The descendants of Joseph Smith are gradually returning to their roots. Joseph Smith was the first prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are sometimes nicknamed Mormons.

Joseph’s descendants spent many generations away from the Church. The children of some of his brothers’ families were members—largely those of brother Hyrum—but most had gone in other directions.

The division of the family began early on. Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were murdered by mobs in 1844. This led to a division in the Church over who should become the next prophet. In the end, a miracle led to the people recognizing Brigham Young as the new prophet, but not everyone was happy with that. Several splinter groups formed. The mainstream group of Mormons fled Illinois and headed for what later became Utah, following Brigham Young. Hyrum’s widow took his children and joined the Saints in the West; this group is the one whose descendants are largely in the Church today.

Joseph Smith’s Descendants Leave Mormonism

Joseph’s widow, Emma, had some disagreements with Brigham Young, possibly fueled by the grieving process and the complex need to separate family and church possessions. When the Saints moved on to Utah, Emma chose to remain behind. Joseph’s mother, who was widowed, also stayed, too old and frail to make the difficult journey, and Emma helped to care for her.

One group of dissidents felt that the Church leadership should be handed down from father to son. They wanted to hold the leadership for Joseph Smith’s oldest surviving son until he was old enough to take over. He was initially not interested, but eventually agreed to accept the position. This church became the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and still operates today, although under a new name and a growing process of distancing itself from its roots.

Joseph’s brother William had been excommunicated and his brother Samuel died just over a month after Joseph and Hyrum died. Samuel had suffered injuries trying to warn his brothers of danger. His widow went west, but continued on to California. Joseph’s other brothers were all dead and the sisters stayed in Illinois.

The family was now scattered around the country and in days of difficult communication, those who did not go to Utah largely did not stay members of the Church or did not raise their families to stay. After a few generations, many had forgotten their roots.

Joseph Smith’s Descendants Becoming Mormon

Then things began to change. Kenny Duke is a descendant of Joseph Smith’s sister Catherine. He learned about his heritage from an uncle who was a leader in the Reorganized Church. Kim Smith learned about Joseph Smith, her direct ancestor, from her grandmother, who had pictures of Joseph and Emma in her home. Kim felt drawn to them and learned that there was a great deal of animosity in the family coming from this lineage. She was taught to hate Brigham Young and was even taught that Brigham had planned Joseph’s murder, but she began to research the subject for herself. The result of this research was that she found the truth, became converted, and became a Mormon.

Michael Kennedy was given a school assignment to write about an ancestor. His father showed him a box of things related to Joseph Smith. It was the first Michael had heard of his third-great grandfather. As he was looking through the box, two men knocked on his door. He answered and learned they were from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They asked to speak to his father. While they waited for his father, the missionaries noticed the items spread out and asked about them. He explained they were related to his ancestor, Joseph Smith, who had founded the Mormon Church. He did not know the church the missionaries belonged to was sometimes inadvertently called the Mormon Church, but the missionaries became quite excited and obtained permission to return with discussions that would help Michael learn about the church his ancestor had led.

The miracle of two missionaries showing up just as he was examining these items was even greater because the missionaries were there only as part of a test designed to decide which areas to open to missionary work. The test determined that his area was not productive enough, since only two families agreed to learn about the church, his and one other. A girl in the other home, Darcy Dodge, was so enthusiastic she wanted to be baptized the day she met the missionaries, although they insisted she finish the lessons.

However, Michael had not had a good relationship with organized religion and quickly lost interest. The missionaries learned that Darcy knew him and asked her to help interest Michael. She got his mother to invite him to stay in the discussions, which he did. However, he told the missionaries he would decide when he was eighteen. He got baptized and then left for college, thinking he was done with the Mormons.

At the very moment his father called to tell his aunt, who had been the person behind collecting the artifacts, about the baptism, a man sent by the prophet to find all of Joseph Smith’s descendants was sitting in her house. He reported the baptism to the prophet, who was then Harold B. Lee. President Lee asked to meet with Michael. In time, he became the first descendant of Joseph Smith to receive the Melchizedek priesthood, fulfilling a prophecy made that said that priesthood would be restored before the family would be gathered together again.

Read Michael Kennedy’s telling of his conversion.

Gradually, other descendants of Joseph began to find their way back to their family’s religion. These descendants also made peace with Brigham Young’s descendants. The Smith descendants now hold regular reunions. Initially, there was an agreement to avoid the topic of religion at these reunions, since most were not Mormons, but today, so many have been baptized that a church service is part of the reunion.

The annual reunions and the gradual return of descendants to the Church are God’s answer to a prayer uttered by Joseph Smith long ago:

O God, let the residue of my father’s house…ever come up in remembrance before thee and stand virtuous and pure in thy presence, that thou mayest save them from the hand of the oppressor, and establish their feet upon the rock of ages, that they may have place in thy house and be saved in thy kingdom, even where God, and Christ is, and let all these things be as I have said, for Christ’s sake. Amen (Joseph Smith, Jr., Documentary History of the Church 1:466–467).

Sources:

The Michael Kennedy Conversion Story

Scot and Maurine Proctor, Why Prophets Have Prayed for Joseph Smith’s Posterity, August 9, 2013

Terrie Lynn Bittner

The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.

