Emma Smith: My Story

Last Saturday at the LDS Film Festival I had the opportunity to watch "Emma Smith: My Story." I had heard from various graduate students in my Mormon History class (students who know their LDS history) that this film was very good and fairly accurate. So I decided this was one of the movies I wanted to see. I was not disappointed.

The movie was made by the Joseph Smith Jr. and Emma Hale Smith Historical Society and therefore there was considerable research done to ensure as much accuracy as possible. A couple of descendants of Emma and Joseph were also involved in the movie making process including Gracia Jones (well known author on the subject) and Michael Kennedy (President of the JS Jr. and ES Historical Society). One aspect of the film that I was particularly pleased with was the use of the same actors as those in the Temple Square film "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration." I thought these actors did an amazing job and was glad to have them back for this film on Emma.



The film is narrated by Joseph and Emma's adopted daughter, Julia Murdock Smith, who begins by recounting the marriage of her mother to Major Lewis C. Bidamon one year after Joseph Smith's death. She tells the story of Bidamon's unfaithfulness to Emma when he had an illegitimate child named Charlie with a young woman named Nancy Abercrombie. Nancy could not care for Charlie so Emma took him in as one of her own. She even employed Nancy in her home so she could be close to her child. Upon her deathbed, Emma encouraged Bidamon to marry Nancy so that Charlie could be raised by his true mother and father. This story shows the heart of Emma Smith, and is one not often told to members of the church. It was from this moment I knew they were going to attempt to tell the whole of Emma's story, holding nothing back.

The movie was different from any church movie about the restoration I had seen before. Rather than having Joseph at the forefront, it showed the events of the restoration through her eyes. The many persecutions suffered by Emma and Joseph including the loss of 6 of their 11 children in infancy, Joseph's frequent incarcerations which left Emma alone, and her difficulty explaining her love for Joseph and the religion he restored to her family are all powerfully shown in the film. These powerful portrayals of her courage and perseverance magnificently led up to my favorite part in the film. Emma is shown talking to the now grown Julia (who is experiencing troubles of her own in her health as well as her marriage) who asks her about plural marriage. Emma states that she just doesn't like to talk about it because it was such a hard time in her life. She also tells the story of Joseph's attempt to escape incarceration in Carthage by going Westward, and how she wrote him a letter asking him to come back. In recounting these two events the film shows Emma saying she regrets that sometimes she let her pride and the desires of her own heart get in the way of what she knew was right and good. Then in response to Julia's question that if she could change anything about her life what would it be, Emma replies "Me." I thought this was very powerful because so many members of the church (including myself at times) believe that Emma did not live up to her calling or that she is somehow in trouble with the Lord because she did not go West with the main body of the Saints or because she struggled with the idea of plural marriage. In the film, by having her say that in hindsight if she could go back she would change only herself, it made me re-think my ideas of her. What if she just made a mistake? Is she not allowed to have feelings of possessiveness over Joseph and his time with her? How many times in my own life to I let my pride or the things that I want get in the way of making correct choices? The scene was especially powerful because for the previous hour I had been shown all the many sacrifices and loneliness she had to endure. I believe Emma Smith was an amazing lady who perhaps made mistakes just like the rest of us do.

I am very excited for this movie to come out in April 2008!