Emma Hale Smith

Emma Hale Smith (https://history.lds.org/bc/chweb/content/images/uploads/2011-10-11/emma-hale-smith-large.jpg ())

Faith. Hope. Kindness. traits every hero should have.  Emma Hale Smith shows these traits and more throughout the most difficult part of her life.. She is truly a hero.

  Emma Smith was always admired. She always used proper language, never slang, and was noble in both appearance and in bearing.  She was kind to everyone, but could have a fiery temper when provoked. She was married to Joseph Smith Jr. on January 18, 1827, at the age of twenty-three. She was baptized in to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon Church) by Oliver Cowdry, after it was restored through her husband three years later.  She was commanded to make the first Hymn Book for the church shortly after.  A strong leader, she was elected the first president of the Relief Society. Under her leadership, the small group of woman raised money for the Kirtland Temple; sewed clothing for the traveling missionaries; and collected blankets, food, and clothing for the stranded saints in Missouri.

  Her life was not without its own set of hardships though. Being the widely hated Prophet's wife, she was ridiculed and verbally abused constantly. She bore eight children, but lost four in infancy and youth, and two were born still born. She later took in a set of twins. Only one made it to adulthood. The other died when the door was left open one night. The night when Emma watched helplessly as her husband was torn from their house and was coated in hot tar. She watched as her husband was constantly taken to jail on false charges, ridiculed, and tortured. She held her head high. She traveled across harsh terrain in the middle of winter, with small children and another on its way, by herself.

Emma Hale Smith is a hero to not only me, but to all those who knew her in her life. Through her good acts, taking in the sick and the needy, when she had hardly anything for herself, I am inspired to do well. When I am sad and forlorn, I think about all she sacrificed, all she suffered, and have nothing to complain about in comparison to what she went through. She was a comfort to her husband and to others. The Relief Society still helps the world today, thanks to her leadership then. I hope that I can become a modern day Emma, by living my life the best I can.

  Emma, through all of her trials, remained faithful, hopeful, brave, and optimistic, even when they took a turn for the worst. That is what it takes to be a hero.