Dawn Schmith was born and raised in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Though her paternal grandmother was the granddaughter of Joseph Smith, Jr., by his son Alexander Hale Smith, Dawn was raised in the Catholic faith because her paternal grandfather was an active Catholic. Dawn actively participated in the religion her whole life and raised her two daughters in the faith. The first time Dawn heard about her ancestry was when she was 12 years old, but it was not discussed. Immediately, she wanted to learn more, but her paternal grandmother died around the same time, and she was never able to ask her any questions regarding that history.

Dawn had experiences with the LDS missionaries, but remained active in her Catholic faith. As her curiosity and desire to know more about her family history increased, she contacted LDS genealogist Janet Reakes, who put Dawn in touch with the Smith family organization in America. The organization sent Dawn a large book full of her ancestry, which she was thrilled to have. It was the first written information she had about her family history. Though Dawn’s father was upset at her contacting the Smith family organization, Dawn continued to meet with other Smith family descendants, including Gracia Jones and her husband, who came to visit her in Hervey Bay, Australia.

Finally, in 2005, Dawn and her cousin Vicki attended a family reunion in Sydney celebrating Joseph Smith’s 200th birthday. Their intent was to correct an oversight in a family book which had omitted their grandmother’s name. They both enjoyed their interactions with the people of the LDS faith, and Dawn kept in touch with two senior missionaries, and thus kept in contact with the LDS Church.

Two years later, Dawn had a great desire to go to the United States, to Nauvoo, Illinois, for a larger Smith family reunion, but she could not scrape enough money together to cover the costs. She told her cousin Gracia she couldn’t afford to come, but other relatives generously covered the cost for Dawn to make the trip. This was Dawn’s first trip out of Australia, and it really changed her life. She learned so much about her family, and when she returned home, she began attending The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Dawn was baptized soon thereafter; a choice which was not without sacrifice. Dawn had been a Eucharistic Minister in the Catholic Church and was very dedicated to her faith. Though it caused some controversy in her family, Dawn stated her excitement about the LDS Church was greater than any she had felt in her life for a long time.

Before her baptism, Dawn had already decided to live the Word of Wisdom, or the Mormon health law. She had not consumed alcohol for more than 25 years previous to her baptism and had not smoked tobacco for 22 years. She also gave up coffee and tea. In giving up the use of these harmful and addictive substances, she gained a personal testimony of Joseph’s prophetic insight into the effects of these things.

Dawn said: “I believe Joseph is a true Prophet of God, I believe he was given messages from God and that he translated the Book of Mormon from the gold plates. I believe Emma is one of the pioneers of America and Christian fellowship. The life she lived was hard with losing children, pulling up stumps and having to go further and further away from her parents. She had no family support from her side of the family. She gave so much up to follow Joseph and help him in his mission. The saying goes, ‘Behind every great man is a great woman,’ I believe she is the great woman.”

One of Dawn’s daughters, Kim, was also recently baptized. Dawn and her daughter are now both looking forward to attending the Mormon temple.

This story taken from “Missionary Moment: Third great-granddaughter of Joseph and Emma Smith Joins Church“, Meridian Magazine, June 16, 2011.

dwhite

Doris White is a native of Oregon and graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English and a minor in Editing. She loves to talk with others about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

When I was young my mother taught me about Heavenly Father, the Savior, and the Holy Ghost. This foundation was integral throughout my childhood as I encountered many trials and traumas which could have taken me down dark and lowly paths were it not for this knowledge she gave me. It also prepared me for the introduction to my great-great grandparents Joseph and Emma Smith, two individuals I was not aware of until age twelve.

I was born August 7, 1962 in Maryville, Tennessee to Joseph Frederick Smith and Mary Sue Roberts Smith. By the time I was twelve years old we had moved nearly forty times. Yet my heart was always filled with cherished memories of the Smoky Mountains and our mountain people who lived there. My Pappaw Roberts was part Cherokee and a spiritual giant. I remember he always seemed so grand to me. He was a good man who was always searching for spiritual truths and taught my mother the same. His example of following the guidance of the Holy Spirit in all things was something that my mother relied on for strength and comfort, for she suffered much physical abuse at the hands of her mother who suffered from a depressive illness.

When I was nine years old living in Oregon, I was abused by a neighbor. After this experience I was debilitated in every way. I looked down when I walked; I would not look people in the face. My self-image suffered severely; I hated myself. I thought I was ugly and stupid. I was made fun of at school and did not have the inner strength and confidence to let the remarks roll of my back or throw a comeback comment their way and laugh it off. Every comment rang like truth within my heart and it eroded my spirit.

There is one thing I did not forget. The example of my mother’s devotion to Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost showed me that I would always have three friends who loved me no matter what, and I leaned on that.

In 1973 I bought an album by the Osmonds called The Plan. This purchase would change my life. I can still picture pulling the album out of the sleeve and putting the record on. The music began to play. As the album cover fell open into the palms of my hands, my mind was opened to something I had never seen before. It was my first introduction to the Plan of Salvation. As I looked at the visual images of pre-mortal life, childhood, eternal marriage, and returning home, I heard the words “Let me take care of you and keep an eye on you….”

