NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Emma Hale Smith

Emma Hale Smith (10 July 1804 - 30 April 1879) was the wife of Joseph Smith, Jr. and was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement in her own right. She was the first president of the Relief Society, which today is a large, international women's organization. Image File history File links From http://www. ... Image File history File links From http://www. ... July 10 is the 191st day (192nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 174 days remaining. ... 1804 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... April 30 is the 120th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (121st in leap years), with 245 days remaining. ... 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Joseph Smith, Jr. ... The Latter Day Saint movement is a religious movement which began in the early 19th century and is generally considered to be founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. ... The Relief Society is the womens organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. ...

Life

Early life and first marriage, 1804–1829

Emma was born 10 July 1804, in Harmony, Pennsylvania, as the seventh child of Isaac Hale and Elizabeth Lewis Hale. Emma first met her future husband, Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1825. Smith lived near Palmyra, New York, but boarded with the Hales in Harmony while he was employed in a company of men hoping to unearth buried treasure (specifically a silver mine for Josiah Stowell). Although the company found no treasure, Smith returned to Harmony several times seeking the hand of Emma. Isaac Hale refused to allow the marriage because he considered Smith's occupation disreputable. Finally, on 17 January 1827, Smith and Emma eloped across the state line to South Bainbridge, New York, where they were married the following day. The couple moved to the home of Smith's parents on the edge of Manchester Township near Palmyra. July 10 is the 191st day (192nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 174 days remaining. ... 1804 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Harmony is a borough located in Butler County, Pennsylvania. ... Joseph Smith, Jr. ... Palmyra, New York may be: Palmyra (town), New York Palmyra (village), New York This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... January 17 is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Naval Battle of Navarino by Carneray 1827 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Manchester, New York is both a town and a village located in Ontario County, New York. ...

While there, on 22 September 1827, Joseph and Emma took a horse and carriage belonging to Joseph Knight and went to a hill now known as the Hill Cumorah where Joseph reported receiving a set of Golden Plates. This created a great deal of excitement in the area. In December of 1827, the couple decided to move to be with Emma's parents' in Harmony where they reconciled to an extent with Isaac and Elizabeth Hale, who helped Emma and Joseph obtain a house and a small farm. While living there, Joseph began what he termed the "translation" of the plates into the Book of Mormon, and for a time, Emma acted as a scribe. She became a physical witness of the plates, reporting that she felt them through a cloth, traced the pages through the cloth with her fingers, heard the metallic sound they made as she moved them, and felt their weight. She later wrote in an interview with her son, Joseph Smith III: "In writing for your father I frequently wrote day after day, often sitting at the table close by him, he sitting with his face buried in his hat, with the stone in it, and dictating hour after hour with nothing between us." (History of the RLDS Church, 8 vols. (Independence, Missouri: Herald House, 1951), "Last Testimony of Sister Emma," 3:356.) September 22 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (266th in leap years). ... Naval Battle of Navarino by Carneray 1827 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Joseph Knight was a slave born in Africa and sold in Jamaica to a Scottish owner. ... The Hill Cumorah is a place from the Book of Mormon where the Nephites were destroyed in a final battle with the Lamanites, and according to Joseph Smith, Jr. ... An 1893 engraving of Joseph Smith receiving the Golden Plates and the Urim and Thummim from Moroni. ... The Book of Mormon (originally, The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi) is one of the sacred texts of the Restoration movement, named after the prophet/historian Mormon, who according to the text compiled most of the...

While in Harmony on 15 June 1828, Emma gave birth to her first child—a son named Alvin—who lived only a few hours. June 15 is the 166th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (167th in leap years), with 199 days remaining. ... 1828 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

In May 1829, Emma and Joseph left Harmony and went to live with David Whitmer in Fayette, New York. While there, Joseph finished work on the Book of Mormon, which was published by March of 1830. David Whitmer (1805–1888) is remembered in the Latter Day Saint movement as the most interviewed of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormons Golden Plates. ... Fayette is a town located in Seneca County, New York. ...

"Elect Lady" and the early church, 1830–1839

On 6 April 1830, Joseph and 5 other men established the "Church of Christ" (whose name was changed to Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1838). April 6 is the 96th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (97th in leap years). ... Liberty Leading the People by EugÃ¨ne Delacroix commemorates the July Revolution 1830 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The Church of Christ was the original name given to the church formally organized by Joseph Smith, Jr. ... The title Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints can refer to: the Church of Christ (Mormonism), the first church organization within the Latter Day Saint movement; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest denomination within the Latter Day Saint movement; the Church of Jesus...

