why did emma smith leave the lds church why did emma smith leave the lds church

However, a significant number had taken refuge in St. Louis, a Missouri city that became an oasis of tolerance for Mormons. [18], Far West was ill equipped to become a refugee center for Saints displaced by Missouri militia. That morning we crossed over to Quincy, Illinois. However, she had to wait for two months before she was confirmed, as Joseph was arrested the next day for his preaching about the Book of Mormon. Samuel said they traveled the most secluded route they could find. Its an improvement that shes discussed at all. Emmas 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 any official church publication in 113 years. 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. Learn about and browse the pages of the first hymnal of the Church. 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). 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. During that period, the place was a hive of activity; Joseph Smith and his wife, Emma, and Oliver Cowdery were boarding with the Whitmers, and other people (including curiosity-seekers) were constantly coming and going. Mormon regard for Quincy. She wore it in a locket the rest of her life, even after she remarried. "When Emma died, she was surrounded by her family and friends. [58] Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 8790. He had no steady occupation and was involved intensely with religion. Emma, however, was the only sibling not to inherit a family name. She was a schoolteacher and even owned items of value, including cows. But the way Emmas story is carefully sculpted reveals as much about gender expectations and religious norms in our own era as it did when Brigham Young declared her mormona non grata. [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. John Lowe Butler, for one, wanted his written record to stand as a witness against Missourians who were cruel to his suffering family during the exodus and earlier. [74] Greene, Expulsion of the Saints from Missouri, 40. 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. Who was the oldest president of the LDS Church? FAIR is controlled and operated by the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR). 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. Alpheus Cutler placed it in position. Her family was fairly well-off financially, and so Emma was well-educated for a woman of her time. She comforted other women, instructed them, and helped them to build their own faith. Emma Smith was the wife of the first Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith. . Caroline said that at one point that winter, Joseph Smith got word to Emma to send him quilts or bed clothes. "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. She taught school before she met Joseph Smith. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. [95] Kenney, Wilford Woodruffs Journal, 1:329. 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. . Succeeded Smith as leader of the LDS Church. The Thomas family. Emma crossed the ice carefully, walking apart from the wagon. . [89] Leo R. Rogers, Willis Rogers and Elizabeth Bessie Ritchie with Their Ancestors and Descendants (Bountiful, UT: L. R. Rogers, ca. Events of the 1838 Mormon War soon escalated, resulting in Joseph's surrender and imprisonment by Missouri officials. Bidamon was support for Emma in raising her five children. When he reached the Clevelands, Emma recognized him as he dismounted from his horse and met him half way to the gate.[101], A Quincy newspaper reporter publicized the arrival of Joseph Smith and his prison companions, concluding with a favorable description of the Church President and Prophet: We had supposed from the stories and statements we had read of Jo Smith (as he is termed in the papers) to find him a very illiterate, uncouth sort of man; but from a long conversation, we acknowledge an agreeable disappointment. She admitted that she had been reluctant to give her children any formal religious lifejust personal reading of the Bible and Book of Mormonbecause she was afraid of a return to the many trials she had faced. The second day we had to cross a long prairie, and were not able to reach the settlement. That night at the prayer meeting, Richards, wrote in code that Joseph and Emma did not dress in the usual special clothing, a sign they were too much at odds to participate. My God is it you Bro. [104] Donna Toland Smart, Exemplary Elder: The Life and Missionary Diaries of Perrigrine Sessions, 18141893 (Provo, UT: BYU Studies and Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History, 2002), 43. That is a great question! had not heard anything from me during this time, neither dare I write to [them].[68], At a March 17 meeting, Saints in Quincy heard a letter read from the Committee of Removal in Far West asking for teams & money for the removing of fifty families of poor Saints from far west to Quincy.