Emma Smith and the RLDS church

I grew up in the RLDS church - and it liked to think that Emma Smith, the widow of Joseph Smith, supported their church - and indeed, was part of it. I have a different version of that history, that is more realistic.

And it runs like this.

Emma was living in Nauvoo, Illinois - in the wreckage of a town, that she inherited from her first husband. Along with his many debts. She had since married again - to a man not interested in religion at all.

She had three sons, by her first husband - who had inherited his mental instability. They had all married local women, and were having children by them. But had no income of their own.

Emma had three sons, and no way of getting rid of them. But then, the RLDS church appeared, and offered to take them off her hands. She did the sensible thing - gave them to this new church, and then forgot about them.

She abandoned the Mansion House, the most pretentious of her first husband's properties, and most of it later, had to be torn down.

Her second husband, was rebuilding the Nauvoo House, and it became a respectable, three-story building - that served as a family residence, and a hotel. Where Emma lived the rest of her life.