why did emma smith leave the lds church why did emma smith leave the lds church

The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". On March 21 Wilford Woodruff said the apostolic company passed through Huntsville and found the roads were full of Saints that were fleeing Missouri.[93] On April 24 they met three members of the Committee of Removal who had just been driven from Far West, who also joined them. Samuel said they traveled the most secluded route they could find. Some church members inappropriately rejected her because of her rejection of polygamy and her outspokenness on the subject. [42] Joseph Holbrook and two other men, to escape those that would like to do us harm, moved out the night of January 20. 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. [59] Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 90. [13], During November 1838, Latter-day Saint settlements in Caldwell and Daviess counties endured a military occupation. The leather binding, the marbled inside cover, and the worn pages are beautiful and unforgettable. Mother followed the cart carrying my little brother, Francis Marion in her arms. Barefooted Mosiah tried to follow in her tracks. A little girl, Amy, rode in the cart and felt bad that the others had to tramp through the snow.[45] At the Mississippi River they camped, and Oh! Jannalee worked as a writer and editor at LDS Living for seven years before hanging up her press badge and starting the journey of stay-at-home motherhood. When the two authors began piecing together Emmas life, there was only one small manila folder about her in the entire LDS Archives. 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. What happened to Emma Smith? Newel said, Bro. Anson Call. The second day we had to cross a long prairie, and were not able to reach the settlement. 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. 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. During November and December, Joseph C. Kingsbury and Caroline, his wife of two years, lived in a little cabin with meager provisions. 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. 1856Emma takes in orphaned Elizabeth Agnes Kendall, eight years old, and rears her as her own daughter . View our community standards here. 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. 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. 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. Emma crossed the ice carefully, walking apart from the wagon. This weekend at the Midwest Pilgrims retreat in Nauvoo, Illinois, I had the opportunity to listen to a fascinating talk by Linda King Newell, co-biographer of Emma Smith, first wife of LDS founding prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. The Apostles group arrived at Far West soon after midnight on April 26. Constant delays meant that the Knights did not reach the Mississippi River until early May. 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. [65] Elisha Whiting Petition, in Johnson, Mormon Redress Petitions, 374. Under these conditions, one could reasonably conclude that she did not travel west in order to avoid losing any more of her children. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. So, he said, Sold my cook stove and the only cow the mob had not killed. With that money he hired a man with a team to drive him, Lydia, and their three children east. 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. Succeeded Smith as leader of the LDS Church. In time, most of the houses were torn down for firewood or hauled away. 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. In December 1838 and early January 1839, the Missouri state legislature, by a close vote, refused to overturn Governor Boggss extermination order. Emma contributed "in creating a distinct identity for the church" because this hymnbook's lyrics "emphasize key tenets of the religion." Understanding how early Saints worked earnestly to build up the Church helps us better appreciate the value of their work. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. John and his son Orrice walked. 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]. In April 1839, Eliza R. Snow wrote a poem titled To the Citizens of Quincy to thank Ye noble, genrous hearted Citizens.[111] It was published on page 1 of the Quincy Whig on May 11, 1839. John, tall and strong, had fought off Missourians trying to block Mormons from voting. Were most of her songs from her Methodist tradition, or did she draw more broadly? Carolines third task was to find some way to move the family and belongings from Missouri before spring. She taught school before she met Joseph Smith. John was one of dozens of Mormon militiamen who fled from Missouri in November. Scores of Church members were living there, including Mary Jane York, William Hickman, John P. Greene, and Wandle Mace. The Missouri Arguss editor argued incorrectly on December 20, 1838, that they cannot be driven beyond the limits of the statethat is certain. This tendency toward privacy continued even after Joseph Smith's death. Bishop Partridge felt the poor could be better served if scattered in various communities and not gathered in one place. She, in turn, was instructed by Joseph to officiate in these ordinances for the women, which she did until shortly before his martyrdom. Latter-day Saint widow Elizabeth Kendall and her family first became acquainted with Emma at the Mansion House in Nauvoo. The Atonement of Christ Redeems Us from the Fall. By primitive Missouri roads, the distance from Far West to Quincy was about 180 miles. He went to the room where the Committee of Removal was meeting and told them to wind up affairs and be off to save their lives. 