"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. Three days later they reached De Witt, where they sold a property deed and bought a yoke of steers for $25 and a wagon for $30. Emma: People say all kinds of things, but Julia I know better. 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. "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. Her family was fairly well-off financially, and so Emma was well-educated for a woman of her time. In May that year the Mormon History Association held their annual meetings there. Emma, be patient, you shall have all of your children, he assured her gently. Six of 11 children had died: Alvin, twins Thadeus and Louisa, Joseph Murdock, Don Carlos and Thomas. 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]. 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. There are several reasons Emma stayed in Nauvoo after Joseph Smith's death, but a few in particular stand out. In the middle of the 19th century it was common, according to Delewski, for a mother to lose more than one child to the birthing process or disease. Joseph Smiths parents. It was that she hated polygamy and flatly refused to countenance its presence among the Mormon people. The Apostles group arrived at Far West soon after midnight on April 26. Emma Smith's personality and background, her almost nomadic search for a home, the loss of so many she loved and the stresses of plural marriage all played a part in her decision to remain in Nauvoo. Whats especially interesting to me about the unfolding historiography of Emma Smith is that she herself would have been happy with the disappearance of polygamy and Josephs other wives from Mormonisms official party line. Nov. 10, 2014. [101] Cited in Baugh, We Took Our Change of Venue, 52. For example, in the support materials for the Joseph Smith manual, polygamy is once again nowhere mentioned. She finally gained a sense of stability and a place to raise her children when she moved into the Mansion House in Nauvoo. She was left alone with her five children, including her adopted daughter and four sons. . Following Josephs murder, Emma refused to go west with the Saints. 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]. They formed the first wave of the exodus. She later married Major Lewis Bidamon, who had supported the Mormons during the trials, but was not a member. John Lowe Butler, thirty, and wife Caroline, twenty-six, converts in Kentucky three years earlier, lived in Mirabile just south of Far West with their four children. But in a series of new essays, it describes the now-banned practice in detail. 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. They appear, so far as we have seen, to be a mild, inoffensive people, who could not have given cause for the persecution they have met with. City leaders and residents suddenly had to deal with a humanitarian crisis thrust upon them. This remarkable event is free, but space is limited. 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. She was well-educated and taught school. [114] Close Friends as Witnesses: Joseph Smith and the Joseph Knight Families, in Joseph Smith: The Prophet, the Man, ed. By 1838 Quincy had a strong population base of sixteen hundred residents, mostly Germans and New Englanders, and several industries and businesses, including its share of coopers and cabinet-makers, saddlers and leather-makers, and a pork packing and meat processing center. Quincy was on its way to prosperity. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. "On three of these moves she had to leave behind most or all of her furniture. Emma was the seventh of nine children. John was one of dozens of Mormon militiamen who fled from Missouri in November. [80] The Mormons, Quincy Whig, March 2, 1839. Emma Smith is one of the most fascinating characters of the Restoration. 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. . 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. This website is not owned by or affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). They kept insisting on constitutional protection . 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. They had fulfilled the commandment. . Both routes merged southwest of the town of Palymra, twenty miles south of Quincy. Because the Missouri militia wanted to arrest him, he fled from home on November 2, leaving Caroline and the children to fend as best they could. May 1831 New York branches arrive in Ohio. She worried if John had escaped Missouri or been caught. "Joseph did not marry a wilting violet," Delewski said. They had a reasonably good relationship despite these challenges. On January 16, the imprisoned First Presidency sent instructions to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young that said, Inasmuch as we are in prison, . [52] Heber C. Kimball Journals, 18381839, in Porter, Brigham Young and the Twelve, 134. Her husband was arrested, essentially for being Mormon, leaving her alone to care for her children. The Saints exodus from Missouri took place mostly during winter and involved four main arenas: Far West, Missouri; Quincy, Illinois; a road network between the two cities; and the west shore mudflats across the Mississippi River from Quincy. 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. When Elizabeth died in childbirth, young Elizabeth Agnes was leftwith her stepfather and, soon after, a new stepmother. "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. A Quincy Heritage Celebration was held July 24, 1999. [32] The committee surveyed the needs and weighed requests for help. [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 cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Turley, Richard E., and Brittany A. Chapman. In 1888 a Lyman Wight cabin was the only building standing in Ahman, and by 1970 it was totally gone.[124]. If Brigham Young had one constant character trait, it was his absolute faithfulness to Joseph Smith. In intense cold, Lydia recalled, they sometimes scraped away snow beside the wagon so they could put down their beds at night. He never charged them rent. After Joseph Smith died, Emma Smith moved away from Nauvoo for about six months before returning. [25] William F. Cahoon Petition in Johnson, Mormon Redress Petitions, 15253. Scores of Church members were living there, including Mary Jane York, William Hickman, John P. Greene, and Wandle Mace. [71], Quincy is on the east bank of the Mississippi on a limestone bluff 125 feet above the river. For example, did Charles Wesley have any songs in her hymnal? ( 6-8 Oct 1866, 36th Semi-Annual Conference, Bowery, G. S. L. City. [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. 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. [41] Jesse and Whittaker, Albert Perry Rockwood Journal, 34. 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 . But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. 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. It is the county seat for Adams County. However, the hymns Emma selected were particularly special. But the youngest wife sealed to Smith was only 14 years old when she married him . 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. " Delewski said. Emma served as a scribe during his first efforts to translate the Book of Mormon. Taken from The Return, typescript, 243, Perry Special Collections. [27] That left the Saints no choice but to leave Missouri as soon as possible. In a remarkable twist of irony, her version of history is increasingly the LDS Churchs as well. She found them both bleeding badly. It is significant to note that the revelation instructed the entire presidency of the Church to leave Kirtland. My God is it you Bro. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Though there probably was an argument, the poisoning accusation was unfounded. . Joseph taught what God revealed, nothing more. But fairly soon after that the Saints were asked to leave Jackson County, so the new temple didn't get built. 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. He could find no way to bring the Butlers wagon across the river, so he spent the night with his family. 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. Emma eventually forced them to leave, unable to bear the pain of having Joseph's plural wives . These may have been given as payment for teaching. Emma Hale Smith was the seventh of nine children. When morning came, he and Abraham Smoot crossed to Quincy, leaving their families with the wagon. 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. One of the materials in it was a pamphlet that said Emma could be forgiven for her sins because she had lost her mind. Emma and her family were forced to leave the state with the majority of Latter . As one said, those who moved during the winter traveled in colde weather thinly clad and porly furnished with provisions.[40] Women without their husbands had harder times of it than those with husbands. Whatever the situation, Emma eventually found herself unable to cope with polygamy. 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. Babbitt would make Brigham's requests to Emma sound abrupt and thoughtless, and her responses to him selfish and defensive.[5]. Delewski also explored the effect the practice of plural marriage had on Emma and Joseph Smith's relationship. There can be no question, though, that she made sacrifices far beyond what most Mormons would be asked to make, and that she experienced more than her fair share of suffering. 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. Green, a Quincy innkeeper and cousin by marriage to Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, encouraged the Apostles and other Saints to come there. 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. 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. These souls, by and large, were poor, bedraggled, and sickly. During the exodus, Truman Angells wife Elizabeth, already ill, took a cold upon cold and was expected to die. 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. [46], During February the migration became more intense. 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. Here Samuel had hired a house and we moved into it, with four other families.[53]. For more on Emma Smith, check out the new acclaimed film Jane and Emma. In order to do so, she crossed the frozen Mississippi river with two children clinging to her skirts and two in her arms. The streets and city square became corn fields. [76] They moved in with Judge John Cleveland and his Latter-day Saint wife, Sarah, four miles east of Quincy. Donate to us by shopping at Amazon at no extra cost to you. 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. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. 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. My family . She comforted other women, instructed them, and helped them to build their own faith. So she made a deal with Abraham O. Smoot and Martha, his bride of three months. [47] Dated entries in An Abridged Record of the Life of John Murdock, Taken from His Journal by Himself, typescript, n.p., n.d., Perry Special Collections. At other times, she found she could not handle the choices she had made, much as Sarah in the Old Testament first encouraged her husband to marry her handmaiden and then discovered it was more than she was prepared to handle. Later, when Brigham Young was the prophet, the practice would be refined so that the first wife had to approve each subsequent wife, but as we also see in the Bible, refinements of new practices often come over time as prophets continue to pray for guidance. She taught school before she met Joseph Smith. . Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Early Life and Marriage of Emma Smith. We loaded up our little efects into a wagon and with one small pair of stears we started out with five children [ages twelve, nine, seven, four, and two] in our family and only one pair of shoes amongst them, Daniel wrote. Her family had a fair amount of money. [49] Linda King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery, Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1984), 79. [60] Eliza R. Snow to Esqr. The response, signed by Elias Higbee and John P. Greene, stated that if we should say what our present wants are, it would be beyond all calculation; as we have been robbed of our corn, wheat, horses, cattle, cows, hogs, wearing apparel, houses and homes. Twenty widows were entirely destitute. [28] Greene, Expulsion of the Saints from Missouri, 8. "Of these 13 locations, only four of them could be called her own," Delewski said. They say father was a fallen prophet. Delewski thinks she may have been the most promising of the Hale children because she had a rare additional year of schooling. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". One of her grandchildren, Emma Belle Smith Kennedy, wrote: "Her eyes were brown and sad. [69] Kenney, ed., Wilford Woodruffs Journal, 1:322. [6], In the exodus, Mormon militiamen were the first to leaveor rather escape. More than 1,400 descendants of 1839 exiled Mormons came to Quincy and, attired like pioneers, represented their ancestors and walked across the Memorial Bridge to reach Quincy from Missouri. A number of teams arrived from Illinois to help move the last families. A decision to continue to gather. Im interested in seeing which traditions she drew from. Fanny lived in the Smiths' house with Emma, which caused much tension. Did Emma Smith leave the LDS Church? That morning we crossed over to Quincy, Illinois. Under these conditions, one could reasonably conclude that she did not travel west in order to avoid losing any more of her children. Smith came and consecrated the Temple Lot in June 1831. [18] Diaries of William Huntington, typescript, in Miscellaneous Mormon Diaries, vol. [87], It is not known how many Saints temporarily took refuge in Quincy. [72] Roberts, Comprehensive History, 2:3. Emma Smith The essentialeven phenomenalrole Emma played in bringing forth the Book of Mormon has been re-examined on many fronts. On February 7 and 8, both men visited Liberty Jail, then returned to Far West. Emma: Because it was the price of faith. Learn how . They asked a committee of Latter-day Saints to provide them facts about the needy. 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. At Huntsville, the driver said his horses could not go on, so the Knights unhitched the wagon and camped. In order to understand this, we need to look at her personality and what she experienced prior to the death of Joseph.". Why didnt Emma Smith go west with the Saints? [57] Quoted in Lyman O. Littlefield, Reminiscences of Latter-day Saints (Logan, UT: Journal Company Printers, 1888), 7273. Young put on board some of his goods into the wagon carrying the Knights, and both families resumed their journeys.