I am blown away at how single-handedly he is responsible for the majority of what we know about the Nauvoo years and the very adventurous last few years of Joseph Smith's life. I found my family in good health though in the mud and snow half a leg deep in the camp. [120] Levi W. Hancock petition in Johnson, Mormon Redress Petitions, 225. In the meantime, Emma assumed that because these men represented the Twelve they acted on direct orders from Brigham. . It is significant to note that the revelation instructed the entire presidency of the Church to leave Kirtland. She became the first woman to receive the temple endowment involving the making of sacred covenants with the Savior. Some of them are still included in the current hymnbook that was published 150 years later in 1985. Her family was fairly well-off financially, and so Emma was well-educated for a woman of her time. When her stepparents determined they could no longer care for her, the 8-year-old orphan found her way back to Emma. She, in turn, was instructed by Joseph to officiate in these ordinances for the women, which she did until shortly before his martyrdom. Their hospitality stemmed more from pity than anything else. Why did Emma Smith leave the LDS Church? That did not stop Emma, a visionary woman in her own sense of the word. 3. 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. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. At times, deep snows rubbed their wagon hubs during the journey. Church leaders told fugitive Charles C. Rich to flee north into the wilderness and take all that I Could find of the Brethren that was in the Crooked river Battle. So he and others left Far West at midnight on November 1. Soon after starting, her eyes became infected, so Martha Smoot walked beside her and led her along for five or six days. What are various methods available for deploying a Windows application? How old was Emma Smith when Joseph Smith died? One of the materials in it was a pamphlet that said Emma could be forgiven for her sins because she had lost her mind. by Terrie Lynn Bittner | May 3, 2013 | Joseph Smith | 2 comments. Mormon regard for Quincy. Modern Mormons are beginning to come to terms with Emma as the elect lady God declared her to be in a revelation, but a very real and human one at the same time who fought for God as long as she had to before choosing the calmer life she longed for. View our community standards here. In 1888 a Lyman Wight cabin was the only building standing in Ahman, and by 1970 it was totally gone.[124]. She even owned cows and other items, possibly given as payment from students. 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. [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. [82] Bennett, Quincythe Home of Our Adoption, 92. Her heartaches were very real and would have been a challenge to any woman, particularly without the lens of understanding time brings. He did not court the women or put his proposals in romantic terms.
9 Things You Didn't Know About Emma Smith - LDS Living When he was murdered, she bent over him and expressed her sorrow that they had taken him from her. It took me a minute to find what you were looking at, but if I am correct, I see the PMs in Emma Smiths original hymnbook. [46], During February the migration became more intense. Its a beautiful article, but its not a fully honest one; polygamy is not mentioned once anywhere. "There's an image for you: a dark-haired 23-year-old woman racing down a country road, her hair probably flying in the wind, in order to notify her husband of an impending emergency," Delewski said. 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. 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. [94], In the dark the group reached Tenneys Grove and there added to their group the last company of the poor needing help to reach Quincy. When we came to within six miles of the Mississippi river, the weather grew colder, and, in the place of rain we had snow and hail. They walked six miles across low and swampy ground, sinking to their ankles in mud. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1976 reprint), 3:210. A woman living in a nearby house ran to find out what was wrong. 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. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". [67] Scott G. Kenney, ed., Wilford Woodruff Journal, 18331898, Typescript, Vol. They numbered twelve families with more than sixty souls, having surnames of Knight, DeMille, Peck, Slade, Culver, and Stringham. With other refugees, she and six children ages two through nine accompanied their small wagon, pulled by a blind horse. 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. In mid-February, Anson Call headed east. This article examines the results of the Religious Landscape Study conducted in 2014 by the Pew organization, looking specifically at information related to the questions of who is leaving The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, why they leave, where they go, and what factors seem to contribute to their exodus. It would be 2 months before she could be confirmed as a member of the Church. No one could have recognized them as the prosperous Yankees they had once been in New York before embracing Mormonism. . Samuel said they traveled the most secluded route they could find. In addition to grieving the loss of her husband, she was expecting their final child. These include the petitions for redress, prison letters, other correspondence, diaries, autobiographies and memoirs, pamphlets, newspaper articles, and a mass of official Missouri government records. [3], By October 1838, Newel and Lydia Knight and their three children were among the Saints living in and near Far West, the Churchs headquarters city. 