Emma was baptized in 28 June 1830 in Colesville, New York where an early branch of the church was established. During the next weeks, Joseph was arrested and tried in South Bainbridge for "glass looking" on the state's vagrancy law. Emma may have been disheartened and Joseph reported a revelation which instructed her to "murmur not" but also comforted her with the assurance, "thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou art an elect lady, whom I have called."[1] The revelation goes on to state that Emma would "be ordained under [Joseph's] hand to expound scriptures, and to exhort the church" and further authorizes Emma to "make a selection of sacred Hymns" for the church. June 28 is the 179th day of the year (180th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 186 days remaining. ... Liberty Leading the People by EugÃ¨ne Delacroix commemorates the July Revolution 1830 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Colesville is a town located in Broome County, New York. ...

Joseph and Emma returned to Harmony for a time, but relations with Emma's parents broke down, and the couple returned to live again in the homes of members of the growing church. They lived first with the Whitmers again in Fayette, then with Newel K. Whitney and his family in Kirtland, Ohio and then into a cabin on a farm owned by Isaac Morley. It was here on April 30, 1831 that Emma prematurely gave birth to twins—named Thaddeus and Louisa—who died hours later. That same day Julia Clapp Murdock died giving birth to twins, named Joseph and Julia. When they were nine days old, their father, John Murdock gave the infants to the Smiths who adopted them and raised them as their own. On 2 September 1831, Emma, Joseph and the twins moved into John Johnson's home in Hiram, Ohio. Newel Kimball Whitney (1795â€“1850) (commonly known as Newel K. Whitney, with his first name sometimes being misspelled Newell) was a prominent leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and an American businessman. ... Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, USA. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census. ... April 30 is the 120th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (121st in leap years), with 245 days remaining. ... Leopold I 1831 (MDCCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Julia Murdock Smith (May 1, 1831 - September 12, 1880 ) was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement and the eldest surviving child and only daughter of Joseph Smith, Jr. ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Leopold I 1831 (MDCCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Hiram is a village located in Portage County, Ohio. ...

On November 6, 1832, Emma gave birth to a son, named Joseph Smith III, in the upper room of Newel K. Whitney's store in Kirtland. Young Joseph (as he became known) was the first of the children she bore to live to adulthood. A second son, Frederick Granger Williams Smith (named for a counselor in the church's First Presidency), followed on June 29, 1836. November 6 is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 55 days remaining. ... 1832 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Joseph Smith III â€” Leader of the 1860 Reorganization of the Latter Day Saint church. ... In Mormonism, the First Presidency (or the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is one of the governing bodies in the church hierarchy of several Latter Day Saint denominations. ...

While in Kirtland, Emma's feelings about temperance and the use of tobacco may have influenced her husband's decision to pray about dietary questions. These prayers resulted in the "Word of Wisdom". Also, Emma's first selection of hymns was published as a hymnal for the church's use. It was also in Kirtland that Emma's husband began to teach and practice the doctrine of "plural marriage"—although this was not yet an official doctrine or practice of the church. And it was in Kirtland that the collapse of Joseph's banking venture, the Kirtland Safety Society, led to serious problems for the church and the family. On January 12, 1838, he was forced to leave the state or face charges of fraud and illegal banking. The Word of Wisdom is the common name of Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants of the Latter Day Saint movement (Mormonism). ... Plural marriage (also sometimes called celestial marriage or The Patriarchal Order of marriage) is a type of polygamy that was allegedly practiced by Joseph Smith, Jr. ... The Kirtland Safety Society (KSS) was a quasi-bank organized in 1836 (and reorganized on January 2, 1837) by leaders and followers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. ... January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... | JÃ¶ns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

Emma and her family followed after, as they could, and made a new home on the frontier in the Mormon settlement of Far West, Missouri. There, on June 2, 1838, Emma gave birth to another son, Alexander Hale Smith. Events of the Mormon War soon escalated, resulting in Joseph's surrender and imprisonment by Missouri officials. Emma and her family were forced to leave the state with the majority of Latter Day Saint refugees. She crossed the Mississippi River which had frozen over in February of 1839. Of these times, she later wrote: Far West, Missouri, was a Latter Day Saint (Mormon) settlement in Caldwell County, Missouri. ... June 2 is the 153rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (154th in leap years), with 212 days remaining. ... | JÃ¶ns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Alexander Hale Smith (1838–1909). ... The Mormon War is a name sometimes given to the 1838 conflict which occurred between Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and their neighbors in the northwestern region of the U.S. state of Missouri. ...