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. [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. . Newel and all men in the city had to surrender their arms. 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. Brigham interpreted Emma's refusal to answer as an admission of guilt.. [74] Greene, Expulsion of the Saints from Missouri, 40. You've read 0 of 5 of todays most popular posts. [71] In 1837 the population was 1,653 according to Pat. The religion rapidly gained converts, and Smith set up . Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805 - June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement.At the age of 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon and by the time of his death, 14 years later, he had attracted tens of thousands of followers. One of her grandchildren, Emma Belle Smith Kennedy, wrote: "Her eyes were brown and sad. Governor Boggs infamous extermination order remained a stain on Missouris character for 137 years until June 25, 1976, when Missouri governor Christopher S. Bond signed an executive order rescinding it. He had one illegitimate child and after marrying Emma had another, which she raised, making her a most extraordinary woman. . [98] Alex Baugh, We Took a Change of Venue for the State of Illinois: The Gallatin Hearing and the Escape of Joseph Smith and the Mormon Prisoners from Missouri, April 1839, in A City of Refuge, 3166. [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. Their chief settlement was Far West in Caldwell County. [70], Saints chose to go to Quincy for several reasons. Dirty smoking school of prophets. [28] Greene, Expulsion of the Saints from Missouri, 8. Joseph Smith's death on June 27, 1844, created tremendous upheaval for Emma. [72] Roberts, Comprehensive History, 2:3. [76] They moved in with Judge John Cleveland and his Latter-day Saint wife, Sarah, four miles east of Quincy. It was that she hated polygamy and flatly refused to countenance its presence among the Mormon people. Emma: People say all kinds of things, but Julia I know better. [32] Committee of Removal members were William Huntington, Charles Bird, Alanson Ripley, Theodore Turley, Daniel Shearer, Shadrach Roundy, and Jonathan H. Hale. 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. Bidamon was support for Emma in raising her five children. They got some better, Caroline said. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. 11. Because of his position in the Illinois militia, he was often referred to as "Major" Bidamon. 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. 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. Jeremy made the Letter available online. In an essay published on its website quoting "careful estimates", the church said the wives. he spoke to her in that council in a very severe manner, and she never said one word in reply. [58], The Butlers and Smoots reached the Mississippi on March 10 or 11. 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). Emma Smith would make tremendous sacrifices for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for her husband, and for the church. At times, deep snows rubbed their wagon hubs during the journey. Which is another way of saying that a particular view of history does not suit institutional needs in the moment. [7] William G. Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom: The History and Autobiography of John Lowe Butler, a Mormon Frontiersman (Salt Lake City: Aspen Books, 1993), 8184; Baugh, A Call to Arms, 39296. Health problems and deaths. Many could not get into houses, Newel said, and had to take shelter in wagons, tents, and under bedclothes and while in this situation we had a severe snow storm, which rendered their suffering intense. An acre of land in front of Lucy Mack Smiths home became completely covered with beds, lying in the open sun, where families were compelled to sleep, exposed to all kinds of weather. Houses in Far West were so full, Mother Smith said, that people could not find shelter. Brigham Young and his family, with several others, Kimball said. 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. Mormon Church Admits Founder Joseph Smith Had Up To 40 Wives : The Two-Way : NPR. As a youth she learned to canoe on the Susquehanna River and became accomplished with horses. Why? Thank you so much. Following Josephs murder, Emma refused to go west with the Saints. Her heartaches were very real and would have been a challenge to any woman, particularly without the lens of understanding time brings. He and his friends traveled on foot. Donate to us by shopping at Amazon at no extra cost to you. The Thomas family stayed strong in the faith and emigrated to Utah in 1849. He looked at Emma Smith's decision to remain in Nauvoo through the eyes of a therapist. 