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. Unlike the majority of Latter Day Saints, Emma Smith did not follow Brigham Youngs suggestion that the Latter Day Saints leave Nauvoo and settle in the Salt Lake Valley in present-day Utah. The religion rapidly gained converts, and Smith set up . These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. During November and December, Joseph C. Kingsbury and Caroline, his wife of two years, lived in a little cabin with meager provisions. 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. 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. Young put on board some of his goods into the wagon carrying the Knights, and both families resumed their journeys. Health problems and deaths. Hi Nathan, thanks for your interest in Emma Smiths hymnbook! 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. I am already engaged on the other side.'[4]. June 1831 [52] Heber C. Kimball Journals, 18381839, in Porter, Brigham Young and the Twelve, 134. Winter exposure and food shortages in Caldwell County and during exodus caused health problems for many and a host of deaths during 1839. Governor Boggs infamous extermination order remained a stain on Missouris character for 137 years until June 25, 1976, when Missouri governor Christopher S. Bond signed an executive order rescinding it. Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805 - June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement.At the age of 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon and by the time of his death, 14 years later, he had attracted tens of thousands of followers. [42] Jesse and Whittaker, Albert Perry Rockwood Journal, 34. One day while Martha was sitting in the front of the wagon with three-year-old Keziah Butler on her lap, one of the horses began to kick. Learn about and browse the pages of the first hymnal of the Church. Turley, Richard E., and Brittany A. Chapman. Mercy should be the watchwordnot blood, not extermination, not misery.. Why did Emma Smith leave the LDS Church? Who was the oldest president of the LDS Church? Shortly, twelve mobbers with rifles entered the tithing office and broke windows, tables, chairs, and seventeen clocks into matchwood. One threw iron pots at Theodore Turley, hitting him in the shoulder. Susan Easton Black and Charles D. Tate Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1993), 27184. 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. They ran out of provisions and became so weak they couldnt continue, so they held a council and prayed to know where to hunt. The Knight family. 2022 FAIR Conference videos are now available to watch! The animosity between Brigham Young and Emma had multiple grounds: personal, religious, and financial, 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, Brigham and Emma did not agree on the disposition of Joseph's estate. to ignore it entirely.
Historians Share What You Should Know about Emma Smith "When Emma died, she was surrounded by her family and friends.
What Is the CES Letter? - Saints Unscripted [61] That same day, Eliza R. Snow and relatives, who had wintered seven miles from Far West, started for Illinois. Each comment will be reviewed by a staff member before it will appear on the site. [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. 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. Its almost as if youre holding the hymnbook in your own hands. Smith came and consecrated the Temple Lot in June 1831. 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. 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. [76] Smith, History of the Church, 3:262. Joseph Knights son Newel was Joseph Smiths close friendthe Prophet had performed his and Lydias wedding in Kirtland, and he had no followers more loyal than Newel and Lydia. In January some Missourians gave Levi Hancock, one of the seven presidents of the Seventy, three days to leave. 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. [31], William Huntington headed up a Committee of Removal. 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. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. . On January 16, the imprisoned First Presidency sent instructions to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young that said, Inasmuch as we are in prison, . Her fugitive son Samuel came from Quincy and arranged for a ferryman to take the Smith party across. You may be able to get in touch with someone who can answer that question here: Joseph Smith PapersContact Us. Finally, in some respects, the exodus from Missouri was a training exercise for the Saints exodus from Nauvoo seven years later. Grant Building FAIR is controlled and operated by the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR). 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. . 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. Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith . This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The author analyzes such factors as social/political issues, gender, race . Huntington estimated that in Daviess County the Saints lost nearly thirty thousand bushels of corn because of the militia takeover. 