One day I was listening to the song “Are You up There?” My father walked past my room pausing beyond my bedroom door. He made a negative comment that I do not recall. I was moved to ask him that day why he didn’t like them. I will never forget the look on his face as he replied, “They are Mormons.” I had never seen such a look on his face before. His countenance changed to something cold and dark. I knew very little about spiritual matters at that point in my life, but I did recognize that the atmosphere changed, and it didn’t feel good. So from that point I never listened to the music unless I had my headphones on.

Two months after this experience we travelled to Ava, Missouri to visit my Grandma Smith. On this particular visit, I walked into the living room of the cabin, which led into a small sitting room and sat down. As I rested my head against the cushioned back of the couch, my eyes fell on two portraits hanging side by side on the wall before me.

It is hard to describe the feeling I had at that moment except to say that for a brief period it seemed as if time stood still. My hearing did not pick up audible sounds around me. I felt as if there was no one else on earth except me and those two portraits. My attention was first drawn to the man in the portrait which hung on the left; the familiarity was deep and instant.

I felt a longing to get close to this man. I was drawn to know who he was, when and where he lived, and why his portrait was in Grandma’s house. What did it have to do with me? I felt a mixture of sadness and joy, and a feeling I can only describe as gut-wrenching, as I looked upon his gentle but unsettling smile.

Tears began to stream down my face as I looked to the portrait beside the man and searched the face of a lovely woman. She seemed to convey a noble bearing, with raven black hair, eyes large and round, their color a beautiful dark brown. Again feelings of admiration and sadness rose in me, so much so that I could not bear to look any longer and went to find my Grandmother.

I asked her who the people in the portraits were and she responded, “Those are your great-great grandparents, Joseph and Emma Smith. Joseph established the ‘true’ church.” The true church? I had no idea what she meant. I only knew that these two people, the man in particular, seemed very familiar to me. I was overcome with an immediate love for them that was precious. I felt an intense yearning to learn everything I could about them both. The fourteen years which followed were filled with many interesting paths, leading me on a quest for knowledge about my ancestors. Such paths and journeys are often the target of the adversary and his fiery darts, and mine was no exception.

Not long after our visit to Grandma Smith’s we moved to Ava, Missouri and settled in her log cabin. This placed me in the heart of my father’s family, and we became very close. It was not a peaceful situation however, for among them I witnessed elements of bitterness, which had been passed down from earlier generations. Even though I had the teachings of my mother to help me recognize the signature of the adversary’s handiwork, some of the residue of the family traditions could not help but fall upon me. I learned that the church my Grandma had referred to was the Church of Christ Temple Lot, an organization my Grandpa Smith joined after leaving the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1925.

It was in the company of my father’s family that I heard rumors that Brigham Young had my great-great grandfather Joseph killed. Their strongly-held belief that Brigham was bent on destroying Emma and the children, usurping the work for which my ancestor had died, turning it into his own corrupt organization became impressed upon my tender mind. This would be the first and only time in my life that I would hate someone, for it was not in my nature to have such feelings, but a feeling of instant hate settled in my heart toward Brigham Young.

I asked my father about Joseph Smith. The conversations started out informative, but soon I stopped asking questions altogether, because only a small amount of time was spent in speaking of the history of Joseph. Instead I was tutored in his version of the nature of Brigham Young, and his band of Brighamites who blindly followed him to the west. A feeling of unpleasantness would fill my entire being. It was clear I would have to find the information I sought elsewhere.

As I passed through my teenage years, there were precious moments that kept the desire to know more alive within me.

In 1989, I was married with a three-year-old son, Bryan, and was expecting my daughter, Leah. The fire within me concerning my family history reached an unbearable point. I only had four generations back to Joseph and Emma and little information beyond. Ava was a small town with limited access for in-depth research beyond the library; where I went one day to ask where I might go to do family history research. I was told the best place to go was a family history center. That made perfect sense. So I asked where to find one and was told it was sixty miles away in Springfield, Missouri at the LDS Church. “What is that?” I asked, eager to find this wonderful place where I might do research. “The Mormon Church,” She replied.

The woman may as well have run a knife through me. Imagine my feelings, my hopes dashed in one fell swoop. There was no way I was setting foot into that building! My father warned me about Mormons, missionaries in particular; how they are well trained, and if not careful you could be easily snookered! I left feeling defeated and almost fuming as I sat in the car. Then the spirit whispered to me it was more important to get the information no matter where it came from. So I decided I would take my tablet with my four generations and act like I knew what I was doing so I would not have to talk to anyone for fear of getting snookered.

It quickly became apparent that Kim did not know how to search for her ancestors. When the missionaries offered to help again, she accepted their help. Upon discovering Kim was related to Joseph Smith, the missionaries were very excited and asked her many questions about her family history to which she did not know the answers.

There were two things I noticed about those missionaries. They were very kind, and they had the Holy Ghost with them. I knew it because of how my mother taught me. But it contradicted everything my father had said about these people, and I was not sure how to handle the experience. I did feel comfortable enough to keep going back, and it was during those visits that I learned about a town named Nauvoo. From the time my eyes fell upon the word I knew I had to go there.

Upon entering the Homestead everything took root in my heart. As my eyes adjusted to the dimness, I looked up and breathed in sharply. It was one of those moments that people identify with déjà vu. I felt as if I had been there before. I struggled with the emotions coursing through me, realizing it was more. It was as if I was having a memory that was not my own. As I breathed, thoughts and feelings about Joseph and Emma filled my heart. Tears fell down my face and I lagged behind the others so that I might absorb as much as possible.

