Why I Left The Mormon Church And Why It's A Cult - Peaceful Dumpling This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Newel and all men in the city had to surrender their arms. Thank you so much. 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. . Brigham, for all his strengths, had little patience for anyone who would betray the prophet, which he perceived Emma doing on multiple levels. Its seven members, soon expanded to eleven, agreed to move first the families of the Presidency and of the other prisoners. [63] Eliza R. Snow, an Immortal: Selected Works by Eliza R. Snow (Salt Lake City: Nicholas G. Morgan Sr., 1957), 1011. [101] Cited in Baugh, We Took Our Change of Venue, 52. When pressed, Lindas bishop admitted he had received a similar call. Sister Emma cried and said that they [thieves] had taken all of her bed clothes, except one quilt and blanket, and what could she do? So Caroline and other sisters told Emma to send hers to Joseph, which she did, and they gave her replacement bedding for her family. We are a volunteer organization. Was also Governor of Utah Territory from February 3, 1851 to April 12, 1858. Mormon regard for Quincy. Despite her parents disapproval, she eventually eloped. . Winter exposure and food shortages in Caldwell County and during exodus caused health problems for many and a host of deaths during 1839. Following Joseph's murder, Emma refused to go west with the Saints. She worked hard to support his mission. The authors were alarmed, though Linda was comforted by her stake president, who told her, You are my parishioner, and I will see you through this no matter how long it takes.. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". In January some Missourians gave Levi Hancock, one of the seven presidents of the Seventy, three days to leave. She stood by her husband even when they faced strains in their marriage. The day has gone by when masses of men can be outlawed, and driven from society to the wilderness, unprotected. Joseph was susceptible to vomiting anyway. 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. Find out how to attend either in person or virtually: The winners of the Church History Museums 12th International Art Competition have been announced, and the artwork is breathtaking. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. [45] The Mosiah Hancock Journal (Salt Lake City: reprint by Pioneer Press, n.d.), 11. Young put on board some of his goods into the wagon carrying the Knights, and both families resumed their journeys. After they left, the mob plundered thousands of dollars worth of property donated to help the poor move. [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. Every thing my family took with them out of Missouri, could have been packed on the backs of two horses; the mob took all the rest.[52]. Its an outstanding and award-winning biography that was the product of countless hours of primary research. 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. Initially, when Joseph admitted to her that he had received a revelation about polygamy and was told he absolutely must carry it out, she accepted it. It's dangerous and it ruins lives, even if the members don't understand that that's what's happening to them. The CES Director apparently never got around to responding. Why did God ask Emma Smith to accept the plates? Required fields are marked *. She handled nearly every trial with grace. To fulfill their instruction, some members of the Twelve left Quincy on April 18, 1839, to travel secretly to Far West. She comforted other women, instructed them, and helped them to build their own faith. Susan Easton Black and Richard E. Bennett (Salt Lake City: Millennial Press, 2000), 134. They ran out of provisions and became so weak they couldnt continue, so they held a council and prayed to know where to hunt. . Here is a link to LDS.org that lists all the meters used in the hymnbook. He and his friends traveled on foot. He remained her companion until her death on 30 April 1879 at the age of 75 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. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Emma saw in him what her family missed. She, like others who knew him well, saw an innate intelligence, a willingness to work very hard, and great integrity. Emma Hale Smith was the seventh of nine children. "There's an image for you: a dark-haired 23-year-old woman racing down a country road, her hair probably flying in the wind, in order to notify her husband of an impending emergency," Delewski said. In total, these petitioners losses totaled $2,275,789an average of $3,761 per petitioner. The Knight family. Events unfolded rapidly, with men from the neighboring towns staging raids on Nauvoo, trying to once again, drive out the Saints and claim their. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. "[2], Furthermore, Brigham and Emma did not agree on the disposition of Joseph's estate. For more coverage of Sunstone sessions, visit MormonTimes.com and go to the "Studies & Doctrine tab," then click on "doctrine discussions." After inspections, the Church agreed to buy twenty thousand acres of land at Commerce, Illinois, and across the river in Lee County, Iowa. Joseph Smith, Jr. was born on 23 December 1805, in Sharon, Vermont. There are several reasons Emma stayed in Nauvoo after Joseph Smith's death, but a few in particular stand out. The animosity between Brigham Young and Emma had multiple grounds: personal, religious, and financial. . When her son became an adult and headed up the Reorganized Church, as it was then known, she joined. . 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. 4 (2000): 622. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Throughout the years, she has remained a complex topic for both Mormons and non-Mormons. