The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". When those families reached Illinois early in 1839, they were poor, worn out, and ragged looking. Later witnesses would be permitted to view the plates, but God asked Emma to accept them on faith, a testimony that God recognized her as a woman of great faith. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. He remained her companion until her death on 30 April 1879 at the age of 75 in Nauvoo. [49] Brother Markham then drove the wagon back to Far West to bring others out. Brigham Young, in danger from anti-Mormons, joined the exodus on February 14. Its an improvement that shes discussed at all. What are various methods available for deploying a Windows application? Here is a link to LDS.org that lists all the meters used in the hymnbook. 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. I understand Long meter and Common meter, but what is PM? It is significant to note that the revelation instructed the entire presidency of the Church to leave Kirtland. [31], William Huntington headed up a Committee of Removal. There are several reasons Emma stayed in Nauvoo after Joseph Smith's death, but a few in particular stand out. Grant Building Print. Delewski also explored the effect the practice of plural marriage had on Emma and Joseph Smith's relationship. Their numbers exceed 5,000 peoplewithout any means and literally beggarsto be thrust upon the charities of Illinois, Iowa, or Wisconsin. Joseph Holbrook, thirty-two, said his wife Nancy had verry poor health that fall and winter because of being exposed to inclement weather by having to remove from place to place as our house had been burned and we were yet left to seek a home whenever our friends could accommodate us and for my safety. Saints in flourishing condition but a few months before, he said, were now destitute. He delegated a great deal of the Church's interaction with Emma to Almon Babbitt, a man greatly lacking in tact: Almon Babbitt's airbordered on the pompousBabbit provided Joseph with legal advice that resulted in the destruction of the Expositor, then he refused to help when Joseph was jailed in Carthage saying, 'You are too late. I asked my mother one day, why don't Grandma laugh with her eyes like you do, and my mother said because she has a deep sorrow in her heart. We have to look at her entire life, not just one portion of it. The Thomas family. 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. 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. To add an RSC website shortcut to your home screen, open the website in the Safari browser. Joseph was susceptible to vomiting anyway. [107] Johnson, ed., Mormon Redress Petitions, xixxxvii. The second day we had to cross a long prairie, and were not able to reach the settlement. However, I discovered there was a different attitude about Emma. [12] John Butlers escape route apparently was across northern Missouri. 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.. They had a reasonably good relationship despite these challenges. . Shortly after her baptism in July 1830, Emma Smithwas called by God to compile a hymnbook to edify the Church. Imagine, then, her familys concern when she developed a fondness for Joseph Smith, who was from a poor farm family and had almost no formal educationjust that which his father had given him at home with a small amount of traditional schooling. Richard Bushman writes of the poisoning accusation: Through the late fall and winter of 1843 and 1844, Joseph and Emma's relationship broke down only once. [36] With Joseph Smiths approval, leaders in Far West decided to sell Church properties in Jackson County to help raise money for the exodus. A woman should give her greatest priority to her home: her husband, her family, and the opportunity to child-bearing. 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. 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. She held on to her faith in God, in the gospel, and in Joseph Smith as a prophet throughout it all. 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. 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. I am already engaged on the other side.'[4]. Newel and all men in the city had to surrender their arms. Copyright 1997-2023 by The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved. [67] Scott G. Kenney, ed., Wilford Woodruff Journal, 18331898, Typescript, Vol. He had one illegitimate child and after marrying Emma had another, which she raised, making her a most extraordinary woman. 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. Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. When the river opened, the Thomases used two boats to move their effects across, while Daniel and son Morgan, twelve, stayed behind to ferry the cow across later. They got some better, Caroline said. | April 1, 2022, 6:08 a.m. "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" often addresses Latter-day Saint issues, even though there are no fully active members of the faith in . 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. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church. Then, because it was planting season, they moved about ten miles out and rented a farm. rev. 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. Delewski thinks she may have been the most promising of the Hale children because she had a rare additional year of schooling. [92] Smith, History of the Church, 3:32223. Emma Smith was born in 1804 in Pennsylvania. [45] The Mosiah Hancock Journal (Salt Lake City: reprint by Pioneer Press, n.d.), 11. She was left alone with her five children, including her adopted daughter and four sons. The temple site has been salvaged and given modern landscaping, but no houses remain. Moroni first instructed Joseph to enlist his oldest brother, Alvin, to help him recover the plates. 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! Caroline went ahead and brought back some elders from a camp ahead to give Martha and Keziah blessings. Brigham also doubtless considered Emma dishonest and a liar because she continued to insist that her husband had never taught the doctrine of plural marriage. . 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. [79] Smith, History of the Church, 3:270. ", Delewski said, "If someone with Emma's experience came to me, I would talk about these deaths and see what effects sorrow had had upon her. 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 lack of a legal will placed both the Church and Emma's family in uncertain financial conditions. 