Emma did, from time to time, offer approval of specific marriages. Nontraditional. 3 Why didnt Emma Smith go west with the Saints? 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. She even owned cows and other items, possibly given as payment from students. in getting one single wagon to convey beds, clothing, and provisions for our family, and luggage. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992. I, 29 December 1833 to 31 December 1840 (Midvale, UT: Signature Books, 1983), 322. She said she was sorry to see the Mormons suffer so much and be driven from their homes. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Joseph Smiths parents tried to leave early in February, but Lucy said, Just as we got our goods into the waggon, a man came to us and said, that Sidney Rigdons family were ready to start, and must have the waggon immediately. [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. Did Emma Smith leave the LDS Church? [18] Diaries of William Huntington, typescript, in Miscellaneous Mormon Diaries, vol. When the Mormons left for Utah, she elected to remain behind. Some of them are still included in the current hymnbook that was published 150 years later in 1985. She compiled the first hymnbook. That is her divine mission. 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. 801-422-6975. . Quincy was the closest Illinois city to Far West. I understand Long meter and Common meter, but what is PM? She also learned how to cook and be a good host when her parents ran a boarding house. See discussion in Linda King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery. [15] Hartley, Stand by My Servant Joseph, 291; Reed Peck, Reed Peck Manuscript (Salt Lake City: Modern Microfilms reprint, n.d.), 29. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Nov. 10, 2014. 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. . About sunset we landed in Quincy, Lucy said. [14] Autobiography of Anson Call, typescript, 13, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University. [25] William F. Cahoon Petition in Johnson, Mormon Redress Petitions, 15253. Among the stories are: Hidden Mormonism in Orson Scott Card's fiction, Anti-debt diva gives outlandish money-saving ideas, "Travails and triumphs" of Mormon mommies blogging, Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company. [126] Hartley, How Shall I Gather? Ensign, October 1997, 517. Why did Emma Smith leave the LDS Church? Young put on board some of his goods into the wagon carrying the Knights, and both families resumed their journeys. Find out a few things you may not have known about this prominent woman in Church history. Twas a very cold and blustering night. They put clothes over the wagon tongue to make a tent and put their beds underneath. Latter-day Saint widow Elizabeth Kendall and her family first became acquainted with Emma at the Mansion House in Nauvoo. 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). Some church members inappropriately rejected her because of her rejection of polygamy and her outspokenness on the subject. . Years later, in the anti-Emma atmosphere of Utah, Brigham Young spoke of a meeting where Joseph accused his wife of slipping poison into his coffee. Print. 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. On February 19 or 20, Joseph Smiths parents, Joseph Sr. and Lucy, finally joined the exodus. He could find no way to bring the Butlers wagon across the river, so he spent the night with his family. [79] In its March 2 issue, the Quincy Whig termed the Saints crossing the Mississippi River objects of charity. Because they had been thrown upon our shores destitute, through the oppressive people of Missouri, common humanity must oblige us to aid and relieve them all in our power.[80], On March 5, Bishop Partridge reported from Quincy to Joseph Smith, The people here receive us kindly and are willing that we should enjoy the privileges guaranteed to all civil people without molestation.[81], Joseph Sr. and wife Lucy rented a house or part of it on the northeast corner of Sixth and Hampshire streets. [93] Kenney, Wilford Woodruffs Journal, 1:325. John Murdock's wife also dies after delivering twins the same day. 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. [5] Gentry, Latter-day Saints in Northern Missouri, 32527; Alexander L. Baugh, A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri (PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1996), 34047. "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. Who was the oldest president of the LDS Church? The exodus from Missouri generated a rich store of documents and records. Early Life and Marriage of Emma Smith. Emma: People say all kinds of things, but Julia I know better. They took what scanty provisions we could muster. They walked and slept under the sky. The Joseph Smith Papers project explains that Emmas work laid a foundation for the continued role of music in Latter-day Saint worship. Emma contributed in creating a distinct identity for the church because this hymnbooks lyrics emphasize key tenets of the religion.. A few days later, the horses ran away. 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. 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. 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]. He instructed them to have the women pray about the request. . https://www.lds.org/music/index/hymns/title-tune-meter?lang=eng&_r=1. 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. On February 7 and 8, both men visited Liberty Jail, then returned to Far West. Given these losses, it appears to me that Emma managed quite well.". The first night, our wagon tipped over into the creek. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. 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. 