Joseph Smith had the ability to become whatever other people wanted him to be

This made him attractive to women especially. They knew he was the man they had been looking for, all their lives.

His own wife, Emma, believed in him all her life, even as he changed frequently. She did not insist that he remain the same person, but was willing to accommodate whoever he had become. Whatever he was, was all right with her.

When he died. at the hands of a mob, this left her with a problem: which of his selves should she remember?

She adopted Joseph's solution: she remembered him as other people wanted to remember him. If they had forgotten polygamy, she forgot that also.

Her sons adopted this solution also as they joined the RLDS church. Their father was the perfect man everyone wanted to remember.

Emma Smith told her Sons little about their Father, Joseph Smith

When they joined the RLDS church, their first project was to convert members of the LDS church, in Utah, working from their home. in Nauvoo. Illinois.

This failed completely, and they had to move to Plano, Illinois. The youngest son, David, lost his mind after one of these trips to Utah and spent the rest of his life in an insane asylum.

Caring for People, or caring for Business

As I read everything about the Virus this morning (and there was plenty to read) a familiar pattern emerged - a lot of concern for Business (or the Economy) but much less concern for the People in this Economy.

Especially those in the worst shape. What do I mean by that? I mean People with Mental and Medical problems. Mental problems are the hardest to define but are just as important. When they affect most of the population, they become invisible to them. 

Minimal Skills, Minimal Wages

In America, most young people fall into this category. And they (and their parents) seem satisfied with it.

Having good skills (and good wages) is roo much work -- they feel.

I am taking an online software course. that is easy If I wanted a software job, I could get a good one.

But for most people, this scares them.

Go figure. 

Yami is without a Job

And she is desperate.

She assumes, rightfully. that world should take care of her - but it is not. She asks "Why?" but there is no answer. 

She has always been able to get a job before, but now there are none. 

Her government will give her $200 a month, but since she is the primary provider for her family (four children by three husbands) this is not enough.

Her oldest son (who is an American by her first husband) has a job rafting in Alaska in the summers, so she does not have to support him. 

Her husband works occasionally in construction. but there are no jobs there either.

The global economy is down. because of a new Virus. Something Yami cannot comprehend.

One answer to all this popped into my inbox this morning The Pandemic and Organized Crime in Latin America.

And Why AMLO Is Going It Alone, Again, on Coronavirus

The Life and Death Shift

NY Times Magazine

The Times here is experimenting with a new digital format. And I have to say it is successful.

I can sit here, in my pajamas, in Costa Rica, and watch a tragedy unfold in Italy.

Self-Destruction in Nauvoo

How many times has this happened in human history!

I am reading Kingdom of Nauvoo, about the events there in 1843. I recommend it to you.

This is four years of history on the American frontier, with the last year being the most eventful.

Joseph Smith and Abraham Lincoln were active at the same time and in the same place, but neither took the other seriously.

Lincoln's death was mourned by the whole country, but Smith was quickly buried in an unmarked grave.