Joseph and Emma

Two years ago, I got to meet Judy and Tenessa while they stayed at my house for a family reunion. This summer, I had the pleasure of hosting them again for the same reunion. They come to the heartland every two years because they are direct descendants of Joseph and Emma Smith. I think they even have a little of Emma's look about them with their deep brown eyes and dark hair.

Judy told me again of how she grew up knowing that she was a descendant of Joseph Smith, but that she had been told not to tell anyone--which is a common story she has heard from cousins she has met. When the missionaries came to her door, she felt like she should at least see what her several-greats grandfather had started, but was mad when she could not deny it was true. She said she went to the field in California where she grew up and was kicking dirt and rocks and yelling at the heavens that even if it was true, she didn't want to be a Mormon. Eventually, she did join the church, but smiles as she says she did it kicking and screaming.

One of the greatest pleasures of hosting them this time was that they invited us to come with them for the final dinner of the reunion where they spoke about the theme of the reunion--temples. An actress/historian who has studied Joseph and Emma came dressed up as Emma and told us about them. Emma was tall--my height--and "well-turned". She spoke about the paintings by Julie Rogers that they gave to each descendant. The artist had wanted to paint two paintings, one of Joseph "The Seer" and one of Emma "An Elect Lady". As she started Joseph, she got stuck and decided to start painting Emma. After painting Emma for a while, she was drawn back to Joseph's painting. She kept going back and forth between the two paintings until she realized that she could not paint one without the other. She needed to paint another painting of them together. This beautiful piece shows Joseph holding Emma tenderly and is titled "Eternally Bound", which references the ordinances Joseph restored that allows families to be sealed together forever. I bought a print to honor the prophet and his family because those same ordinances seal my family together eternally.



Another artist in New York designed a special necklace which was given to all the adult female descendants of Joseph and Emma. The chain is woven of 1300 hair-thin strands of gold, which symbolize the 1300 living descendants. On it hangs a beautiful replica of Joseph's thick gold wedding band, enscribed with the words "Joseph and Emma--Eternally Bound". A fine woodworker, also unrelated to the family, used unstained maple and walnut--the trees of the sacred grove--to make a beautiful box for the necklaces.

I was impressed at how many people who were NOT direct descendants of Joseph and Emma worked to make this happen. In addition to the artists, many of the good people who put on the reunion, made arrangements for lodging and staged games for the children were just people who decided they wanted to be a part of this. I was pleased they let me be a part of it too. Providing a clean bed and bath and a few rides seems like such a small thing, but it let me honor the prophet who ushered in the dispensation of the fullness of times. And, as always when you are serving the Lord, my offering was met with blessings worth so much more than anything I could give.