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Original Keystone Video (Please comment and post this response!)
Joseph’s Vision of Alvin (D&C 137)
Joseph’s August 1842 statements about Hyrum and Emma
Hyrum April 8, 1844 Sermon Transcript
Testimonies of Joseph Smith’s Descendants
Copy of Letter to B.H. Stenhouse
William Smith 1845 Letter to Orson Hyde
Scripture Central on Joseph Smith Sr.
Joseph Smith August 16, 1843 Letter to Emma
Transcript
[00:00] Michelle: Welcome to 132 Problems revisiting Mormon polygamy. I hope everybody had a wonderful Christmas. I’m very excited to share this short fun episode where we are going to take a look at what Joseph Smith’s family really thought. Many of you will recognize David Snell from the YouTube channel Saints Unscripted. He has a new, also church produced, um, YouTube channel called Keystone. And that channel released a video last week that I just thought was the greatest possible Christmas present from them. It’s this video. It’s called What Joseph Smith’s Family really Thought. And I love this video. I was thrilled to see it. It really was a brilliant idea for a video, and it made extremely important points that I really hope everybody who watched and appreciated this video will consider. I also really hope those who made this video, but somehow seemed to miss a huge part of its essential application, will also consider The other things that we need to talk about with this video. The reason it is so valuable to look at what Joseph’s family said is because a family really is usually, at least often, if not usually, the toughest audience and the most difficult to convince. Even Jesus knew this. John 4:44, for Jesus himself testified that a prophet hath no honor in his own country. There is so much evidence for this, probably in all of our lives. I definitely know this from my own experience. Most of my siblings and extended family have very little use for my beliefs or my work. Some have even at times been quite hostile, which I’m sure I’ve not been perfect either. It’s just families can be tough, right? And even my wonderful darling, amazing mother, I don’t want to embarrass her, but I have to share this cause it’s so funny and so applicable to what we’re talking about. She is incredibly supportive of what I do. She’s a big believer and supporter of my work. I appreciate her so much. But she even, she did not really believe what I was saying until she heard somebody else say the same things, namely, Rob Fotheringham. A couple of years ago when I was relatively new to my channel, she called me one day all excited and just, she said, I knew that you were making sense and I wanted to support you, but you were just my daughter, and I didn’t know. If I could really trust what just my daughter was saying. But when a man who I didn’t even know was saying the same things, I knew you were right. She was so excited to call and tell me that she knew I was right because she had heard somebody else say the same thing. So, again, there’s just so much evidence to show all of us that families can also, can often be the slowest to give us credibility and also sometimes our harshest critics. That can happen. So David’s initial question is extremely worthwhile.
[03:08] David Snell: What did Joseph’s family think about his claims? Did they believe him?
[03:14] Michelle: We could answer at that statement just by looking at this one statement by Elder TE Lloyd that was published in Zion’s Ensign on July 1, 1893. This is an RLDS source, but you’re going to see that that will become a theme in this episode, because if we want to know what Joseph Smith’s family thought, we need to look at RLDS. Sources. So this, this quote says, his father, mother, brothers and sisters, who certainly knew the character of Joseph better than did his enemies and opposers, all believed his testimony and became members of the church. Their testimonies corroborated Joseph’s, while their lives attested that sincerity, whichever character is the truth. They all died in the faith except his brother William Smith and his sister, Mrs. Catherine Salisbury, who yet live and in their old age, rejoiced to tell the old old story as they told it 60 years ago. Emma Smith, who the whom the prophet married in 1827, ere he translated the Book of Mormon. And who was his constant companion while such work was being wrought was a firm believer in his divine calling and hence in the divinity of the Book of Mormon, she remained steadfast in the faith, revering the memory of her illustrious dead until April 1879 when Her tried spirit passed out in triumph to mingle with those gone before. So right there, we get a good testimony of what Joseph Smith’s family thought about Joseph Smith. But I actually really appreciate how David breaks it down by each individual family member.
[04:51] David Snell: Joseph’s oldest brother Alvin died at 25 years old in 1823. Joseph had been told about the golden plates at this point but hadn’t yet retrieved them. Some of Alvin’s dying words to Joseph were,
[05:03] Alvin Smith (Portrayal): I want you to be a good boy and do everything that lies in your power to obtain the record.
