: A Biography (Provo, UT: Grandin Book, 1985), 61. (Emma's schism church.) [86] Truman O. Angell Journal, reprinted in Kate B. Carter, comp., Our Pioneer Heritage (Salt Lake City: Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1967), 10:199. 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. Their tough experiences produced definite impactsboth short- and long-termon Missouri and Illinois, on the course of the Church, and on individual members.[1]. He told her of the time she undertook to poison him, and he told her that she was a child of hell, and literally the most wicked woman on this earth, that there was not one more wicked than she. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. [94] Porter, Brigham Young and the Twelve, 14149. [6], In the exodus, Mormon militiamen were the first to leaveor rather escape. In the same year, Smith founded the Church of Christlater known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintsin Fayette Township. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. She was not perfect and made choices that seem hard for us to understand today. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. In a remarkable twist of irony, her version of history is increasingly the LDS Churchs as well. [99] At that point the Saints exodus from Missouri was finished, and Governor Boggss extermination order had basically succeeded in removing Saints from northwest Missouri. How others feel about her decision, Delewski said, depends upon their own knowledge and understanding. The Smoots lacked a team, so their wagon was useless. She seems, among other things, to have been worried about providing for her children, as well as protecting them from the violence which had claimed Joseph. Because the Missouri militia wanted to arrest him, he fled from home on November 2, leaving Caroline and the children to fend as best they could. When the two authors began piecing together Emmas life, there was only one small manila folder about her in the entire LDS Archives. [26], Some opinions downstate held that Mormons would not have to leave at all. [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. They lived with his family and then with hers for a time. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1976 reprint), 3:210. 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. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. 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. [77], On February 23, the Quincy Whig reported that Saints were coming in from all quarters and that for several days they have been crossing at this place, bringing with them the wreck of what they could save from their ruthless oppressors. Emma had 11 children (two were the adopted Murdock twins), and six children died in infancy. [82] Lucy Smith said ladies in Quincy sent them every delicacy which the city afforded.[83] Residents proffered employment. At the time, the First Presidency consisted of Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and Hyrum Smith, who had replaced Frederick G. Williams as second counselor in the First Presidency in November 1837. . Brigham Youngs family was also stranded at Huntsville, having too many goods for their wagon to haul. He had one illegitimate child and after marrying Emma had another, which she raised, making her a most extraordinary woman. [7] William G. Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom: The History and Autobiography of John Lowe Butler, a Mormon Frontiersman (Salt Lake City: Aspen Books, 1993), 8184; Baugh, A Call to Arms, 39296. She moved from Pennsylvania to New York to Ohio to Missouri and then Illinois. So she made a deal with Abraham O. Smoot and Martha, his bride of three months. Why Emma Smith didn't let the destruction of her first - LDS Living What Do We Know About Mormon Leader Joseph Smith's Wives? The Butler and Smoot families. Quincys compassion, noted historian Richard E. Bennett, saved the saints as a people and may even have saved the Church as an institution.[88], Assigned by the Committee of Removal, David Rogers visited Jackson County on March 15, sold Church properties, raised some $2,700, and brought the funds to Far West by mid-April. Required fields are marked *. She even owned cows and other items, possibly given as payment from students. February 11, 1843, is promoted as another date when Emma may have become aware of Joseph's plurality. [72] It is about 130 miles upriver from St. Louis and 45 miles directly south of where Nauvoo now is. Another story about bleeding feet involves Nancy Hammer, whose husband Austin was murdered in the Hauns Mill Massacre a few months earlier. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. Before long, typhoid fever came into West Lebanon and "raged tremendously.". They passed Saints heading east, including Elder John E. Page, who turned around and joined them. The Smith family. 4 How many wives did Joseph Smith have LDS? . He did not court the women or put his proposals in romantic terms. 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. There can be no question, though, that she made sacrifices far beyond what most Mormons would be asked to make, and that she experienced more than her fair share of suffering. She compiled the first hymnbook. [5] Gentry, Latter-day Saints in Northern Missouri, 32527; Alexander L. Baugh, A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri (PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1996), 34047. Emma Smith, My Story Removes False Traditions Quincy, he said, was full of memberseven though Saints were scattering out from there almost constantly. A decision to continue to gather. Many nights the floors, upstairs and down, were covered with beds so closely it was impossible to set a foot anywhere without stepping on someone elses bed.[75], Emma Smith and the children arrived on February 15. Who was the oldest president of the LDS Church? They took what scanty provisions we could muster. They walked and slept under the sky. This forced expulsion of Saints from Missouri produced short- and long-term consequences, as enumerated here for various of the parties involved. 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. And even when people did leave, they left reverently, speaking only in whispers. [58] Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 8790. 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.

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