Emma Smith and Her Denial of Polygamy

Emma Smith is one of my heroes of the Restoration. 

When Joseph needed his greatest support, Emma was always there. She was rightfully called an Elect Lady by the Lord and she always stayed true to her testimony of her husband's prophetic calling. True, she did not travel west with Brigham Young, but that in no way diminishes her witness of the Restoration. 

In recent days I have been saddened by critics of the Church, both inside and outside the Church, and even faithful members who diminish her testimony of the translation of the Book of Mormon solely because she did not travel west and even denied plural marriage later in her life at a time when it was well known that the Saints were practicing plural marriage and that it originated with her husband, the Prophet Joseph Smith. 

It is under these circumstances I will give an apologetic defence of Emma Smith. While I will deal with the issue of polygamy, this will not deal extensively with the history, theology, or practice of plural marriage except when neccessary. For a more complete picture of this practice I would highly recommend the work of Brian Hales, who wrote a three volume series (plus another book) on plural marriage and has put even more of his research online for free at his site Joseph Smith's Polygamy. 

I will also use a few principles of psychology to examine Emma's denial, the use of which in this specific example was first pointed out to me by Alex Baugh of the Church History Department at BYU. However, I am not studying psychology and as such this is strictly based off of a rudimentary understanding and hope that someone more capable can see this and offer their own insights. I only hope to offer some understanding to the mindset of Emma Smith in 1879 according to things as they were in 1879 and not from a modern set of eyes. 

Emma's Witness

One of the most interesting witnesses of plural marriage is Emma Smith. She had perhaps the most difficult time accepting the revelation after it came to her husband, the Prophet Joseph Smith, and had an on-again, off-again relationship with it, if you will.

Then, near the end of her life, her son Joseph III (who at this time was President of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) interviewed her and published it as The Last Testimony of Sister Emma  in the Saint's Herald. Of the questions that were asked, the famous denial of plural marriage comes from Sister Emma:

Question. What about the revelation on polygamy? Did Joseph Smith have anything like it? What of spiritual wifery?

Answer. There was no revelation on either polygamy or spiritual wives. There were some rumors of something of the sort, of which I asked my husband. He assured me that all there was of it was, that, in a chat about plural wives, he had said, "Well, such a system might possibly be, if everybody was agreed to it, and would behave as they should; but they would not; and besides, it was contrary to the will of heaven." No such thing as polygamy or spiritual wifery was taught, publicly or privately, before my husband's death, that I have now, or ever had any knowledge of.

Question. Did he not have other wives than yourself?

Answer. He had no other wife but me; nor did he to my knowledge ever have.

Question. Did he not hold marital relations with women other than yourself?

Answer. He did not have improper relations with any woman that ever came to my knowledge.

Question. Was there nothing about spiritual wives that you recollect?

Answer. At one time my husband came to me and asked me if I had heard certain rumors about spiritual marriages, or anything of the kind; and assured me that if I had, that they were without foundation; that there was no such doctrine, and never should be with his knowledge or consent. I know that he had no other wife or wives than myself, in any sense, either spiritual or otherwise. (1)

Some have read this exchange and determined that it is possible that Emma carefully worded her response to leave room for the possibility of plural marriage; however, I cannot find such a reading of this text myself. I am not, however, worried by this seeming silver bullet against Joseph Smith and find that given the circumstances, this is a common reaction for people under Emma's position.

Emma Smith and Plural Marriage

Joseph first learned about plural marriage in 1831 in a revelation now canonized as Section 132 in the Doctrine and Covenants. His first plural wife was taken in either 1835 or 1836 (2), though the marriage did not seem to last long, and no further plural marriages were performed until the Nauvoo era.

Emma was not aware of many of the plural marriages Joseph performed. He likely wanted to spare her feelings from something that would have been, and would yet be, a great trial of faith for his wife. However, Emma did for a time accept the revelation and chose some of Joseph's wives for him.

