Another story about bleeding feet involves Nancy Hammer, whose husband Austin was murdered in the Hauns Mill Massacre a few months earlier. She would smile with her lips, but to me, as small as I was, I never saw the brown eyes smile. Question: Why did Emma Smith and Brigham Young dislike one another? She found them both bleeding badly. . First in Ohio and then three times in Missouri, they had practiced starting over. 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. 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. [33] They sent agents eastward to deposit corn for Saints to use along the way, to contract for ferries, and to ensure security for the travelers. Saddleback Church doubles down on support for female pastors, Mormonisms slow shift away from demonizing working mothers, Faith leaders urge Biden to sign executive order for reparations study by Juneteenth, For many congregations, wiping out medical debt has become a popular calling, More Jesus, less touching: 14 changes to the Mormon temple endowment ceremony, Real Housewife Heather Gay pens a juicy ex-Mormon memoir, How to stay Mormon after a faith crisis (if staying is what you want), Copyright 2020, Religion News Service. [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. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. [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. The city cemeterys tombstones marking where some two hundred Saints are buried are long gone, and the site has become farmland. While in Liberty Jail, Joseph Smith had instructed them to compile statements and affidavits about their losses and sufferings with the design of securing redress from the federal government for the losses they suffered in Missouri (Doctrine and Covenants 123:113). Emma Smith is one of the most fascinating characters of the Restoration. The Thomases complied. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1976 reprint), 3:210. She had a home and her children and she just had to carry on the best she could. [3] LaMar C. Berrett and Max H. Parkin, Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites, vol. He looked at Emma Smith's decision to remain in Nauvoo through the eyes of a therapist. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. These may have been given as payment for teaching. appoint the oldest of those of the Twelve, who were first appointed, to be the president of your quorum., Brigham Young was the senior Apostle, hence the presiding Church officer on the ground. 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.. Joseph and Emma apparently discussing the nastiness of cleaning up from cleaning up spit on the . [14] Autobiography of Anson Call, typescript, 13, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University. After Brigham Young assumed a leadership role, he and his supporters considered Joseph Smith's physical property as property of the church. Twas a very cold and blustering night. They put clothes over the wagon tongue to make a tent and put their beds underneath. 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. However, a significant number had taken refuge in St. Louis, a Missouri city that became an oasis of tolerance for Mormons. Yet I knew little of these things, for our branch of the family was far removed from our Smith heritage. While locals let the suffering Saints crowd into farms, sheds, huts, and tents, they judged the refugees to be generally of the poorer and more illiterate classes.[78] On February 25, Quincy leaders met and adopted measures to provide relief. Emma was baptized in Colesville, New York, on June 28, 1830. Many of them started from scratch and built up religious communities in Illinois and Iowa. How old was Emma Smith when Joseph Smith died? Brigham Young and his family, with several others, Kimball said. So, what materials that existed were unfair or inaccurate. 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. Their chief settlement was Far West in Caldwell County. . A Collection of Sacred Hymns for the Church of the Latter Day Saints was published in 1835. Thank you for your insight about and compassion for Emma, and for taking the time to write about and share it with us. Speaking of Smith's "eternity-only" marriages to already married women, the church writes, " These sealings may also be explained by Joseph's reluctance to enter plural marriage because of the. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. The poem praised those Who have put forth your liberal hand to meet / The urgent wants of the oppressd and poor! In 1841 Joseph and Hyrum Smith and Sidney Rigdon, the First Presidency, issued a proclamation of appreciation, saying, It would be impossible to enumerate all those who in our time of deep distress, nobly came forward to our relief and like the good Samaritan poured oil into our wounds and contributed liberally to our necessities as the citizens of Quincy en masse and the people of Illinois generally seemed to emulate each other in the labor of love.[112], In Quincys Washington Park stands a simple historical marker erected in 1976 to memorialize the Saints exodus. . The episode seems to have been a family quarrel between Joseph and Emmatwo mortals living in something of a fishbowl, under enormous pressures and strains. [13], During November 1838, Latter-day Saint settlements in Caldwell and Daviess counties endured a military occupation. Her family was religious, devoutly Christian. We all just made it on the opposite bank when the ice started to snap and pile up in great heaps, and the water broke thru! Emma did, from time to time, offer approval of specific marriages. Which is another way of saying that a particular view of history does not suit institutional needs in the moment. Shortly after the doctrine of baptism for the dead was introduced in August 1840, Emma was baptized on behalf of several of her deceased family members, including her parents, an aunt, and one of her sisters. In 1842, when the Ladies' Relief Society of Nauvoo was formed as a . [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. 