[69] On March 29 the committee in Quincy wrote to their counterparts in Far West sympathizing with their extreme labor and travail to move out the last poor Saints. Mormons had a divorce rate of about 1 percent. [32] Committee of Removal members were William Huntington, Charles Bird, Alanson Ripley, Theodore Turley, Daniel Shearer, Shadrach Roundy, and Jonathan H. Hale. He was the son of Joseph and Lucy Mack Smith. He referred to a handmade chart that showed the homes Emma Smith had during her 17-year marriage to Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith. [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. 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. 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. Many found refuge not only in Quincy but throughout Adams County and all over western Illinois. This difficult situation was complicated by the immense demands on Brigham Young's time. Unfortunately, Apple's iOS doesn't support home screen shortcuts in the Chrome browser. [31], William Huntington headed up a Committee of Removal. They held a short conference in one of the homes and excommunicated thirty-one unworthies. In addition to the Apostles, six members of the Committee and about a dozen other members were present. By primitive Missouri roads, the distance from Far West to Quincy was about 180 miles. . How old was Emma Smith when Joseph Smith died? 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. When asked if he had read the biography, Elder Oaks said he had seen several excerpts from it, and found that the authors views of Joseph Smith were nontraditional.. A test passed by the faithful. [Deseret News Weekly 15:364, 10/10/66, p 4-5 and 15:372, 10/17/66, p 4-5; MS 28:764, 774]) off-site. What did Emma Emma do for the LDS Church? A painting by C. C. A. Christensen, Exodus of the Saints from Missouri, is the only depiction the author has seen of winter exodus experience. Emma Smith had so much on her plate, so its inspiring to learn how she was willing to contribute to the growth of the Church while she was dealing with everything else. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. At times he hid in members homes as he headed east. The large body of displaced Saints became an economic force and political presence in Illinois and Iowa Territory. [29] Smith, History of the Church, 3:249. 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. When the boy, Charles, was 4 years old, Emma took him in and raised him as her own. And even when people did leave, they left reverently, speaking only in whispers. She frequently found herself living in the homes of others and just as frequently took complete strangers into her own home. 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. 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. In July 1830 the Lord outlined her mission, in a revelation: Thou art an elect lady, whom I have called. Joseph Smith did not have a Will but like today when the husband dies the surviving spouse is still entitled to a certain part of her husband's assets as defined by law, even without a will; but Emma would still have to go through court probate to obtain these assets. She later married Major Lewis Bidamon, who had supported the Mormons during the trials, but was not a member. In that revelation she was designed the "Elect Lady" which Joseph later explained means one elected "to preside.". [37] David Rogers Report, 1839, in William Rogers and Elizabeth Bessie Ritchie with Their Ancestors and Descendants (Salt Lake City: Leo R. Rogers, 1981), 230. 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. Training experience for 1846 exodus. When the Mormons left for Utah, she elected to remain behind. [121] James Galligher claimed he was exposed to the weather in which sickness followed & the loss of one of my Children.[122] Innumerable such examples can be cited. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Emma Smith was born in 1804 in Pennsylvania. Then three hundred militiamen escorted them away to face trial and prison. At the same time, much of the Church's debt was held by Joseph as a private citizenthus, Emma was liable for Joseph/the Church's debts, but had a less clear claim on the Church's lands that Joseph held as Trustee-in-Trust.[3]. [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. [87], It is not known how many Saints temporarily took refuge in Quincy. In intense cold, Lydia recalled, they sometimes scraped away snow beside the wagon so they could put down their beds at night. by Terrie Lynn Bittner | May 3, 2013 | Joseph Smith | 2 comments. Joseph and Emma adopt the Murdock twins nine days after birth. Print. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. On February 19 or 20, Joseph Smiths parents, Joseph Sr. and Lucy, finally joined the exodus. Im guessing something to do with the meter, but I cant figure it out! [12] John Butlers escape route apparently was across northern Missouri. Latter-day Saint widow Elizabeth Kendall and her family first became acquainted with Emma at the Mansion House in Nauvoo. "Of these 13 locations, only four of them could be called her own," Delewski said. They kept insisting on constitutional protection . [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). Given these losses, it appears to me that Emma managed quite well.". This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Also there were Wilford Woodruff and George A. Smith, who were soon to be ordained as Apostles. [34] Smith, History of the Church, 3:255. Levi Ward Hancock continued as a President of the Seventy, marched to California in the Mormon Battalion, was a pioneer in Manti and southern Utah, and served as a patriarch. Tucked between popular Church history chapters about Liberty Jail and Nauvoo is a little-known but vitally important chapter dealing with the Latter-day Saints seven-month struggle to survive the winter of 183839 in Missouri and to leave there by spring 1839. These hymns had a great influence on the Saints during the early days of the Church. I asked my mother one day, why don't Grandma laugh with her eyes like you do, and my mother said because she has a deep sorrow in her heart. [49] Linda King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery, Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1984), 79. First, Emma had intense anxiety over the protection of Joseph's and Hyrum's bodies. 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. We have to look at her entire life, not just one portion of it. Exmormons are told to leave quietly with their tails between their legs. That party came to include Brigham Young, Orson Pratt, and John Taylor. No portion of this site may be reproduced without the express written consent of The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any opinions expressed, implied, or included in or with the goods and services offered by FAIR are solely those of FAIR and not those of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their numbers exceed 5,000 peoplewithout any means and literally beggarsto be thrust upon the charities of Illinois, Iowa, or Wisconsin. Joseph Holbrook, thirty-two, said his wife Nancy had verry poor health that fall and winter because of being exposed to inclement weather by having to remove from place to place as our house had been burned and we were yet left to seek a home whenever our friends could accommodate us and for my safety. Saints in flourishing condition but a few months before, he said, were now destitute. [73] Bennett, Quincythe Home of Our Adoption, 86. Emma was baptized in Colesville, New York, on June 28, 1830. All but the youngest two had to walk every step of the entire distance. They were almost barefooted and some had to wrap their feet in clothes in order to keep them from freezing and protect them from the sharp points of the frozen ground. Son John, nine, later said that often the blood from our feet marked the frozen earth.[57]. A stone weighing about a ton was rolled to the southeast corner of the site. [91] On April 18, when a group of anti-Mormons found him at the public square, they threatened to blow his brains out and tried to ride over him with their horses. Joseph Smith Foundation director, author, film producer, speaker. Thomass version is in E. Kay Kirkham, Daniel Stillwell Thomas, Utah Pioneer of 1849, bound typescript, 26; wife Martha Pane Jones Thomass version in Kate Woodhouse Kirkham, ed., Daniel Stillwell Thomas Family History, bound typescript, n.d., n.p., 25; copies in authors possession. What is the LDS divorce rate? Mormon Church Admits Founder Joseph Smith Had Up To 40 Wives : The Two-Way : NPR. She moved away from Nauvoo for a while to avoid danger, but eventually returned to her former home. William E. McLellin, apostle and apostate, died in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, April 24, 1883, and is buried in Woodlawn Municipal Cemetery of the same city. Yet I knew little of these things, for our branch of the family was far removed from our Smith heritage. [50], The Young and Kimball families. What are various methods available for deploying a Windows application? Joseph Smith, Jr. was born on 23 December 1805, in Sharon, Vermont. At the time of her birth, her parents had a good relationship with a prominent local family, which may have affected her name selection. Emma did not learn about their deaths until 10:00 p.m. that same evening. 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. Why did God ask Emma Smith to accept the plates? How Orrin Hatch protected people of faith, KSL Newsradio is preparing to celebrate its 100th anniversary. Grant Building When morning came, he and Abraham Smoot crossed to Quincy, leaving their families with the wagon. Emmas role in Mormon history is as enigmatic as ever. The temple site has been salvaged and given modern landscaping, but no houses remain. What does the L.M., C.M. Hi Nathan, thanks for your interest in Emma Smiths hymnbook! Seeing the injuries, she rushed back to her house and brought back camphor, brown paper, and a pan of warm water. [75] Wandle Mace Autobiography, typescript, 3132, Perry Special Collections. 