Joseph and Emma love letters

[20/20hind]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbc0JeRCCGw


I happened to see this in our DVD collection. Wait, what about all his other wives love letters?


I think the best love letter from Joseph to Emma was D&C 132. But that one isn't in this collection

[Not Buying It]

Excellent question. Does it not make a mockery of marriage if the other wives "don't count"? What about their feelings, what about their sacrifices following a principle revealed to them by their Prophet, what about their pain? If they weren't really wives, what was Joseph doing sleeping with them? If they really were wives, why aren't their love letters included too - and why don't we ever talk about them?

No amount of spin or apologetics can make Joseph's polygamy look good unless a person is so desperate to believe it is OK that they will accept anything. Whenever I see someone try and defend it, my sense of morality is greatly offended. And any attempt to make Joseph and Emma's marriage seem special is a hoax and a sham - because he cheated on her behind her back, and there is nothing special about a relationship where that is going on.

That DVD makes me want to puke.

[20/20hind]

Excellent question. Does it not make a mockery of marriage if the other wives "don't count"? What about their feelings, what about their sacrifices following a principle revealed to them by their Prophet, what about their pain? If they weren't really wives, what was Joseph doing sleeping with them? If they really were wives, why aren't their love letters included too - and why don't we ever talk about them?

No amount of spin or apologetics can make Joseph's polygamy look good unless a person is so desperate to believe it is OK that they will accept anything. Whenever I see someone try and defend it, my sense of morality is greatly offended. And any attempt to make Joseph and Emma's marriage seem special is a hoax and a sham - because he cheated on her behind her back, and there is nothing special about a relationship where that is going on.

That DVD makes me want to puke.

I agee. A couple years ago we went to temple square to see the Christmas lights. We walked by the statues of Joseph and Emma. I asked my tbm wife, hey where are the statues of his other wives?

The look on her face was cognitive dissonance 100%. We go there every Christmas and she avoids going to the area ever since. Yet she remains tbm as ever. But I know that jolted her.

I changed the link I posted to a YouTube clip of it

Ya I wanna barf

[2bizE]

I bet JS penned similar love letters to Fanny and his many other wives. Would be fun to read some of those letters...
My dearest Helen,
I pray God will grant me the opportunity to see you once again. It has been several weeks since we last kissed. I long for your tender touch. The sight of your prepubescent breasts brings great joy to my soul...

[Red Ryder]

I bet JS penned similar love letters to Fanny and his many other wives. Would be fun to read some of those letters...
My dearest Helen,
I pray God will grant me the opportunity to see you once again. It has been several weeks since we last kissed. I long for your tender touch. The sight of your prepubescent breasts brings great joy to my soul...

Ha ha ha!

Dear Fanny,

Oh how I loved the other night we met in the barn. The smell of hay mixed eccentricly with your hair, love induced pheromones, and the scent of barn wood made me lose concentration while Emma and I were, uhhhh "talking". I nearly yelled out your name in vane while making sweet love to her as my wife. She's really great, but her hips don't move nearly as lovely as yours do. Oh I can't wait until it comes to pass that we can do the macarana again.

Love,
Joseph Smith Jr.

[20/20hind]

I bet JS penned similar love letters to Fanny and his many other wives. Would be fun to read some of those letters...
My dearest Helen,
I pray God will grant me the opportunity to see you once again. It has been several weeks since we last kissed. I long for your tender touch. The sight of your prepubescent breasts brings great joy to my soul...

Ha ha ha!

Dear Fanny,

Oh how I loved the other night we met in the barn. The smell of hay mixed eccentricly with your hair, love induced pheromones, and the scent of barn wood made me lose concentration while Emma and I were, uhhhh "talking". I nearly yelled out your name in vane while making sweet love to her as my wife. She's really great, but her hips don't move nearly as lovely as yours do. Oh I can't wait until it comes to pass that we can do the macarana again.