Early years in Nauvoo, 1839–1844

Emma and her family lived with friendly non-Mormons John and Sarah Cleveland in Quincy, Illinois, until Joseph escaped custody in Missouri. The family moved to a new Latter-Day Saint settlement in Illinois which Joseph named "Nauvoo." On May 9, 1839, they moved into a two story log house there which they called the "Homestead." They lived there until 1842 when a much larger house, known as the "Mansion House" was built across the street. A wing (no longer extant) was added to this house, which Emma operated as a hotel. Nickname: Gem City Location in Illinois Coordinates: Country United States State Illinois Counties Adams County, Illinois Mayor John A. Spring Area - City 14. ... Nauvoo (× Ö¸××•×•Ö¼ to be beautiful, Sephardi Hebrew NÃ¥vu, Tiberian Hebrew NÃ¢wÃ») is a city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. ... May 9 is the 129th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (130th in leap years). ... 1839 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

On March 17, 1842 the Relief Society was formally organized as the women's auxiliary to the church and Emma became its founding president. Shortly before this, Joseph initiated the Anointed Quorum—a prayer-circle of important men and women in the church that included Emma. March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in Leap years). ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The Relief Society is the womens organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. ... The Anointed Quorum, also known as the Quorum of the Anointed, or the Holy Order, was an elite body of men and women with special standing in early Mormonism. ...

Joseph had continued to practice plural marriage in secret. In Nauvoo, he began to privately expand the circle of men and women who were taught this doctrine. Joseph always denied the principle of plural marriage in public. Joseph's brother Hyrum was originally a strong opponent of plural marriage and asked Joseph to "seek a revelation" to settle the issue. Reportedly, a revelation that Joseph dictated on 12 July 1843 (although it may have been given earlier) converted Hyrum to the principle and Hyrum convinced Joseph to let him share it with Emma. Rumors of polygamy and "spiritual wifery" had dogged the Mormons for over a decade, and Emma had long been a public opponent of it. The reported revelation addressed Emma specifically and commanded that unless she accept the principle of plural marriage, "she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord." (See Doctrine and Covenants, LDS, 132.) According to later reports, Emma took the copy of the written revelation that Hyrum had presented to her and burned it. Further testimonies affirm that she later agreed to let Joseph marry (or re-marry) a number of plural wives. On May 11, 1843 she took part in a marriage ceremony between Joseph and Emily D. Partridge and Eliza M. Partridge. It should also be noted that throughout her life Emma continued to publicly deny the principle of plural marriage and to publicly deny that she or Joseph had any part in it. The reasons for the denials is not known, however, Joseph often asked those whom he told never to reveal the doctrine publicly. Plural marriage (also sometimes called celestial marriage or The Patriarchal Order of marriage) is a type of polygamy that was allegedly practiced by Joseph Smith, Jr. ... July 12 is the 193rd day (194th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 172 days remaining. ... 1843 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Doctrine and Covenants The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes referred to as the D&C) is a part of the open scriptural canon of Mormonism. ... May 11 is the 131st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (132nd in leap years). ... 1843 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Rumors concerning polygamy and other practices threatened to erupt into the open in June 1844, with the publication of the Nauvoo Expositor by disaffected former church leaders. Joseph ordered the press destroyed which led to his arrest and incarceration in the jail in Carthage. While he was there, a mob of about 200 armed men stormed Carthage Jail in the late afternoon of 27 June 1844. Gun shots killed both Joseph and his brother Hyrum. The Nauvoo Expositor was a newspaper in Nauvoo, Illinois that published only one issue on June 7, 1844. ... Carthage is a city located in Hancock County, Illinois. ... June 27 is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 187 days remaining. ... 1844 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

Later years in Nauvoo, 1844–1879

Joseph's death threw both the church and Emma's family into disorder. Emma was left a pregnant widow—it would be on November 17, 1844, that she gave birth to David Hyrum Smith, Joseph's and her last child together. In addition to being church president, Joseph had been trustee-in-trust for the church. As a result, his estate was entirely wrapped up with the finances of the church. Untangling the church's property and debts from Emma's personal property and debts proved a long and potentially dangerous process for Emma and her family. 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ... 1844 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... David Hyrum Smith was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement and the youngest son of Joseph Smith, Jr. ...

