Emma Smith

I've been fascinated with Emma Smith since I joined the Church. Lately though, I've been trying to read up on her as much as I can. I go through different phases when it comes to whatever my fascination is.

A couple months go, I was all in to President David O McKay, so I read the book, The Rise of Modern Mormonism. Great book.
After that, it was the history of Blacks in the Church.
Then, it was Costco oatmeal raisin cookies.
Now, it's Emma.

I served my mission in Independence, Missouri. One of, if not the most important place in early Church History. Missouri was the place where the pioneers , including Joseph and Emma got to live the longest. One of the things I am most grateful for in my life, besides my cool black leather boots, is that I got to serve my mission there. It was awesome to be surrounded every single day by that kind of history.

At the Visitors Center, we had copies of letters that the Prophet and his wife wrote back and forth to each other. I thought it was kind of weird to be reading their love letters, but it does give you a pretty good idea of their relationship.





Joseph boarded with Emma's parents for a while in 1825, while he worked for a company that dug for gold. Her dad wasn't eager to see her marry Joseph because he didn't consider this job legit, so he opposed the marriage. They were really goo goo for each other though, and off they ran. They would be estranged from Emma's parents, the Hales, for a period of time. Soon after, the Restoration would be ushered in.....


I have always looked up to Emma because she was such a strong lady. She not only helped Joseph in his translation of the brass plates, she was the first Relief Society President. Relief Society is currently the largest woman's organization in the world. She endured what would be to many, an unbearable number of trials. Imagine being married to someone that so many people hated, and thought was basically out of his mind.

They were driven from several homes between 1830-1839 (New York, Ohio, Missouri, Quincy Illinois, I'm sure I've forgotten to mention a couple places), had them raided in the middle of the night, even burned down. The worst of all, was that seven out of their eleven children died before reaching adulthood.

I've always wondered if Emma ever hoped that Joseph would just stop with the whole restoring the true Church thing, and just settle down somewhere, and be low profile. She was long suffering to say the least.

In 1839, The Saints left (to put it mildly) Missouri, and eventually settled in Nauvoo.
From what I learned, Emma considered Nauvoo home, and was very happy there. There were many friendly non Mormons there who helped the Church members. The Saints were rather successful there, for a while....



In June 1844, the publication of the Nauvoo Expositor began by disaffected former church members. The press was destroyed by the town marshal on orders from the town council (of which Joseph was a member). That set into motion the events that ultimately led to Joseph's arrest and incarceration in the jail in Carthage. While he was there, a mob of about 200 armed men stormed Carthage Jail in the late afternoon of June 27, 1844. Gun shots killed both Joseph and his brother Hyrum.

After the Prophet was murdered in 1844 in Nauvoo, it appears, that was all she could take.

No matter if you believe that Joseph was really a prophet or not, he was a very likable person, and well loved; with the exception of the angry mobsters, of course.


Emma wanted William Marks, president of the church's central stake, to assume the church presidency, but Marks favored Sidney Rigdon for the role. After a meeting on August 6, a congregation of the church voted that the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles should become the new First Presidency of the Church. Brigham Young, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, then became de facto president of the church in Nauvoo.



Brigham Young was the opposite of Joseph Smith in many ways. He was often referred to as the 'Lion of the Lord.' He ruled with an iron fist, I guess you could say. It was necessary at the time. The early Church members loved Joseph Smith, and his death was demoralizing. A lot of people were ready to throw their hands up and give up. In rolls President Young saying that the Church would move west ward, after it being quite clear that they couldn't peacefully live in Nauvoo any longer. Many, including Emma, would not go. I don't blame her at all. Emma's refusal to go west was an insult to President Young though, and they parted not on the best of terms. Brigham was quoted many times saying unflattering things about Emma.

Nearly two years after the westward move, a close friend and non-Mormon, Major Lewis C. Bidamon, proposed marriage and became Emma's second husband on December 23, 1847. Interestingly, that would have been Joseph's 42 birthday. Happy Birthday Joseph.

Bidamon moved into the Mansion House and became stepfather to Emma's children. Emma and Bidamon attempted to operate a store and to continue using their large house as a hotel, but Nauvoo had too few residents and visitors to make either venture very profitable. Emma and her family remained rich in real estate but poor in cold hard cash.

Emma and her children continued to live as unaffiliated Latter Day Saints. She never officially left the LDS Church. Nor, did she receive baptism into the RLDS Church. I think Oliver Cowdry baptized her years before, and that remained in affect. The RLDS Church considered that baptism valid.

Many Latter Day Saints believed that her eldest son, Joseph Smith III, would one day be called to take his father's place. Knowing the dangers and hardships firsthand, Emma may have preferred a different path for her son. However, when he reported receiving a calling from God to take his father's place as head of a "New Organization" of the Latter Day Saint church, she supported his decision. On April 6, 1860, Joseph was sustained as president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, adding the word Reorganized to the name in 1872, and later became the Community of Christ.

The idea was that the office of Prophet could only go through the Smith bloodline. Several years ago, the RLDS Church ran out of male Smiths, so some random guy named Grant McMurray became the first non Smith President. I guess you guys were wrong, hmmm?

That reminds me, once at the Visitors Center, some wild lady came in yelling all of this anti stuff. Among other things, she was going off about the LDS Church being a false Church because of the Smith blood line thing. The next Prophet was meant to be Joseph III.

"Who's the President of your Church now?", I asked.
" Ehhh, Oh.." said crazy lady.
Zing.

It's not uncommon for Church members to say negative things about Emma. It's ridiculous if you ask me. Elder Coleman of the Seventy came to our mission. In a talk he addressed the attitude of certain members toward Emma. He quoted Elder Scott, as saying,
" You can not insult a man's wife, without insulting her husband too."

Bam.

We know that Emma's calling to be the Prophet's wife was divine, and that she as well assisted in Restoring the Gospel. See Doctrine and Covenants 25

I often shared that with members who would come in for a tour during their Church History tour. Most people came to Missouri, after being in Nauvoo where there are many RLDS members. They often came in saying negative things about her.

Joseph once said that he'd "go to Hell to be with Emma"
Brigham Young years later, said he'd have to go there to be with her.
I do not believe that that is true. If anyone earned her spot in the Celestial Kingdom, it was Emma.

Anyway, she has long been a hero of mine, right up there with Elizabeth Smart, and Tami Roman from Basketball Wives.