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. [22] William Huntington Diary, 7; Lyndon W. Cook, Joseph C. Kingsbury: A Biography (Provo, UT: Grandin Book, 1985), 61. Joseph taught what God revealed, nothing more. See http://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/uscompare. [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. [9] Leonard J. Arrington, Charles C. Rich (Provo, UT: BYU Press, 1974), 60; Juanita Brooks, ed., On the Mormon Frontier: The Diary of Hosea Stout, 18441861 (Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press and the Utah State Historical Society, 1964), xvi; Lorenzo Dow Young, Recollections, Four Faith Promoting Classics (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1968), 5254. [41] Jesse and Whittaker, Albert Perry Rockwood Journal, 34. They received them as they came, sent forward all who had means and strength into the interior, provided the poor and sick with lodgings, fuel, food and clothing.[74] Wandle Mace opened his house to the refugees. Whatever the situation, Emma eventually found herself unable to cope with polygamy. To his military leaders, it decreed, The Mormons must be treated as enemies and must be exterminated or driven from the state, if necessary for the public good.[2] Four days later, that order reached Church leaders and members in northwest Missouri. The last words out of Emmas mouth when she died were Joseph. "I will suggest that she didn't change. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); The Mormon Church distributes free copies of the King James Version of the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Lorenzo said that his pants were so shredded by bushes that he refused to face Iowans until someone brought him better pants. On 23 December 1847, Emma Smith married Lewis Bidamon, who was not a member of the Church. She moved from Pennsylvania to New York to Ohio to Missouri and then Illinois. In fear of threats that the bodies would be stolen or desecrated, coffins filled with sandbags were used in the public funeral of the two martyrs. Babbitt would make Brigham's requests to Emma sound abrupt and thoughtless, and her responses to him selfish and defensive.[5]. Donate to us by shopping at Amazon at no extra cost to you. . Joseph Smith and the Latter Day Saints leadership had always asked for help from the US government. Such souls will have to suffer for the ill treatment of the Saints, he wrote, adding that they need not think that they will escape, for the Lord is just and He will punish those that have ill treated His children (Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 89). [102] See Missouri Republican (St. Louis), May 3, 1839. It was that she hated polygamy and flatly refused to countenance its presence among the Mormon people. [123] Butler denounced the hard-heartedness that Missourians had shown his wife and children and Church authorities. The animosity toward Emma Smith after the death of Joseph Smith quickly became evident. Julia: Some say that there were other reasons. Elggren believes they had that face-to-face after they had both died. Their difficult trip to Mississippi River took twelve days: We had snow and rain every day but 2. If they choose to remain, we must be content. Anson Call. It is possible that polygamy would have come more easily if it had not been added to an already extraordinary number of other trials and if she had not been the first wife to face it in the Church. The CES Director asked Jeremy to send him a list of issues that had caused him to lose his faith, with the intention of helping him out. Until that time, Emma had been largely written out of official LDS history. She had sufficient faith to avoid looking at the plates even when they were in her bedroom or kitchen, although she frequently felt them and moved them out of her way as she worked. Are Joseph and Emma Smiths descendants Latter-day Saints? Mormon Church Admits Founder Joseph Smith Had Up To 40 Wives : The Two-Way : NPR. . My 11 year old granddaughter who is not baptized into the LDS Church wanted a poster after which we obtained and she visited with the actors and actresses. 185 Heber J. [47] Dated entries in An Abridged Record of the Life of John Murdock, Taken from His Journal by Himself, typescript, n.p., n.d., Perry Special Collections. To reach safety in Illinois, the closest state, they had to cross the broad Mississippi River, and Quincy had ferryboat facilities. On horseback, he, fellow Kentuckian David Lewis, and Elias Higbee endured December snows, cold, and meager food to reach Quincy, Illinois. But only three of the two dozen adults in Knight family network faltered. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. [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. . Emma Smith was born in 1804 in Pennsylvania and had unusual opportunities for a girl in her time. [101] Cited in Baugh, We Took Our Change of Venue, 52.
21 Reasons to Leave the Mormon Church, Even if it is True 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. [90] Diaries of William Huntington, 8; Isaac Leany Petition in Johnson, ed., Mormon Redress Petitions, 485. She wore it in a locket the rest of her life, even after she remarried. [75] Wandle Mace Autobiography, typescript, 3132, Perry Special Collections.