[05:11] Michelle: From everything I’ve read about Alvin, he was such a good egg. It still is painful to know that he was taken so early. He worked tirelessly to pay off his family’s debts. He was known to be an honest and a good man. A neighbor Described him and his parents and family as very good people. Lucy Mack, his mother said he manifested greater zeal and anxiety in regard to the to the record even than any of the rest of the family if possible. Alvin thoroughly believed in Joseph. And Alvin died in 1823 at 25 years of age before the Book of Mormon was obtained or translated, and a very long time before any ideas about polygamy emerged, or the claim that the new and everlasting cove. was about polygamy or any form of marriage. However, even though he died before any of this before any of this happened, he still provides important evidence to show that those ideas were false and that Joseph did not believe them. This is how we know that. This is a vision that Joseph had in 1836, where he saw Alvin in this highest degree of glory in the celestial kingdom. It says, the heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory and the glory there, whether in the body or out, I cannot tell. I saw the transcendent beauty of the gate through which the heirs of the kingdom will enter, which was like To circling flames of fire, also the blazing throne of God whereon was seated, the Father and the Son. He goes on to say, I saw Father Adam and Abraham and my father and mother and my brother Alvin that has long since slept. And marveled how it was that he had obtained an inheritance in that kingdom, seeing that he had departed this life before the Lord has had set his hand to gather Israel the second time, and had not been baptized for the remission of sins. This vision was recorded in the doctrine and Covenants, um, as Section 137, but that’s why I wanted to show this because it was added later in 1876, and sometimes that gives us pause. But this was initially recorded here in Joseph. Smith’s Journal by Warren Parish. And, and this is not, this is a very reliable source, and that’s why I wanted to include it here because I know sometimes we, well, I think we always need to look into what was added into the doctrine and Covenants and see what the source is to see how credible it is. And this one seems to be credible. So even though Joseph didn’t choose to include it in his publications of the doctrine and Covenants, which I think is important, it, it was still a legitimate experience that he had from everything we can see. This, this um vision goes on to teach all who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God. Also, all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts shall be heirs of that kingdom, for I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works according to the desire of their hearts. And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the age of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of God. The reason this vision about Alvin is so relevant here is that it provides strong evidence that Joseph never believed or taught that the new and everlasting covenant meant marriage or any of any sort, especially polygamy, or that marriage was necessary for exaltation in the celestial kingdom. Alvin was never married. He died at 25 before having been married. Yet Joseph saw him in the celestial kingdom. That, that should give us pause. It gives us something to think about. And for anyone wanting to argue that marriage ceiling work could have been done for Alvin after his death, there has never been a proxy ceiling done for Alvin that I have been able to find. I hope someone doesn’t now go do a proxy ceiling for. because who is he going to be sealed to, right? Joseph saw Alvin in glory in the celestial kingdom without any form of sealing. So even though Alvin died before the Restoration, he provides strong evidence of Joseph’s truthfulness and of the falsehood of polygamist doctrine.
[09:28] David Snell: Alvin believed his little brother, as did the next oldest sibling Hirum.
[09:34] Michelle: Hirum took over as Joseph’s biggest supporter after Alvin’s death. Along with Emma, Hirum was Joseph’s closest friend and most loyal confidant. Hirum preached and preached and published tirelessly against polygamy. I included many of his statements in episode 142, Hirum’s Polygamy, and I’ll just share two examples here. First, on May 14th, In 1843, Hirum preached a sermon where he said there were many that had a great deal to say about the ancient order of things, as David and Solomon having many wives and concubines. But it’s an abomination in the sight of God. If an angel from heaven should come and preach such doctrine, you would be sure to see his cloven foot and cloud of blackness around his head. Though his garments might shine as white as snow. A man may have one wife, con concubines, he should have none. And he observed that the idea was that this was given to Jacob for a perpetual principle, meaning it wasn’t just to the Nephites, and there’s not a loophole or a clause to get out of what God was teaching here. That was Hiram’s teaching. And then in April 8th, on April 8, 1844, after he had Supposedly fully adopted, been adopted polygamy, had been convinced of the truthfulness of it, according to the story we have. He he preached this sermon, which has been repeatedly erased from LDS LDS history. Here are some excerpts from it. One reason I speak to the elders is in consequence of the 10,000 reports from abroad. Almost every man runs to runs. Hirum, to inquire if things are true, how many spiritual wives a man may have. I know nothing about it. What he might call a spiritual wife. I know nothing about it. In about half an hour at the, that man was gone, and another would begin. The elders tell such things all over the country. I am authorized to tell you from henceforth that any man who comes in and tells such fool, such damn fool doctrine to come in. To take away his license, none but a fool teaches such such stuff. The devil himself is not such a fool. Every elder who teaches such stuff ought to have his nose run. His name will be published, and if found guilty, his license shall be taken. I wish the elders of Israel to understand it is lawful for a man to marry a wife, but it is unlawful to have more, and God has not