This past Friday, my wife and I (and many other folks) had the privilege of hearing Jill Mulvay Derr speak to the Miller-Eccles study group about Eliza R. Snow Smith. The presentation was great. <\/p>\n
Professor Derr talked about the place of Eliza R. Snow Smith<\/em>: When and how Eliza chose to take Joseph Smith’s name, what it meant, and how that story fits into the other narratives of the church past — polygamy, Emma, the disestablishment and reestablishment of the Relief Society, and the changing role of women in the church between the 1840s and 1880s. The talk was very interesting and informative. <\/p>\n It was held at the Miller-Eccles group in Southern California. I saw many familiar and newly-familiar faces there: Armand Mauss, Mike Parker of FAIR, John and Brooke Williams, and Carolyn Kline and her long-tressed husband (and former T&S guest) Mike McBride, who carried Baby E in the sling the entire time. <\/p>\n I was able to talk briefly to Professor Derr. There is a lot of forthcoming or in-progress material in this area. Her book of Eliza R. Snow’s poetry (written with Karen Lynn Davidson) is coming out next year. Her in-progress biography of Eliza R. Snow (with Kathleen Flake) does not yet have a solid ETA; of course, when it is finished, it becomes an immediate must-own for every student of Mormon history. Professor Derr also read portions of her presentation (relating to the temple trip) from an article in progress, which sounded fascinating. <\/p>\n My notes follow. As with any notes, I tried to be accurate and catch the important things said. I can’t claim to have caught everything, though, and I may have missed points or made inadvertent errors in my writing. Any errors are my own fault, and I hope I don’t misrepresent anyone’s statements here. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n 9\/15\/2006 Miller-Eccles \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Jill Mulvay Derr on Eliza R. Snow<\/p>\n How Eliza became Eliza R. Snow Smith. In 1868, she was asked by BY to help reestablish Relief Societies in Utah. Lived in Ohio, age 4 till the exit by the Saints in 1838. She met JS in winter 1830-31. Her family was friends with Sidney Rigdon. 1835, her mother and sister returned from a meeting, discussing the gifts of the spirit. Left Kirtland with the Saints. Poem, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153On Being Importun’d\u00e2\u20ac?, about being asked to write. First poems, late 1838, full of rage about persecutions. Emma and Eliza. JS gave sermons to the women in Nauvoo \u00e2\u20ac\u201c ERS recorded them. 1880 trip, with Zina. **<\/p>\n Q: What was her relationship with BY?<\/p>\n A: Very interesting relationship. She talked about BY in her trail journals. In Utah, the relationship develops. There is initial distance between them. They are united because both are extremely devoted to JS. It was BY who appointed her to do the temple work, reorganize the RS. They were close. BY’s daughter talks about her, sitting at BY’s right hand. There are interesting ERS letters about their familial interactions. <\/p>\n Taking the Smith name, happened later. What is she doing? One part, is reacting to Emma and to the Reynolds decision. She was a tremendous advocate of plural marriage. <\/p>\n Also, in June 1880, she was set apart as RS president. She had been performing the role since 1868, but wasn’t set apart. This expands, but also delimits, her responsibilities. When it was informal, she was in charge of it all. In 1880, the presidencies split \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Primary, YW mutual improvement, RS. <\/p>\n 1880, in some ways, with JT as president, a different dynamic. She had lived in BY’s household. There was a companionate interaction. This did not happen with JT. Small clashes with JT on administration. One card she could always play, she was a JS wife. She was accustomed to exercising familial family authority. <\/p>\n Q: Having children?<\/p>\n A: There is speculation that she was physically damaged from the rape. Also, the fact that she married late. <\/p>\n Q: And the miscarriage story? Emma, causing miscarriage?<\/p>\n A: The problem is, all the people who tell it are 40 years later. ERS never says anything to indicate this. <\/p>\n Q: Zina was also married to both JS and BY, and she took BY’s name. Why the difference?<\/p>\n A: Zina had children with BY. Also, ERS was a known, independent woman, before she was married either to JS or BY. <\/p>\n Q: Did ERS take Emma’s role, in Utah?<\/p>\n A: Yes. Emma was the first woman endowed, and ministered to the women. ERS took that role in Utah. Womens’ temple work was under the RS direction until 1910 (Bathsheba Smith). (Emmeline Wells, was the first not to hold.)