I dealt with similar feelings before, but not so deep and personal. This was profound, intimate, filled with sorrow, yet held together with joy; a precious gift that seemed broken. I walked out of the Homestead with an assignment that came in whispers. Like when a friend is standing beside you urging you to read a particular book or visit a certain place because it was so rewarding. Only I could not see who was whispering to my heart. I only knew that there was a host of what felt like family and friends about me and an unmistakable presence that I had felt from childhood, a familiarity that had no name until that day, Joseph. It was evident to me that I needed to visit Nauvoo often to learn for myself the true history of my people, Joseph and Emma, and why I felt so drawn to them on such a deep and personal level.

While I was making trips once a year to Nauvoo, the Osmonds established their family theater in Branson, Missouri, a mere fifty miles from our home in Ava. After six years of procrastination, I think the Lord got tired of waiting for me to go. We won tickets on a radio program to [the Osmonds’] show in Branson. Two days before the show, Merrill Osmond had a vision of Joseph Smith. In this vision Joseph showed Merrill the Smith posterity. Merrill said it was as if he was looking upon a sea of faces and they were miserable. Joseph said to him, “This is my posterity, please help them.”

Two days later while I was watching the show, Merrill came on stage and started to sing a gospel number.

His face was illuminated and the Spirit filled the theater. I knew that for some reason I was being directed to meet this man, so after the show we met and talked in depth.

By the end of the conversation I told him that I was Joseph’s great-great granddaughter. His face changed dramatically as he said, “Oh, I need to talk to you!”

Through the friendship with Merrill, and the Osmond family, I learned that Mormons were not the monsters they had been portrayed to be when I was young. I felt that I could ask them more about their church, and they would not lead me falsely. Merrill invited me to take the discussions in his home with the sister missionaries. By the third discussion, I knew I was supposed to be baptized. As any convert will tell you, that is when the flood gates of the adversary open. I was hit with all of the issues I had grown up with; Brigham Young, polygamy, baptism for the dead. All I knew for certain was that the Holy Ghost was telling me to go forward. Because of my mother’s teachings of never questioning that guidance even when it doesn’t make sense, I knew that if I did what I was prompted to do that all would be well. I was baptized June 7, 1998. For the first time my eyes were truly opened, and it felt as if I had come home.

In the years following my baptism my heart, mind, and spirit were opened to a greater knowledge of the healing power of the Savior. The strength I gained from that knowledge gave me an assurance I could be made whole again and be at peace with the traumas of my past. I forgave willingly and let go of the pain. I focused my energies on attending to my church callings and working to help pull the Smith posterity together. The desire within me to serve was magnified and the more I served the more I healed.

It took a long time, but eventually Kim was able to get over her hatred for Brigham Young which had been instilled in her as a child. She had a miraculous experience which simply washed away all the hard feelings she had towards him. When she travelled to Utah to receive her endowment in the Manti Temple, she visited Temple Square.

Part of our trip to Utah included a tour of Temple Square, including the burial place of Brigham Young. When we got to his grave I asked for a moment alone. I knelt down to pray beside the place where he rested. In that prayer I asked him to forgive me for all of the hatred I had borne against him for so many years and to forgive my family for carrying that hatred from one generation to the next. Then I forgave him for the things he had said and done because the hurt was created on both sides. In that moment I heard a heavenly choir sing “Nearer My God to Thee.” In that moment the following thoughts came to me. All of the things that our ancestors experienced, even the pain they may have caused one another, they experienced those things, not me. They are on the other side of the veil and have reconciled those things, it is wrong to carry it on.

Kim and her son were both baptized and now they travel, speaking to people about their experience and about the healing power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. Kim feels it is her responsibility to talk to people about healing and uniting, letting go of hard feelings. Kim’s mother and sister were also eventually baptized.

The fullness of the gospel is the most precious thing we can have in our lives and through it we have the capability of sharing a fullness of joy with all of those we come into contact with. The words of my great-great grandfather Joseph are deeply rooted in my heart, “Shall we not go on in so great a cause?”

Sincerely,

Kimberly Jo Smith

Full Article

dwhite

Doris White is a native of Oregon and graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English and a minor in Editing. She loves to talk with others about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Robert W. Smith, great-great grandson, and Caleb Denning, a 4th-great grandson of Joseph Smith baptized

I was raised in the Reorganized LDS church, now known as the Community of Christ. All of my life I had been taught to distrust and fear the Mormon church [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] which is headquartered in Utah. My journey to become a Mormon started in the summer of 2005 when I ran across a web site: JosephSmithJr.com. I spent several hours reading what was there. I e-mailed the site and explained who I was. I was contacted the next day and was invited to visit Utah in August for a Joseph Smith Family Reunion. I was fearful to go, and was actually concerned for my safety and well being. I left thinking I was like a sheep being led to the slaughter, and I might be going out on a nice plane, but I was coming back in a pine box! But contrary to my beliefs, it actually was a delightful experience. My niece Kim Larson and I were picked up at the airport by John and Gwen Smith, the great-grandson of Hyrum Smith, Joseph’s brother. They were our hosts for the next 3 days.

Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve, a Smith cousin as a descendant of Joseph’s brother Hyrum, addressed us. About 200 descendants attended the gathering. Most, like me, were not members of the Mormon church. We were also hosted by descendants of Samuel Smith, another of Joseph’s brothers. Our reception was totally awesome.

The warmth shared will last a lifetime. We went to a play at the Marriott Center at BYU celebrating Joseph’s 200th birthday. I will never again in my life have the feeling of total emotion I felt as I stood in the middle of the stadium with my family as we received a standing ovation from 23,000 people. We were also guests of honor at the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s weekly broadcast, during which music director Craig Jessop welcomed us and paid tribute to Joseph’s wife, Emma, for her collection of hymns. The choir sang hymns centered on Joseph, “Oh, How Lovely Was the Morning,” and “Praise to the Man.” When they sang “Joseph’s First Prayer,” I wept openly for the first time in 50 years. This had never happened to me before, not even at the deaths of my parents, wife or son.

We were also shown various displays regarding Joseph and Emma Smith in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, as the Church celebrated the 200th anniversary of Joseph’s birth. Under the direction of descendants Michael Kennedy and his wife, Darcy, and Gracia Jones — the first Smith descendant to join the Church and receive her endowments — we held a family dinner in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City. The art department at BYU presented me with a beautiful book about my Great Great Grandfather, Joseph Smith.

I was also presented with an LDS Hymn Book in memory of Emma’s contributions to Church music. After I returned home to Nebraska, I placed both of these new books in my living room. At this point I was a total emotional wreck, but I knew what I needed to do. For the next few months I did much research and soul searching. I looked back to the Reorganized church only to find out they had changed the church name, denounced the Book of Mormon, and denounced Joseph Smith as the prophet—all of which I was very opposed to. I felt that the original Church was the one to pursue.

In January of 2006, two young Mormon missionaries came knocking on my door, Elder Batin and Elder Williams. When I invited the elders to come inside, they immediately noticed the LDS hymnal and the art book about Joseph Smith on my table. Needless to say, when the missionaries discovered I was NOT a Mormon, they stayed in my living room teaching me for most of that day. Our discussion was fascinating for them and for me, because I already knew so much about their church history which intertwined with RLDS history; however, many of the gospel principles were different. Over the following weeks I took all the missionary lessons and struggled with the huge disparity between what the elders were teaching me and what my RLDS friends and family had taught me my entire life.

The conflict within my heart and soul grew to the point that I finally told the missionaries that even though I believed their message and all their LDS doctrines, I could not join the Mormon Church until I could find out for myself why Brigham Young had left Emma behind in Nauvoo with five children to raise. I was conflicted and could not come to a resolution that would comfort me. It did not make sense to me that Emma had been left to fend for herself, after being so instrumental in the Restoration. I also spent several evenings in the home of David and Jodi Edwards who were LDS friends of mine, and where Elder Sandhu and Elder Johnson taught me further doctrines.

In April of 2006, I was driving down the highway to work and singing along loudly to a Southern gospel radio station. I still remember the song I was listening to was titled: “Joy, Joy Wonderful Joy” by the gospel group Bill and Gloria Gaithers. Suddenly, to my dismay, the radio went completely silent. I was a bit irritated at this since the car I was driving was almost new. How could the radio break so soon? I hit the dash and fiddled with the radio dials, but finally gave up and just drove along the road alone and in complete silence.

In the quiet I started to ponder about my dilemma. Should I join the Mormon church as I wanted and enjoy fellowship with the Saints? Would this upset my family and the many generations of Smiths who were angry that Emma had not been taken West along with the Saints? Suddenly, to my surprise, I clearly and distinctly heard a women’s voice speaking to me. It was as clear as if it had come through the radio speakers. The voice said: “Robert, Follow your heart. I stayed in Nauvoo because I was tired and could travel no further.”

I knew instantly that the voice belonged to Emma Smith, my Great, Great Grandmother. It was made clear to me at that moment that Emma had just given me her permission to be baptized into the Mormon Church! My ancestors would not be angry with my decision to join my new found faith.

My last remaining concern and stumbling block had just been miraculously removed.

I was baptized on May 13, 2006, by my cousin Michael Kennedy, the President of the Joseph Smith Family organization, and the first descendant of Joseph to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. I was confirmed by my good friend and stake president David Edwards. Also baptized at the same baptismal service by Michael was Caleb, the son of my good friends David and Rebecca Denning. David is the son of my second cousin Gracia Jones and is stationed here in Omaha. I was overwhelmed with emotion that the great-great grandson and the great-great-great-great grandson of Joseph were to be baptized during the same service! It was a joyful occasion. Caleb’s and my baptism was the first time that a descendant of Joseph and Hyrum had worked together in the baptism of a family member.

I could only imagine the rejoicing and tears that were shed by the two brothers on the other side of the veil. Their families were being united again after 150 years. The beautiful dedicatory prayer at the Kirtland Temple offered by Joseph, especially D&C 109:70, is continuing to unfold, that the prejudices of Joseph’s posterity “may be broken up and swept away as with a flood that they may be converted.”

Among Joseph and Emma’s posterity are now some 125 living adult descendants who are members of the Church, and of them, at least 14 have served full-time missions. Our prejudices have indeed been swept away as if by a flood as we are converted to the Gospel of the Restoration! I was endowed in the Nauvoo Temple in June 2007. Thanks for your efforts to spread the light of truth!

