Life of emma hale smith
Emma Hale Smith is sometimes viewed only as &#;Joseph Smith&#;s wife, Emma.&#; Stories are told of her wrestles with polygamy or her decision to remain in Nauvoo. There&#;s even a new argument that she may have possessed a Joseph Smith daguerreotype. But Emma is more than a story. In this interview, Jenny Reeder shares insights from her Emma Smith biography, First: The Life and Faith of Emma Smith.
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How did Jenny Reeder become interested in Emma Hale Smith?
I am the nineteenth-century women’s history specialist at the Church History Department for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I came to history in a roundabout way: I thought I wanted to be a high school English teacher. Student teaching changed those plans.
After following a kind bishop’s suggestion to study communication and an MA at Arizona State in human communication, I got a temporary job as a research assistant for Carol Cornwall Madsen in her work on Emmeline B. Wells. Soon I was also working for Jill Mulvay Derr in her work on Eliza R. Snow, and their combined work on the Nauvoo Relief Society minutes. The women in Nauvoo spoke to me through Eliza R. Snow’s words on those pages and called me to the work.
The loss of Joseph was devastating for Emma.
After three years at the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History at BYU, Jill and Carol pushed me off to grad school. I earned an MA in history, documentary editing, and archival management at New York University, then a PhD in American history from George Mason University, with a dissertation on memory, material culture and the Nauvoo Relief Society.
My first work project evolved into At the Pulpit: Years of Discourses by Latter-day Saint Women. I knew we had to include something from Emma Smith, but unfortunately that meant cobbling together some of her words in the Nauvoo Relief Society minutes—words that in my mind had come to express her disdain for polygamy and the secrecy surroun
Emma Hale Smith
Emma was born 10 July to Isaac and Elizabeth Lewis Hale. The Hales farmed near Harmony, Pennsylvania, and operated a country inn. Emma and Joseph met when he boarded at her father’s inn while working in the area. Isaac bitterly opposed their courtship, but Joseph proposed to Emma, and she, “preferring him to all others” she had met, accepted. 2 They were married at the home of Squire Thomas Tarbell in South Bainbridge, New York, on 18 January
That fall, Joseph obtained the gold plates and continued his mission of being an instrument in the hands of God in restoring the gospel. Emma served as a scribe during his first efforts to translate the Book of Mormon. She was baptized on 28 June , shortly after the Church was organized. In July the Lord outlined her mission, in a revelation: “Thou art an elect lady, whom I have called. … And the office of thy calling shall be for a comfort unto my servant, Joseph Smith, Jun., thy husband, in his afflictions.” (D&#;C , 5.) She was also directed to compile a book of hymns for the Church, and she was warned to “continue in a spirit of meekness, and beware of pride.” (D&#;C –)
Emma’s patriarchal blessing, given on 9 December by her father-in-law, Joseph Smith, Sr., presents important information concerning Emma’s contribution to the Restoration, how the Lord viewed Emma, and what he promised her.
“Emma … thou art blessed of the Lord, for thy faithfulness and truth, thou shalt be blessed with thy husband, and rejoice in the glory which shall come upon him. Thy soul has been afflicted because of the wickedness of men in seeking the destruction of thy companion, and thy whole soul has been drawn out in prayer for his deliverance; rejoice, for the Lord thy God has heard thy supplication. Thou hast grieved for the hardness of the hearts of thy father’s house, and thou hast longed for their salvation. The Lord will have respect to thy cries, and by his judgments he will cause some of them to see their folly and r
We Are Going to Do Something Extraordinary
Emma Hale Smith (–) met her husband, Joseph Smith, when he boarded at her parents’ farm in Harmony, Pennsylvania, and they were married on January 18, Her mother-in-law, Lucy Mack Smith, praised 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 has always done.” Emma Smith briefly worked as a scribe for the translation of the Book of Mormon and assisted her husband in other ways. For instance, she helped prepare early missionaries for their service and gathered with women to pray on behalf of Joseph Smith in New York. Years later, she delivered a petition to the governor of Illinois, signed by nearly a thousand women in Nauvoo, Illinois, seeking protection for her husband. She opened her home to the sick, the orphaned, and other visitors. Smith was the mother of eleven children—nine biological and two adopted. Four of her children died at birth or shortly after, and two died as toddlers.
In early July , a short time after Emma Smith’s baptism, Joseph Smith dictated a revelation directed to his wife, now known as section 25 of the Doctrine and Covenants. The revelation addressed Emma Smith as “an Elect Lady whom I have called” and told her that she would be “ordained … to expound scriptures and exhort the church according as it shall be given thee.” Her calling extended even further when she was elected president of the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo on March 17, At the first meeting of the organization, Joseph Smith read the revelation, explaining that at the time it had been given, “Presidentess” Smith had been “ordained … to expound the scriptures to all; and to teach the female part of the community.” He went on to liken Emma Smith to the “Elect Lady” spoken of in the New Testament. John Taylor called Emma a “mother in Israel,” and in
Emma Smith
Wife of Joseph Smith Jr. and Latter Day Saint leader (–)
For other people named Emma Smith, see Emma Smith (disambiguation).
| Emma Hale Smith Bidamon | |
|---|---|
Emma Hale Smith circa with David Hyrum Smith | |
| March&#;17,&#;&#;()&#;&#;&#; | |
| Called by | Joseph Smith |
| Successor | Eliza R. Snow |
| Born | Emma Hale ()July 10, Harmony Township, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | April 30, () (aged&#;74) Nauvoo House, Nauvoo, Illinois, U.S. |
| Resting place | Smith Family Cemetery, Nauvoo 40°32′26″N91°23′31″W / °N °W / ; (Smith Family Cemetery) |
| Notable works | A Collection of Sacred Hymns Latter Day Saints' Selection of Hymns |
| Spouse(s) | Joseph Smith &#; &#; (m.&#;; died&#;)&#; |
| Children | 11 (see Children of Joseph Smith) |
| Signature | &#; |
Emma Hale Smith Bidamon (July 10, – April 30, ) was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement and a prominent member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church) as well as the first wife of Joseph Smith, the movement's founder. In , when the Ladies' Relief Society of Nauvoo was formed as a women's service organization, she was elected by its members as the organization's first president.
After the killing of Joseph Smith, Emma remained in Nauvoo rather than following Brigham Young and the Mormon pioneers to the Utah Territory. Emma was supportive of Smith's teachings throughout her life with the exception of plural marriage and remained loyal to her son, Joseph Smith III, in his leadership of the RLDS Church.
Early life and first marriage, –
Early life
Emma Hale was born on July 10, , in Harmony Township, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, in her family's log cabin. She was the seventh child and third daughter of Isaac Hale and Elizabeth Lewis Hale. She was descended of primarily English ancestors, including seven passengers on the Mayflo