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Im interested in seeing which traditions she drew from. When he was murdered, she bent over him and expressed her sorrow that they had taken him from her. [38] Larry C. Porter, Brigham Young and the Twelve in Quincy: A Return to the Eye of the Missouri Storm, 26 April 1839, in A City of Refuge: Quincy, Illinois, ed. Their tough experiences produced definite impactsboth short- and long-termon Missouri and Illinois, on the course of the Church, and on individual members.[1]. Church leaders told fugitive Charles C. Rich to flee north into the wilderness and take all that I Could find of the Brethren that was in the Crooked river Battle. So he and others left Far West at midnight on November 1. Snow was six inches deep. 40 Wives . You might also enjoy Emma Smith: My Storyor Emma and Lucy. That is her divine mission. 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. In December 1838 and early January 1839, the Missouri state legislature, by a close vote, refused to overturn Governor Boggss extermination order. Anson Call. Josephs death occurred on 27 June 1844. "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. What is the Truth about Emma Smith? - Mormon History My mother called my legs pipe stems, and my arms straws! he said. He operated a large butcher shop by the river and a wholesale store by the boat landing. Fugitive John Butler, in Quincy, learned of their arrival, and he rowed across the river in a canoe, dodging ice. [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. [95] At that point, Brigham Young felt that the covenant to move the poor Saints had been fulfilled: We had entered into a covenant to see the poor Saints all moved out of Missouri to Illinois, that they might be delivered out of the hands of such vile persecutors, and we spared no pains to accomplish this object until the Lord gave us the desires of our heart. William G. Hartley was a professor emeritus of history at Brigham Young University when this was published. There can be no question, though, that she made sacrifices far beyond what most Mormons would be asked to make, and that she experienced more than her fair share of suffering. At the time, the First Presidency consisted of Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and Hyrum Smith, who had replaced Frederick G. Williams as second counselor in the First Presidency in November 1837. . Emma had 11 children (two were the adopted Murdock twins), and six children died in infancy. Sorry about that! 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. . During the vandalism spree, a great portion of the records of the committee, accounts, history, etc. Many people have focused almost entirely on the decisions she made in the last years of Joseph Smiths life and after his death, and sometimes those events trouble Mormons and please non-Mormons. May 1831 New York branches arrive in Ohio. When Elizabeth died in childbirth, young Elizabeth Agnes was leftwith her stepfather and, soon after, a new stepmother. Aroet Hale said a Mr. Stilson employed his father. However, she had to wait for two months before she was confirmed, as Joseph was arrested the next day for his preaching about the Book of Mormon. Thomass version is in E. Kay Kirkham, Daniel Stillwell Thomas, Utah Pioneer of 1849, bound typescript, 26; wife Martha Pane Jones Thomass version in Kate Woodhouse Kirkham, ed., Daniel Stillwell Thomas Family History, bound typescript, n.d., n.p., 25; copies in authors possession. When the man saw the Saints plight, he told his tenants to go elsewhere, for the Mormons were coming and they had no place to go and he was going to let his apartments to them. He invited John to bring his family up to one of his houses where they could live for a while. He could find no way to bring the Butlers wagon across the river, so he spent the night with his family. . Understanding how early Saints worked earnestly to build up the Church helps us better appreciate the value of their work. That did not stop Emma, a visionary woman in her own sense of the word. [26] Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 8586. 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. Her husband, on the other hand, had only a handful of years of formal education. So she made a deal with Abraham O. Smoot and Martha, his bride of three months. His wife joined the Reorganized LDS Church (now Community of Christ) and the family moved to Independence in 1870. They took what scanty provisions we could muster. They walked and slept under the sky. The family filled the cart with corn. [32] The committee surveyed the needs and weighed requests for help. In 1984, Linda wrote, with Valeen Tippetts Avery, Mormon Enigma:Emma Hale Smith, which has stood for nearly three decades as the definitive biography of Emma. As a youth she learned to canoe on the Susquehanna River and became accomplished with horses. First in Ohio and then three times in Missouri, they had practiced starting over. The hymnbook she created included familiar favorites from other denominations and hymns newly written specifically for the Latter-day Saints. Bidamon married Nancy Sebree in 1827, with whom he had four children. [18], Far West was ill equipped to become a refugee center for Saints displaced by Missouri militia. [110] Smith, History of the Church, 3:349. Smith came and consecrated the Temple Lot in June 1831. [57] Quoted in Lyman O. Littlefield, Reminiscences of Latter-day Saints (Logan, UT: Journal Company Printers, 1888), 7273. 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); We loaded up our little efects into a wagon and with one small pair of stears we started out with five children [ages twelve, nine, seven, four, and two] in our family and only one pair of shoes amongst them, Daniel wrote. 