<\/p>\n The priestess and presidentess role, Emma had played, and ERS took that role. We see echoes of this in small towns, the bishop being the husband of the RS president. <\/p>\n The RS suffered, not having that in JT’s presidency. Women’s roles were rationalized, not familialized. <\/p>\n Q: Was she like another first presidency counselor?<\/p>\n Q: Who reined in the RS? We read of early times, women blessing the sick. Who ended that? Was it JT? JFS? <\/p>\n A: JS taught those lessons to the women of the church in Nauvoo. Women could heal the sick. He quoted the scripture in Mark, signs follow all who believe \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and he specifically said to the RS, signs follow believers \u00e2\u20ac\u0153whether male or female.\u00e2\u20ac?<\/p>\n Familial structure existed. Women had power, and ERS maximized the power in that structure. Changes in womens roles on institutionalization. Before institutionalization, women are allowed to heal, and so forth. Afterwards, this is put with the quorums. Also, before, single women serving as missionaries. After institutionalization, questions about priesthood versus non priesthood roles. The move to blessing as a priesthood ordinance. Washing and anointing, which was previously done outside, pulled back to the temple. <\/p>\n Q: JS as a progressive, regarding women.<\/p>\n A: Yes. BY, too, by the end of his life. <\/p>\n Q: What was ERS relation with Emma after leaving the JS home?<\/p>\n A: We still see Emma mentioned in the diary, she is not avoiding her. There were negative encounters with unnamed people (perhaps Emma), but ERS was very guarded. Q: BY wariness of the RS \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a holdover from Nauvoo, where the RS served as Emma’s anti-polygamy dissent group.<\/p>\n A: Yes. We see this in the 1844 reconvening of the RS. Meeting covering the petition against polygamy. Q: BY also worried about other power centers. He closed the RS, he closed the 70s quorums. <\/p>\n A: BY statement, March 1845 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c I don’t want the RS to meet again. Very strongly worded statement. Q: Did ERS see herself as holding the priesthood? What was her perception?<\/p>\n A: Good question. She says, in her rhetoric to the RS, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153do we not hold the priesthood?\u00e2\u20ac? The priesthood is not men, it is the power of God to transform. The importance of working with the priesthood. This past Friday, my wife and I (and many other folks) had the privilege of hearing Jill Mulvay Derr speak to the Miller-Eccles study group about Eliza R. Snow Smith. The presentation was great.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-corn"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3437\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nExploring her relationship with Joseph Smith in four ways:
\n1.Initial encounter and impressions.
\n2.The 1842 marriage
\n3.Relief society work
\n4.Her use of the Smith name.<\/p>\n
\nFrom 1868 to her death in 1887, she was the leader of the movement of LDS women.
\nShe was set apart in 1880, but known as the RS leader long before.
\nEstablished RS, YW mutual, Primary.
\nHead of women’s organizations
\nERS was the most prominent 19th century LDS woman.
\nWho she was, in years leading up.<\/p>\n
\nPublished her first poem at 21, under the pseudonym Angerona (the goddess of silence).
\nWanted to write, but keep her name unknown.
\nAn old suitor of hers, James Walker (later a Protestant minister, author of a book on the Plan of Salvation that is still in print) was the editor of the magazine she published in. <\/p>\n
\nShe studied JS, said that he had an honest face.
\nThe testimonies of Whitmer & Cowdery \u00e2\u20ac\u0153thrilled my soul.\u00e2\u20ac?
\nJuxtaposition \u00e2\u20ac\u201c thrilled by the testimonies, not so much by JS himself.
\nHer mother and sister baptized early, ERS waited 4 more years.
\nShe was a Campbellite (Christian primitivists). Studied with Campbell and Walter Scott, intellectual, powerful orators.
\nJS probably not as impressive a speaker, at that time. <\/p>\n
\nERS was impressed by the gifts of the spirit, and by the restored order of the church.
\nJoined the church; gave her inheritance for the building of the Kirtland temple.
\nLived with Joseph and Emma, twice, in Kirtland.
\nDeep appreciation of JS as prophet.<\/p>\n
\nWrote much peotry before joining the church.
\nWrote two hymns, quickly, after joining. Then, a period of silence.
\n1836-1839, haven’t found anything she wrote.
\nTime of dissension, apostasy in Kirtland, move from Ohio.
\nTradition (from the GA Smith family) is that ERS was raped by Missourians.
\nShe wrote disproportionately about Missourians, a great deal of rage.<\/p>\n
\nExamined in the (forthcoming) Derr\/Karen Lynn Davidson book on poetry.
\nFrom the 1842-44 journal, including older poems copied over.
\nDerr & Davidson date this poem to 1839.