Love,
Joseph Smith Jr.

Mrs Huntington.

As you are aware of my current situation regarding this polyandry angel with a drawn sword sneaking around telling me i must obey the celestial law or be killed. May i be so bold to inquire if you would prayerfully consider my current state and save my life by bedding me down in spiritual wifery. God will let you know this is his will and commandment through the holy spirit. This will bring salvation and eternal life to you, your husband, and your posterity. But be sure that emma is not around for she will fight against this even though god told her in revelation that she would be destroyed if she did not accept all that has been given to me.

Your ever humble servant..

Joseph Smith jr.

[Charlotte]

No amount of spin or apologetics can make Joseph's polygamy look good unless a person is so desperate to believe it is OK that they will accept anything. Whenever I see someone try and defend it, my sense of morality is greatly offended. And any attempt to make Joseph and Emma's marriage seem special is a hoax and a sham - because he cheated on her behind her back, and there is nothing special about a relationship where that is going on.

I didn't see a copyright on the clip. I sure hope it's before the essays came out. Otherwise, ignoring the massive elephant like this (with all the graphics and dreamy music playing) is comical.

I believe that Joseph did love Emma, but the lying, her denial, Section 132, the sheer craziness of R.S. in Nauvoo. That's either part of their story, or don't tell the story. Let them be private. That's the way to go, I think. Just stop talking about them!

[RubinHighlander]

Wow; just the title brings back some pretty bitter and hurtful feelings in me. My DW had given me that book for one of our anniversaries years ago. I can't believe how easily I was sucked into the false unicorn world of this super awesome BS relationship that JS never had with Emma. How did I miss the D&C scriptures that told Emma she could not have another husband when JS was never there for her because he was too busy with so many other women. When I learned the truth about JS and the polygamy and polyandry, seeing that book in our collection just made me sick inside. The other big slap in the face was the first vision, because it was such a foundation for my beliefs and what I had preached on my mission, then to learn it was barely mentioned in the early church and the first versions were nothing like I was taught and had preached with strong fervor...Just one of so many things. But I have to say out of all the books we had wasted our hard earned money on, the love letter book was by far the worst one!

[20/20hind]

I totally understand. The author of this at the time probably had no idea about all his other wives. I really got sucked into it also. Your not alone.

[wtfluff]

Joseph, and Emma, and Fanny (A), and Louisa, and Zina, And Presindia, and Agnes, and Sylvia, and Mary (L), and Patty, and Marinda, and Elizabeth, and Sally, and Sarah (K), and Delcena, and Eliza, and Sarah (W), and Martha, and Sarah (B), and Ruth, and Flora, and Emily, and Eliza, and Almera, and Lucy, and Sarah (L), and Maria, and Helen, and Hannah, and Elvira, and Rhoda, and Desdemona, and Olive (F), and Mary (F), and Melissa, and Nancy (W), and Fanny (Y), and Mary (H), and Sarah (S) and Olive (A), and Jane (T), and Sophia (S), and Phoebe, and Vienna, and Clarissa, and Blossom, and Mary (H), and Cordella, and Nancy (S), and Jane (T), and Sophia (W).

That's a lot of effin' Love Letters.

Do you think he just addressed them all as "Sister Smith" so as to not mess up / mix up any given names?

[Corsair]

The LDS church loves to paint the married relationship of Joseph and Emma as a model of love and fidelity. I can believe that Joseph truly loved Emma in the way that good husbands and wives love each other today. The fact that Joseph could hold onto these other wives with some degree of affection does not have to dim the fact that he did love Emma. Joseph appears to have been an extrovert that deeply loved surrounding himself with friends and family that were loyal to him. I am not trying to call Joseph a narcissist, however he does seem a bit uncomfortable by himself.

