Joseph's treatment of Emma

[justdreamin]

Let's look at what is actually being said in verse 52 "And let mine handmaid, Emma Smith, receive all those that have been given unto my servant Joseph, and who are virtuous and pure before me; and those who are not pure, and have said they were pure, shall be destroyed, saith the Lord God."

Yes, the Lord has given Joseph free reign over all the women, to be given the ones who are pure as well as the ones who are not (Joseph need not worry about that, the Lord will take care of it all!)

Then we have 53-55:

53 For I am the Lord thy God and ye shall obey my voice; and I give unto my servant Joseph that he shall be made ruler over many things; for he hath been faithful over a few things, and from henceforth I will strengthen him.

The Lord is letting Emma know that Joseph is the ruler and will be strengthen!

54 And I command mine handmaid, Emma Smith, to abide and cleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none else. But if she will not abide this commandment she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord; for I am the Lord thy God, and will destroy her if she abide not in my law.

And Emma, if you don't go along with Joseph taking many wives, and stay by his side in these things I'm commanding, You will be destroyed. Not just once but twice! And not only that but

55 But if she will not abide this commandment, then shall my servant Joseph do all things for her, even as he hath said; and I will bless him and multiply him and give unto him an hundredfold in this world, of fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, houses and lands, wives and children, and crowns of eternal lives in the eternal worlds.

Sounds like a great marriage eh?

Now let's go back to the beginning:

My initial post: "It's my understanding that Emma never accepted Joseph's extramarital behavior, as prophecy or otherwise, and lived quite a very long time... "

What is your argument here? What about this statement is false?

Emma's son, Joseph Smith III traveled to Nauvoo Feb 4, 1879 for the purpose of questioning his mother on the topic of polygamy. This is his interview on this subject:

Q. (Joseph III) What about the revelation on Polygamy? Did Joseph Smith have anything like it? What of spiritual wifery?

A. (Emma) There was no revelation on either polygamy, or spiritual wives. There were some rumors of something of the sort, of which I asked my husband. He assured me that all there was of it was, that in a chat about plural wives, he had said, "Well, such a system might possibly be, if everybody was agreed to it, and would behave as they should; but they would not; and, besides, it was contrary to the will of heaven."

Q. Did he not have other wives than yourself?

A. He had no other wife but me; nor did he to my knowledge ever have.

Q. Did he not hold marital relation with women other than yourself?

A. He did not have improper relations with any woman that ever came to my knowledge.

Q. Was there nothing about spiritual wives that you recollect?

A. At one time my husband came to me and asked me if I had heard certain rumors about spiritual marriages, or anything of the kind; and assured me that if I had, that they were without foundation; that there was no such doctrine, and never should be with his knowledge, or consent. I know that he had no other wife or wives than myself, in any sense, either spiritual or otherwise.

(Saints' Herald 26 (October 1, 1879): 289.)

I agree that people tend to see what they want to see. That is human nature. I also think that people can follow commandments wihtout fulling accepting them. It's obedience and faith. I never stated that Emma did not accept or believe that Joseph was a prophet. My orginal statement stands truthfully.

[Deborah]

My orginal statement stands truthfully.

The question is why are you so obsessed and upset with this. You don't believe anyway so why should it matter what Emma thought or didn't think?

[justdreamin]

The question is why are you so obsessed and upset with this. You don't believe anyway so why should it matter what Emma thought or didn't think?

If you don't have anything worthwhile to add I guess it is your prerogative to pick up your toys and go home.

[Deborah]

If you don't have anything worthwhile to add I guess it is your prerogative to pick up your toys and go home.

What? I asked a question. The issue isn't what Emma did or didn't do so much why a non-believer would focus so much on how she felt about it. I find that very strange. Emma was no doormat. She can stand up for herself and no one doubted how she felt; she doesn't needed sob-sisters trying to decipher her feelings after a hundred years. My only point in responding earlier was to correct several misreadings of the scripture being quoted.