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. Learning that Missouri militia were looking for them, they set out for Iowa thrugh the wilderness, enduring snow and cold with little to eat. Among the twenty-eight men in this group were Samuel Smith and Phineas and Lorenzo Young. 4 How many wives did Joseph Smith have LDS? Brigham, after all, saw Emma as fighting against the man Brigham revered as the Prophet, and he knew that Emma knew that Joseph taught 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. They reached Quincy on January 29 and found ourselves in a land of Freedom once more by the help of God and his blessings. Holbrook observed that brethren were continually coming to Quincy from the Missouri as I had done.[43] In late January, Ebenezer Robinson and three other men walked from Far West to Quincy through the snow.[44]. [30] A second meeting on January 29 heard a partial report from the committee, after which Brigham Young proposed that Saints covenant to stand by and assist each other to the utmost of our abilities in removing from the state, and that we will never desert the poor who are worthy until they are safely out of state. DVD Review: Emma Smith: My Story - Mormonism Research Ministry But the youngest wife sealed to Smith was only 14 years old when she married him . [16] Baugh, A Call to Arms, 395; Reed Peck Manuscript, 29. B. H. Roberts, 2nd ed. [12] John Butlers escape route apparently was across northern Missouri. [37], Elders Young and Kimball kept in constant contact with the imprisoned First Presidency by correspondence, messenger, and visits. The following article was originally publishedin December 2015. She moved away from Nauvoo for a while to avoid danger, but eventually returned to her former home. You've read 0 of 5 of todays most popular posts. She move 18 times and lived in 13 houses. When it entered his stomach he went to the door and threw it off. There are several reasons Emma stayed in Nauvoo after Joseph Smith's death, but a few in particular stand out. By age 40, Emma had lost her husband, her mother and father, her father-in-law, three brothers-in-law and five children. She moved from Pennsylvania to New York to Ohio to Missouri and then Illinois. Tucked between popular Church history chapters about Liberty Jail and Nauvoo is a little-known but vitally important chapter dealing with the Latter-day Saints seven-month struggle to survive the winter of 183839 in Missouri and to leave there by spring 1839. [86] Truman O. Angell Journal, reprinted in Kate B. Carter, comp., Our Pioneer Heritage (Salt Lake City: Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1967), 10:199. Latter-day Saint historian looks at 'complicated' life of Emma Smith They kept insisting on constitutional protection . While her brothers and sisters attended only the traditional grammar school, Emma went on to do an extra year of schooling beyond that. What does the L.M., C.M. She had a lock of his hair cut and given to her. Time and again, she was uprooted, often without warning and frequently without time to pack her belongings. Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. The last words out of Emmas mouth when she died were Joseph. Shortly after Joseph's brother, William, was born in 1811, the Smiths moved to the small community of West Lebanon, New Hampshire. It's not. It does not store any personal data. [114] John Lowe Butler became a trusted workhorse for Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, serving as one of Josephs official, ordained bodyguards and later as a bishop in Spanish Fork, Utah. And Brigham, his relationship with Emma strained at best, did not bother to separate the inflammatory rhetoric of Babbitt's letters from the less dramatic probabilities. 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: [87], It is not known how many Saints temporarily took refuge in Quincy. She was a schoolteacher and even owned items of value, including cows. LM is long meter, CM is common meter, and so forth. Accordingly, our goods were taken out. They waited until another team came for them. Joseph Smith Foundation director, author, film producer, speaker. [95] Kenney, Wilford Woodruffs Journal, 1:329. I could have commanded some two thousand dollars but now I had only 1 yoke of old oxen and 2 cows left.[20], Two families moved in with Newel Knights family. Survey explains reasons why Mormons leave fold [33] They sent agents eastward to deposit corn for Saints to use along the way, to contract for ferries, and to ensure security for the travelers. Food was scarce, and housing inadequate. The author analyzes such factors as social/political issues, gender, race . The first night, our wagon tipped over into the creek. 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. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Her husband was arrested, essentially for being Mormon, leaving her alone to care for her children. Caroline Butler, whose husband had fled Missouri in November, couldnt care for her four young children, ages seven years to two months, and drive her wagon at the same time. Emma Hale Smith Bidamon passed away in Nauvoo on April 30, 1879 , and is buried next to Joseph. It was enough to make the heart ache to see the children, sick with colds, and crying around their mothers for food, whilst their parents were destitute of the means of making them comfortable.[21], Northwest Missouri winters can be harsh. Not for Daniel Stillwell and Martha Payne Jones Thomas and their family. When morning came, he and Abraham Smoot crossed to Quincy, leaving their families with the wagon. 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. "Of these 13 locations, only four of them could be called her own," Delewski said. She said she was sorry to see the Mormons suffer so much and be driven from their homes. -Stephanie. You may be able to get in touch with someone who can answer that question here: Joseph Smith PapersContact Us. 7 Are Joseph and Emma Smiths descendants Latter-day Saints? 