The church itself was left with no clear successor and a succession crisis ensued. Emma wanted William Marks, president of the church's central stake, to assume the church presidency, but Marks favored Sidney Rigdon for the role. After a meeting on August 6, a congregation of the church voted that the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles should become the new First Presidency of the church. Brigham Young, president of the Quorum, then became "de-facto" president of the church in Nauvoo. The Succession Crisis in the Latter Day Saint movement occurred after the assassination of the movements founder, Joseph Smith, Jr. ... William Marks, (November 15, 1792 – May 22, 1872) was born in Rutland, Vermont to Cornwall (or Cornell) and Sarah Goodrich Marks. ... A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregrations in sects of the Latter Day Saint movement. ... In the Latter Day Saint movement, the President of the Church is generally considered to be the highest office of the church. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The current Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the LDS Church. ... In Mormonism, the First Presidency (or the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is one of the governing bodies in the church hierarchy of several Latter Day Saint denominations. ... For other uses, see Brigham Young University Brigham Young (June 1, 1801 â€“ August 29, 1877) was the second prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ...

Relations between Young and Emma steadily deteriorated, and Young cut Emma's friends as well as members of the Smith family off from the church. Relations between the Latter Day Saints and their neighbors also declined into near open warfare, and finally Young made the decision to relocate in the West. When he and the majority of the Latter Day Saints abandoned Nauvoo in early 1846, Emma and her children remained behind in the mostly empty town.

Nearly two years later, a close friend, Major Lewis C. Bidamon, proposed marriage and became Emma's second husband on December 23, 1847. Bidamon moved into the mansion house and became step-father to Emma's children. Emma and Bidamon attempted to operate a store and to continue to operate their large house as a hotel, but Nauvoo had too few residents and visitors to make either venture very profitable. Emma and her family remained rich in real estate but poor in capital. December 23 is the 357th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (358th in leap years). ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Unlike other members of the Smith family who had at times favored the claims of James J. Strang and/or William Smith, Emma and her children continued to live as unaffiliated Latter Day Saints. Many Latter Day Saints believed that her eldest son, Joseph Smith III, would one day be called to take his father's place. Knowing the dangers and hardships firsthand, Emma may have preferred a different path for her son. However, when he reported receiving a calling from God to take his father's place as head of a "New Organization" of the Latter Day Saint church, she supported his decision. Both she and Joseph III traveled to a conference at Amboy, Illinois and on April 6, 1860, Joseph was sustained as president of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which later became the Community of Christ. Emma became a member of this organization without rebaptism, as her original 1830 baptism was still considered valid. 1856 daguerreotype of James Strang, taken on Beaver Island, Lake Michigan, by J. Atkyn, one of his assassins. ... William Smith (also found as William B. Smith) (1811â€“1893) born in Royalton, Vermont, was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. ... Joseph Smith III â€” Leader of the 1860 Reorganization of the Latter Day Saint church. ... The Amboy Conference was the setting of the official re-organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints into the Latter Day Saint denomination now known as the Community of Christ. ... Amboy is a city located in Lee County, Illinois. ... April 6 is the 96th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (97th in leap years). ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... In the Latter Day Saint movement, the President of the Church is generally considered to be the highest office of the church. ... Community of Christ Temple in Independence, Missouri, USA. Dedicated 1994 Community of Christ, a Christian denomination known for its dedication to the pursuit of peace, claims more than 250,000 members in 50 nations. ... Rebaptism is a practice in some denominations of the Latter Day Saint or Mormonism movement. ...

Emma and Joseph III returned to Nauvoo after the conference and he led the church from there until moving to Plano, Illinois in 1866. Joseph called upon his mother to help prepare a hymnal for the New Organization, just as she had for the early church. Plano is a city located in Kendall County, Illinois. ...

Major Bidamon renovated a portion of the unfinished "Nauvoo House" hotel (across the street from the mansion house) and he and Emma moved there in 1869. Emma died peacefully in her home on April 30, 1879. Her memorial service was held May 2 of that year in Nauvoo, Illinois. April 30 is the 120th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (121st in leap years), with 245 days remaining. ... 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Hymns and hymnals

In June 1832 a selection of six hymns were published in the first issue of The Evening and the Morning Star, an early church periodical (See June 1832, p. 8 - Wikisource). The Evening and Morning Star was an early Latter Day Saint periodical published monthly in Independence, Missouri from June 1832 to May 1833, and then in Kirtland, Ohio from June 1833 to September 1834. ...