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. My God is it you Bro. In the same year, Smith founded the Church of Christlater known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintsin Fayette Township. Joseph Smith, Jr. was born on 23 December 1805, in Sharon, Vermont. That night at the prayer meeting, Richards, wrote in code that Joseph and Emma did not dress in the usual special clothing, a sign they were too much at odds to participate. 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. [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. 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. Emma Smith The essentialeven phenomenalrole Emma played in bringing forth the Book of Mormon has been re-examined on many fronts. The family filled the cart with corn. Emma's brothers and sisters were all named after family members, either on her mother's side or her father's. Emma died peacefully in the Nauvoo House on April 30, 1879 at the age of 74. She compiled the first hymnbook. She was finally confirmed in August 1830. The hymnbook she created included familiar favorites from other denominations and hymns newly written specifically for the Latter-day Saints. [31], William Huntington headed up a Committee of Removal. [36] With Joseph Smiths approval, leaders in Far West decided to sell Church properties in Jackson County to help raise money for the exodus. Three or four Latter-day Saint families lived in his houses adjoining the Butlers, and the man treated them all with kindness, which seemed a new thing to us, John confessed. She worked hard to support his mission. When the Mormons left for Utah, she elected to remain behind. Quincys compassion, noted historian Richard E. Bennett, saved the saints as a people and may even have saved the Church as an institution.[88], Assigned by the Committee of Removal, David Rogers visited Jackson County on March 15, sold Church properties, raised some $2,700, and brought the funds to Far West by mid-April. 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. This made the poisoning accusation plausible for him. [1] William G. Hartley, Almost Too Intolerable a Burthen: The Winter Exodus from Missouri, 18381839, Journal of Mormon History 18 (Fall 1992): 640. Levis nearly five-year-old son Mosiah recalled, The snow was deep enough to take me to the middle of the thigh, and I was bare footed and in my shirt tail. They hitched their horse old Tom to the cart, Mosiah said, and father drove the horse and carried the rifle on his shoulder. She then became a temple worker, helping others with their first temple experiences. During this last bout, Joseph said gratefully, "My wife waited on me. At times he hid in members homes as he headed east. She had a home and her children and she just had to carry on the best she could. She even owned cows and other items, possibly given as payment from students. On May 10, Joseph Smith and his family moved into a small, two-story log house at Commerce, fifty miles north of Quincy, hoping that I and my friends may here find a resting place for a little season at least.[110] Church headquarters moved there, as did large numbers of the exiled Saints. Susan Easton Black and Charles D. Tate Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1993), 27184. Time and again, she was uprooted, often without warning and frequently without time to pack her belongings. There are several reasons Emma stayed in Nauvoo after Joseph Smith's death, but a few in particular stand out. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. 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. The old man for whom John taught school treated them generously. Until that time, Emma had been largely written out of official LDS history. See discussion in Linda King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery. Quincy was the closest Illinois city to Far West. The Thomases complied. During the vandalism spree, a great portion of the records of the committee, accounts, history, etc. Smith's wives were believed to be between the ages of 20 and 40 at the time they were "sealed" or married to him. 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. Joseph. The Saints persecution in several states and then expulsion by order of a state governor helps explain why they obtained a charter for a self-defensive city-state in Nauvoo with the Nauvoo Legion; why some Saints justified retaliation against persecutors; why many gladly exited the United States and headed toward Mexican territory in 1846; and why many Saints, if not the Church, expressed distaste for judges, courts, deputies, the federal army during the Utah War, and antipolygamy laws. He operated a large butcher shop by the river and a wholesale store by the boat landing. [126] Hartley, How Shall I Gather? Ensign, October 1997, 517. -Stephanie. [18] Diaries of William Huntington, typescript, in Miscellaneous Mormon Diaries, vol. Emma saw in him what her family missed. 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. Emma and her family were forced to leave the state with the majority of Latter Day Saints. Events unfolded rapidly, with men from the neighboring towns staging raids on Nauvoo, trying to once again, drive out the Saints and claim their. 