Reflections of Emma: Joseph Smith's Wife

by Buddy Youngreen

Inscribed & signed by the author. Some rubbing & edgewear; few creases & scratches; some yellowing; overall clean & tight. 133+ pages

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Lds, Church

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Mommywest · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was written by a man who is an expert on the Smiths, Buddy Youngreen. He has been one of the major forces in helping the different parts of the Smith family reconcile and have better relationships with each other and with the LDS Church. The reunions he has organized, along with others, have helped Joseph Smith's descendants come to know each other and the man they are related to. I thought it would be interesting to read this book he wrote because he has had access to sources held by grandchildren of Emma and other important descendants because of his amazing relationship with them.

The book is divided into sections; one that tells the story of Emma, and then a section that has pictures of Joseph and Emma, their children, and their descendants, as well as the notes one of their granddaughters took in interviews with Emma and others.

The first portion is so well-written, and really helps us to understand Emma's thoughts and motivations, but I was never clear if some of the things Brother Youngreen wrote in the first portion were based on research, or was speculation. No footnotes are provided in this portion. Nevertheless, it was very interesting and thought-provoking.

The second portion is edited very carefully so that we can understand it better, as the notes were taken in a very abbreviated form. Brother Youngreen further includes copious notes that explain places, clarify meaning, provide more information, and so forth. This part of the book is the hardest to get through, as the reader must spend much time flipping back and forth from the notebook entries to the footnotes in the back. But I did learn a lot. Some information is repeated several times, as Emma and others remembered similar things. It was very interesting to see pictures of Joseph and Emma and their family.

Overall, this book was interesting to read and taught me more about Emma Smith, Joseph, and their family than any I've read so far.

[Magen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This short book is worthwhile for the inclusion of statements from a few of Smith's grandchildren and family photographs. Some of the notes are also useful, but as a whole this is not a worthwhile book. Youngreen writes from an apologetic standpoint and clearly has no real training in history scholarship. At best this is a tourist booklet that might be sold at a gift shop in Nauvoo or Palmyra. At worst this is the popular Brighamite narrative toned down and highly speculated. I'm not sure that I'll keep my copy, even for the sake of the secondary source material provided. I think I'd rather read those with professional annotations and in their original context.

[Karina · Rating 3 out of 5]

We know so little about Emma Smith's life after the church left for Utah. It was interesting to learn a little more about what happened and what her life was like. Not tons of clear information in this book, but some interesting info and perspectives and very cool pictures.

[Roberto Galindo · Rating 4 out of 5]

First half is 90% already know historical facts, a few new perspectives is all. Well ritte though, it was tough to put the book down. The treasure of the book is the econd half, notes from grandchildren and amazing photos. That was the motivation to read the book. What an amazing life!!

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A love that never died and endless hardships but plural marriage the hardest to endure. She held fast to things she knew without a doubt were true and to her love for Joseph.

[Melanie Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't have enough good things or the right words to say about this "elect lady". She endured the life she was given well.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A) It is hard to take anything written by someone named "Buddy" seriously.
B) This book was written in an odd format. The first part in supposed "Essays" which were more like snapshots in Emma's life, but with overarching explanations of her character and personality. The next part was a quotation of interviews with some of her grandchildren from how they remember her (not as telling as one would have hoped). I think there was also a summary of her later years at the end.
C) For non-fiction, this book didn't feel very reliable. It had a kind of fourth-hand quality about it that made me dubious. Not really the author's fault, since he's 100+ years removed from her lifetime, and she didn't keep her own record of her later years to know what she thought about her life or how she would explain her actions.
D) My whole goal in reading this book was to get to know Emma Smith better, since she was an enigma to me. That goal was not really accomplished, although I did learn what she did with her later life (remarried a not-so-nice guy and managed a B&B in Nauvoo). Other than that, I don't consider this book a success.

[Andie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book that I have recently read about Emma Smith, and just as wonderful and important as the others. I may not understand the reasons for some of the things that Emma said and did, but I choose to love her and not judge her. I don't think that I could have survived many of the things that she went through. I pray daily to be able to love her despite my lack of understanding. In the life after this, I hope to meet Emma and Joseph, and tell both of them "thank you" and give them hugs for all the things that they endured and taught me.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

A brief insight into the life of Emma Smith. Learned some things I did not know about her or early LDS church history. But kind of an odd book format -- some essays in the first chapters, and then weird truncated journal entries from some of her posterity after that. It was an OK book, but I'd like to read other books about her for more in-depth knowledge and history.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to this book and felt disappointed. While the author may be an expert on the Smith's, I felt his documentation was lacking. There were many places he makes assertions as to Emma's feelings, yet without a personal journal I wondered how he came to such conclusions. His lack of footnotes throughout the text was very frustrating.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to learn more about Emma, Joseph Smith's wife but this book was not great. It sounded like a textbook most of the time-no emotion, just a bland statement of fact. The 2nd half of the book is completely unreadable. I tried to plow through the 'interviews' at the end but it seriously didn't make any sense! I gave up.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

i understand emma so much better and have become fascinated with all i can read on her. not 5 because it made me a bit sad for her and realized she probably suffered from depression and was judged so harshly because of this untreated diease

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of essays on Emma Smith. I enjoyed reading a sympathetic but comprehensive and easy to read history on her. However, I was disappointed to find almost no recording of primary sources.

[Lenita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of all the books I have read about Emma Hale Smith this one is pretty comprehensive relative to its length. It gives some great insight into Emma's life after the Martyrdom and the lessons she learned while living in Nauvoo.

[K.L. Lantz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Filled with information available from no other source. I loved the notes from interviews with Emma's grandchildren. Those little details flesh out her character in ways all the quotes we hear just don't. She reminds me of Unsinkable Molly in her courage through adversity. I recommend it.

[Katherine Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was ok. It had some interesting things. I found a couple of his comments persumptuous.

[Ericka · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting, especially the notes at the end from her grandchildren and how they viewed her.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought provoking read by an author sympathetic to Emma. Insights on Emma's life...so many ironies toward the end.

[Sally Kendrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book on a mis-understood woman. The author teaches us of a very complex person and her love for her husband. I would recommend every LDS person read this book.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had the book from when we heard the author speak. It's okay and I learned quite a bit about Emma Smith. But that's about all.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful book on Emma. You gain greater understanding and appreciation for her.