why did emma smith leave the lds church

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. Learn how . Later, while reading the book History of the Prophet Joseph Smith by His Mother, I found Lucy Mack Smiths tribute to Emma: 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 stood by her husband even when they faced strains in their marriage. 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. Emma's 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. That is her divine mission. [13] Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 8284. Abraham O. Smoot became mayor of Salt Lake City and then Provo, president of the Utah Stake, and a promoter of Brigham Young Academy. 7 Are Joseph and Emma Smiths descendants Latter-day Saints? 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. The oxen they had left could not pull all the load, so Newel unloaded part of his and Brigham Youngs goods and left them in the care of a friendly resident. [27] Gentry, Latter-day Saints in Northern Missouri, 41419. But fairly soon after that the Saints were asked to leave Jackson County, so the new temple didn't get built. [51] Ronald K. Esplin, The Emergence of Brigham Young and the Twelve in Mormon Leadership, 18301841 (PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1981), 370; Times and Seasons, September 1840, 165. Anson Call. B. H. Roberts, 2nd ed. (Later, on April 6, 1830, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would be officially organized there.) The mormon church is excellent with marketing, so many assume it's just a slightly strange but happy family filled religion. 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. [75] Wandle Mace Autobiography, typescript, 3132, Perry Special Collections. When he reached the Clevelands, Emma recognized him as he dismounted from his horse and met him half way to the gate.[101], A Quincy newspaper reporter publicized the arrival of Joseph Smith and his prison companions, concluding with a favorable description of the Church President and Prophet: We had supposed from the stories and statements we had read of Jo Smith (as he is termed in the papers) to find him a very illiterate, uncouth sort of man; but from a long conversation, we acknowledge an agreeable disappointment. 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. [107] In todays currency, that equals $52,325,000 total, or $77,000 per petitioner. In 1842, when the Ladies' Relief Society of Nauvoo was formed as a . 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. Joseph Smith's death on June 27, 1844, created tremendous upheaval for Emma. All Rights Reserved. She held on to her faith in God, in the gospel, and in Joseph Smith as a prophet throughout it all. Mormon regard for Quincy. He looked at Emma Smith's decision to remain in Nauvoo through the eyes of a therapist. For more coverage of Sunstone sessions, visit MormonTimes.com and go to the "Studies & Doctrine tab," then click on "doctrine discussions." For him, it appears the marriages were fairly impersonal and meant to fulfill the requirement given him by an angel and to join certain families together in the eternities. Emma Smith would make tremendous sacrifices for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for her husband, and for the church. He helped shepherd Saints across Missouri by advancing with one part of the camp as rapidly and as far as possible and then returning with the teams to move others out. [27] That left the Saints no choice but to leave Missouri as soon as possible. Sarah later became Emmas first counselor in the Nauvoo Relief Society. Succeeded Smith as leader of the LDS Church. Since she left no journal, we dont really know what the entire truth about Emma Smith isbut we do know she was remarkable. We are a volunteer organization. Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. "[2], Furthermore, Brigham and Emma did not agree on the disposition of Joseph's estate. 5 How old was Emma Smith when Joseph Smith died? Newel prayed for help, for I knew not how to extricate myself but as I had never been forsaken by my Heavenly Father I commited myself and family into his care. For a week they were stranded, but finally a man asked his son to drive the Knights the rest of the way. 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. The refinement, the charity of our age, will not brook it. John later filed claim for the loss of 240 acres of land, three yoke of oxen, a corn crop, and hogs. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Until that time, Emma had been largely written out of official LDS history. 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. "Some people might say that something about her changed, and that is why she did not come to Salt Lake Valley," Delewski said. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. [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. See http://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/uscompare. Mary Audentia Smith Anderson. These hymns had a great influence on the Saints during the early days of the Church. On January 16, the imprisoned First Presidency sent instructions to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young that said, Inasmuch as we are in prison, . We put our goods into the wagon a second time, but the wagon was wanted for Emma and her family, so our goods were again taken out.[48] Stephen Markham, a member of the Committee of Removal, helped Emma Smith leave on February 7. [31], William Huntington headed up a Committee of Removal. [64] History of Zera Pulsipher As Written by Himself, typescript, 1516, Perry Special Collections. 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. After inspections, the Church agreed to buy twenty thousand acres of land at Commerce, Illinois, and across the river in Lee County, Iowa. Because Joseph Smith was in prison during the exodus, attention focuses here on Joseph Smith's parents, his wife Emma, Elders Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, and four selected families: the John and Caroline Butler family, the Newel and Lydia Knight family, the Daniel and Martha Thomas family, and the Levi and Clarissa Hancock family. She was finally confirmed in August 1830. Newel Knight had a wagon but no team. L. Hannah Stoddard is the lead author of Faith Crisis, Volume 1: We Were NOT Betrayed!, Seer Stone v. Urim & Thummim: Book of Mormon Translation on Trial, and Faith Crisis, Volume 2: New Mormon History Exiled from Church Headquarters.She is the executive director of the Joseph Smith Foundation, and producer or director of seven . [58] Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 8790. And when people say she was wrong for remaining in Nauvoo, they are implying they know what she should have done," Richard Delewski said at the Sunstone Symposium on Aug. 13. A later First Presidency report about the exodus noted that women and children marked their footsteps on the frozen ground with blood, it being the dead of winter.