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. When eternal marriage was first introduced, many families carried out sealings with friends and those they wanted to be eternally associated with, not entirely understanding what the revelation meant. On two additional occasions she was driven from her home at the threat of her life.". -Stephanie. Because Joseph Smith was in prison during the exodus, attention focuses here on Joseph Smith's parents, his wife Emma, Elders Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, and four selected families: the John and Caroline Butler family, the Newel and Lydia Knight family, the Daniel and Martha Thomas family, and the Levi and Clarissa Hancock family. . Soon after starting, her eyes became infected, so Martha Smoot walked beside her and led her along for five or six days. [82] Bennett, Quincythe Home of Our Adoption, 92. No one could have recognized them as the prosperous Yankees they had once been in New York before embracing Mormonism. [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. Joseph had been translating the Bible before he was imprisoned, and Emma also carried these documents with her, hidden in bags under her skirts. Memoirs of Joseph Smith III (18321914), ed. 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. She would smile with her lips, but to me, as small as I was, I never saw the brown eyes smile. However, President Young advised the Saints to gather in order to help each other better. She taught school before she met Joseph Smith. Father said, Run, Mosiah, and I did run! For your free copy of the Bible, go to Free Holy Bible and for a free Book of Mormon, go to Free Book of Mormon, Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress. He was a lieutenant colonel of the 32nd Regiment of the Illinois militia, and he helped control the violence being perpetuated against the Latter Day Saints. All the same, she continued to have a testimony of his role as a prophet and she carried out her duties faithfully. 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. Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith . She was not perfect and made choices that seem hard for us to understand today. This forced expulsion of Saints from Missouri produced short- and long-term consequences, as enumerated here for various of the parties involved. One of the materials in it was a pamphlet that said Emma could be forgiven for her sins because she had lost her mind. Copyright 1997-2023 by The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved. [5] Meanwhile, a militia force headed to Adam-ondi-Ahman, made the Mormons there surrender, and on November 10 gave them ten days to relocate to Far West or elsewhere in Caldwell County. 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. See discussion in Linda King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery. . "[2], Furthermore, Brigham and Emma did not agree on the disposition of Joseph's estate. [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. Heres what they have planned, Why the Christian flag can fly on this government flagpole, Breaking the fast: Eid ul-Fitr is an occasion of peace, The unique stories and struggles of Latino Muslims, The Black church, religious freedom and gay rights. Not six months before the death of Joseph, he called his wife Emma into a secret council, and there he told her the truth, and called upon her to deny it if she could. . In May that year the Mormon History Association held their annual meetings there. They reached Quincy on January 29 and found ourselves in a land of Freedom once more by the help of God and his blessings. Holbrook observed that brethren were continually coming to Quincy from the Missouri as I had done.[43] In late January, Ebenezer Robinson and three other men walked from Far West to Quincy through the snow.[44]. Add an RSC shortcut to this device's Homescreen, In the menu, scroll past any icons and tap. Josephs death occurred on 27 June 1844. [61] That same day, Eliza R. Snow and relatives, who had wintered seven miles from Far West, started for Illinois. https://www.lds.org/music/index/hymns/title-tune-meter?lang=eng&_r=1. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. A number of teams arrived from Illinois to help move the last families. . Your email address will not be published. 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. To understand her, we have to place her in her own setting and time, not in our own. She joined in his efforts to protect them from thieves and acted on occasion as his scribe. 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. 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. In jail in Richmond were Parley P. Pratt, Norman Shearer, Darwin Chase, Luman Gibbs, Morris Phelps, and King Follett. [98] That summer the prisoners who had been at Richmond escaped confinement, except King Follett. Her husband, on the other hand, had only a handful of years of formal education. 6, p. 408-412 it records an "Address of the Prophet" on Sunday, May 26, 1844 where Joseph Smith states: "What a thing it is for a man to be accused of committing adultery, and having seven wives, when I can only .