After his death she resisted encouragement to deny his role as a prophet. The old man for whom John taught school treated them generously. [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. Her family was fairly well-off financially, and so Emma was well-educated for a woman of her time. [37], Elders Young and Kimball kept in constant contact with the imprisoned First Presidency by correspondence, messenger, and visits. A decision to continue to gather. . Why did Ema Smith leave the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints She was not perfect and made choices that seem hard for us to understand today. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1976 reprint), 3:210. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. . We reserve the right to not approve any comments that do not meet our community standards. [12] John Butlers escape route apparently was across northern Missouri. Joseph Smith Foundation director, author, film producer, speaker. [115] Joseph Smith and Others to Edward Partridge and the Church, March 25, 1839, in Times and Seasons, May 1840, 102, and July 1840, 13132. Taken from The Return, typescript, 243, Perry Special Collections. 9 Things You Didn't Know About Emma Smith - LDS Living 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. Joseph. His wife joined the Reorganized LDS Church (now Community of Christ) and the family moved to Independence in 1870. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Those refer to the meter used in the hymn text. To begin again in Illinois was heartbreaking. When those families reached Illinois early in 1839, they were poor, worn out, and ragged looking. For example, in the support materials for the Joseph Smith manual, polygamy is once again nowhere mentioned. The animosity between Brigham Young and Emma had multiple grounds: personal, religious, and financial. He and his friends traveled on foot. In July 1830, Joseph Smith received a revelation addressed specifically to Emma. Newel said, Bro. There was scarcely a day while we were on the road that it did not either snow or rain, son John said. [86] Truman O. Angell Journal, reprinted in Kate B. Carter, comp., Our Pioneer Heritage (Salt Lake City: Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1967), 10:199. About sunset we landed in Quincy, Lucy said. Their chief settlement was Far West in Caldwell County. [62] Eliza Roxey (Snow) Smith, Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1884), 45. A few ancient metal plates that were described as being similar to the Mormon origin were discovered by archaeologists in recent years but the golden plates havent been found yet. [90] Diaries of William Huntington, 8; Isaac Leany Petition in Johnson, ed., Mormon Redress Petitions, 485. [35], On February 11 the committee accepted applications for assistance, and the next day they appointed Theodore Turley to superintend the management of the teams provided for removing the poor. The plan was for some wagons to go east, unload passengers and belongings at the Mississippi, and then return empty to help others move out. [30] John Taylor, Alanson Ripley, Brigham Young, Theodore Turley, Heber C. Kimball, John Smith (the Prophets uncle), and Don C. Smith (the Prophets brother). They appear, so far as we have seen, to be a mild, inoffensive people, who could not have given cause for the persecution they have met with. City leaders and residents suddenly had to deal with a humanitarian crisis thrust upon them. 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. why did emma smith leave the lds church - ptitbuilding.com This remarkable event is free, but space is limited. Brigham Young and his family, with several others, Kimball said. When a group of black Mormons arrived after a very difficult and painful journey fraught with danger and racial prejudice, their feet bleeding because they no longer had shoes, she sat them at her own dinner table and took them all into her home as guests until they could find work. "Emma seemed to wax and wane in her acceptance of the practice," Delewski said. 21 Reasons to Leave the Mormon Church, Even if it is True Events unfolded rapidly, with men from the neighboring towns staging raids on Nauvoo, trying to once again, drive out the Saints and claim their. "Every symptom of poison," Richards noted in Joseph's diary. [112] A Proclamation to the Saints Scattered AbroadGreeting, Times and Seasons, January 15, 1841, 6. 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. Emma Smith is one of the most fascinating characters of the Restoration. It is significant to note that the revelation instructed the entire presidency of the Church to leave Kirtland. [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. For example, did Charles Wesley have any songs in her hymnal? When the family arrived opposite Quincy, they became ice bound for two weeks. While they waited, a Brother Brunson came from Quincy and asked campers to donate their outfits to go back and assist in removing the poor. Modern DNA has ruled out all children Fran Brodie had proposed were his through other marriages. In fact, he generally took another man with him or even asked a father or brother to approach the woman. When he was murdered, she bent over him and expressed her sorrow that they had taken him from her. 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. [36] With Joseph Smiths approval, leaders in Far West decided to sell Church properties in Jackson County to help raise money for the exodus. Copyright 1997-2023 by The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Throughout the years, she has remained a complex topic for both Mormons and non-Mormons. And the last words out of Brighams mouth, and he died before Emma, were Joseph,' Elggren said. "Of these 13 locations, only four of them could be called her own," Delewski said. When Saints pulled out of Far West, their houses, barns, fences, stores, schools, farms, farm equipment, household goods, livestock, and stored grain fell into non-Mormons hands. While living at the Morley farm near Kirtland, Emma Smith gives birth to twins, who die shortly after birth. Many wished to be associated with the prophet for the eternal blessings they felt this would bring. We have to look at her entire life, not just one portion of it. 