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. Emma and Josephs descendants grew up separated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 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. Emma Smith The essentialeven phenomenalrole Emma played in bringing forth the Book of Mormon has been re-examined on many fronts. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. He was not sufficiently educated to write the translation of the plates, so while he translated through the Holy Ghost, she wrote his words. Brigham also doubtless considered Emma dishonest and a liar because she continued to insist that her husband had never taught the doctrine of plural marriage. . The exodus had no large, organized wagon trains. She was well-educated and taught school. Linda requested and was granted a meeting with some general authorities, including Dallin Oaks, to discuss the ban and discover what aspects of the book had been found objectionable. It turned out that such calls had gone out to bishops and stake presidents in several states. Emma had been disappeared. When the two authors began piecing together Emmas life, there was only one small manila folder about her in the entire LDS Archives. These souls, by and large, were poor, bedraggled, and sickly. 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. On October 27, 1838, three days after Missouri and Mormon militias engaged in the Battle of Crooked River, Governor Boggs issued his infamous extermination order. [90], By mid-April, the mobs lost patience with the Saints still in Caldwell County. Her family was fairly well-off financially, and so Emma was well-educated for a woman of her time. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. 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. My God is it you Bro. We all use history to suit our purposes, and Emma simply did not suit the purposes of the LDS Church in the years following her husbands death. The river froze over & we were obliged to camp close to the river 3 days and nights before we could cross in the boat, 6 waggons were with us at the time.[41], By mid-January, Saints were leaving Far West daily. Emma contributed "in creating a distinct identity for the church" because this hymnbook's lyrics "emphasize key tenets of the religion." Understanding how early Saints worked earnestly to build up the Church helps us better appreciate the value of their work. What did Emma Emma do for the LDS Church? John P. Greene reported that during the months of February and March, the Mormons who were already in Quincy, formed a committee among themselves, to aid to the best of their power the committee of Far West in giving assistance to their suffering brethren. 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. [59] Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 90. They threatened to send the committee to hell jumping and put daylight through them. The men gathered up what they could and hastily fled from Far West within the hour. The Mormon church has said for the first time that its founder Joseph Smith had up to 40 wives. 4 How many wives did Joseph Smith have LDS? [55] The shoes belonged to the oldest boy, Morgan. Her husband, on the other hand, had only a handful of years of formal education. In the meantime, Emma assumed that because these men represented the Twelve they acted on direct orders from Brigham. The Saints exodus from Missouri took place mostly during winter and involved four main arenas: Far West, Missouri; Quincy, Illinois; a road network between the two cities; and the west shore mudflats across the Mississippi River from Quincy. She moved from Pennsylvania to New York to Ohio to Missouri and then Illinois. It was difficult, dramatic, sometimes harrowing, and only partly organized. However, President Young advised the Saints to gather in order to help each other better. 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. [23] Heber Quincy Hale, Bishop Jonathan H. Hale of Nauvoo: His Life and Ministry (Salt Lake City: the author, 1938), 64. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. By 1838 Quincy had a strong population base of sixteen hundred residents, mostly Germans and New Englanders, and several industries and businesses, including its share of coopers and cabinet-makers, saddlers and leather-makers, and a pork packing and meat processing center. Quincy was on its way to prosperity. [70], Saints chose to go to Quincy for several reasons. She would smile with her lips, but to me, as small as I was, I never saw the brown eyes smile. [114] John Lowe Butler became a trusted workhorse for Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, serving as one of Josephs official, ordained bodyguards and later as a bishop in Spanish Fork, Utah. A few visitors from Brigham Young's faction of the Latter-day Saints came from Utah Territory to visit Smith at this house. What is the LDS divorce rate? Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. To fulfill their instruction, some members of the Twelve left Quincy on April 18, 1839, to travel secretly to Far West. 3 Why didnt Emma Smith go west with the Saints? Their first twenty miles was through snow six inches deep. Elggren believes they had that face-to-face after they had both died. Sidney Rigdon had been released in January. You've read 0 of 5 of todays most popular posts. When he was murdered, she bent over him and expressed her sorrow that they had taken him from her. John later filed claim for the loss of 240 acres of land, three yoke of oxen, a corn crop, and hogs. When I reflect on how I found the gospel, I realize that my familys experiences informed two important pieces of my testimony. [51] Ronald K. Esplin, The Emergence of Brigham Young and the Twelve in Mormon Leadership, 18301841 (PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1981), 370; Times and Seasons, September 1840, 165. A decision to continue to gather. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. On May 10, Joseph Smith and his family moved into a small, two-story log house at Commerce, fifty miles north of Quincy, hoping that I and my friends may here find a resting place for a little season at least.[110] Church headquarters moved there, as did large numbers of the exiled Saints. The day has gone by when masses of men can be outlawed, and driven from society to the wilderness, unprotected. appoint the oldest of those of the Twelve, who were first appointed, to be the president of your quorum., Brigham Young was the senior Apostle, hence the presiding Church officer on the ground. According to Emma's great-great-granddaughter, Gracia N. Jones, Governor ThomasFord and 60 of his men were dining in the Nauvoo Mansion House at 5:00 p.m. on June 27, 1844the approximate hour of Joseph and Hyrum's martyrdom. Saints had until late March to vacate Missouri, but they started leaving in earnest during January. [117] Benjamin F. Johnson observed that during the rest of 1839 in the Nauvoo area, the people had flocked in from the terible exposures of the past and Nearly every one was Sick with intemitant or other fevers of which many diedIn this time of great Sickness poverty & death.[118] Henry Jackson claimed the Marchs Stormy blasts of Snow & rain so affected his Sight that he was not able to work.[119] The exodus caused considrable sickness for the Levi Hancock family.[120] Mosiah Hancock, the boy who had crossed the Mississippi ice barefoot, was an emaciated lad for many months. 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. . [57] Quoted in Lyman O. Littlefield, Reminiscences of Latter-day Saints (Logan, UT: Journal Company Printers, 1888), 7273. [88] Richard E. Bennett, Quincythe Home of Our Adoption, 101. It would be 2 months before she could be confirmed as a member of the Church. [94] Porter, Brigham Young and the Twelve, 14149. In May that year the Mormon History Association held their annual meetings there. [52] Heber C. Kimball Journals, 18381839, in Porter, Brigham Young and the Twelve, 134. It does not store any personal data. At Far West on February 22, Eliza R. Snow reported that a man had just arrived from Illinois who had counted 220 wagons between Far West and the Mississippi.[60] If that figure is accurate, and if wagons helped transport an average of four people each, then the man had passed about a thousand Saints on the road. It was enough to make the heart ache to see the children, sick with colds, and crying around their mothers for food, whilst their parents were destitute of the means of making them comfortable.[21], Northwest Missouri winters can be harsh. When the time came for Joseph Smith to retrieve the golden plates hidden in ancient times by an angela book today called the Book of Mormonshe went with him, praying at the wagon while he went to open the box. Emma was the seventh of nine children. 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. "My belief is that the Book of Mormon is of divine authenticityI have not the slightest doubt of it," she testified in an interview she gave late in life. [64] History of Zera Pulsipher As Written by Himself, typescript, 1516, Perry Special Collections. The animosity toward Emma Smith after the death of Joseph Smith quickly became evident. Answer (1 of 10): At the time of her husbands death, not much changed. [18] Diaries of William Huntington, typescript, in Miscellaneous Mormon Diaries, vol. Joseph Smith's death on June 27, 1844, created tremendous upheaval for Emma. Martha, about eight months pregnant, said, To hear them [children] crying at night with their feet cracked and bleeding was hardly bearable. Why did Emma Smith opt to stay in Nauvoo? The religion rapidly gained converts, and Smith set up . The views expressed by individual users are the responsibility of those users and do not necessarily represent the position of the Church. She also learned how to cook and be a good host when her parents ran a boarding house. the Gospel Doctrine manual for church history. 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. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. He told here where she got the poison, and how she put it in a cup of coffee; said he 'You got that poison from so and so, and I drank it, but you could not kill me.' [14] Autobiography of Anson Call, typescript, 13, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University. If you look in the back of an LDS hymnbook, there is a whole section talking about meter as well. Brigham Young and his family, with several others, Kimball said. Emma raised her as her own daughter, and Elizabeth Agnes eventually married Emma's biological son, Alexander Hale Smith. 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. 7 Are Joseph and Emma Smiths descendants Latter-day Saints? Constant delays meant that the Knights did not reach the Mississippi River until early May. Emma Smith, first Relief Society President and wife of the Prophet Joseph Smith, had many incredible and difficult experiences in her life. All Rights Reserved. They numbered twelve families with more than sixty souls, having surnames of Knight, DeMille, Peck, Slade, Culver, and Stringham. He looked at Emma Smith's decision to remain in Nauvoo through the eyes of a therapist. [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. Snow was six inches deep. Joseph and Emma Smith's sorrow over this matter was, for the most part, very private, according to Delewski. Why did God ask Emma Smith to accept the plates? Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith . 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 Smith was born in 1804 in Pennsylvania. About Terrie Lynn Bittner The late Terrie Lynn Bittnerbeloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friendwas the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. They organized into a company with Rich as captain. So, what materials that existed were unfair or inaccurate. We loaded up our little efects into a wagon and with one small pair of stears we started out with five children [ages twelve, nine, seven, four, and two] in our family and only one pair of shoes amongst them, Daniel wrote. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. But fairly soon after that the Saints were asked to leave Jackson County, so the new temple didn't get built. Brigham Young, remembering the covenant he asked the Saints in Far West to make to help move those in need, had members similarly covenant when preparing to leave Nauvoo for the West. As one said, those who moved during the winter traveled in colde weather thinly clad and porly furnished with provisions.[40] Women without their husbands had harder times of it than those with husbands. 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. After 17 years of marriage, Emma's second husband, Lewis Bidamon, had a child with another woman named Nancy Abercrombie. rev. We finally got across, and we were so glad, for before we reached the other side, the river had started to swell and break up. Thank you so much. 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. The sight filled my eyes with tears, while my heart was made glad at the cheerfulness of the Saints in the midst of their affliction.[66] He visited Saints on his side of the river who were camped in a sufering Condition with Cold, rain & mud & some want of food.[67], Fugitive Joseph Holbrook, two months after leaving his expectant wife and three children back on January 20, learned of their arrival at the Mississippi River late in March. Required fields are marked *. If Mormonism is not true, it is a fraudulent version of Christianity and an enormous sham. . 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 died in Nauvoo on April 30, 1879, at age 75. Emma Smith would make tremendous sacrifices for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for her husband, and for the church. After they left, the mob plundered thousands of dollars worth of property donated to help the poor move. On January 16, the imprisoned First Presidency sent instructions to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young that said, Inasmuch as we are in prison, . 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. [73] Bennett, Quincythe Home of Our Adoption, 86. . More than 1,400 descendants of 1839 exiled Mormons came to Quincy and, attired like pioneers, represented their ancestors and walked across the Memorial Bridge to reach Quincy from Missouri. Nontraditional. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. They belonged to a large, extended family headed by Joseph Knight Sr., who converted to Mormonism in New York state in 1830, the year the Church was organized. My family . To begin again in Illinois was heartbreaking. 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]. [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. Five of her children survived to adulthood: Julia, Joseph III, Freddie, Alexander and David Hyrum. -Stephanie. The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of FAIR, its officers, directors or supporters. She had no example to follow and no real support group, as later women would have. Emma had 11 children (two were the adopted Murdock twins), and six children died in infancy. In April 1839, Eliza R. Snow wrote a poem titled To the Citizens of Quincy to thank Ye noble, genrous hearted Citizens.[111] It was published on page 1 of the Quincy Whig on May 11, 1839. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. [102] See Missouri Republican (St. Louis), May 3, 1839. Why did Emma Smith leave the LDS Church? Delewski shared many of the words used to describe Emma: "Quick wit and pleasant personality," "intelligence," "fearless integrity," "kindness of heart," "discretion," "benevolent," "hospitable," "motherly in nature to young people," "very high-spirited," "dignified," "courage," "zeal," "patience," "no gossiper," "commanding presence" and "innate refinement.". You might notice something a bit surprisingtheres no musical notation! It struck Martha on the knees and little Keziah above the eyes. After a long time, Mother Smith said, We succeeded . . After deliberating on the best means to finish the job, we have thought that considering the bad state of the roads, the expense of ferrage in consequence of high water, that the teams are all nearly worn out, and the brethren here very poor and very much scattered that the best solution was to forward the remainder of the poor brethren by water. By contracting with a steam boat, the poor brethren might all be removed at once and the Far West committee would be free to get out of the state. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Her family had a fair amount of money. Turley, Richard E., and Brittany A. Chapman. 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. [120] Levi W. Hancock petition in Johnson, Mormon Redress Petitions, 225. [20] In the October session of General Conference 1866, Brigham Young made these comments: "To my certain knowledge, Emma Smith is one of the damnedest liars I know of on this earth; yet there is no good thing I would refuse to do for her, if she would only be a righteous woman; but she will continue in her wickedness. She had to provide for the family after being deprived of the corn they had grown on their farm, which vigilantes had prevented them from harvesting. [86] Truman O. Angell Journal, reprinted in Kate B. Carter, comp., Our Pioneer Heritage (Salt Lake City: Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1967), 10:199.
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