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. In History of the Church Vol. [32] Committee of Removal members were William Huntington, Charles Bird, Alanson Ripley, Theodore Turley, Daniel Shearer, Shadrach Roundy, and Jonathan H. Hale. John later filed claim for the loss of 240 acres of land, three yoke of oxen, a corn crop, and hogs. 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. [97] Liberty Jail prisoners were Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Lyman Wight, Alexander McRae, and Caleb Baldwin. Why did Emma Smith leave the LDS Church? [87], It is not known how many Saints temporarily took refuge in Quincy. He covered Joseph Smith's reluctance for years to keep this commandment of the Lord and how it was also very difficult for Emma Smith. To do so, would be to act with extreme cruelty. Learn how . ( 6-8 Oct 1866, 36th Semi-Annual Conference, Bowery, G. S. L. City. To fulfill their instruction, some members of the Twelve left Quincy on April 18, 1839, to travel secretly to Far West. Speaking of Smith's "eternity-only" marriages to already married women, the church writes, " These sealings may also be explained by Joseph's reluctance to enter plural marriage because of the. They were enough to wear out any woman and if she, in the end, was tired of fighting her way through life, that can be understood. He was the son of Joseph and Lucy Mack Smith. [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. After a quick Google search, I found out that PM probably stands for peculiar meter. I hadnt heard of that before, and it isnt in the current edition of the LDS hymnbook. 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. LM is long meter, CM is common meter, and so forth. On February 7 and 8, both men visited Liberty Jail, then returned to Far West. Because of his position in the Illinois militia, he was often referred to as "Major" Bidamon. Thank you so much. A decision to continue to gather. [10] They crossed the icy Mississippi River, some at Quincy, where Charles C. Rich said, We found friends and was kindly received.[11], Another half dozen Mormon militiamen led by Dimick Huntington left separately. [100] Stanley B. Kimball, The Saints and St. Louis, 18311857: An Oasis of Tolerance and Security, BYU Studies 13 (Summer 1973): 489519. They reached the bank of the Mississippi in eight days and found the river frozen over. Modern DNA has ruled out all children Fran Brodie had proposed were his through other marriages. Young put on board some of his goods into the wagon carrying the Knights, and both families resumed their journeys. The Church was already in a period of great stress and grief as people struggled to decide who the next prophet would be and they faced the realization that they were again in great danger with an uncertain future. That larger move was led by Brigham Young and other Apostles whose first tutorial about moving a mass of people came during the Missouri exodus. In total, these petitioners losses totaled $2,275,789an average of $3,761 per petitioner. Emma Smith had so much on her plate, so its inspiring to learn how she was willing to contribute to the growth of the Church while she was dealing with everything else. She had a home and her children and she just had to carry on the best she could. We invite you to give back. Emma Hale Smith was the seventh of nine children. [76] They moved in with Judge John Cleveland and his Latter-day Saint wife, Sarah, four miles east of Quincy. As a youth she learned to canoe on the Susquehanna River and became accomplished with horses. [76] Smith, History of the Church, 3:262. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 11. . 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 . We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. 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]. These were the top four reasons for leaving the LDS Church: "I studied church history and lost my belief" (39% primary factor, 81% moderate to strong factor); "I lost faith in Joseph Smith" (39% primary, 84% mod-strong); "I ceased to believe in the church's doctrine/theology" (38% primary, 87% mod-strong); This is why, according to Delewski, the movie "Emma Smith: My Story" shows her outriding Joseph Smith. After Alvin's untimely death, Joseph was told his replacement would be revealed by revelation. See http://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/uscompare. And even when people did leave, they left reverently, speaking only in whispers. Your email address will not be published. . No portion of this site may be reproduced without the express written consent of The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any opinions expressed, implied, or included in or with the goods and services offered by FAIR are solely those of FAIR and not those of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Nontraditional. 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. One of the other items was a photograph of a family member that was mislabeled as being Emma. She endured the jeering and insults of mobs. A storehouse of historical documents and records. He and his friends traveled on foot. You might notice something a bit surprisingtheres no musical notation! Emmas life was a complex one. 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. [77] Kenney, Wilford Woodruffs Journal, 1:32930. . In July 1830 the Lord outlined her mission, in a revelation: Thou art an elect lady, whom I have called. [40] [Auto]Biographical Sketch of George Washington Gill Averett, typescript, 8, in Miscellaneous Mormon Diaries, vol. The next day, Missouri troops brought Joseph and Hyrum Smith and five other prisoners into town in wagons to pick up personal effects and say good-bye. 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. And where shall they be sent? the newspaper asked. 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. When the two authors began piecing together Emmas life, there was only one small manila folder about her in the entire LDS Archives. [18] Diaries of William Huntington, typescript, in Miscellaneous Mormon Diaries, vol. Succeeded Smith as leader of the LDS Church. Why did God ask Emma Smith to accept the plates? 343-362. She found them both bleeding badly. After his death she resisted encouragement to deny his role as a prophet. Her husband, on the other hand, had only a handful of years of formal education. 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. He told her that the judgments of God would come upon her forthwith if she did not repent. 