Emma again rejected plural marriage as the stress weighed on her. Once, Hyrum requested Joseph to write the revelation so that he could read it to Emma. Upon his return "Hyrum replied that he had never received a more serious talking to in his life." (3)

Furthermore, once Emily Partridge, who was a wife of Joseph that Emma had approved of, wrote “I know it was hard for Emma, and any woman, to enter plural marriage in those days, and I do not know as anybody would have done any better than Emma did under the circumstances.” (4)

Emma and Lewis Bidamon 

December 23, 1847, about two and a half years after the martyrdom, Emma Hale Smith was remarried to Lewis Bidamon, a man who was friendly to the Latter-day Saints but not a believer in the work. He was an honorable and respectable man in Nauvoo and helped raise Emma's children. As her children grew up, Emma taught them about their father's prophetic calling, but animosity between Brigham Young and Emma ran deep, and she did not want her children to join the main body of the Church in Utah. When her son Joseph III was asked to take the position of President of the new Reorganization Movement, he accepted under the support of his mother and she joined in fellowship with the new church. 

In 1864, trouble struck the Bidamon home. Lewis C. Bidamon fathered a child with the widow Nancy Abercrombie who had recently moved to Nauvoo. However, one of the greatest testimonies of Emma's compassion comes from this incident. Instead of allowing Lewis' infidelity destroy her family, she attempted to patch things up and even raised the child, Charles Bidamon, as her own in 1868 upon request from the mother. Then, in 1872, Emma invited Nancy Abercrombie to live in her home as a housekeeper so that Nancy could be closer to her eight year old son. (5)

Emma's Denial

Finally we come to the fated interview with Joseph III. By this time, Charles Bidamon was approximately fifteen years old and Nancy Abercrombie had lived in the same household as Emma for over half a decade. A similar situation had existed previously (albeit without additional children) in Emma's life when the Partridge sisters, Emily and Eliza, had lived with Emma and Joseph as his plural wives.

The human mind tends to do something funny when it's forced to reconcile a hard memory that caused a lot of pain, whether physical or emotional: it doesn't. People suppress the memories, shoving them away so they don't have to think about them. I believe that Emma Smith did the same in regards to plural marriage.

Emma had been living with a stark reminder of her husband's brief infidelity towards her for approximately eleven years. While she was able to deal with the actions of Lewis Bidamon (and in a way accept something she had been unable to in Joseph's lifetime), it would have initially caused a great deal of stress for her that would have caused her to subconsciously block those memories.

I believe that Emma Smith's witness for the Restoration is very beautiful given all she had to endure. I have no doubt that, as the Lord judges us according to our own circumstances according to what we were called to endure, Emma Smith will be in the Celestial Kingdom alongside Joseph the Seer for her faithfulness to her ministry in her own capacity.

According to Alexander Smith, the last words his mother spoke as a testament to this were "Joseph Joseph … yes,  yes,  I am coming.” (6)

NOTES

1. "Last Testimony of Sister Emma," Saint's Herald, Vol. 26, No 19. p. 289. (1 October 1879)

2. While we do not have the information to determine when Joseph's marriage to Fanny Alger was performed, I personally lean to an 1836 date after the dedication of the Kirtland Temple when the sealing keys were authorized to be used by Elijah. However, I fully recognize that there is reason to believe the marriage occurred earlier and was for time only and am welcome to having my mind changed. For a more detailed summary of Joseph's marriage to Fanny Alger, see Brian C. Hales, "Joseph Smith and Fanny Alger."

3. Affidavits about celestial marriage, 1869-1915; WilliamClayton affidavit, 1874 February 16; William Clayton affidavit; Church HistoryLibrary  (accessed: June 9, 2020)

4. Emily Dow Partridge Smith Young, “Testimony That Cannot Be Refuted,” Woman’s Exponent, Apr. 1, 1884, 12:165. Quoted in Saints Vol. 1.

5. See Joni Wilson, "Emma's Enduring Compassion: A Personal Reflection," 75.

6. Alexander Hale Smith, Zion’s Ensign, December 31, 1903. Quoted in Brian C. Hales, "Emma Smith's Path Through Polygamy."