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]. First, Emma had intense anxiety over the protection of Joseph's and Hyrum's bodies. These were the top four reasons for leaving the LDS Church: "I studied church history and lost my belief" (39% primary factor, 81% moderate to strong factor); "I lost faith in Joseph Smith" (39% primary, 84% mod-strong); "I ceased to believe in the church's doctrine/theology" (38% primary, 87% mod-strong); The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [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. 5 How old was Emma Smith when Joseph Smith died? Mormon Church Admits Founder Joseph Smith Had Up To 40 Wives : The Two-Way : NPR. were destroyed or lost.[92], A year earlier, Joseph Smith had received a commandment for the Twelve to leave for missions over the great waters from the Far West temple site on April 26, 1839 (Doctrine and Covenants 118). 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. Emma Smith would make tremendous sacrifices for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for her husband, and for the church. Smith came and consecrated the Temple Lot in June 1831. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Learn how . She taught school before she met Joseph Smith. My family . . 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.". Her husband was arrested, essentially for being Mormon, leaving her alone to care for her children. The mormon church is excellent with marketing, so many assume it's just a slightly strange but happy family filled religion. When the two authors began piecing together Emmas life, there was only one small manila folder about her in the entire LDS Archives. Uncertain which policy to push, the conference voted against accepting the land offer (Journal History, February 1, 1839). Her funeral was held May 2, 1879, in Nauvoo with RLDS Church minister Mark Hill Forscutt preaching the sermon. Each comment will be reviewed by a staff member before it will appear on the site. These souls, by and large, were poor, bedraggled, and sickly. [42] Joseph Holbrook and two other men, to escape those that would like to do us harm, moved out the night of January 20. 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. Innumerable able-bodied men needed jobs. Emma knew better, but she also knew that a polygamous history would not serve her needs. To fulfill their instruction, some members of the Twelve left Quincy on April 18, 1839, to travel secretly to Far West. 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. Despite her parents disapproval, she eventually eloped. His wife joined the Reorganized LDS Church (now Community of Christ) and the family moved to Independence in 1870. Bushman reports that Emma and Joseph had many intense discussions about his polygamy and their relationship was periodically strained. 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. So without further ado, here is my list of 21 reasons leaving the Mormon Church might be a great idea, even if it is true. When I reflect on how I found the gospel, I realize that my familys experiences informed two important pieces of my testimony. Emma was a significant part of the church while her husband was alive. Emma died peacefully in the Nauvoo House on April 30, 1879 at the age of 74. [18], Far West was ill equipped to become a refugee center for Saints displaced by Missouri militia. Here Samuel had hired a house and we moved into it, with four other families.[53]. 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. 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. [32] Committee of Removal members were William Huntington, Charles Bird, Alanson Ripley, Theodore Turley, Daniel Shearer, Shadrach Roundy, and Jonathan H. Hale. Anti-Mormons had vowed to keep that ceremony from happening. John marked time until his family and his mother and brothers could join him in Quincy. Bidamon married Nancy Sebree in 1827, with whom he had four children. Triggered by Missouri governor Lilburn Boggss October 1838 extermination order against them, some ten thousand Saints engaged in a mass exodus, many going to Quincy, Illinois. Which is another way of saying that a particular view of history does not suit institutional needs in the moment. There was scarcely a day while we were on the road that it did not either snow or rain, son John said. 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. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Because if the LDS Church is false, none of those things matter! Emma Hale Smith was the seventh of nine children. 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. After Joseph Smith died, Emma Smith moved away from Nauvoo for about six months before returning. [102] See Missouri Republican (St. Louis), May 3, 1839. 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. 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. [123] Butler denounced the hard-heartedness that Missourians had shown his wife and children and Church authorities. She was well-educated and taught school. An upper route ran directly east from Far West; a lower route ran southeast from Far West and then east through the towns of Keytesville and Huntsville. [125] Animosity toward Missourians by Mormons and by Missourians toward Mormons lasted for generations. Today, you can find her happily organizing and reorganizing her house, scrap booking, reading books to her sons, or still writing an occasional freelance article. On two additional occasions she was driven from her home at the threat of her life.". Time and again, she was uprooted, often without warning and frequently without time to pack her belongings. The way that current materials deal with the conflict with Brigham Young is . [72] Roberts, Comprehensive History, 2:3. This forced expulsion of Saints from Missouri produced short- and long-term consequences, as enumerated here for various of the parties involved. At the time of the third printing, however, Vals bishop received a call from a higher-up in Salt Lake who said that two girls had written a book about Emma Smith and were not to be invited to speak about the topic in sacrament meetings. 