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). Emma's brothers and sisters were all named after family members, either on her mother's side or her father's. She seems, among other things, to have been worried about providing for her children, as well as protecting them from the violence which had claimed Joseph. Taking a direction shown him by the Spirit, Samuel and two others found a wigwam where an Indian woman baked cakes for all the company. You've read 0 of 5 of todays most popular posts. [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. It's dangerous and it ruins lives, even if the members don't understand that that's what's happening to them. In the meantime, Emma assumed that because these men represented the Twelve they acted on direct orders from Brigham. [36] With Joseph Smiths approval, leaders in Far West decided to sell Church properties in Jackson County to help raise money for the exodus. At Far West on February 22, Eliza R. Snow reported that a man had just arrived from Illinois who had counted 220 wagons between Far West and the Mississippi.[60] If that figure is accurate, and if wagons helped transport an average of four people each, then the man had passed about a thousand Saints on the road. She, like others who knew him well, saw an innate intelligence, a willingness to work very hard, and great integrity. While living at the Morley farm near Kirtland, Emma Smith gives birth to twins, who die shortly after birth. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. She made an understandable effort to keep some of the property and this put her at odds with Brigham Young, since it was unclear which of those properties belonged to the church and which to her. 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. [1] William G. Hartley, Almost Too Intolerable a Burthen: The Winter Exodus from Missouri, 18381839, Journal of Mormon History 18 (Fall 1992): 640. [62] Eliza Roxey (Snow) Smith, Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1884), 45. During Sunday dinner on November 5, Joseph became ill, rushed to the door, and vomited so violently that he dislocated his jaw. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Emma Hale Smith was the seventh of nine children. 16, Lee Library, 67; Joseph Smith, History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ed. [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. Her family was fairly well-off financially, and so Emma was well-educated for a woman of her time. Why did Emma Smith leave the LDS Church? Her mother-in-law, Lucy Mack Smith, said of her: I have never seen a woman in my life, who would endure every species of fatigue and hardship, from month to month, and from year to year, with that unflinching courage, zeal, and patience, which she has ever done; for I know that which she has had to endure she has breasted the storms of persecution, and buffeted the rage of men and devils, which would have borne down almost any other woman.. 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. 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]. [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. The authors were alarmed, though Linda was comforted by her stake president, who told her, You are my parishioner, and I will see you through this no matter how long it takes.. He was not sufficiently educated to write the translation of the plates, so while he translated through the Holy Ghost, she wrote his words. If Brigham Young had one constant character trait, it was his absolute faithfulness to Joseph Smith. [98] That summer the prisoners who had been at Richmond escaped confinement, except King Follett. Mobbers shot cows while girls were milking them. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. In conversation, he appears intelligent and candid, and divested of all malicious thought and feeling towards his relentless persecutors.[102], Joseph Smith quickly finalized plans for a new gathering place for the homeless Saints upriver at Commerce, soon to be renamed Nauvoo. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Five of her children survived to adulthood: Julia, Joseph III, Freddie, Alexander and David Hyrum. 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. "Of these 13 locations, only four of them could be called her own," Delewski said. When the time came for Joseph Smith to retrieve the golden plates hidden in ancient times by an angela book today called the Book of Mormonshe went with him, praying at the wagon while he went to open the box. 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.". Emma and Joseph's descendants grew up separated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It turned out that such calls had gone out to bishops and stake presidents in several states. 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. A number of teams arrived from Illinois to help move the last families. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The group then included one man, two women, and children ages seven, four, three, and one. They reached the bank of the Mississippi in eight days and found the river frozen over. 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. The temple site has been salvaged and given modern landscaping, but no houses remain. Joseph and Emma Smith's sorrow over this matter was, for the most part, very private, according to Delewski. [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. 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. Emma knew better, but she also knew that a polygamous history would not serve her needs. By age 40, Emma had lost her husband, her mother and father, her father-in-law, three brothers-in-law and five children. To reach safety in Illinois, the closest state, they had to cross the broad Mississippi River, and Quincy had ferryboat facilities. [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. This book contains copies of the individual and group petitions and provides excellent explanations about each of the petition drives and how the petitions were used by the Church to seek redress for its members. It was difficult, dramatic, sometimes harrowing, and only partly organized. Brigham Youngs family was also stranded at Huntsville, having too many goods for their wagon to haul. [106] Johnson, ed., Mormon Redress Petitions, xix. The Missouri Arguss editor argued incorrectly on December 20, 1838, that they cannot be driven beyond the limits of the statethat is certain. [64] History of Zera Pulsipher As Written by Himself, typescript, 1516, Perry Special Collections. For more coverage of Sunstone sessions, visit MormonTimes.com and go to the "Studies & Doctrine tab," then click on "doctrine discussions." Its an improvement that shes discussed at all. [27] Gentry, Latter-day Saints in Northern Missouri, 41419. [11] Charles C. Rich, A Sketch that I was an eye witness to in the state of Missouri, holograph, Charles C. Rich Papers, Church History Library, Salt Lake City. 1981), 23031. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Although she never lost her faith in the Mormon religion and in the sacred nature of the Book of Mormon, she had no testimony of Brigham Young and other polygamous LDS leaders. February 11, 1843, is promoted as another date when Emma may have become aware of Joseph's plurality. 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. [70], Saints chose to go to Quincy for several reasons. When her son became an adult and headed up the Reorganized Church, as it was then known, she joined. [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. The story of how the word of wisdom came to be is commonly told by the church and fairly simple (see this video), Emma was tired of cleaning up the tobacco after the School of the Prophets met together in her house. It was the anniversary of the death of the twins she lost in Kirtland. 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. Fanny lived in the Smiths' house with Emma, which caused much tension. By October 1839, King Follett had his trial, and because the charges of robbery were unsubstantiated, he was set free. Only his mother and sisters had shoes, but these wore out and became almost useless before they reached Illinois. She was told that her calling was to be a support and comfort to . A few days later, the horses ran away. Mormon Church Admits Founder Joseph Smith Had Up To 40 Wives : The Two-Way : NPR. Joseph Smith presided. 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. The large body of displaced Saints became an economic force and political presence in Illinois and Iowa Territory. "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. One Latter-day Saint and two Missourians were killed. They left Far West on February 14. However, the LDS church cites Fanny as Smith's first plural wife, noting that the pair married in Kirtland, Ohio in the mid-1830s, when Smith would have been about 30 himself. There are several reasons Emma stayed in Nauvoo after Joseph Smith's death, but a few in particular stand out. Brigham also doubtless considered Emma dishonest and a liar because she continued to insist that her husband had never taught the doctrine of plural marriage. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Why did Emma Smith leave the LDS Church? Modern DNA has ruled out all children Fran Brodie had proposed were his through other marriages. President Sidney Rigdon, Bishop Edward Partridge, and a few others felt the Saints could avoid problems like the ones they had in Missouri by spreading out rather than gathering together into Latter-day Saint communities. [44] Ebenezer Robinson, Items of Personal History of the Editor, Including Some items of Church History Not Generally Known. After the church dispersed in 1844, those folks who did not head west with Brigham Young kind of scattered until April 6, 1860 when Joseph's son, Joseph Smith III, was ordained prophet-president (Hence the name Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of LDS) The church did not bring into our beliefs doctrines dealing with the practice of secret . Louis. But the youngest wife sealed to Smith was only 14 years old when she married him . he spoke to her in that council in a very severe manner, and she never said one word in reply. The following article was originally publishedin December 2015. "Some people might say that something about her changed, and that is why she did not come to Salt Lake Valley," Delewski said. [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. 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. Her family had a fair amount of money. Learning that Missouri militia were looking for them, they set out for Iowa thrugh the wilderness, enduring snow and cold with little to eat. Among the twenty-eight men in this group were Samuel Smith and Phineas and Lorenzo Young. This most likely caused people to behave differently than they might have in gentler circumstances. 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. 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. Joseph quickly shut the door when he heard Emma coming, but Emma kept knocking and called out Eliza's . [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. On horseback, he, fellow Kentuckian David Lewis, and Elias Higbee endured December snows, cold, and meager food to reach Quincy, Illinois. Emma Smith was born in 1804 in Pennsylvania. 3 The process, like so many other endeavors in her life, . Elder Young, when his life seemed in danger, left Far West for Illinois on February 14, but Elder Kimball stayed behind to help with the removals.[38]. [26] Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 8586. Why didnt Emma Smith go west with the Saints? 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. On October 27, 1838, three days after Missouri and Mormon militias engaged in the Battle of Crooked River, Governor Boggs issued his infamous extermination order. Many nights the floors, upstairs and down, were covered with beds so closely it was impossible to set a foot anywhere without stepping on someone elses bed.[75], Emma Smith and the children arrived on February 15. Joseph was susceptible to vomiting anyway. 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.. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Accordingly, our goods were taken out. They waited until another team came for them. Then three hundred militiamen escorted them away to face trial and prison. [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. Why did Emma Smith leave the LDS 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. A Comfort unto My Servant, Joseph. Women of faith in the latter days. ", Delewski said, "If someone with Emma's experience came to me, I would talk about these deaths and see what effects sorrow had had upon her. [59] Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 90.