commanded anyone to have more. And if any of you dare to presume to do any such thing, it will spoil your fun for you, for you will never preach the gospel. I despise a man who teaches a pack of Stuff that will disgrace himself so. For a man to go into the world and talk of the spiritual wife system is as empty as an as an open sepulcher. If the coat suits anyone, let him put it on. I would rather call the devil my brother before such a man. Get the wife that God and your country let you have. If any brother hears any person, person preach such Stuff, wring his nose. I give the sisters leave to wring his nose who teach such stuff. I’ll bear you out in it. Every man that knows me knows that I have taught these principles from the beginning. We want you to understand that if you preach anything wrong, you will be published. We don’t want bogus makers, counterfeiters, or preachers of the spiritual wife system. Preach principles that will stand the test of ages, teach them good principles and save souls. That was a profound and important speech that Hiram made. We should listen to his testimony. Brigham Young claimed that Hiram was basically Joseph’s enemy and preached against him, but Joseph’s own words declare otherwise. In August 1842, when Joseph had supposedly married at least 15 wives and Hiram was tirelessly preaching against polygamy, Joseph wrote this of Hiram Brother Hiram, what a faithful heart you have got. Oh, may the eternal Jehovah crown eternal blessings upon your head as a reward for the care you have had for my soul. Oh, how many are the sorrows have we shared together. And again, we find ourselves shackled in the unrelenting hand of oppression. Hiram, thy name shall be written in the book of the law of the Lord, for those who come after thee to look upon, that they might, that they may pattern after thy works. Again, this was before. Hiram was supposed to have accepted polygamy, which is, which his own words to show that he never did. And still, Joseph went on and wrote this about both Hiram and Emma. These love the God that I served. They love the truths that I promulgate. They love those virtues and those holy doctrines that I cherish in my bosom with the warmest feelings of my heart. And with that zeal which cannot be denied. This the these truths that Joseph loved and that Hiram and Emma loved absolutely did not include polygamy. I really hope David and everyone else who worked on or listened to this video can hear and understand what is really being said here.
[14:47] David Snell: Hiram was one of the 8 witnesses privileged to see and handle the golden plates, and he was in step with Joseph from Palmyra all the way to Carthage, where he was murdered alongside Joseph. As Ronald Esplin noted from the beginning, he believed Joseph, and he believed in him.
[15:04] Michelle: I just want to repeat that last part. Hiram was in step with Joseph, including in their tireless efforts preaching against polygamy. From Palmyra all the way to Carthage, Hiram believed Joseph, and he believed in him. Next come Joseph’s sisters.
[15:24] David Snell: Joseph had 3 sisters, Sophronia, Catherine, and Lucy. They all believed their brother was telling the truth.
[15:32] Michelle: So I want to blow up that last slide just so I can highlight, so you can see this, that all three of Joseph’s sisters joined the reorganized church in 1873. All of them lived in monogamy. They never believed in polygamy at all, or that it was taught or practiced by Joseph or Hiram Smith. We don’t have direct testimonies from Lucy or Sophronia, but Lucy Mack’s testimony and biography of Joseph make it clear that they all believed him.
[16:02] David Snell: A missionary visited the sisters in 1856 and afterwards wrote in a private letter,
[16:07] Narrator: they testified that they knew that their brother Joseph was a prophet of God.
[16:13] Michelle: So I have to go into this just a little bit because it’s so interesting. First of all, this missionary is talking about, according to the LDS descendants of Joseph and Emma, he was an elder from the newly formed RLDS Church, which none of Joseph’s sisters had joined at that, at this point. So I’m not sure of that because of this source. But I do want to just look into this information because it is so interesting and it shows us how careful we need to be while we are doing our. This letter that was shown, um, this is the letter that they showed in the video, and it’s shown as if it’s the original, but it very much is not. This is an edited copy made many years later by LDS historians. This letter is dated, as you can see, 1856. Typewriters were not invented until 1868, and they were not first available available for until 1874. And the first one did not show up in Utah until businessman Heber J. Grant first started using one in 1887. He actually had one before the leaders of the church. I know all of this because of research I did on typewriters, but for a different, um, document that I was looking at. So the, the um, typewriters first showed up in the church offices in the 1890s. That’s when you first start seeing them being used in church. Documents and church letters. This copy is in the journal History of the church that was not compiled. It did not start being compiled until 1906. So I wanted to go into that just because they show the letter in the video as if this isn’t an old document. And it’s important to know what it actually is. It’s not important to our, um, uh, to the narrative that we’re telling. I just wanted to focus on it because This shows how important and precise we need to be in our historical work. I have no idea where the original of this letter may be or why this copy was made, but this is, this is very interesting, and it’s part of why I went into this. This letter was written to Thomas BH Stenhouse. He was the husband of Fannie Stenhouse, who wrote Tell It All, the scathing expose on Mormon polygamy in Utah. The, um, This book was published in 1874. Thomas Stenhouse died in 1882, and the letter was not copied until several years, probably over a decade after that. So it’s interesting to look into all of this, right? And as far as historical sources go. I’m not using this to argue that Joseph Smith’s sisters didn’t have a testimony. I just think it is very interesting, the sources that the church sometimes relies on.
