After Father went to Carthage, Mother never smiled with her eyes.
Somehow I think she already knew he wasn't coming back.
He was killed a few days later.
Mother was a widow with five young children
when Louis Bidamon first came to call.
He could never take Father's place in her heart.
But he was good to us all.
And for 20 years, he and Mother shared a marriage of affection.
Then, when Mother was 63 years old, she discovered a painful secret.
Louis had betrayed her with a woman half her age.
They had a son.
And when the woman could no longer care for the boy,
she brought him to Mother.
Mama calls me Charlie.
Mama told me all about you.
I see.
Mother took Charlie in,
and for the rest of her life, she raised him as one of her own.
But she did something even more amazing.
She hired Charlie's mother to work at the house,
so that she could be near her son.
That's the kind of woman my mother was.
Mother was always taking in strays.
I was one of them.
Mine had been a very hard life.
When Mother's health began to fail, I came home to care for her.
But the truth is, even then she was taking care of me.
The lilacs are early this year, Mother.
The bush you planted near Father's grave is already covered with them.
I planted it there to remind me.
Of what?
Life is a very good teacher.
Lilacs don't last very long, Julia.
Best things in life seldom do.
That makes them all the sweeter.
What's this?
My first book of hymns.
You know you've lived too long when you can't see the words anymore.
Or remember the tune.
I'm surprised anyone could read those words.
Paper was scarce at the time.
I always wished that I could sing.
You can.
Be honest, Mother.
I can't even carry a tune.
There are songs in everyone, Julia.
And God can hear all of them.
I wish that I had your strength.
Strength isn't something you have.
It's...
It's something you find.
I learned that lesson early in life.
I will not have Emma deceiving herself.
Isaac, please!
She's just a child.
As much as some want to believe otherwise,
the fact is, God does not interfere in our lives.
We must learn to rely on ourselves.
Emma, remember, no praying in this house.
When Father took a stand, he was not easily swayed.
And his example taught me to be the same way.
What did you do?
I found strength to take a stand of my own.
If I could not pray in the house, then I would pray somewhere else.
Papa says we can't pray anymore.
One day he'd found me praying for him.
I was asking God to help my father find faith.
Please help my papa...
If it means that much to you, Emmy, we'll pray from now on.
Prayer changes things, Julia.
Not for me. -EMMA: It can.
Trouble is, most of us
have to keep learning the same lesson over and over,
before it finally sticks.
Your father helped me to learn many such lessons.
The same tomorrow, boys!
He told me how the two of you met.
Oh?
He said it was love at first sight.
But Father did not approve.
I don't think your father likes me much.
He worries, that's all.
About what?
Just... From stories he's heard.
What if I told you that some of them are true?
Of visions and angels.
I believe the faith of a child can do miraculous things.
If I had not experienced what I have, I might not believe it myself.
But you do believe it?
I see it in your eyes.
What else do you see?
It's getting very warm in here.
Hold it just like this, so it's flat against the water.
Mmm, let me give it a try.
Right.
Are you sure you want to do that?
Yes.
Checkmate.
What did you call me?
I thought a great deal about what you told me.
And?
I believe you.
Start counting.
One, two, three.
Do not count out loud.
I will not have you throw away your future
on this... this dreamer.
God heard and answered the prayer of a boy, Emma.
He will answer you.
I was hopelessly caught between Father's stubborn doubt
and the witness of truth,
which was growing in my heart.
All right, on the count of three. Ready?
One, two...
Where did you learn to ride like that?
I was riding before I could walk.
What if I count with my mouth closed?
A penny for a spool of thread
A penny for a needle
That's the way the money goes
Pop goes the weasel
God gave us voices. We need to sing.
Oh, Miss Hale, you are a mighty stern taskmaster.
That's what friends do for each other.
My oldest brother Alvin was the best friend I ever had...
until now.
I asked your father's permission.
He wouldn't even hear me out.
Father is just being fatherly...
and stubborn.
- Be patient. -I'm trying.
Emma, it's not your father that I'm in love with.
Father never would give us his blessing.
Finally, we married without it.
When you're in love, you come to rely on each other.
We've hauled more rock and built more fence
than any of us care to remember.
That is true.
And every one of them,
"Horse high and hog tight," as Father used to say.
You boys used to listen to me then.
Hyrum here has been looking after me
as long as I can remember.
And believe me, with this rascal you married, it hasn't been easy.
Don't listen to a word.
Well, boys, let's go finish some chores.
It was delicious.
Thank you, Mother.
Emma, I always used to tell the boys that if they are wise,
they will marry above themselves, as I did.
Looks to me like Joseph's done just fine.
