Okay, so it's not really important, but I'm wondering the following.

1) Why didn't Emma have Joseph Smith baptize her?
2) Why did she wait so long to join the church?

Joseph Smith got the Aaronic Priesthood on May 15, 1829 and baptized Oliver Cowdrey that same day after Oliver first baptized Joseph. In June of 1829, Oliver Cowdrey baptizes Hyrum Smith. April 6, 1830, Joseph baptizes his father Joseph Smith Sr. Later June 9, 1830, Joseph baptizes 3 of his siblings. On June 27-28th, a mob breaks up a damn during the night of the 27th to prevent baptisms the following day. 13 people are baptized that day, including Emma Hale Smith, but she's baptized by Oliver Cowdrey. Joseph was there because he spoke the morning of the baptism while members of the mob looked on. This was in Coleville, New York.

Like I said, it's not important, but I'm curious as to why. Joseph wasn't incapcitated - he wasn't tarred and feathered the first time until 1834. He was present - spoke in the morning of the baptisms. It was a week later that he was arrested in Afton (5 miles to the northeast of Coleville) and taken to trial in South Bainbridge New York (5 miles to the northeast of Afton). I can place Joseph in the area, at the service, and he wasn't wearing tar and feathers the night before.

The reason I find this interesting is that later, Emma catches Joseph and Fanny in the barn in 1833, she tells whom about it - that's right - it's Oliver again. Granted, at that point, Oliver is still technically the Second Elder of the church by office, but he wasn't the guy Joseph was spending all the time with - that guy was Sydney Rigdon ever since Sydney joined the church and braught his horde of Ohio converts with him. Emma could have gone to Sydney, to Joseph's mother Lucy or even to Hyrum but nope, she confided her tale in ONLY one of them, Oliver. Oliver believed her because he was later excommunicated in 1838 and this was one of the points he kept using to defend himself against the charges leveled at him by Joseph Smith after he denouced Joseph Smith to the High Council in Far West months prior to his own excommunication for his 'slander' against the prophet's financial policies and for not shutting up about the 'filthy nasty affair' Emma told him about years before.

He wasn't around when she was baptised.

She was Presbyterian. They don't like switching.

Nice try, but Joseph did speak that morning she was baptized in Colesville at the conference where she and 12 others joined the church. I can place him at the scene that day being listed in the history of the church as the morning speaker at that conference.

I guess you could answer the question with a question. Why did Emma marry a non-Mormon after Joe lost the gun battle at the jail?

I think she always knew her husband told big ones and wasn't very honest. The problem was, she liked the $$$ and the fame.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/08/2010 07:27PM by george.

You hit the nail on the head. After studying Emmma extensively, I am of the same conclusion. She was nearly as greedy as Joseph, but he was more uncomfortable with his MO than she was.

They have!! Try brigham's wife no 19

The GA wives live like queens with post it note pads full of $20/$50 bills. If you never had hit a lick, and you were treated like the royality of a religion, would you ever turn your back on the bank???