Emma Smith & Relief Society

I was looking at Facebook this morning and I was so excited to see that I had received an invitation from my local BYU alumni chapter to attend a fireside with Gracia Jones, a direct descendant of Joseph and Emma Smith. I have read about Gracia and her goal of finding the many direct descendants of Joseph and Emma across the globe.  Many of these descendants are not members of the LDS church.  It really is quite fascinating for nerdy church history buffs like me. I just love it.  Maybe it's my pioneer heritage tugging me along but I have always been fascinated by the early history of the LDS church.  Emma Smith has always been one of the Mormon women that I have always admired for her strength and courage.  I feel like she has gotten a bad rap in the church because people judged her for defending her son's standing as president of the church and making the decision to stay in Nauvoo when the rest of the Saints emigrated to Utah. Who really can judge Emma?  What trials have we born that even can compare to hers?  To me, Emma will always be an amazing example of standing strong in the face of dark adversity.  If you are interested in gaining more of an accurate historical representation of Emma I highly recommend reading Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith by Linda King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery.  I have had this book since college and have read it several times.  The only place I have been currently able to find it for sale is on Amazon.

So how awesome was the General Relief Society meeting this past Saturday?  Julie Beck is my hero! She is always so "say it like it is".  I love how she described RS as a compass and guide to help us be the women that we need and want to be. I admire how she seems to be so in touch with women of all ages.  She treats us all as equals.

President Monson was in a fun mood.  I find it so real when he shows his humorous side but gets serious when he is speaking as the prophet.  Will the associations of  having clean and dirty windows ever be the same? I think not.  I was thrilled with his message of refraining from using bad judgment of others.  Women have such an issue with this, myself included.  It is so prevalent in our lives. I was grateful for the reminder of being better at this principle.  I think that he presented it in a way that made me, at least, think about how I view other people especially women and to be more careful in making harmful judgments.  We can never know where someone has been and what they have experienced.