Warm Regards,

Bob Smith

Omaha, Nebraska

dwhite

Doris White is a native of Oregon and graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English and a minor in Editing. She loves to talk with others about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It isn’t hard to understnd why Emma would want to hold on to many of Joseph’s manuscripts, including his unpublished manuscript of his translation of the Bible. It also isn’t hard to understand why she tried to obtain many of Joseph’s papers from Brigham Young, the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who was not trying to lead the Church. She felt those documents belonged to her, and they were a dear reminder to her of her husband. As Brigham saw it, those documents were revelations from God for the good of His Church, and they were necessary to the leadership of the Church. Thus, despite the amicable resolution of most of the property issues, a rift was made between Brigham and Emma over other disagreements. This rift grew among their descendants, especially Emma’s, as misunderstandings compounded later.

Though Mormon Church leaders thought they had taken care of Emma leaving her with a hotel, multiple houses, lots to sell, and a farm, the actions of others who stayed behind to help settle the Smith estate were less than honorable. In the end, Emma was reduced to poverty level and lost nearly all of what she had been left. Though these actions were not known of or condoned by Church leaders, Emma was, understandably, deeply hurt. Joseph III, Emma’s son, remembered the actions taken against his mother at this time and later blamed Brigham Young for her condition.

Matters did not improve when Joseph III’s brothers, Alexander and David (now aligned with dissenters against Brigham Young who had established a group called the Reorganization) travelled to Salt Lake in the 1870s to meet with Brigham Young. They were denied access to the Tabernacle, which they wanted to preach against the Mormon Church. People on both sides of the issue were upset and gossip raged. Accounts were published in Salt Lake newspapers as well as the RLDS (Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) publication. This led to Emma being branded as an apostate or simply being ignored by many in Utah, while RLDS members harbored ill feelings towards Brigham Young.

While there is little evidence that Brigham Young and Emma Smith personally had prejudice for each other, events continued to snowball and hatred abounded between groups whose leaders had once been close, loyal friends.

After more than 100 years of this prejudice, descendants of Joseph and Emma Smith planned to gather for a reunion. Michael Kennedy, who held responsibility for the organization of this event, felt strongly he should contact the Young family to try and heal the relationship between the families. After a few weeks, Michael successfully contacted Kari Robinson, a historian for the Brigham Young Family Association. Kari contacted Mary Ellen Elggren, President Elect of the BYFA, and explained the situation. Mary was quite surprised, because she had been largely unaware of the history and any feelings of animosity. She felt a heavy responsibility to try and make amends by writing an “apology” letter as Michael called it, though he knew that wasn’t quite the right term. Gracia Jones, Chief Historian for the Joseph Smith Sr. and Emma Hale Smith Historical Society, explained it would act more as a bridge to connect the two families. Mary prayed about it and finally felt she was given the words to compose the letter. It was accepted unanimously by the BYFA and signed by its ten leaders. The letter has since been dubbed the “Healing Letter.” The letter was even shown to and approved by the First Presidency. It was presented to the Smith family at their gathering at the Nauvoo House in 2007 by three representatives of the BYFA: Mary Ellen Elggren, Kari Robinson, and Peter Kennedy. This is the letter:

For a century and a half we have grieved over the loss of the fellowship of our dear Emma Hale Smith, her children and her descendants. We feel in our hearts an abiding longing to join once again these two families in a common celebration of their ancestors, two men who loved each other and gave their lives together in the service of the Lord, Jesus Christ. The Prophet Joseph Smith, who stands at the head of this dispensation, is second only in our affections to the Lord Himself, and we hold in the highest esteem our progenitor, Brigham Young, whose dying words in this world were the repeated name of his greatest friend and mentor, Joseph.

If there are any misunderstandings that continue to exist in the lexicon of traditions in our family concerning the Prophet’s beloved wife whom we revere as a truly great and saintly aldy, we would commit ourselves to do whatever is needed to publish to the world our deep regard for her noble life.

It would be our earnest desire to rebuild that bridge of friendship between our two families that existed not so long ago.

At least twice now, LDS members of both families have met in temples in prayer circles. Many hurts have been healed, and the families continue to grow in love and respect for one another.

For full story, visit Meridian Magazine.

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Doris White is a native of Oregon and graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English and a minor in Editing. She loves to talk with others about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Nauvoo, Illinois

Estel Neff has spent much of his life in the Nauvoo, Illinois, area. He owns and operates the Old House Bookstore, selling second-hand books and some antiques. He is a direct descendant of Joseph Smith, Sr. (Joseph Smith’s father), and is a recent convert to the Mormon Church (officially The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Neff was baptized in Nauvoo on April 5, 1996. Most of his family has grown up in western Illinois, since all of Joseph Smith, Jr.’s family (except Hyrum Smith’s family) stayed in the area when the rest of the Saints traveled West after Joseph and his brother Hyrum were martyred. Neff is the great-great-great grandson of Joseph and Hyrum’s sister, Katherine Smith Salisbury.