Joseph Smith - Wikipedia Further, the committee agreed to find employment for those able and willing to labor. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Joseph and Emma Smith's sorrow over this matter was, for the most part, very private, according to Delewski. Her husband Joseph Smith had been killed in 1844, and after his death Emma Smith decided to remain in Nauvoo. The five Apostles who were presentBrigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Pratt, John E. Page, and John Taylorordained Wilford Woodruff and George A. Smith as Apostles and two men who had just been liberated from the Richmond prison, Darwin Chase and Norman Shearer, as Seventies. Enter your email to receive updates on our LDS Living content, 2022 LDS Living A Division of Deseret Book Company, The Joseph Smith and Emma Hale Smith Historical Society, There is room for my brown paper-doll family: 2 gospel truths I learned as a young girl that carry my faith, Special Church Historians Press symposium to highlight women, religion, and records, See the stunning winners of the Churchs International Art Competition. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992. [71] In 1837 the population was 1,653 according to Pat. 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. Caroline suffered from dropsy, or painful swellings, and the cold intensified her pain. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. . [98] That summer the prisoners who had been at Richmond escaped confinement, except King Follett. [87], It is not known how many Saints temporarily took refuge in Quincy. On two additional occasions she was driven from her home at the threat of her life.". Joseph Smith. Mormon leaders have acknowledged for the first time that the church's founder and prophet, Joseph Smith, portrayed in church materials as a loyal partner to his loving spouse Emma . Emma and Joseph eloped on January 18, 1827, in South Bainbridge, New York, and then went to live with the Smith family. May 1831 New York branches arrive in Ohio. Joseph Smith, when asked, advised leaders to obtain properties where the Saints could collect rather than scatter, and he developed Nauvoo to be the next gathering place.[115]. We were not permitted to leave Far West, Anson Call said, only to get our firewood. Fugitive John Butler, in Quincy, learned of their arrival, and he rowed across the river in a canoe, dodging ice. Dirty smoking school of prophets. At night they would build fires if they could find firewood. These souls, by and large, were poor, bedraggled, and sickly. a much-debated stair-pushing catfight with Eliza R. Snow. Emma Smith would make tremendous sacrifices for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for her husband, and for the church. I have witnesses of this scene all around, who can testify that I am now telling the truth. 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. 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. Emma Hale Smith was the seventh of nine children. Is there a list anywhere of all the composers who had songs in Emmas 1835 hymnal? 4 How many wives did Joseph Smith have LDS? Adams County, organized in 1825, was named after John Quincy Adams, who that year became Americas sixth president, and the town of Quincy received his middle name. [29] Smith, History of the Church, 3:249. By primitive Missouri roads, the distance from Far West to Quincy was about 180 miles. John later filed claim for the loss of 240 acres of land, three yoke of oxen, a corn crop, and hogs. She was not perfect and made choices that seem hard for us to understand today. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. He rode with the Mormon militia who fought in the Battle of Crooked River. Quincy was the closest Illinois city to Far West. Answer (1 of 10): At the time of her husbands death, not much changed. From there, refugees had to cross the South and North Fabius rivers and mudflats to reach the Mississippi opposite Quincy. It was the anniversary of the death of the twins she lost in Kirtland. Extermination order not rescinded for 137 years. [6], In the exodus, Mormon militiamen were the first to leaveor rather escape. [7], The shortest way out of state was to go north sixty to eighty miles into unsettled regions of present-day Iowa. Events of the 1838 Mormon War soon escalated, resulting in Joseph's surrender and imprisonment by Missouri officials. Brigham Young University Joseph had been translating the Bible before he was imprisoned, and Emma also carried these documents with her, hidden in bags under her skirts. [Isaac] Streator, Feb. 22, 1839, in Eliza R. Snow Letter from Missouri, BYU Studies 13 (Summer 1973): 549. 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: How many wives did Joseph Smith have LDS?
DVD Review: Emma Smith: My Story - Mormonism Research Ministry [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. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. LDS Church History documents that their mormon founder, Joseph Smith, lied to a large group of people about his having multiple wives. After Joseph Smith died, Emma Smith moved away from Nauvoo for about six months before returning. All the same, she continued to have a testimony of his role as a prophet and she carried out her duties faithfully. Thank you for your insight about and compassion for Emma, and for taking the time to write about and share it with us. Newel said, Bro. Was also Governor of Utah Territory from February 3, 1851 to April 12, 1858. He could scarcely refrain from weeping.[105], Once safely in Illinois, the Saints still had some unfinished business related to their expulsion from Missouri. To understand her, we have to place her in her own setting and time, not in our own. She compiled the first hymnbook. [96] Manuscript History of Brigham Young, Church History Library, 28. They had fulfilled the commandment. Elder Kimball said he stayed behind to assist members of the Committee of Removal and to wait upon those in prison. In Far West he had to hide out in the woods during daytime. She led the Relief Society, an auxiliary for the women of the church that was organized to educate the women and to allow them to serve others. Carolines third task was to find some way to move the family and belongings from Missouri before spring. Whats especially interesting to me about the unfolding historiography of Emma Smith is that she herself would have been happy with the disappearance of polygamy and Josephs other wives from Mormonisms official party line. On February 19 the committee sent Charles Bird to visit Caldwell County and William Huntington Far West to determine how many families still needed assistance to move and to solicit means to help them. [26], Some opinions downstate held that Mormons would not have to leave at all. She move 18 times and lived in 13 houses. I fitted up a small wagon, procured a span of ponies, and sent my Wife and three children, in company with Bro.