[19:00] David Snell: After Sophronia died, her obituary read that she was ever ready to bear her testimony to the truth of the work.
[19:09] Michelle: And again, that obituary was published by the RLDS Church, who soundly and thoroughly rejected and condemned polygamy and also testified that Joseph Smith did the same, right? Then it goes on to Joseph’s sister Catherine. A
[19:25] David Snell: few years before her death, Katherine
[19:27] Katharine Smith (Portrayal): wrote, I desire before I pass away to place my testimony on record. I have been a member of this church ever since its first organization.
[19:36] Michelle: Again, she said this as a member of the RLDS Church.
[19:40] Katharine Smith (Portrayal): I can testify to the fact of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and also to its truth. While I can, I will bear my testimony to the truth of the latter day work. I know that it is true.
[19:53] Michelle: This testimony of Catherine’s was published in the RLDS Saints Herald, and in the same letter, she wrote about the Book of Mormon and said, many times when I have read its sacred pages, I have wept like a child, while the spirit has borne witness. With my spirit to its truth. The book that this is the Book of Mormon that preaches so solidly against polygamy, and that in our church we have been inclined to ignore and to rest in order to explain away the prohibitions on polygamy. She goes on to say, brothers and sisters who have obeyed the gospel and are members of the Church of Jesus Christ, you have greater reason to be thankful than all the rest of the world, because the Lord has given you the gospel in its plainness. She said this without any taint of polygamy. She also says that God had given them also revelations for the government of His church and opened your eyes. that you could see the truth and touched your hearts with a desire to do his will and filled you with peace and love for one another. She lived long and gave many other speeches. She said that the later leaders of the Utah Church, quote, attempted to introduce obnoxious teachings into the church, the obnoxious teachings mainly of blood atonement and polygamy. Then the video goes on to William. Joseph’s brother
[21:14] David Snell: William recalled,
[21:15] Narrator: knowing that Joseph was very young, that he had not enjoyed the advantages of a common education, and knowing too his whole character and disposition, they were convinced that he was totally incapable of arising before his aged parents, his brothers and sisters, and so solemnly giving utter. To anything but the truth. All of us, therefore believed him.
[21:38] David Snell: On another occasion, he added, all
[21:40] Narrator: believed it was true. Father, mother, brothers and sisters. You can tell what a child is. Parents know whether their children are truthful or not. Father knew his child was telling the truth.
[21:54] Michelle: I absolutely love these testimonies of the truthful nature of Joseph Smith and of his family’s belief in his integrity and sincerity. I loved where it said that they knew he was incapable of standing up before aged father and mother and brothers and sisters and lying, right? So I don’t understand why that wouldn’t apply to the things he said about polygamy, as well as the truthfulness of the of his heavenly manifestations and the Book of Mormon. Lucy told that told the truth, even though it meant her husband spent 30 days in jail, as we’ll get to. Joseph told the truth, even though it brought the scorn and persecution of his entire community and led to multiple imprisonments, mobbings, and the brutal treatment of himself and his people, as I’ve quoted so often. Joseph said, I have rattled chains in dungeons for the truth’s sake. I cannot understand why we don’t all find it offensive to claim Joseph eagerly and willingly lied constantly to his wife, his parents, his people, and all the world about polygamy. It defies reason. William Smith going on beyond what the video said, he gave many testimonies. I again could quote dozens of sources, just like with Hiram. But I’ll share just two. William Smith wrote this letter to Orson Hyde, November 12th, 1845, while, while Orson Hyde was still in Navvo. This is again a very early source. This was published in the Warsaw Signal, November 26, 1845. Among other things, it says, Brethren, be assured that Joseph or Hiram never would have sanctioned the twelve’s doctrine of polygamy. It lists other things he would not sanction, but it includes The doctrine of polygamy. And then in a letter published in the Saints Herald July 8th, 1893, he wrote, There was no polygamy doctrine taught among the Mormons until years after the prophet’s death. These brigammite Mormons are alone responsible for this fulsome doctrine of polygamy. He said that monogamy was the faith and discipline of the church on the marriage question as held to by Joseph Smith up until the day of his death. Again, we need to take the testimonies of Joseph Smith’s family very seriously. Let’s continue on.