Neff and his wife, Cecel, raised their five daughters in Keokuk, Iowa, and then later moved close to Nauvoo, Illinois. Neff worked in the grain and feed business, but over the years he collected many books related to Mormonism because they held so much of his family history. In about 1988, Neff decided to use those books to open his store in Hamilton, Illinois, near Nauvoo. He began to take more of an interest in religion as he got older and as he explored his book collection. He began attending the Nauvoo Ward in 1995, socializing with members and learning more about the church.

Neff was baptized by Hyrum Mack Smith, great-grandson of former Mormon prophet Joseph F. Smith, who had served as a visitors center director in Nauvoo, when he became acquainted with Neff. Smith came all the way from Seattle to baptize Neff.

While growing up in Illinois, Neff and his other family members seldom mentioned their affiliation with the history of the Mormon Church because there was still so much animosity towards the Church, even after 150 years. Neff says most of that animosity is gone now, but he has a unique connection with people who are still hostile towards the Mormon Church. He asks them if they have read the Book of Mormon, and when they reply in the negative, he tells them to go give it a try. He said he read it for the first time only a few years before he was baptized, with the aim of finding something he didn’t agree with. “I didn’t find a thing,” he said.

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Doris White is a native of Oregon and graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English and a minor in Editing. She loves to talk with others about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Joseph Smith, Jr.

Several of Joseph Smith, Jr.’s descendants have joined the Mormon Church (officially The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), but most of them knew about their family history from a young age. Mike Kennedy did not know about his heritage until he was given an assignment in his Tonopah, Nevada, high school to research his family history and to write a paper on one of his ancestors. When Mike asked his father for help on the project, his father gave Mike a large cardboard box full of pictures and family history.

At this point, Mike had never even heard of the Mormon Church. As he was rummaging through the items he had dumped out on the coffee table, there was a knock on the door. It was two Mormon missionaries. (Remember, Mike knew nothing of the Church at this time.) Mike called his father to come do the door. He also called all of his siblings in to watch. Only a few days earlier, Mike’s father had thrown a different pair of missionaries from another church out of his house. Mike expected the same thing this time and thought his siblings would like to watch the “fun.” However, Mike’s father welcomed the missionaries like they were “long-lost friends.”

As the missionaries visited with the family, they glanced at the papers on the coffee table and saw a picture of Lucy Mack Smith. Curious, they asked what the documents were. Mike told them he was doing a report on his family history on “some guy who started the Mormon Church.” Mike continued, “They went ballistic. I think they tried to give us all six discussions in the next ten minutes.” The missionaries were understandably very excited to get to meet and teach actual descendants of Joseph Smith about the fullness of the gospel which the Mormon prophet helped to restore.

Mike was the only one in his family to continue the discussions, but his busy schedule soon caused him to miss his appointments with the missionaries. Not to be deterred, the missionaries invited another investigator Mike’s age (a girl) to attend the discussions at the same time. Mike consented and was baptized four months later. About a year after that, Mike and this girl, Darcy, were married in the Provo Utah Mormon Temple while attending the Mormon Brigham Young University.

When Mike was ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood, he was told that his conversion fulfilled, in part, a prophecy contained in Doctrine and Covenants Section 109:70. At the time Joseph Smith received this revelation, he had prayed that the prejudices in his immediate family would be “broken up and swept away as with a flood, that they may be converted and redeemed with Israel.” This was made possible through Mike because his grandfather, who was a member of the RLDS Church, had died in a car accident when Mike’s father was a baby. Mike’s grandmother remarried, but her new husband wanted nothing to do with either the LDS or RLDS churches, so Mike was raised with no prejudices against the Mormon Church.

Mike and Darcy both feel that their conversion to the Mormon Church has changed their lives for the better. They are now striving to reach out to other Joseph Smith descendants in love and friendship. “Our whole mission together from the beginning has been to work with the Joseph Smith Jr. family,” said Darcy. “Everything has revolved around the Joseph Smith Jr. family.”

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Doris White is a native of Oregon and graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English and a minor in Editing. She loves to talk with others about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It may come as a surprise even to those who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly referred to as the Mormon Church) that until the last few decades, very few of Joseph and Emma Smith’s direct descendants were members of the now-worldwide church which Joseph was instrumental in founding. In the following account, one of their great-great granddaughters shares her experience of learning of the restored gospel and gaining her own testimony that the Book of Mormon is true and that her ancestor Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God to perform a great work on the earth in the latter days.

On 17 March 2011, I [Gracia Normandeau Jones] will celebrate the fifty-fifth anniversary of my baptism into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My grandmother, Coral, was a granddaughter of Joseph and Emma Hale Smith; her father, Alexander Hale Smith, was their third surviving son. Many people ask how it is I am a convert when I am a great-great granddaughter of the Prophet Joseph Smith. It was several years after my conversion before I finally pieced together the family history and learned the reason my family had never spoken of Joseph Smith.

In the terrifying aftermath of the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, and his elder brother, Hyrum, at Carthage, Illinois, in 1844, my great-great-grandmother, Emma, was left widowed, with four minor children: adopted daughter, Julia, 12; and sons, Joseph III, 11 ½, Frederick, 8, Alexander Hale, 6, and David Hyrum born 4 ½ months later. Amid great distress, Emma chose not go west when the LDS Church was forced to leave Illinois in 1846. Except for a brief time when she fled to safety during the mob hostilities from September 1846 to January 1847, she brought up her children in Nauvoo. With the LDS Church gone from Nauvoo, and the neighbourhood hostile toward anyone who professed belief in it, the Smith children missed being raised in the LDS faith.

