Despite hard trials and difficult separations from her husband, Emma Smith remained faithful to the Lord.
Photo by Takahiro Sakamoto
It is well known that Emma Smith was the wife of Joseph Smith, the first president of the Relief Society, and the compiler of the first LDS hymnbook. Yet we don’t often hear her words directly. In a letter Emma wrote to Joseph on April 25, 1837, we can see the faith and wit she exhibited during one of the difficult times when Joseph was forced into hiding.
Emma begins her letter by saying how glad everyone is—even their enemies—that Joseph has sent a letter, because she is “glad enough to hear that [he] is well, and [their] enemies think they have almost found [him], by seeing where the letters were mailed.” She tells him that their family is doing well but that they all miss him and worry because they do not know where he is in hiding. Emma writes, “If I had no more confidence in God than some I could name, I should be in a sad case indeed.” Fortunately, Emma does have the faith to withstand this separation, and she gives a good example of the sort of attitude that we can all adopt in times of trial.
Emma then goes on to share a short testimony. She testifies that “if we humble ourselves, and are as faithful as we can be we shall be delivered from every snare that may be laid for our feet, and our lives and property will be saved and we redeemed from all unreasonable encumbrances.”
Through this letter, we can see that Emma Smith truly is an “elect lady” (D&C: 25:3), whose faith and cheerfulness through her many trials can stand as an example for us all.
To better know Emma Smith, read her full letter of April 25, 1837.
Source: Joseph Smith Papers
—Monica Allen, Mormon Insights
feature image by michal jarmoluk
Find more insights
Read another letter that Emma wrote to Joseph one week later, on May 3, 1837.
Discover more about Emma by reading a biographical article about her, “Thou Art an Elect Lady,” by Matthew J. Grow.
Now that you’ve read an article about Emma’s example, read about her husband’s example in a Mormon Insights article titled “Joseph Smith’s Example of Accepting the Lord’s Will,” by Kimberly Austin.
Read or watch Elder Richard G. Scott’s article “The Sustaining Power of Faith in Times of Uncertainty and Testing” about how faith in God and the Holy Spirit can sustain us.