\nThe friend may be JS, importuning her to write again.
\nSome time, maybe more than once, at the end of the Missouri period, he asked her to write, on behalf of the church. <\/p>\n
\nOther poetry.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Narcissa to Narcissus\u00e2\u20ac? poem, 1839.
\n(Narcissa was an early psudonymn she had used in Ravenna Courier poems.)
\n(She had used many \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Narcissa, Ironica, Pocahontas, many more. All pre-joining the church.)
\nThe Narcissa poem may be about JS.
\nThe \u00e2\u20ac\u0153deaf ear\u00e2\u20ac? stanza \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the period of 4 years prior to her baptism.
\nIs it too much like a love poem to be ERS to JS? Maybe just a powerful friend poem.<\/p>\n
\nGood friends.
\nERS was the RS secretary, traveling with Emma
\nAugust 1842, moved into JS household, after June plural marriage to JS.
\nWhile living in household, wrote a series of affectionate poems to JS.
\n(Discussed in Maureen Ursenbach Beecher article in Dialogue, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Inadvertent Disclosure.\u00e2\u20ac?)
\nPoems express a love for JS.
\nAlso, discusses the tension of the secret relationship.
\nA poem on difficulties. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Does a focus belong to pell mell?\u00e2\u20ac? \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Deep intricate puzzle.\u00e2\u20ac? \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Can vice into virtue give birth?\u00e2\u20ac?
\nPoem published. (Neighbor or Wasp).
\nDid Emma know about the ERS plural marriage? We don’t know.
\nTangled poem. She was a friend to Emma, maybe keeping secret from her.
\nMoving out \u00e2\u20ac\u201c no confirmation of the rumors (that Emma threw her down the stairs). Those stories are all many years after the fact, probably unreliable.
\nMoved out of the Smith house in February 1843.
\nAll we have is a very terse ERS journal entry. <\/p>\n
\nShe used the minuted to reestablish the RS, in 1868.
\nOne picture we have of her is from the late 1870’s \u00e2\u20ac\u201c an extremely powerful woman.
\nShe administered gifts of the spirit \u00e2\u20ac\u201c spoke in tongues, prophecy.
\nHer titles were presidentess, poetess, prophetess. <\/p>\n
\nBackground:
\nIn Nauvoo, plural marriage was kept quiet.
\nNot publicly acknowledged until 1852.
\nReorganized church, antipolygamy stance and denial that polygamy ever took place under JS.
\nRLDS missionaries coming to Utah, 1860s and 70s, the Smith sons.
\nERS letter 1879 to Deseret News affirming that JS taught plural marriage, signed as one of JS wives.
\nAlso, wrote a strong piece opposed to the [Supreme Court] Reynolds decision.
\nAt some time in that period, 1879-80, began taking JS name.
\nDefying both Reynolds and Emma’s anti-polygamy campaign.
\nThe April 1880 Women’s Exponent, identifies her as Eliza R. Snow Smith.
\nZina and Emily Partridge experimented with taking Smith name at the same time, but it didn’t stick.
\nERS kept JS’s watch, as a relic. Showed it to primary children. Told primary children wherever she visited about plural marriage.
\n1880, birthday celebration for JS \u00e2\u20ac\u201c ERS and Zina recognized, as JS wives.
\nERS helped do endowments, in St. George Temple, with Zina.
\nTrip with Zina \u00e2\u20ac\u201c ERS participated in many sealing circles, sealing people to JS.
\nBy the 1880s, widely known as Elisa R. Snow Smith.
\nHer grave reads Eliza R. Snow Smith. <\/p>\n
\nBY originally said no RS would be reestablished. ERS negotiated this, negotiated a space for women to meet. Institutionalized womens organization. The institutional groundwork survives the polygamy persecutions.<\/p>\n
\nShe wrote a poem, November 1844, for David Smith birth.
\nBoth ERS and Emma were absent from RS meetings, in 1843. <\/p>\n
\nThere is little information about what was said at the meeting. We don’t know.
\nEmma made statements about acting under her authority \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we don’t know how to read them.
\nJT later said, Emma used her position in the RS to pervert the sisters, to oppose polygamy.
\nJS himself, said he had no trouble on plural marriage until the RS petition against it. <\/p>\n
\nBy 1868 reestablishment, under ERS, ERS making very clear, the sisters won’t speak against polygamy. <\/p>\n
\nLater, after statements made limiting her authority, she would decline to bless, say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153if I had the power.\u00e2\u20ac?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"