In 1860, Joseph Smith III was recruited by a group calling themeselves the Reorganization. This group developed into The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (RLDS). When Joseph Smith III made the decision to join this group, his family was confused about what actions they should take. Some joined, some did not. Family members lived in Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois until the mid-1920s, when conflicts about both leadership of the RLDS Church and money scattered them all across the country. In 1932, after having been forced from several farms during the Great Depression, Gracia’s grandparents moved to Montana. Here Gracia’s mother, Lorena, married and raised her own children.

I had a mixed religious experience since my father’s family was Catholic and my mother, notwithstanding she was a great granddaughter of Joseph Smith, was Protestant, though she had never been baptized. Her mother was never able to live near an RLDS Church. Therefore, she sometimes served as organist in the Methodist Church and even taught Sunday school. She did not talk about her family’s past; she never discussed the story of the restoration with her children other than to tell them her grandfather had seen an angel. I never, as a child, heard my grandmother speak the name of Joseph Smith, though she did one time speak of “the martyrs.” I didn’t understand what she was referring to, and nobody explained. . .

Years later, after our family had moved east of the Rocky Mountains, to Conrad, Montana. That fall I was about to enter into my senior year of high school. It was kind of tough trying to fit into a new town and begin in a new school. One thing I needed was to earn money, so I found a job babysitting for a family named Lederer. Dee Lederer had two youngsters and needed help. I fell in love with the children and eagerly began working after school and on weekends to assist this woman whose husband was away. It was an ideal situation, as we got along very well from the start. Soon after I began working for her, my mother took me aside and said, “Don’t you tell HER you are related to Joseph Smith; she’ll think you should be a Mormon.”

Having never heard the word “Mormon,” I couldn’t imagine what she meant. My mother’s attitude and tone of voice seemed to forbid my asking any questions. I thought it was really strange.

I was curious, but I didn’t dare ask. It was not too long before my curiosity about “Joseph Smith” would be satisfied.

One day my employer told me a really fantastic story about a man named Joseph Smith, whom she said, was “a prophet.” I didn’t understand. In my mind, the word sounded like “profit.” I thought “profit” was the difference between what you bought something for and what you could sell it for. She soon explained to me that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the Bible. I had heard those Bible stories, but I had no real concept of what a “prophet” was. It seemed like myth, but she made it sound very special. It only took a little discussion to realize that the Joseph Smith she was talking about was my great-great grandfather, who my mother said not to talk about. I was intrigued and curious. Soon I found myself telling her that my great-great grandfather was Joseph Smith. Her reaction was surprise and delight.

A few days later she called me in the morning to ask, “Can you come over after school? The missionaries want to give you a gift. . . ”

When I walked into the kitchen that day, Dee Lederer introduced me to Elder Waldron and Elder Richins. In a few moments, one of them held out a little black book to me, and he said, “This is The Book of Mormon. It was translated by the gift and power of God, by your great-great grandfather, and it is true.”

As I took the book into my hands, I was swept over with a very intense feeling, almost like an electric shock, or vibration. In my mind echoed the words, “It’s true! It’s REALLY TRUE!”

Gracia got permission from her parents to continuing listening to the missionaries, but they were both opposed to her getting baptized. Her mother actually did not know hardly anything about the history of the Church and Joseph Smith, but she remembered how upset her mother would get every time the subject was brought up, so she had serious reservations about Gracia joining the church. Gracia’s father simply felt she was too young to make such an important decision. As she waited for her eighteenth birthday, Gracia continued studying the Bible and the Book of Mormon and her testimony grew. Shortly after her birthday in 1956, she was baptized 65 miles from her branch. No one she knew was able to attend her baptism, and no one at the baptism knew of her heritage. Gracia was only the third descendant of Joseph and Emma to be baptized, and she was the first to remain active and to receive her temple ordinances. Largely through her example and influence, now more than one hundred of Joseph and Emma’s descendants have been baptized, including Gracia’s mother, Lorena, who was baptized in 1979 and was the first of Joseph’s descendants to serve a full-time mission for the Mormon Church.

Now that I am engaged in the work of gathering the scattered posterity of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his wife Emma, I realize that I have the talent to simply love them. I know that some have heavy burdens of family prejudice which may never be lifted in this mortal life. I know that others are committed to the creeds and faiths in which they have found spiritual and social comfort or solace—they may never be “converted.” Let them worship who, what, when or how they may, I love them, and I wish to dispel the prejudice that binds the minds and hearts of so many.

My ongoing passion is to find each descendant, to bond with them as kin, through family reunions, or perhaps just through one-on-one visits, in person, or on the phone. I want to teach them to know and respect their ancestor, Joseph Smith, and his wife Emma. In this labor I am greatly blessed to have my wonderful husband, Ivor Jones, to share the burdens and the joys of our endless travels in search of the dear ones we have yet to find. Our dearest wish is that every descendant of Joseph and Emma could somehow come to know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God and that The Book of Mormon is really, really, true.

Full article

Gracia’s testimony of Emma Smith

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Doris White is a native of Oregon and graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English and a minor in Editing. She loves to talk with others about the gospel of Jesus Christ.