[Not Buying It]

The LDS church loves to paint the married relationship of Joseph and Emma as a model of love and fidelity. I can believe that Joseph truly loved Emma in the way that good husbands and wives love each other today. The fact that Joseph could hold onto these other wives with some degree of affection does not have to dim the fact that he did love Emma. Joseph appears to have been an extrovert that deeply loved surrounding himself with friends and family that were loyal to him. I am not trying to call Joseph a narcissist, however he does seem a bit uncomfortable by himself.

Sure, maybe he loved her, but their relationship was from the idyllic blissful marriage that the Church tries to sell us. Think about it - he bedded their housemaids. He bedded her friends. He bedded her freakin' counselors when she was President of the Relief Society. He bedded orphans they had taken in. He bedded pretty much any women who took his fancy. Much of this without Emma's knowledge or consent. It wasn't an ideal marriage - it was a martial train wreck. Would any of us want our daughters married to someone like that? Personally, I have to disagree, I do think that does dim the fact he did love Emma, in that he wrecklessly bedded anyone he could with no thought to how it would affect her - then had his sock puppet God threaten to destroy her if she didn't just accept it. That isn't love.

Maybe he loved her in whatever way made sense to him. But he didn't love her the way the Church portrays. How special can your marriage be when you've got the same marriage with 32 other women (at least)?

[StarbucksMom]

The LDS church loves to paint the married relationship of Joseph and Emma as a model of love and fidelity. I can believe that Joseph truly loved Emma in the way that good husbands and wives love each other today. The fact that Joseph could hold onto these other wives with some degree of affection does not have to dim the fact that he did love Emma. Joseph appears to have been an extrovert that deeply loved surrounding himself with friends and family that were loyal to him. I am not trying to call Joseph a narcissist, however he does seem a bit uncomfortable by himself.

Ummm, no. Sorry, I usually agree with your thoughts/insights on topics...but not this one. Joseph did not love Emma like a good husband loves his wife. NBI pretty much hits the nail on the head with his post above.

This thread is pure gold. The letters some of you wrote are laugh out loud funny (I'm still waiting for Moksha's letter--where are you? ) But they really drive home the point of how utterly absurd and immoral it is for anyone to try and excuse this bast&$@'s abhorrent behavior. I'm not talking about posts like Corsair's, speculating about JS having a personality flaw/disorder. I'm talking anout Brian Hales types. How in the Hell could he read the (hilarious) letters above and not understand the absurdity of apologizing it all away? And yes, how the church tries to paint Joseph and Emma is purposely deceitful and wrong.

[JustHangingOn@57]

My Dearest Sweet Cougar, Rhoda

The spirt has been prompting, nea, threatening me to be sealed to an older sister. I mean, how would it look to the rabble if I only married virgins and hot teens? You are fulfilling an important role in furthering the fathers work by being wife #28(ish). Think of yourself as a "beard"', or some such decoy. (Actually, That brings up a rather dicey subject. Could you do something about that racoon tail you've been growing on your chin for last 58 years). But I digress sister...

May the spirit be with you sweet sister as you marry me and magnify your sacred calling In the lords kingdom. You are truly a daughter of the most high. (I say, this may seem a little awkward at this juncture, but I would rather fancy a meeting with that sweet young sister I saw you buying candy for not 2 days past, by and by).


Yours in ETERNITY ONLY

J smith jr.

[Corsair]

Ummm, no. Sorry, I usually agree with your thoughts/insights on topics...but not this one. Joseph did not love Emma like a good husband loves his wife. NBI pretty much hits the nail on the head with his post above.

I definitely see your point. Joseph "loved" Emma in a very different way that a truly faithful husband should love his wife. As fervently as Joseph might have felt for Emma, I cannot conceive of any woman today who would happily accept that kind of loyalty.

I fear that the institutional LDS church today "loves" its members like Joseph "loved" his wife.

[wtfluff]

I fear that the institutional LDS church today "loves" its members like Joseph "loved" his wife.

This.


Is.


AWESOME!

Thank you dear Seer-Stoned Pirate!