[24:23] David Snell: Joseph’s brother Samuel was another one of the eight witnesses. He served 6 missions for the church. His efforts actually led to the baptism of Brigham Young. Samuel gave Brigham’s brother Phineas his first book of Mormon and told him, I know the book to be a revelation from God, translated by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, and that my brother Joseph Smith Junior is a prophet, seer, and revelator.
[24:49] Michelle: Samuel died under suspicious circumstances just a month after Joseph and Hiram. That means he lived beyond Joseph and Hiram. He outlived them, even if only by a month, but he lived through all of their supposed teachings and practicing of polygamy, and he was never taught. Anything about it. He never had anything to do with it or knew anything about it. He is yet another loved and trusted member of the Smith family, who Joseph relied heavily on and whose life bears testimony to the fact that polygamy was never part of the gospel taught by his brother, Joseph.
[25:28] David Snell: Samuel believed his older brother, and he was all in. Joseph’s youngest brother Don Carlos also served multiple missions and was heavily involved in the church.
[25:40] Michelle: So now on to Joseph’s youngest brother Don Carlos. It’s again, according to the descendants of Joseph and Emma, quote, the spirit of testimony marked Don Carlos’s entire life. Don Carlos was one of the few who Joseph selected to bear testimony at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple. He was the president of The high priest in Kirtland, and he was editor and publisher of the church’s official newspaper, The Times and Seasons, and a member of the city council until his unfortunate death in 1841. He dedicated his time and talents to the church and bore valiant testimony of the restoration throughout his life.
[26:20] David Snell: Don Carlos died young at 25 years old in 1841. In life, he was also all in.
[26:27] Michelle: But after his death, his name too became mixed up with polygamy. In the Temple Lot trial 51 years after Don Carlos’s death, 48 years after Joseph’s death, and 14 years after Don Carlos’s widow Agnes’s death, Maryanne West would testify that Joseph had married Don Carlos’s widow, Agnes, in what Some people now imaginatively try to describe as some strange and non-existent form of lever at marriage, despite the fact that Agnes never said any such thing, and there is no evidence for it. So on to the next family member.
[27:06] David Snell: Joseph’s mother, Lucy Mack was fiercely loyal to her son. On one occasion, the Smiths were unexpectedly visited by a debt collector in Colville, New York. They could not fully pay the debt in cash, so Lucy offered her gold. Beads to make up the rest, the collector refused and gave them two options. Joseph Senior could be arrested, or the whole deck could be forgiven if they would simply toss some copies of the Book of Mormon into the fireplace. Lucy replied, Now
[27:37] Lucy Mack Smith (Portrayal): here, sir, because God has raised up my son to bring forth a book which was written for the salvation of the souls of men, you have come here to distress me by taking my husband to jail, and you think by this. That you will compel us to deny the work of God, but sir, we shall not burn the Book of Mormon nor deny the inspiration of the Almighty.
[28:01] Michelle: I really love this story. Lucy Mack is, she is a woman that I admire so much. I want to share a few more things about Lucy Mack, and I will go on to express her husband did spend 30 days in jail because of her refusal, their refusal to burn the Book of Mormon. We’ll talk about that a little bit more. But Lucy wrote to William, her last living son, on January 23, 1845. I have, by counsel of the 12 apostles undertaken a history of the family that is my father’s family and my own, she added. People are often inquiring of me, the particulars of Joseph’s getting the plate, seeing the angel at first, and many other things which Joseph never wrote or published. I have told over many things pertaining to these matters to different persons to gratify their curiosity. Indeed, have almost destroyed my lungs, giving these recitals to those who felt anxious to learn them. I have now concluded to write down every every particular as far as possible. And if those who wish to read them will help me a little, they can have it all in one piece to read at their leisure. So here is an excerpt from her history. She was telling the story of trying to cross the iced over Erie Canal, leading a group of sins. To Kirtland. A man on the shore yelled, Is that book of the Book of Mormon true? That book, replied I, this is Lucy speaking, was brought forth by the power of God and translated by the gift of the Holy Ghost. And if I could make my voice to sound as loud as the trumpet of Michael the Archangel Archangel, I would declare the truth. of the same from land to land and from sea to sea, and the echo should reach to every aisle until every member of the family of Adams should be left without excuse, for I do testify that God has revealed Himself to man again in these last days and has set his hand to gather His people upon a goodly land. And if they obey his commandments, it shall be unto them for an inheritance, whereas if they rebel against his law, his hand will be against them to scatter them abroad and cut them off from the face of the earth, and that he has commenced a work which which will prove a savior of life unto life or of death to everyone who stands. Here to this day of life unto life if you will receive it, or of death unto death if you reject the counsel of God, for every man shall have the desires of his heart. If he desires the truth, he may hear and live, but if he tramples upon the simplicity of the word of God, he will shut the gate of heaven against him. Then turning to our own company, I said, now, brethren and sisters, if you will, all of you