The life of Emma Hale Smith was complicated. From acting as a scribe for the translation of the Book of Mormon to compiling the first hymnbook to founding the Relief Society, she was a key figure in the Restoration. She was also an anchor for her husband, Joseph Smith, and the love of his life. But how much do you personally know about her role, teachings, and leadership?
For the month of May, we're going to be reading and studying First: The Life and Faith of Emma Smith together and discussing the fascinating life, testimony, and legacy of Emma Smith with author and Church historian Jenny Reeder.
What This Month Holds
- eBook giveaway on Monday, May 3
- An easy-to-follow reading schedule—just three chapters a week!
- Weekly videos with insights and answers to your questions from the author of First: The Life and Faith of Emma Smith
- A Book Club first (no pun intended): Join us for a virtual tour of historic Nauvoo to see and learn more about Emma’s homes and historic sites. Date and time TBA
- An exclusive Book Club Q&A on our Instagram account with author and historian, Jenny Reeder, to wrap up our monthly reading
About LDS Living Book Club
Each month we choose a new book to read together. Joining is easy! Simply follow @ldslivingbookclub on Instagram for reading reminders and details about our live Q&A with the author.
About the Book
Drawing upon letters written by Emma to Joseph and to many others, along with minutes from Relief Society meetings and other artifacts, this book sketches a more complete portrait of this elect lady. It allows each of us to become personally acquainted with Emma as we learn more about her essential work as a leader, a wife, and a mother in the early days of the Church.
First: The Life and Faith of Emma Smith is available now at Deseret Book stores, DeseretBook.com, and on the Deseret Bookshelf mobile app as an ebook or audiobook!
About the Author
Jennifer Reeder is passionate about her work in women's history at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City. She is the favorite aunt to 13 nephews and nieces, loves to quilt, read, watch movies, and travel, and used to run marathons but now is just content to be alive. Learn more about Jenny and her experience as a Church historian and a 4-time cancer survivor on episodes of All In, This Is the Gospel, and the Sunday on Monday Study Group.
► You may also like: ‘It was my ladies’: How a Church historian undergoing chemo found comfort in the lives of early Latter-day Saint women