In more ways than some may realize, Emma Smith
stood side by side with her husband
in bringing forth the Book of Mormon.
For example, she accompanied Joseph to the
hill where the plates were buried,
watched him go up the hill emptyhanded,
and then saw him return hours later with the covered plates.
Emma was also Joseph’s first scribe.
In her own words, she explained that Joseph
“would dictate to me hour after hour;
and when returning after meals, or after interruptions,
he would at once begin where he had left off,
without either seeing the manuscript or having
any portion of it read to him.
This was a usual thing for him to do.”
Emma remembered that she was “often sitting
at the table close by him,
he sitting with his face buried in his hat, with the stone
in it,
and dictating hour after hour with nothing between us.”
She insisted that Joseph “had neither manuscript
nor book to read from”
and that “if he had had anything of the kind he could not
have concealed it from me.”
Emma’s descriptions of the translation offer a unique window into how this miracle unfolded day by day.
Emma’s value as a witness is enhanced because
of her physical interaction with the tangible plates.
She reported to her son that while cleaningthe home,
“she would lift and move [the covered plates] when she swept and dusted the room and furniture.”
She further explained, “I once felt of the plates,
as they thus lay on the table, tracing their outline and shape.
They seemed to be pliable like thick paper,
and would rustle with a metallic sound when the edges were moved by the thumb,
as one does sometimes thumb the edges of a book.”
Emma’s participation in these miraculous
undertakings did not come without great sacrifice.
She chose to marry Joseph even though her
father strongly opposed their courtship.
And then, in the first year of their marriage,
she helped Joseph obtain the Book of Mormon.
From this time forward, numerous attempts
were made to steal the plates,
and persecution and danger continually swirled around their lives.
When Emma wasn’t acting as a scribe, she
was often doing the domestic chores
needed for the survival and comfort of those actively
involved in the translation.
Through all of this, she remained constant
and true to her husband
and the sacred relic that he was charged to protect and translate.
In awe at her miraculous experiences, Emma
remarked,
“And, though I was an active participant in the scenes that transpired,
and was present
during the translation of the plates,
and had cognizance of things as they transpired,
it is marvelous to me, ‘a marvel and a wonder,’
as much so as to anyone else.”
Emma’s service as a scribe was essential.
Her witness as an intimate observer and participant
of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon
is convincing.
And her faithfulness to the prophet Joseph Smith
and to the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon is inspiring.
These details help explain why the Lord chose
Emma Smith as an “elect lady”
to serve alongside her husband.
And now you know why.
