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. In Daviess County on Caldwell Countys north side, Saints had begun building about 150 log houses at Adam-ondi-Ahman, and as many as 1,500 Saints in total lived in Daviess County. John P. Greene reported that during the months of February and March, the Mormons who were already in Quincy, formed a committee among themselves, to aid to the best of their power the committee of Far West in giving assistance to their suffering brethren. "Women felt comfortable leaving their children in the church nursery across the hall," she writes, "because the caregivers passed background checks, earned a fair wage, and had a well-managed. Tied to her waist were heavy bags containing Josephs papers. ( 6-8 Oct 1866, 36th Semi-Annual Conference, Bowery, G. S. L. City. [112] A Proclamation to the Saints Scattered AbroadGreeting, Times and Seasons, January 15, 1841, 6. Find out how to attend either in person or virtually: The winners of the Church History Museums 12th International Art Competition have been announced, and the artwork is breathtaking. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church. 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. Many of the Saints were converts who had sung hymns before. 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. Are Joseph and Emma Smiths descendants Latter-day Saints? . He told the Butlers to go to his butcher shop and take meat when they wanted some. Mobbers shot cows while girls were milking them. She was often anxious and sad, but she coped. The second day we had to cross a long prairie, and were not able to reach the settlement. 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. 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. Did Emma Smith leave the LDS Church? Joseph Smith and the Latter Day Saints leadership had always asked for help from the US government. To reach safety in Illinois, the closest state, they had to cross the broad Mississippi River, and Quincy had ferryboat facilities. It does not store any personal data. She moved from Pennsylvania to New York to Ohio to Missouri and then Illinois. 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. Joseph Knights son Newel was Joseph Smiths close friendthe Prophet had performed his and Lydias wedding in Kirtland, and he had no followers more loyal than Newel and Lydia. [4], November 1 brought heartbreak for all Saints in Far West. Those refer to the meter used in the hymn text. 4, Missouri (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2004), 28889, 361, 402. [34] Smith, History of the Church, 3:255. 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. [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. A woman should give her greatest priority to her home: her husband, her family, and the opportunity to child-bearing. 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. That morning we crossed over to Quincy, Illinois. Thank you for your insight about and compassion for Emma, and for taking the time to write about and share it with us. She wrote to him that only God knew how hard it was for her to flee her home with her children, abandoning all her possessions and leaving her husband to endure whatever was to come. Because of his position in the Illinois militia, he was often referred to as "Major" Bidamon. [44] Ebenezer Robinson, Items of Personal History of the Editor, Including Some items of Church History Not Generally Known. 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.". Though Joseph died at a young age, Julia was raised by Emma to adulthood. With other refugees, she and six children ages two through nine accompanied their small wagon, pulled by a blind horse. [8] Lavina Fielding Anderson, ed., Lucys Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smiths Family Memoir (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2001), 69192. They pulled out of Far West on February 18, leaving behind a house and farm. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. He crossed the river and found some hundred of the brethren waiting for the new ferry boat to be completed, which was done the next day. Its an outstanding and award-winning biography that was the product of countless hours of primary research. One of her grandchildren, Emma Belle Smith Kennedy, wrote: "Her eyes were brown and sad. [108] The extended Knight familys losses were at least $14,562, or about $320,000 in todays currency. On two additional occasions she was driven from her home at the threat of her life.". [76] Smith, History of the Church, 3:262. [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. One Latter-day Saint and two Missourians were killed. He was not sufficiently educated to write the translation of the plates, so while he translated through the Holy Ghost, she wrote his words. [84] Aroet Hale, Autobiography, typescript, 6, Perry Special Collections. Adams County, organized in 1825, was named after John Quincy Adams, who that year became Americas sixth president, and the town of Quincy received his middle name. a much-debated stair-pushing catfight with Eliza R. Snow. He sealed that witness with his life. See discussion in Linda King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery. We had not the privilege of hunting our cattle and horses.[14] Newel Knight noted that because the Saints were unarmed, they became prey for small parties of armed men insulting our women, driving off our stock, and plundering. To him it seemed as though all hell was aroused to do us injury.