[54] Was this an exaggeration? She also learned how to cook and be a good host when her parents ran a boarding house. Some sneaked southward to the Missouri River and took boat passage to St. Tears roll down Emily Rennie's face as she recalls a church counsellor telling her she needed to give up her child for adoption because he was conceived out of wedlock one of the most . the Gospel Doctrine manual for church history. Emma Hale Smith was the seventh of nine children. Then on November 5 and 6, 1999, a Quincy History Symposium honored the citys humanitarian efforts for Saints who fled Missouri. It's not. She was left alone with her five children, including her adopted daughter and four sons. Your email address will not be published. [70] John Taylor, Brigham Young, Isaac Higbee, Israel Barlow, John P. Greene to Dear Brethren, March 29, 1839, at Quincy, reprinted in Kate B. Carter, comp., Our Pioneer Heritage (Salt Lake City: Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1960), 3:122. Many of them started from scratch and built up religious communities in Illinois and Iowa. The first night, our wagon tipped over into the creek. 6 What did Lucy Mack Smith say about Emma Smith? [103] Kenney, Wilford Woodruffs Journal, 1:330, entry for May 4, 1839. 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. 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. Who was the oldest president of the LDS Church? Delewski thinks she may have been the most promising of the Hale children because she had a rare additional year of schooling. 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. 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. Bishop Partridge felt the poor could be better served if scattered in various communities and not gathered in one place. 1 Why did Emma Smith leave the LDS Church? The CES Director asked Jeremy to send him a list of issues that had caused him to lose his faith, with the intention of helping him out. Sorry about that! [109] Johnson, Mormon Redress Petitions, xixxxvii. " Delewski said. Hi Nathan, thanks for your interest in Emma Smiths hymnbook! Uncertain which policy to push, the conference voted against accepting the land offer (Journal History, February 1, 1839). In History of the Church Vol. Elder Kimball said he stayed behind to assist members of the Committee of Removal and to wait upon those in prison. In Far West he had to hide out in the woods during daytime. [26] Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 8586. [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. [97] During a change of venue from Daviess to Boone County, Joseph Smith and the four others who had been in Liberty Jail were allowed to escape on April 16, and they found their way to Illinois safely. When the family arrived opposite Quincy, they became ice bound for two weeks. While they waited, a Brother Brunson came from Quincy and asked campers to donate their outfits to go back and assist in removing the poor. Snow was six inches deep. [119] Henry Jackson petition in Johnson, Mormon Redress Petitions, 247. 2022 FAIR Conference videos are now available to watch! They asked a committee of Latter-day Saints to provide them facts about the needy. She said she was sorry to see the Mormons suffer so much and be driven from their homes. A Quincy Heritage Celebration was held July 24, 1999. She admitted that she had been reluctant to give her children any formal religious lifejust personal reading of the Bible and Book of Mormonbecause she was afraid of a return to the many trials she had faced. The group then included one man, two women, and children ages seven, four, three, and one. The Church News asked Church historians to answer the question "What should Church members know about Emma Hale Smith?" Here's what they had to say: 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. 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. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. 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. When morning came, he and Abraham Smoot crossed to Quincy, leaving their families with the wagon. I being barefooted and the ice so rough, I staggered all over. Then three hundred militiamen escorted them away to face trial and prison. 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. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. My 11 year old granddaughter who is not baptized into the LDS Church wanted a poster after which we obtained and she visited with the actors and actresses. View our community standards here. In July 1830 the Lord outlined her mission, in a revelation: Thou art an elect lady, whom I have called. Find out a few things you may not have known about this prominent woman in Church history. [9] The men split into two groups to avoid attention. [24] James Carroll Petition in Clark V. Johnson, Mormon Redress Petitions: Documents of the 18331838 Missouri Conflict (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1992), 155; see biographical sketch in Donald Q. Cannon and Lyndon W. Cook, eds., Far West Record (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1983), 252. The Saints of the Colesville Branch settle in Thompson. Joseph Smith Foundation director, author, film producer, speaker. 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. Brigham Young University They had fulfilled the commandment. a boy whom many Saints felt to be Smiths rightful prophetic heir, The biography Linda and Valeen published with Doubleday several years later. Illinois law at the time held that no church could hold more than ten acres of property, and so much of the church's properties were held in Joseph's name. The Mormon church has said for the first time that its founder Joseph Smith had up to 40 wives. They organized into a company with Rich as captain. 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. The Missouri Arguss editor argued incorrectly on December 20, 1838, that they cannot be driven beyond the limits of the statethat is certain. 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). Either Brigham Young was not aware of Babbitt's propensity for alienating those around him or, like Joseph before him, he overlooked his faults because he needed his legal knowledge. As they moved on they found camp fires and tent poles already struck nearly all the way after this, apparently provided by the Committee of Removal. 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. She later married Major Lewis Bidamon, who had supported the Mormons during the trials, but was not a member. 185 Heber J. [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. 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! Isaac Laney said the committee had moved all but thirty or forty families when armed men from Daviess County ordered him and others to be out of the County by the next Friday night which was giving us Six dayes for to do that that Requird a month. So the committee urgently hired teams and sent families to Tenneys Grove, twenty miles away, with a minimum of personal belongings.

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