The first church hymnal came off the press in 1836 (and maybe late 1835) at Kirtland, Ohio [2]. It was titled A Collection of Sacred Hymns, for the Church of the Latter Day Saints and contained 90 hymn texts (no music). More than half of the texts were borrowed from other Protestant traditions, but often changed slightly to reinforce the theology of the early church. For example, Hymn 15, changes Isaac Watts' Joy to the World from a song about Christmas to a song about the return of Christ (See Joy to the world! the Lord will come!) Most of these changes as well as a large number of the original songs included in the hymnal are attributed to W.W. Phelps. Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, USA. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census. ... A Collection of Sacred Hymns, for the Church of the Latter Day Saints. ... Isaac Watts. ... Joy to the World is one of the best-known and best-loved of Christmas carols. ... Joy to the World! The Lord Will Come is an adaptation of the popular Christmas carol, Joy to the World, the Lord is Come. ... William Wine Phelps (also W.W. Phelps, and William W. Phelps) ( February 17, 1792– March 7, 1872) was an important early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement. ...

Emma also compiled a second hymnal by the same title, which was published in Nauvoo, Illinois, 1841. This contained 304 hymn texts. Nauvoo (× Ö¸××•×•Ö¼ to be beautiful, Sephardi Hebrew NÃ¥vu, Tiberian Hebrew NÃ¢wÃ») is a city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. ...

When her son, Joseph Smith III, in 1860 was called as the president/prophet of the Reorganization (now known as Community of Christ) she was again asked to compile a hymnal. Latter Day Saints' Selection of Hymns was published in 1861, although the extent of her involvement is not known. Joseph Smith III â€” Leader of the 1860 Reorganization of the Latter Day Saint church. ... Community of Christ Temple in Independence, Missouri, USA. Dedicated 1994 Community of Christ, a Christian denomination known for its dedication to the pursuit of peace, claims more than 250,000 members in 50 nations. ...

Female Relief Society of Nauvoo

Emma was elected as the first president of the Relief Society of Nauvoo, 17 March 1842. The organization was formed to "provoke the brethren to good works in looking to the wants of the poor, [search] after objects of charity...[and] to assist by correcting the virtues of the female community," according to the minutes of the Relief Society. The Relief Society is the womens organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. ... March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in Leap years). ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Polygamy

Newell and Avery, in their biography, Mormon Enigma, cite evidence that Emma witnessed several marriages of Joseph Smith, Jr. to plural wives. However, like all those who participated in early Plural Marriages, Emma publicly denied knowledge of her husband's involvement in the practice of polygamy. Joseph Smith, Jr. ... The term polygamy (literally many marriages in late Greek) is used in related ways in social anthropology and sociobiology and sociology. ...

Her son, Joseph Smith III, became prophet/president of the Reorganization — which gathered many of the Latter Day Saints still scattered across the Midwest and elsewhere. Many of the Midwestern Latter Day Saints had broken with Brigham Young and/or James Strang because of earnest opposition to polygamy. Emma's continuing public denial of the practice seemed to lend strength to their cause, and opposition to polygamy became a tenet of the Reorganized church (now known as Community of Christ). Over the years many church historians attempted to prove that the practice had originated with Brigham Young. Joseph Smith III â€” Leader of the 1860 Reorganization of the Latter Day Saint church. ... Community of Christ Temple in Independence, Missouri, USA. Dedicated 1994 Community of Christ, a Christian denomination known for its dedication to the pursuit of peace, claims more than 250,000 members in 50 nations. ... For other uses, see Brigham Young University Brigham Young (June 1, 1801 â€“ August 29, 1877) was the second prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ...

Beginning in the 1970s, however, with increasing professionalization in the reorganized church historians office, some (but by no means all) of the members of the reorganized church have come to accept the evidence that the system originated with Smith himself. Some recent reorganized church historians acknowledge Smith's practice of polygamy. That being said, there remains no actual proof of Smith's involvement, and much of the evidence is claimed by some to be suspect.

References

Linda King Newell is co-author with Valeen Tippetts Avery of the book Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith. ... Valeen Tippetts Avery (1936 - 2006) was an American biographer and historian best known for her work on Western American and Latter Day Saint history. ...

External links

Categories: 1804 births | 1879 deaths | Book of Mormon witnesses | Community of Christ leaders | Latter Day Saint leaders | Spouses of polygamists | Wives of Joseph Smith, Jr The Relief Society is the womens organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. ... This is the current Mormon collaboration of the month! Please help improve it to meet the ideal article standard. ... March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in Leap years). ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1844 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Eliza Roxcy Snow(Library of Congress) Eliza Roxcy Snow (1804-01-21 – 1887-12-05) was a prominent and influential early Latter-day Saint leader, a poet, and a plural wife of both Joseph Smith, Jr. ...

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