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 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. [44] Ebenezer Robinson, Items of Personal History of the Editor, Including Some items of Church History Not Generally Known. [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. 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. William G. Hartley, The Saints Forced Exodus from Missouri, in Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer, ed. 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. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. [103] Kenney, Wilford Woodruffs Journal, 1:330, entry for May 4, 1839. At the time, perhaps ten thousand Mormons were concentrated in two particular counties. Events of the 1838 Mormon War soon escalated, resulting in Joseph's surrender and imprisonment by Missouri officials. She comforted other women, instructed them, and helped them to build their own faith. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. 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. Brigham had very little patience for those who demeaned or rejected Joseph; the difficulties that Joseph experienced with Emma can only have frustrated the loyal Brigham. 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. [9] The men split into two groups to avoid attention. 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. [41] Jesse and Whittaker, Albert Perry Rockwood Journal, 34. She, like others who knew him well, saw an innate intelligence, a willingness to work very hard, and great integrity. Are Joseph and Emma Smiths descendants Latter-day Saints? Learn about and browse the pages of the first hymnal of the Church. 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. He had even dislocated his jaw while vomiting once before; and five weeks after the 1843 dinner episode, he was sick again, vomiting more violently than ever. Both routes merged southwest of the town of Palymra, twenty miles south of Quincy. Her family had a fair amount of money. [88] Richard E. Bennett, Quincythe Home of Our Adoption, 101. She stood by her husband even when they faced strains in their marriage. Latter-day Saint widow Elizabeth Kendall and her family first became acquainted with Emma at the Mansion House in Nauvoo. Mormon women have the specific responsibility to be righteous daughters of God; good, faithful wives; and loving mothers. She had no example to follow and no real support group, as later women would have. Innumerable able-bodied men needed jobs. [117] Weakened by the rigorous trek in midwinter after the severe ordeal of persecution in Missouri, the exiles who were camped along the Mississippi River began to feel the effects of the hardships such that almost every family succumbed to the ague and bilious fever (Ivan J. Barrett, Joseph Smith and the Restoration [Provo, UT: BYU Press, 1973], 439). Your email address will not be published. [72] It is about 130 miles upriver from St. Louis and 45 miles directly south of where Nauvoo now is. A few days later, the horses ran away. [8] After eleven days travel, they reached white Settlements on the Desmoine River in Iowa. Emma did not learn about their deaths until 10:00 p.m. that same evening. She even owned cows and other items, possibly given as payment from students. Why did Emma Smith opt to stay in Nauvoo? . On 23 December 1847, Emma Smith married Lewis Bidamon, who was not a member of the Church. . Another died young at age 26. [106] Fortunately, 678 petitions survive. Anti-Mormons had vowed to keep that ceremony from happening. [111] Starting with this poem, Eliza R. Snow published a total of eighteen poems in the Quincy Whig during the 183941 period. She moved from Pennsylvania to New York to Ohio to Missouri and then Illinois. These souls, by and large, were poor, bedraggled, and sickly. [59] Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 90. Emmas role in Mormon history is as enigmatic as ever. Emma had 11 children (two were the adopted Murdock twins), and six children died in infancy. 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. They numbered twelve families with more than sixty souls, having surnames of Knight, DeMille, Peck, Slade, Culver, and Stringham. Josephs death occurred on 27 June 1844. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. [125] Photocopy of order, filed June 25, 1976, copy in authors file; also see transcript in LDS Church News, July 3, 1976, 4. In time, most of the houses were torn down for firewood or hauled away. 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. Emma died in Nauvoo on April 30, 1879, at age 75. Some of them are still included in the current hymnbook that was published 150 years later in 1985. The views expressed by individual users are the responsibility of those users and do not necessarily represent the position of the Church. In that revelation she was designed the "Elect Lady" which Joseph later explained means one elected "to preside.". Emma: People say all kinds of things, but Julia I know better. After 17 years of marriage, Emma's second husband, Lewis Bidamon, had a child with another woman named Nancy Abercrombie. He operated a large butcher shop by the river and a wholesale store by the boat landing. According to historian Richard Bushman, Joseph saw polygamy simply as a way to join families together for eternity. Accordingly, our goods were taken out. They waited until another team came for them. She said she was sorry to see the Mormons suffer so much and be driven from their homes. 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. We were not permitted to leave Far West, Anson Call said, only to get our firewood. Bushman reports that Emma and Joseph had many intense discussions about his polygamy and their relationship was periodically strained. The Butler and Smoot families. I being barefooted and the ice so rough, I staggered all over. Many found refuge not only in Quincy but throughout Adams County and all over western Illinois. Enter your email to receive updates on our LDS Living content, 2022 LDS Living A Division of Deseret Book Company, The Joseph Smith and Emma Hale Smith Historical Society, There is room for my brown paper-doll family: 2 gospel truths I learned as a young girl that carry my faith, Special Church Historians Press symposium to highlight women, religion, and records, See the stunning winners of the Churchs International Art Competition. The religion he founded continues to the present day, with millions of global adherents. [114] Close Friends as Witnesses: Joseph Smith and the Joseph Knight Families, in Joseph Smith: The Prophet, the Man, ed. "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.