[15] Newels cousin Reed Peck said that some horses, wagons and much other property were stolen from the Mormons by some of the militia who were villains enough to plunder.[16] By late November, most crops around Far West were unharvested, and potatoes still in the ground were frose solid. Soldiers rifled through homes, Albert Rockwood said, and our sheep & hogs, & horses [are] drove off before our eyes by the Missourians who come in small companies well armed.[17], In neighboring Daviess County, Missouri militia ordered all the Saints out and gave William Huntington and eleven other Mormons four weeks to round up the Latter-day Saints livestock, wagons, and personal property. [87], It is not known how many Saints temporarily took refuge in Quincy. 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. Each comment will be reviewed by a staff member before it will appear on the site. Holbrook left behind his wife Nancy, who a week later gave birth to their fourth child, and three small children ages seven, five, and two. 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. When the two authors began piecing together Emmas life, there was only one small manila folder about her in the entire LDS Archives. 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]. 3 The process, like so many other endeavors in her life, Social conversation and discretion were traits for which she was well-known. In response, when Saints reached safety they began filling out petitions for redress and having them notarized by justices of the peace and court clerks in two counties in Iowa and ten in Illinois. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our. Conflicts between church members and neighbors also continued to escalate, and eventually Young made the decision to relocate the church to the Salt Lake Valley. The family filled the cart with corn. Not for Daniel Stillwell and Martha Payne Jones Thomas and their family. You might also enjoy Emma Smith: My Storyor Emma and Lucy. 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. At Quincy, where some Church members lived, John taught school for a short period. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. [55] The shoes belonged to the oldest boy, Morgan. [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. 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. Understanding how early Saints worked earnestly to build up the Church helps us better appreciate the value of their work. Thats likely why its content was acceptable for the Ensign nearly a century after the Church had begun distancing itself from polygamy. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Samuel said they traveled the most secluded route they could find. The refinement, the charity of our age, will not brook it. [114] Close Friends as Witnesses: Joseph Smith and the Joseph Knight Families, in Joseph Smith: The Prophet, the Man, ed. Following Joseph's murder, Emma refused to go west with the Saints. [100], In the morning of April 22, Dimick Huntington, at Emma Smiths request, went down to the rivers edge to inquire about news from the west, and spotted the Prophet. 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. Emma and Josephs descendants grew up separated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When her stepparents determined they could no longer care for her, the 8-year-old orphan found her way back to Emma. Emma, as she often did, was searching the home for Joseph when he and a girl were missing. These may have been given as payment for teaching. Sister Emma cried and said that they [thieves] had taken all of her bed clothes, except one quilt and blanket, and what could she do? So Caroline and other sisters told Emma to send hers to Joseph, which she did, and they gave her replacement bedding for her family. They threatened to send the committee to hell jumping and put daylight through them. The men gathered up what they could and hastily fled from Far West within the hour. Joseph Smith. According to the official narrative, Emma stayed behind in Nauvoo rather than joining the majority of the Saints in Utah because she was a widow caring for five young children and Josephs aging mother, not because she believed that, as she expressed it at the time, the Twelve have made bogus of it.. She had to provide for the family after being deprived of the corn they had grown on their farm, which vigilantes had prevented them from harvesting. Joseph and Emma apparently discussing the nastiness of cleaning up from cleaning up spit on the . In History of the Church Vol. They developed communities, farms, roads, livestock herds, commerce, and trade in parts of Adam and Hancock counties, Illinois, and in Lee County, Iowa. The topic of this video has been pro. . The next morning our beds were covered with snow, Lucy said, and they were unable to light a fire. . Those who hired him found him to be the best employee theyd ever hired. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Both screamed loudly, and Caroline ran back to aid them. To add an RSC website shortcut to your home screen, open the website in the Safari browser. 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. 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). But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. . Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company, 2011. Throughout the years, she has remained a complex topic for both Mormons and non-Mormons. She would lose many of her children. Abraham agreed to drive the Butlers wagon and two-horse team for Caroline, and Caroline let the Smoots put their baggage in the Butler wagon. [42] Jesse and Whittaker, Albert Perry Rockwood Journal, 34. Whatever the situation, Emma eventually found herself unable to cope with polygamy. 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. But only three of the two dozen adults in Knight family network faltered. He was the son of Joseph and Lucy Mack Smith. "On three of these moves she had to leave behind most or all of her furniture. In that revelation she was designed the "Elect Lady" which Joseph later explained means one elected "to preside.". 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. Twas a very cold and blustering night. They put clothes over the wagon tongue to make a tent and put their beds underneath. Im guessing something to do with the meter, but I cant figure it out! The Atonement of Christ Redeems Us from the Fall. . He remained her companion until her death on 30 April 1879 at the age of 75 in Nauvoo. View our community standards here. Another attraction was that unsettled lands were available in the vicinity. 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. in getting one single wagon to convey beds, clothing, and provisions for our family, and luggage. She handled nearly every trial with grace. They ran out of provisions and became so weak they couldnt continue, so they held a council and prayed to know where to hunt. The following article was originally publishedin December 2015. No one could have recognized them as the prosperous Yankees they had once been in New York before embracing Mormonism. The first night, our wagon tipped over into the creek. Unlike the majority of Latter Day Saints, Emma Smith did not follow Brigham Youngs suggestion that the Latter Day Saints leave Nauvoo and settle in the Salt Lake Valley in present-day Utah. He referred to a handmade chart that showed the homes Emma Smith had during her 17-year marriage to Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith. They organized into a company with Rich as captain. As was common in their day, the early Saints sang the printed lyrics to familiar tunes. This remarkable event is free, but space is limited. 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. Dirty smoking school of prophets. . Snow was six inches deep. She found them both bleeding badly. 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.. Refugees moved as individuals, by families, or in small clusters of wagons whenever they were ready. The old man for whom John taught school treated them generously. 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.. He instructed them to have the women pray about the request. What did Emma Emma do for the LDS Church? This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. the management of the affairs of the Church devolves on you, that is the Twelve . And the last words out of Brighams mouth, and he died before Emma, were Joseph,' Elggren said. the support materials for the Joseph Smith manual. Their hospitality stemmed more from pity than anything else. A day or two later, a ferry finally dodged through the ice and brought the women and children across.[59]. The group then included one man, two women, and children ages seven, four, three, and one. John and his son Orrice walked. Bishop Partridge felt the poor could be better served if scattered in various communities and not gathered in one place. Brigham Young, remembering the covenant he asked the Saints in Far West to make to help move those in need, had members similarly covenant when preparing to leave Nauvoo for the West. Your email address will not be published. On the Joseph Smith Papers website, readers can turn through the original hymnbook page by page. 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 . The hymnbook she created included familiar favorites from other denominations and hymns newly written specifically for the Latter-day Saints. Her funeral was held May 2, 1879, in Nauvoo with RLDS Church minister Mark Hill Forscutt preaching the sermon. [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. Your email address will not be published. To his military leaders, it decreed, The Mormons must be treated as enemies and must be exterminated or driven from the state, if necessary for the public good.[2] Four days later, that order reached Church leaders and members in northwest Missouri. The 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.. We will look forward to reading more of your work. She became the first woman to receive the temple endowment involving the making of sacred covenants with the Savior. She joined in his efforts to protect them from thieves and acted on occasion as his scribe. In July 1830 the Lord outlined her mission, in a revelation: Thou art an elect lady, whom I have called. . If you look in the back of an LDS hymnbook, there is a whole section talking about meter as well. When morning came, he and Abraham Smoot crossed to Quincy, leaving their families with the wagon. Her heartaches were very real and would have been a challenge to any woman, particularly without the lens of understanding time brings. 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. [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.
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