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. Ever since the Prophet Joseph died as a martyr in Carthage, Illinois, some Latter-day Saints have felt disappointment that Joseph's wife Emma did not go with the Church in the westward exodus of the Saints in 1846-47. In honor of the 175th anniversary of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum, LDS Living is sharing a series of articles about early Church history and some of its key figures. They say father was a fallen prophet. With other refugees, she and six children ages two through nine accompanied their small wagon, pulled by a blind horse. Emma Smith was the wife of the first Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith. She was told that her calling was to be a support and comfort to . We were not permitted to leave Far West, Anson Call said, only to get our firewood. [111] Starting with this poem, Eliza R. Snow published a total of eighteen poems in the Quincy Whig during the 183941 period. [51] Elder Heber C. Kimball sent his family with the Youngs. However, she was never really an active member of that church, nor did she become active in any other church. I, 29 December 1833 to 31 December 1840 (Midvale, UT: Signature Books, 1983), 322. 8 What did Emma Emma do for the LDS Church? She said she was sorry to see the Mormons suffer so much and be driven from their homes. In July 1830, Joseph Smith received a revelation addressed specifically to Emma. I hope this helps too! Those who hired him found him to be the best employee theyd ever hired. She, like others who knew him well, saw an innate intelligence, a willingness to work very hard, and great integrity. This most likely caused people to behave differently than they might have in gentler circumstances. . She joined in his efforts to protect them from thieves and acted on occasion as his scribe. But in a series of new essays, it describes the now-banned practice in detail. He told her of the time she undertook to poison him, and he told her that she was a child of hell, and literally the most wicked woman on this earth, that there was not one more wicked than she. Linda requested and was granted a meeting with some general authorities, including Dallin Oaks, to discuss the ban and discover what aspects of the book had been found objectionable. 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). About sunset we landed in Quincy, Lucy said. On horseback, he, fellow Kentuckian David Lewis, and Elias Higbee endured December snows, cold, and meager food to reach Quincy, Illinois. [91] On April 18, when a group of anti-Mormons found him at the public square, they threatened to blow his brains out and tried to ride over him with their horses. The city cemeterys tombstones marking where some two hundred Saints are buried are long gone, and the site has become farmland. She was not perfect and made choices that seem hard for us to understand today. Great questions! They numbered twelve families with more than sixty souls, having surnames of Knight, DeMille, Peck, Slade, Culver, and Stringham. They pulled out of Far West on February 18, leaving behind a house and farm. When those families reached Illinois early in 1839, they were poor, worn out, and ragged looking. June 1831 This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. . These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. 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]. 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. While at LDS Living, she particularly enjoyed diving into the past and writing articles about little-known Church history stories or the Salt Lake Temple, though she wrote about a variety of topics. Required fields are marked *. [71], Quincy is on the east bank of the Mississippi on a limestone bluff 125 feet above the river. Emma Hale Smith Bidamon passed away in Nauvoo on April 30, 1879 , and is buried next to Joseph. Slipping through the guard, he had to cross a creek by taking off his clothes and wading across the bitter cold water. It does not store any personal data. Shortly after her baptism in July 1830, Emma Smithwas called by God to compile a hymnbook to edify the Church. Joseph was susceptible to vomiting anyway. Given these losses, it appears to me that Emma managed quite well.". Emmas life was a complex one. The day has gone by when masses of men can be outlawed, and driven from society to the wilderness, unprotected. 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.. [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. She finally gained a sense of stability and a place to raise her children when she moved into the Mansion House in Nauvoo. Then on November 5 and 6, 1999, a Quincy History Symposium honored the citys humanitarian efforts for Saints who fled Missouri. 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). Her husband was arrested, essentially for being Mormon, leaving her alone to care for her children. He told her that the judgments of God would come upon her forthwith if she did not repent. Quincy, he said, was full of memberseven though Saints were scattering out from there almost constantly.