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. [31] Smith, History of the Church, 3:25054. 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. 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. To understand her, we have to place her in her own setting and time, not in our own. On March 5, Bishop Edward Partridge reported in Quincy that ice had been running for three days so that no one could cross the Mississippi. Emma was the seventh of nine children. She was told that her calling was to be a support and comfort to . Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. 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. Also, three men were sent to locate possible settlement sites up the Mississippi River in Illinois. She is remembered for her unrelenting strength and ability to overcome hardships. . After a long time, Mother Smith said, We succeeded . [27] Gentry, Latter-day Saints in Northern Missouri, 41419. She worried if John had escaped Missouri or been caught. My mother called my legs pipe stems, and my arms straws! he 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. When the man saw the Saints plight, he told his tenants to go elsewhere, for the Mormons were coming and they had no place to go and he was going to let his apartments to them. He invited John to bring his family up to one of his houses where they could live for a while. One Latter-day Saint and two Missourians were killed. 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. Until that time, Emma had been largely written out of official LDS history. 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. I being barefooted and the ice so rough, I staggered all over. 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. [86] Truman O. Angell Journal, reprinted in Kate B. Carter, comp., Our Pioneer Heritage (Salt Lake City: Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1967), 10:199. She also learned how to cook and be a good host when her parents ran a boarding house. . Emma Smith would make tremendous sacrifices for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for her husband, and for the church. Tears roll down Emily Rennie's face as she recalls a church counsellor telling her she needed to give up her child for adoption because he was conceived out of wedlock one of the most . [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. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Events unfolded rapidly, with men from the neighboring towns staging raids on Nauvoo, trying to once again, drive out the Saints and claim their. [97] Liberty Jail prisoners were Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Lyman Wight, Alexander McRae, and Caleb Baldwin. A decision to continue to gather. [58] Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 8790. . Scores of Church members were living there, including Mary Jane York, William Hickman, John P. Greene, and Wandle Mace. He also owned and rented out ten or twelve small houses he had built. This is why, according to Delewski, the movie "Emma Smith: My Story" shows her outriding Joseph Smith. [9] The men split into two groups to avoid attention. William G. Hartley was a professor emeritus of history at Brigham Young University when this was published. The hymnbook she created included familiar favorites from other denominations and hymns newly written specifically for the Latter-day Saints. Bushman, Richard L., and Jed Woodworth. It is the county seat for Adams County. The streets and city square became corn fields. [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. She comforted other women, instructed them, and helped them to build their own faith. 1 She had been promised in her 1830 revelation: "Thy time shall be given to writing, and to learning much." 2 She probably gathered hymns from her hometown newspaper as well as other papers and denominational hymnals. Emma Smith was born in 1804 in Pennsylvania. to ignore it entirely. a boy whom many Saints felt to be Smiths rightful prophetic heir, The biography Linda and Valeen published with Doubleday several years later. [60] Eliza R. Snow to Esqr. Emma died in Nauvoo on April 30, 1879, at age 75. She then became a temple worker, helping others with their first temple experiences. 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. Another story about bleeding feet involves Nancy Hammer, whose husband Austin was murdered in the Hauns Mill Massacre a few months earlier. [77], On February 23, the Quincy Whig reported that Saints were coming in from all quarters and that for several days they have been crossing at this place, bringing with them the wreck of what they could save from their ruthless oppressors. 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. She would leave her parents in 1830, never to see them again as she and her family were forced to move from place to place to avoid persecution and violence. In jail in Richmond were Parley P. Pratt, Norman Shearer, Darwin Chase, Luman Gibbs, Morris Phelps, and King Follett. 185 Heber J. They kept insisting on constitutional protection . 4, Missouri (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2004), 28889, 361, 402. Joseph Smith presided. She frequently found herself living in the homes of others and just as frequently took complete strangers into her own home. [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. They started in February, but it was bitter cold, and they suffered fearfully, Caroline said. 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.