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. [28] Greene, Expulsion of the Saints from Missouri, 8. 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. 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. Emma died peacefully in the Nauvoo House on April 30, 1879 at the age of 74. 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. He looked at Emma Smith's decision to remain in Nauvoo through the eyes of a therapist. 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. There are several reasons Emma stayed in Nauvoo after Joseph Smith's death, but a few in particular stand out. Delewski thinks she may have been the most promising of the Hale children because she had a rare additional year of schooling. "When people ask what caused a change in Emma Smith's behavior, what they really are asking is, 'Why didn't she go west with the Saints?' When the boy, Charles, was 4 years old, Emma took him in and raised him as her own. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Ever since the Prophet Joseph died as a martyr in Carthage, Illinois, some Latter-day Saints have felt disappointment that Joseph's wife Emma did not go with the Church in the westward exodus of the Saints in 1846-47. Historians Share What You Should Know about Emma Smith 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. On January 16, the imprisoned First Presidency sent instructions to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young that said, Inasmuch as we are in prison, . [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. [100] Stanley B. Kimball, The Saints and St. Louis, 18311857: An Oasis of Tolerance and Security, BYU Studies 13 (Summer 1973): 489519. "When Emma died, she was surrounded by her family and friends. Why did Joseph Smith marry women who were already married - LDS answers During the exodus, Truman Angells wife Elizabeth, already ill, took a cold upon cold and was expected to die. He remained her companion until her death on 30 April 1879 at the age of 75 in Nauvoo. It notes, Many of them crossed into Illinois at Quincy and were made welcome by the people here. In recent years, several related commemoration events have taken place in Quincy.[113]. [109] Johnson, Mormon Redress Petitions, xixxxvii. Below Ill list the link that I found talking about it, although I cant guarantee their accuracy! The family filled the cart with corn. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Church Service When Joseph returned to Harmony, he received a revelation for Emma, now known as Doctrine and Covenants 25, calling her an elect lady and encouraging her to comfort and support Joseph in his afflictions. Leaders compiled these petitions and affidavits and presented them three times, possibly four, to U.S. president Martin Van Buren and to Congress, but the federal government refused to act on them.[109]. [26] Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 8586. FAIR is controlled and operated by the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR). Emma Smith would make tremendous sacrifices for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for her husband, and for the church. Did Emma Smith leave the LDS Church? Her financial state was precarious because there had not been a clear line between the family money and the church money, with Joseph often going into debt to help support the church. About sixty individuals in that network restructured their everyday lives in or near Nauvoo and continued to follow Joseph Smith. 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. Mormon church polygamy: Joseph Smith 'had up to 40 wives' [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. Imagine, then, her familys concern when she developed a fondness for Joseph Smith, who was from a poor farm family and had almost no formal educationjust that which his father had given him at home with a small amount of traditional schooling. [94] Porter, Brigham Young and the Twelve, 14149. Her fugitive son Samuel came from Quincy and arranged for a ferryman to take the Smith party across. Joseph quickly shut the door when he heard Emma coming, but Emma kept knocking and called out Eliza's . 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? As was common in their day, the early Saints sang the printed lyrics to familiar tunes. He sealed that witness with his life. In the past three decades, there has been more published about Emma Smith in official church channels, including the new Daughters in My Kingdom manual, which mentions her very positively as the founder of the Relief Society, and the Gospel Doctrine manual for church history, which holds her up as an examplesomewhat reproachfullyof how to support ones spouse. They averaged ten miles per day. [107] In todays currency, that equals $52,325,000 total, or $77,000 per petitioner. [54] The Saints Petition to Congress, November 1839, in Smith, History of the Church, 4:2438; the mention of bloody footsteps is on p. 36. [61] That same day, Eliza R. Snow and relatives, who had wintered seven miles from Far West, started for Illinois. How old was Emma Smith when Joseph Smith died? Add an RSC shortcut to this device's Homescreen, In the menu, scroll past any icons and tap. Emma was baptized in Colesville, New York, on June 28, 1830. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Far West had a population by then of about five thousand Saints, and another five thousand lived in at least nineteen other Latter-day Saint communities in Caldwell County. Find out a few things you may not have known about this prominent woman in Church history. Latter-day Saint historian looks at 'complicated' life of Emma Smith Time and again, she was uprooted, often without warning and frequently without time to pack her belongings. Many of the Saints were glad to find shelter in my house from the storms, he said. 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.". They moved into a Brother Wiswangers crowded home. While at LDS Living, she particularly enjoyed diving into the past and writing articles about little-known Church history stories or the Salt Lake Temple, though she wrote about a variety of topics. Along the way, he said he had to stop among strangers with my daughter who had given birth to a child on the prairie.[64] Elisha Whiting said his family was driven in the month of March through cold storms of snow and rain, having to make our beds on the cold wet ground which when we arose in the morning we often found drenched with water and then obliged to load our wet bedding into the waggon and move slowly forward.[65], About March 18, Wilford Woodruff, in Quincy and newly back from a mission, went to the river and looked across and saw a great many of the Saints, old and young, lying in the mud and water, in a rainstorm, without tent or covering. He could find no way to bring the Butlers wagon across the river, so he spent the night with his family. However, President Young advised the Saints to gather in order to help each other better. 6 What did Lucy Mack Smith say about Emma Smith? At Adam-ondi-Ahman, Saints in October 1838 were building about 150 log houses, but most of them were not finished by the time the Saints left. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Emma Smith The essentialeven phenomenalrole Emma played in bringing forth the Book of Mormon has been re-examined on many fronts. Thank you for your insight about and compassion for Emma, and for taking the time to write about and share it with us. [67] Scott G. Kenney, ed., Wilford Woodruff Journal, 18331898, Typescript, Vol. In History of the Church Vol. The Knight family. Deseret News Archives, Deseret News Archives. Then on November 5 and 6, 1999, a Quincy History Symposium honored the citys humanitarian efforts for Saints who fled Missouri. [77] Kenney, Wilford Woodruffs Journal, 1:32930. Bushman reports that Emma and Joseph had many intense discussions about his polygamy and their relationship was periodically strained. 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. by Terrie Lynn Bittner | May 3, 2013 | Joseph Smith | 2 comments. 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. . By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Why did Emma Smith leave the LDS Church? You might notice something a bit surprisingtheres no musical notation! Emma Hale Smith was the seventh of nine children. Why did Emma Smith leave the LDS Church? Jeremy made the Letter available online. Bushman, Richard L., and Jed Woodworth. the support materials for the Joseph Smith manual. [49] Linda King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery, Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1984), 79. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. He covered Joseph Smith's reluctance for years to keep this commandment of the Lord and how it was also very difficult for Emma Smith. It wasnt just that she was the mother of, It wasnt just that she clashed with Young so severely that he once claimed that more hell was never wrapped up in any human being than there is in her., And it wasnt just that she later helped her son found. On February 7 and 8, both men visited Liberty Jail, then returned to Far West. Mormon women have the specific responsibility to be righteous daughters of God; good, faithful wives; and loving mothers. Another story about bleeding feet involves Nancy Hammer, whose husband Austin was murdered in the Hauns Mill Massacre a few months earlier. Another died young at age 26. After losing twins, she adopted a set of twins, but one died after being exposed to the cold when a mob invaded their home while the children were ill. One child died at the age of fourteen months and another died less than a year later. [3] LaMar C. Berrett and Max H. Parkin, Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites, vol. 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. [36] Brigham H. Roberts, A Comprehensive History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Century I (reprint, Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1965), 1:510511, and Smith, History of the Church, 3:26163. A few visitors from Brigham Young's faction of the Latter-day Saints came from Utah Territory to visit Smith at this house. Anti-Mormons had vowed to keep that ceremony from happening. Green, a Quincy innkeeper and cousin by marriage to Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, encouraged the Apostles and other Saints to come there. [118] Dean R. Zimmerman, I Knew the Prophets: An Analysis of the Letters of Benjamin F. Johnson to George F. Gibbs Reporting Doctrinal Views of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young (Bountiful, UT: Horizon, 1976), 1011. Im interested in seeing which traditions she drew from. [57] Quoted in Lyman O. Littlefield, Reminiscences of Latter-day Saints (Logan, UT: Journal Company Printers, 1888), 7273. 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. 