raise your desires to heaven. Then the ice may be broke up, and we will be set at liberty. As sure as the Lord lives, it will be done. At that instant, a noise was heard like bursting thunder. The captain cried, every man to his post. The ice parted, leaving barely a pathway for the boat. The bystanders from that watching that were so sure that they would sink that she said they went straight to the office and had it published that we had sunk so that when we arrived at Fairport, we read the news of our own death in the newspapers. This story I love so much and I am so profoundly touched by her testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and the restoration and of the necessity for us to believe what is said in the Book of Mormon and in the restoration. And to accept it willingly so we can have the blessings of God. I still mourn that these false doctrines that entered into the church have kept so many people from the Book of Mormon. I think that is a tragedy, and I think that The more that we can separate the Book of Mormon from the stain of polygamy and the other false doctrines that were taught, the more people could read it and hear it, and the more valuable Lucy’s testimony will continue to be the mother who gave so much for this restoration. She and Emma, we owe it to them to share the truth of, of what they and their son and husband taught, and of the truth of who they are and what they lived and what they believed. And we owe it to them to really, really look into this again and see if there is evidence to call Joseph Smith. And Hiram Smith, liars and polygamists as we currently do. So Jane, I don’t know if you say it Core or I’ll say Core. I hope that’s right. C O R A Y. She acted as scribe and editor for Lucy. She made two copies of Lucy’s biography and gave one to Lucy and one to Brigham Young. Um, Lucy’s copy was finally published by Orson Pratt in 1853. Despite originally asking her to write it, as I assume he did as the president of the 12, she said that the 12 asked her to write it. Brigham Young was furious that it was published. He called it a tissue of Lies. He stopped publication and tried to collect and burn every copy. I find it so ironic that while Lucy refused to burn the Book of Mormon, even to save her husband from the 30 days he spent in jail as a result, Brigham Young actively sought to burn the record she wrote. Brigham Young also assigned church historian George A. Smith to create and publish a revised version, so they could print that instead. Fortunately, that revised version wasn’t created until Joseph Smith revised it in 1901 and published it in the periodical. But luckily, that wasn’t until after it had already been published by the RLDS Church in its original form, so they couldn’t pass off the revision. as the original. It is fantastic that the Joseph Smith papers published the original given to Brigham Young. This is the original copy that was given to Brigham Young that we can now read on the Joseph Smith papers because we no longer have the copy that, um, was that um, that Jane Core, is that her name? Jane Core gave to um, Lucy because she gave it to Orson Pratt to take and publish. So I love that we can now see it. And I want to also add about Lucy that she lived in Joseph’s and Emma’s home and would have been there on July 12, 1843 when Hiram supposedly read the polygamy revelation to Emma. She would have heard the revelation, and she would have witnessed Emma’s distraught reaction. If any of that had actually happened, yet her biography of her son makes it clear that she believed he was honest and faithful, and she never believed he had anything to do with polygamy. She didn’t seem to even know much of anything about it. Lucy’s testimony must be seriously considered when trying to understand the history of Joseph Smith. Last in the video, it covers Joseph Smith Senior, who, as I’ve said a couple of times, did spend those 30 days in a dungeon, as he called, as he described it. At times being deprived of of food for, as he said, 4 days at a time for refusing to deny his testimony. But in that prison, he preached the gospel and he converted to other prisoners during his sentence. Joseph Smith Sr. was also a faithful believer in the restoration. He traveled as a missionary, and speaking of Having no honor in your own country, right? He went as a missionary to his father and most of his siblings, and he was able to convert them. And then going on quoting Scripture Central, the life and service of Joseph Smith Sr until his death in 1840 are consistent with his testimony of the reality of the Book of Mormon and the validity of the restoration. The troubles in Missouri with the imprisonment of his sons Joseph and Hirum, the forced exodus to Illinois, and the effects of old age all had a debilitating effect on his health. In spite of these challenges, his final years show a life of devotion to the cause of the restoration. During his years in Kirtland and later in Illinois, Smith continued to serve as church patriarch, giving thousands of patriarchal blessings to the members of the church. Like his wife and the rest of his family, Joseph Smith Senior consistently bore testimony of his son’s truthfulness and the reality of his mission to restore the church. Sometimes at great hardship to himself, even when renouncing his testimony would have made his life easier and likely more comfortable. Much of that is what Scripture Central wrote. Joseph Senior died on September 14, 1840, thoroughly believing in and preaching the restoration of the gospel his son had restored, which did not include polygamy. So I, again, Joseph Smith Senior lived in monogamy. There’s no evidence that he ever was in any way unfaithful to Lucy or believed that he needed to take a second wife. As I read the testimonies of these members of Joseph Smith’s family, as I read the sacrifices that his parents made for this gospel, even in their old age, losing