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. The poem praised those Who have put forth your liberal hand to meet / The urgent wants of the oppressd and poor! In 1841 Joseph and Hyrum Smith and Sidney Rigdon, the First Presidency, issued a proclamation of appreciation, saying, It would be impossible to enumerate all those who in our time of deep distress, nobly came forward to our relief and like the good Samaritan poured oil into our wounds and contributed liberally to our necessities as the citizens of Quincy en masse and the people of Illinois generally seemed to emulate each other in the labor of love.[112], In Quincys Washington Park stands a simple historical marker erected in 1976 to memorialize the Saints exodus. During this time, their relationship improved and Joseph may have agreed to stop taking on additional wives. [49] Linda King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery, Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1984), 79. Her fugitive son Samuel came from Quincy and arranged for a ferryman to take the Smith party across. She is remembered for her unrelenting strength and ability to overcome hardships. by Terrie Lynn Bittner | May 3, 2013 | Joseph Smith | 2 comments. . Why did Emma Smith leave the LDS Church? Nov. 10, 2014. We are sensible, brethren, that you have done all that you could do in removing the poor Saints, they said, adding that nor have we, brethren, been backward in exerting our energies for that purpose. If Mormonism is not true, it is a fraudulent version of Christianity and an enormous sham. Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith . The views expressed by individual users are the responsibility of those users and do not necessarily represent the position of the Church. We all just made it on the opposite bank when the ice started to snap and pile up in great heaps, and the water broke thru! She had sufficient faith to avoid looking at the plates even when they were in her bedroom or kitchen, although she frequently felt them and moved them out of her way as she worked. The Saints of the Colesville Branch settle in Thompson. [62] Eliza Roxey (Snow) Smith, Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1884), 45. Huntington estimated that in Daviess County the Saints lost nearly thirty thousand bushels of corn because of the militia takeover. We have to look at her entire life, not just one portion of it. [31], William Huntington headed up a Committee of Removal. [18] Diaries of William Huntington, typescript, in Miscellaneous Mormon Diaries, vol. Saints gathered for a general conference on May 46 held in a Presbyterian campground two miles north of Quincy. 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! They had fulfilled the commandment. Bushman reports that Emma and Joseph had many intense discussions about his polygamy and their relationship was periodically strained. Brigham interpreted Emma's refusal to answer as an admission of guilt.. Leaders compiled these petitions and affidavits and presented them three times, possibly four, to U.S. president Martin Van Buren and to Congress, but the federal government refused to act on them.[109]. [116] A plague of sickness that befell Nauvoo residents in the summer of 1839 was due in large measure to physical debility caused by sufferings during the previous year. Given that Brigham was blamed by Emma for being the inventor of plural marriage, he probably felt rather ill-used by her. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. What is the LDS divorce rate? Training experience for 1846 exodus. 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. [91] Porter, Brigham Young and the Twelve, 137. For the official Church websites, please visit churchofjesuschrist.org or comeuntochrist.org. They say father was a fallen prophet. At Adam-ondi-Ahman they obtained provisions from fellow Saints. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". 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. If that were the only document people used to learn about Joseph Smith and his life, they would naturally assume that he was married once, to Emma, and not to approximately three dozen other women. A storehouse of historical documents and records. In the same year, Smith founded the Church of Christlater known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintsin Fayette Township. 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. Emma did, from time to time, offer approval of specific marriages. At Quincy, where some Church members lived, John taught school for a short period. [88] Richard E. Bennett, Quincythe Home of Our Adoption, 101. These may have been given as payment for teaching. Elggren believes they had that face-to-face after they had both died. 21 Reasons to Leave the Mormon Church, Even if it is True They moved into a Brother Wiswangers crowded home. Mormons had a divorce rate of about 1 percent. We will look forward to reading more of your work. Church Service When Joseph returned to Harmony, he received a revelation for Emma, now known as Doctrine and Covenants 25, calling her an elect lady and encouraging her to comfort and support Joseph in his afflictions. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church. Constant delays meant that the Knights did not reach the Mississippi River until early May. 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. . These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. [106] Fortunately, 678 petitions survive. Joseph Smith's death on June 27, 1844, created tremendous upheaval for Emma. Jeremy's response was an 84-page document that came to be known as the "CES Letter.". These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Early Life and Marriage of Emma Smith. By primitive Missouri roads, the distance from Far West to Quincy was about 180 miles.
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