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. Survey explains reasons why Mormons leave fold Emma Smith played an important part in the Restoration of the gospel, and today, more than two centuries after her birth on July 10, 1804, Church members can still learn from Emma's example. Other scribes would do the majority of the translation, but she filled in as needed. . Don Carlos [her son], with his family and the remainder of his baggage, was crowded into a buggy, and went in the same company with us. They encountered continuous rains and had to travel through mud. Her family stayed behind after the Saints went West, and Elizabeth eventually remarried, the same year that Emma remarried. When I reflect on how I found the gospel, I realize that my familys experiences informed two important pieces of my testimony. Some sneaked southward to the Missouri River and took boat passage to St. Today, the world is divided into two, torn apart on whether or not to believe the story due to the lack of evidence. Joseph Smith - Wikipedia In 1888 a Lyman Wight cabin was the only building standing in Ahman, and by 1970 it was totally gone.[124]. a boy whom many Saints felt to be Smiths rightful prophetic heir, The biography Linda and Valeen published with Doubleday several years later. On two additional occasions she was driven from her home at the threat of her life.". In a remarkable twist of irony, her version of history is increasingly the LDS Churchs as well. Some of Emmas friends, as well as many members of the Smith family, alienated themselves from Youngs followers. 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. Alpheus Cutler placed it in position. It's Official: Mormon Founder Had Up to 40 Wives On the Joseph Smith Papers website, readers can turn through the original hymnbook page by page. Print. What a cold night that was! Mosiah recalled: The next morning the river was frozen over with icegreat blocks of frozen ice all over the river, and it was slick and clear. View our community standards here. Josephs death occurred on 27 June 1844. Emma Smith would make tremendous sacrifices for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for her husband, and for the church. [91] Porter, Brigham Young and the Twelve, 137. Emma, as she often did, was searching the home for Joseph when he and a girl were missing. Emma had been disappeared. During the vandalism spree, a great portion of the records of the committee, accounts, history, etc. Why did Emma Smith leave the LDS Church? - YouTube Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. [39] Joseph Holbrook said that Saints understood that if the Church would make haste and move as fast as possible it would [do] much to the relieve our brethren who were now in jail as our enemies were determined to hold them as hostages until the church left the state so that every exertion was made in the dead of the winter to remove as fast as possible (Life of Joseph Holbrook, 46). Im guessing something to do with the meter, but I cant figure it out! Joseph.[103] Perrigrine Sessions said that Joseph being there gave us much joy to see his face among the Saints and here the voice of inspiration that flowed from his lips this caused our drooping spirits to revive as we were like sheap with out a shepherd that had been scatered in a cloudy and dark day.[104] After Joseph heard the congregation enthusiastically sing the hymn Zion, City of Our God, Wandle Mace observed that Joseph rose to speak but had difficulty controlling his emotions: To look upon the Saints who had been driven from their homes, and scattered as they were, among strangers, without homes, robbed of everything, and to see them under all these trying circumstances assemble to this General Conference from all the region around, and sing of Zion, the city of our God, with so much spirit, showing their love and confidence in the gospel, and the pleasure he felt in meeting with them. [113] On February 10, 1989, Mayor Vern Hagstrom gave the key to city Elder Loren C. Dunn of the First Quorum of Seventy and declared February 15 the citys Latter-day Saints Day to honor Emma Smiths crossing for the frozen Mississippi River and entering Quincy. During this last bout, Joseph said gratefully, "My wife waited on me. And where shall they be sent? the newspaper asked. Why did Emma Smith opt to stay in Nauvoo? Refugees moved as individuals, by families, or in small clusters of wagons whenever they were ready. Some of them are still included in the current hymnbook that was published 150 years later in 1985. 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. . The streets and city square became corn fields. Your email address will not be published. After inspections, the Church agreed to buy twenty thousand acres of land at Commerce, Illinois, and across the river in Lee County, Iowa. The religion rapidly gained converts, and Smith set up . Although their marriage was often troubled following the introduction of polygamy, Emma continued to care for Joseph. Their tough experiences produced definite impactsboth short- and long-termon Missouri and Illinois, on the course of the Church, and on individual members.[1]. That party came to include Brigham Young, Orson Pratt, and John Taylor. 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. After a long time, Mother Smith said, We succeeded . [55] The shoes belonged to the oldest boy, Morgan. Nontraditional. 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. Delewski thinks she may have been the most promising of the Hale children because she had a rare additional year of schooling. What did Emma Emma do for the LDS Church? [80] The Mormons, Quincy Whig, March 2, 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. He rode with the Mormon militia who fought in the Battle of Crooked River. Many found refuge not only in Quincy but throughout Adams County and all over western Illinois. A stone weighing about a ton was rolled to the southeast corner of the site. 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. [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.