Had to share this caption from one of my new FAVORITE accounts to follow while studying Doctrine and Covenants for #comefollowme @saintsofhistory takes an early saint and posts a brief but extremely entertaining biography about each individual. I’ve been waiting not so patiently for the post dedicated to Emma! Read an excerpt of @saintsofhistory post below. Also check out this early artwork by @emilyshayart another one of my favorite artists/ illustrators 😭😍
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In 1825, 21-year-old Emma met 19-year-old Joseph Smith when a guy named Josiah Stowell hired Joseph to help him dig for purported lost silver near Harmony, PA. The Smiths often took random jobs like this to help provide for the family, but Joseph’s current living + all the rumors about him still didn’t impress Emma’s dad. But she was done being with all the single ladies, so she put her hand up and Joseph liked it so he put a ring on it—they eloped and were married on Jan. 18, 1827 in South Bainbridge, NY.
Fast forward to June 15, 1828: At the same time Martin Harris was losing 116 pages of The Book of Mormon, Emma nearly died. After an agonizing labor, she gave birth to her first child, but the baby was very frail and died soon afterward. Little did she know that her first three children would not live beyond a day, and of the nine children she bore, only four would grow to adulthood. Emma and Joseph named this first baby Alvin.
Now let’s jump to July 1830: Soon after Emma’s “memorable” baptism day (see Joseph Knight Sr. post), the Lord sent a revelation just for her, now known as Doctrine & Covenants 25. (Go read p.36-38 in “Revelations in Context”—good stuff.) Among other things, Emma is assigned to “make a selection of sacred hymns.” Today, 26 of Emma’s original selections are still in our hymn book. Zero came from Beyonce.
Of course, Emma later became the first president of the Relief Society, fulfilling, at least in part, her designation by the Lord as an “elect lady” according to Joseph in 1842.
Emma was a leader in public and in private—often left to face life’s challenges alone when her husband was falsely accused and imprisoned. ...