every comfort. Reading that about Joseph Smith Sr. made me think about him in ways that I hadn’t before. Don’t we owe it to them to tell the truth about their son, right? To not continue to spread the lies? I’ve listened to so many negative things about, particularly Joseph Smith Sr and Joseph Smith, and it is heartbreaking to hear what things are told about them. How sad that we as members of the church, say some of the same things about his son. So sadly, this video that, um, that Keystone did stopped there and did not include anything about Joseph’s most important family, his own wife and children. Once you marry and have children, your siblings and parents become your extended family. So I think we need to add what Joseph’s immediate family knew and believed. Emma Smith left repeated, consistent testimony throughout her life that Husband never had anything to do with polygamy, and that she never saw the supposed revelation on polygamy until she saw it printed in the ear by Orson Pratt in 1853. She repeatedly said that any of the stories of her burning the revelation were made out of whole cloth and were faults in all of their parts. She never wavered in her fervent testimony of the restoration. The coming forth of the Book of Mormon and of her husband’s faithfulness, including in her final testimony where from her deathbed she swore there was no revelation on either polygamy or spiritual wives. Joseph said that such a system 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. He had no other wife but me. She said Joseph assured her that any rumors she might have heard about spiritual wives were completely without foundation. There is 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. Emma was the one chosen by God to be Joseph’s partner in the restoration from the beginning. The angel told Joseph that he could not obtain the plates until he brought her unless he brought her with him. Um, Joseph’s sister Catherine told of his last yearly visit to the Hill Camorra. This is backed up by other sources as well. She said the angel Moroni told Joseph, come here next year at this time and bring your oldest brother with you, and you can receive the record. In November, my brother took sick, and through the ministering of medicine by the doctors, he passed away. Joseph went to the place and inquired of the angel what he should do now. The angel said, You must bring some person with you. And Joseph said, Who shall I bring? My other, my oldest brother is gone. The angel said, You will know her when you see her. That fall, he went down to Pennsylvania and became acquainted with his wife, Miss Hale. And he knew when he saw her, that she was the one to go with him to get the records. In March, they were married, and he brought her home. And on the 22nd day of September, she went with him to the plates. And that was when he was able to get the plates. Joseph was not able to get the plate. Without Emma. He was not able to translate without being unified with her. Her partnership was essential for his entire success in the restoration and throughout his life. I’ll read again Joseph’s own words, recorded while he was in hiding after he supposedly had married at least 15 other women. Joseph wrote with what unspeakable delight and what transports of joy swelled my bosom when I took by my hand on that night my beloved Emma, she that was my wife, even the wife of my youth and the choice of my heart. Many were the reverberations of my mind when I contemplated for a moment that many the many scenes we had been called to pass through the the. Fatigues and the toils, the sorrows and sufferings and the joys and consolations from time to time to time had strewn our paths and crowned our board. Oh, what a co mingling of thought filled my mind for the moment. Again, she is here, even in the 7th trouble, undaunted, firm and unwavering, unchangeable, affectionate Emma. And finally, Joseph and Emma’s children, who knew him, bore fervent and consistent testimony throughout their lives that their father was faithful to their mother and did not teach nor practice polygamy. Joseph Smith the 3rd, I’ll read part of his test his testimony at the Temple lot. Trial. He said, there were never any women by any name during the time my father lived in Navvo or at any place, or at any other time or place that claimed to be his wife, aside from my mother. Never to my knowledge, and I never heard of such a thing until sometime after his death. There was nobody that stayed there around the house that my father treated as his wife, except my mother. I never saw anything of that kind. There was no one besides my mother, Emma, who attended the funeral as a mourner in the capacity of a wife. I had the opportunity of knowing as much so as a boy of that age could know he was nearly 12. In a household as circumscribed as ours was, by circumscribed, I mean that the house was not overly large, and the members were known to everyone in it and their whereabouts, and I knew everyone that was in it. It had been reported by those who pretended to be friends of father. The mother was quarrelsome and was antagonistic to my father and frequently made trouble for him. I have this to say now, that tracing my memory back through the period of time in which my father was permitted to stay with his family, that I never heard any quarreling or harsh language between them under any circumstance, and that even disagreements between them were not conducted in a noisy or angry manner, that mother’s language was quiet and temperate, and so was father’s. I love that testimony. We need to listen to it. It doesn’t say they didn’t have disagreements, right? There are always disagreements. It said that they manage their disagreements in quiet tones. Neither of them was a yeller, and that was true in my family growing up as well. I believe this testimony of Joseph III. He goes on to say, well, at another time, he said, it has been charged