In the summer of 2007, while working for retired church history instructor and author, Paul Thomas Smith, I came across this little-known account of Joseph Smith. Few pieces of literature have ever touched my mind and soul as deeply as this has and I’ve longed to share this account with others.
After years of waiting, and months of work, here is “Joseph Smith’s Last Dream…”
Here is a video narrated by author and former church history instructor, Paul Thomas Smith, concerning some of the symbolism and meaning behind Joseph Smith’s last dreams.
Many within the church know about the eminent men that appeared to President Wilford Woodruff in the St. George temple. But what many do not know is that temple work was also done for 70 ‘eminent women’…
The painting shown in this video was created by artist Michael Bedard. In order to paint it, Michael spent years researching each of the individual men and women and carefully selected the models he used to represent them.
I first saw the painting in its initial stages in 2009. I was awestruck not only by the amount of work that Michael was putting into it, but also by the amount of people he was painting! I mean, I remember hearing in seminary that George Washington, Christopher Columbus and the signers of the Declaration appeared to Wilford Woodruff, but I didn’t know anything about the other ‘eminent men.’
“Do you know about the eminent women?” Michael asked.
I was speechless.
The Eminent Men and Women of the St. George Temple, by Michael Bedard
To be clear, Wilford Woodruff’s record never states that the eminent women appeared to him. It only states that temple work was done on their behalf. This leaves it open for us to decide whether or not these women actually appeared in the temple. Michael Bedard chose to paint the eminent women alongside the eminent men not only for artistic purposes but also because he believes that they were present that day.
Indeed, the fact that President Woodruff believed these women to be ‘eminent’ is rather interesting. Many of the women were not widely recognized until years (sometimes decades) after their death and that period of time did not readily recognize women that were ‘eminent.’ For Wilford Woodruff and his associates to simply take “a shot in the dark” and pull seventy famous female names out of a hat and hope to get it right would be a bit of a stretch.
Yes, revelation was certainly involved. I know because for the past three months, I have done my own research on thirty of the seventy eminent women and have prepared short biographical videos of each of them. I have learned, first hand, that these women were truly remarkable and certainly eminent.
Take for example, Mary Somerville, a Scottish scientist and mathematician during the nineteenth century. A woman whose education began because of her fascination with algebraic symbols.
Or Abigail Adams, whose life is a prime example of how small and simple things can bring about revolutionary change.
Witness the power of art in the lives of female performers like the dancer Eva Maria Veigel, operatic soprano Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa, or the actress Sarah Siddons, a woman who once believed she was destined for failure but soon became the undisputed queen of Drury Lane.
See the strength of a single mother in Mary Ball Washington, the mother of George Washington.
Or the courage of Martha Washington, who supported her husband, General Washington, by traveling to be with him every winter during the Revolutionary War.
Learn about the female archeologist, Anna Brownell Jameson, who was essentially forgotten by her husband in New York, and left to make her way to Toronto, Canada by herself.
Learn about the political struggles of women like Margarita Juarez, the wife of Benito Juarez, the most famous president of Mexico. Charlotte Corday, the twenty four year old assassin of Jean-Paul Marat, the Jacobin leader in the French Revolution. Maria Theresa, the Holy Roman Empress. Hannah More, an English philanthropist and early champion of the abolition of slavery, or Marie Antionette, the Queen of France!
In summary of these eminent women, here is a favorite quote of mine from Charlotte Bronte:
Author’s note:
This ‘eminent women’ project has meant more to me than I can adequately describe. Kim, the narrator of these videos, has been my best friend for over ten years. She is a talented and beautiful actress—an eminent woman herself. A perfect choice for narration.
So in September, while she and I were living in the same state (a rare thing), she said ‘yes’ to doing the voice-overs.
A few years ago, my friend, Shawna Edwards, wrote a song which has quickly become one of my favorite Christmas songs. I am positive that it will become a Christmas classic, perhaps equal to “White Christmas” and “O, Little Town of Bethlehem.”
Shawna and I worked together last year to make a music video and it already has over 55,000 views. The meaning of the song is powerful and we hope that you will share it with others. Please watch the video and share it with your friends on Facebook or on your blogs.
While doing research for Joseph Smith’s Last Dream I learned of a remarkable account of Emma Smith’s own last dream. The dream is so beautiful and so helpful in clearing misunderstandings about Emma that I felt compelled to share it through a video.
You can read the full account of Emma’s last dream by clicking here.
Debate About the Dream
Despite the beauty of Emma’s dream, there are some who debate its validity for a number of reasons. As with many events in church history, this account was not recorded until many, many years after it had occurred. The story itself comes to us third-hand: Emma told it to her nurse, her nurse told it to Alexander, Alexander told it to RLDS youth who later published it for others to read.
Furthering the criticism of this dream, Ryan Nilsson, of Loyal to the Word, wrote this scathing review:
“One thing that is often held to Emma’s credit is the account that on her deathbed she saw Joseph coming to her. It should be a point of hesitation to believe Emma Smith’s testimony about seeing Joseph in vision, when she had been lying for years about his involvement in plural marriage. However, at the time of her death, Emma did not even recognize her own children, therefore she was clearly not in her right mind (Emma Smith: An Elect Lady, Susan Easton Black, p. 85). Even if Joseph did in reality appear to her, that fact in and of itself would not be indisputable proof of her acceptance into God’s kingdom.”
With that in mind, Gracia N. Jones, an author and a direct descendent of Joseph and Emma Smith wrote this in her book:
“I have been asked whether it is possible Emma was delusional when she had this experience. It is natural to wonder about this, since it is uncommon for most of us to experience such a marvelous thing. I had to give it serious consideration. I’ve always accepted it at face value, feeling a tremendous joy in understanding the principles it teaches–and assurance of life hereafter and the promise that families can be together forever.
“These are things we all long to know and believe–and they are things that are absolutely impossible to prove in any empirical sense. One simply cannot prove a spiritual experience. It all must rest upon faith.
“However, as I pondered the question and the situation, I realized that most of the time, if one is trying to support an idea, they will used language and evidence that favors their opinion. In the case of Alexander Hale Smith, who told this story while speaking to a group of RLDS young people about six years before he died, he was not in an environment where he hoped to prove a point or be believed. He was simply sharing what, to him, was a sacred experience. At that time he did not even teach the doctrine of families being together for eternity, so theorizing that he used the story to prove a point is not very likely…
“…we can most likely assume he was not embellishing, but rather telling the story as it happened to him” (Jones, Gracia N. Emma and Lucy. American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, 2005. Print., pgs. 190-191).
“As for the evaluations of Emma’s life and character: Emma is one of those people who has been abused by history, I think. Instead of wanting to know who the real woman was, people want to use her for political purposes: To some people…she was that awful woman who lied about polygamy and who kept Joseph’s children out of the Church. To others…she is depicted as a heroic goddess who could do no wrong. Both extremes are wrong, I think.”
Personally, I agree with Ardis’s middle-ground approach to Emma’s life: to demonize her would be wrong and to polish her up into some sort of brazen statue would be wrong. Seeing her (and her husband) as human–as people with struggles, hopes and dreams just as real as ours–is the best approach we can take, because it helps us relate to them and learn from them.
Emma Smith’s Life
Paul Thomas Smith, an author and a chief researcher of Emma Smith’s life, shares some of his thoughts and insights concerning the life Emma Hale Smith.
Conclusion
So I end where I started. This account of Emma Smith’s last dream is so beautiful and so helpful in clearing misunderstandings about Emma because it helps us to see her not as some distant, mysterious historical figure, but as a human being: as someone who had struggles, hopes and dreams just as real as ours.
