The widow who stayed behind: Emma Smith's defiance of a movement

Society · Published 20 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: When the Mormon pioneers fled to Utah, Emma Smith remained in the ghost town of Nauvoo. As the first wife of the movement's founder, she became a symbol of complex loyalty, navigating a life defined by religious devotion, public scandal, and the heavy burden of a husband's debts.

Emma Smith's role in the early Latter Day Saint movement was both foundational and fraught with internal conflict. As the first wife of Joseph Smith, she was a primary scribe during the production of the Book of Mormon, where she sat beside him for hours as he dictated. Her influence was significant enough that Joseph received a revelation in 1830 naming her 'an elect lady,' ordained to expound scriptures and exhort the church. She was also a pioneer of women's organized service, founding the Ladies' Relief Society in 1842. She specifically persuaded Joseph Smith to name it the 'Relief Society' to focus on correcting the virtues of the female community and providing for the poor.

However, her relationship with the movement's evolving doctrines was strained. Emma publicly and fiercely condemned the practice of polygamy, even authorizing a petition in 1842 with a thousand female signatures to deny her husband's involvement. This stance created a permanent rift with the leadership that eventually moved west. When Joseph Smith was killed in 1844, Emma was left with a complex legal and financial nightmare. Because Joseph held church assets as a 'trustee-in-trust' while holding personal liabilities as a private citizen, Emma was left responsible for his personal debts while struggling to untangle the church's property.

While the majority of the followers joined Brigham Young's migration to the Salt Lake Valley in 1846, Emma refused to leave Nauvoo. She remained in the emptied town, eventually marrying a non-Mormon friend, Major Lewis C. Bidamon, in 1847. While staying devoted to the RLDS Church and Joseph Smith III, her existence in Nauvoo shifted towards maintaining what existed instead of growing it. She lived in the 'Mansion House,' attempting to run a hotel and a store, remaining a wealthy landowner in real estate but struggling with a lack of liquid capital.

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