by certain ones advocating plural marriage, that she was a thorn in his side, opposing his policies and leading him an ill life. That is absolutely not true. It would be so awful to have these things said of your sweet mother. I was old enough at the time to know. What was going on around me. I was closely associated with both my parents. The sleeping room I shared with my brothers was never more than a door from where father and mother slept because of the great love and concern mother had for her children. She wanted us. She never wanted us far from her in order that she might be on hand to take care of us herself in case of necessity. So I am sure that if there were ever angry words between my parents, I should have known it. And I can truthfully state that nothing of the kind ever occurred. Father was a kindly man, and, and, and emphatically a home loving one whose wife and children were very dear to him, and who was in turn, loved and respected by them. That’s printed, published in the Memoirs of Joseph Smith II. And that is backed up. His testimony, unlike the testimony of Joseph’s polygamy, Joseph Smith the Third’s testimony is backed up from contemporaneous sources. This is an excerpt from Joseph’s August 16, 1842 letter to Emma when Joseph was in hiding. He wrote, Brother Miller again suggested to me the propriety of me of my accompanying him to the pine woods and Then he return and bring you in the children. My mind will eternally revolt at every suggestion of that kind. My safety is with you if you want to have it so. Anything more or less of this cometh of evil. If I go to the pine country, you shall go along with me and the children. And if you and the children go not with me, I don’t go. I do not wish to exile myself for the sake of my own life. I would rather stay and fight it out. It is for your. Therefore, that I will do such a thing. I will go with you then in the same carriage and on horseback from time to time as occasion may require, for I am not willing to trust you in the hands of those who cannot feel the same interest for you that I feel. We have so much evidence of the relationship between Joseph and Emma. We ought to listen to the family’s testimony. I’ll read one more excerpt. This is from a letter that Joseph Smith the 3rd wrote to his cousin, Joseph F. Smith in 1889. He wrote, My opinion is that I have been grievously wronged in the implication of my father in the origin of Utah plural marriage, in his memory and the work that he essayed to do, and in the family good name. I believe that the foundations upon which your plural marriage edifice in Utah rests are decidedly unsound. The evidences by which it is propped insufficient and shaky. It is my proposition to test them. You may be contented to accept the charges of spiritual malfeasance and double dealing in which your father is involved. If what is claimed concerning him and my father is true without examination, without protest, I have not consented unto such defamation of my father, nor will I. Whatever the Is what is alleged must be sustained by better proofs than I have yet seen. If the revelation were from God and written by Joseph Smith, neither of which I admit nor believe it was, it has never yet reached the church by legitimate and regular procedure. In this and later letters, Joseph the 3rd thoroughly and soundly laid out the scriptural case against polygamy that I had to go and find. My own, well over 100 years later, he also laid out the historical case showing that his father was never involved in polygamy. Just one of the many proofs that he included, he wrote, No son of his is found in polygamic vaults. I inquired diligently in places where I visited in Utah in 1885 and found no children by father in plural marriage, nor yet by my uncle. Hyrum Joseph Smith III knew that his father was innocent. He also knew the integrity and goodness of his mother, and he did not believe that they were polygamists. His testimony needs to be considered. Also, his brothers, who also all traveled, preached, and wrote extensively, testifying of the restoration of the gospel, the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, and the falsehood of polygamy. Testifying that it was never of God and that their father consistently fought against it. Their testimonies also need to be considered. Again, this is the reason I love the idea for this video so much. It is true. We need to listen to the testimonies of those who knew Joseph the best, his own family. I’ll let David sum this all up for us.
[48:53] David Snell: Joseph’s whole family, the people that arguably knew him better than anyone else, fully believed throughout their entire lives that he was in all reality a prophet of God.
[49:06] Michelle: They also all testified throughout the remainder of their lives that he was a monogamist, that Emma was his one and only wife, and that he only ever believed, taught, and lived marriage as God established it with one wife and one husband. And as he repeatedly published in the canonized scriptures of the church he founded. Again, I want to let David Smith. I’ll finish this video in his own words, words that I find to be very compelling, very true, and that I sincerely hope he and others will consider in light of the rest of Joseph’s family’s consistent testimonies.
[49:49] David Snell: Do with this information whatever makes the most sense to you. Personally, I see three options. Members of Joseph’s family either lied, were somehow tricked. Or were simply telling the truth. Look at their lives and experiences, I find the first two options profoundly hard to believe. I think they believed Joseph because Joseph was telling the truth.
[50:14] Michelle: I very much agree. I again want to thank, um, Keystone for this video and want to invite everybody to consider the deeper, the true profound implications of what is being said here. Thank you again for joining me, and I will see you next time.