Thank you.
For what?
For making Joseph so happy.
It's a wonderful thing when someone you love believes in you.
Your father will come around, I think.
I pray for that.
My husband has never agreed with organized religion.
He cannot accept all of their doctrines.
Our whole married life I have been praying
that one day we would be united in our faith.
Those prayers will be answered.
They will for you, too.
God hears every prayer of our heart.
Even those which go unspoken?
You don't believe that, do you?
Look at me, Mother.
I've already buried one husband, divorced another...
I'm sick most of the time, and I can't find out why.
I have nothing to sing about.
I don't even know what to believe anymore.
Have you ever tried cuddling a child that doesn't want to be held?
You were like that.
Sometimes you still are.
I know.
God loves us, Julia, even when we hold back.
When Alvin died,
the Reverend told us he was lost forever.
Just because he had never been baptized.
I don't believe God would be so cruel.
I saw God the Father and His son, Jesus Christ.
It happened here, Emma, in this very spot.
Father was just 14.
Perhaps, he only imagined it.
No, Julia. God answered Joseph's prayer.
And He answered mine.
Oh, I didn't see a light or hear a voice,
but my answer was no less real.
He said that He had a work for me to do.
He did?
The messenger told him of a book
that was written by ancient prophets.
He said it contains a fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
and he was to help bring it forth.
You were there when Father received the plates?
I waited for him at the bottom of the hill.
From the moment the record came into his hands...
it seemed that all the powers of Earth and hell
were determined to take it from him.
He is not a prophet.
Stop!
Don't do this, Emma.
- I'd like to kill him myself. -Yeah.
Now all we need is a plan.
Not yet.
It was a frightening glimpse of the future.
It's got to be in here.
Look under the floor!
Where is it?
What happened?
News of our trouble seemed to soften Father's heart.
He invited us to come home.
We took every precaution to keep the record safe.
Joseph has been commanded to translate the record.
You married a dreamer, Emma.
Translate.
He can hardly read and write.
Until he gives up these foolish ideas,
he is no longer welcome in this house.
He'll change his mind after the baby comes.
Father was right about one thing.
At that time, Joseph could not dictate a well-worded letter,
let alone a book.
Martin Harris became his scribe.
How was the record translated?
Just as Joseph said:
"By the gift of God."
The work went rapidly forward.
Then Martin asked for a favor.
He wanted to show the manuscript to his wife,
which seemed a harmless request,
especially from one who had helped us so much.
I've asked the Lord again,
"What should I do?"
Believe me if all your endearing young charms
That I gaze on so fondly today
And there's more to it, but I don't know the words.
I think if it's a girl, I'll call her "Emm" for short.
If it's a boy, let's name him Alvin.
I wish I'd met him.
So do I.
Right here.
That was the first of so many names
I would write in that family Bible.
Alvin, Thadeus, Louisa, little Joseph,
and my precious Don Carlos.
In the midst of our loss, another worry toward our hearts.
I don't understand, Joseph.
How does Martin lose 116 pages?
We looked everywhere.
He promised he would keep it safe.
I should have listened to the Lord.
He only wanted to convince his wife.
The Lord said no.
And I kept asking.
I feared man more than God.
- Well, then, it's Martin's fault. - Whatever the excuse is...
the manuscript is lost.
And I am accountable for it.
Emma, I may have lost my soul.
I never prayed harder than I did during that time.
And Joseph prayed as well.
But the Lord didn't answer right away.
Joseph, take some water.
No.
This garden is not doing well, Emma.
How are you?
I let the Lord down.
You've done all you can do.
And what if that's not enough?
I was reading in the Bible that...
no amount of sorrow can make things right.
Only the Lord's love can do that.
If we let Him.
After that, Joseph lived by one rule:
When the Lord commands, do it.
Life is a very good teacher.
It's been a very hard one for me.
That doesn't mean God loves you less.
Your father used to say,
"Sometimes God brings us low before He can lift us higher."
I've experienced that all my life.
Down from the generation...
In time, Joseph was entrusted with the record once more.
Until the time comes...
I wrote while he translated for a while.
We shall be restored.
I caused that they should hide themselves without the walls.
- Emma. -Yes?
Was there a wall around Jerusalem?
Yes.
I didn't know.
I'm not sure how to pronounce the next one. I'll just spell it.
L-E-M-U-E-L.
It was marvelous to me as much as anyone else.
I knew the book was of divine authenticity.
I had not the slightest doubt of it.
In time, the Lord sent another to assist with the work.
When the translation was nearly completed,
Joseph said that a few would be privileged
to see the plates for themselves.
I fancied I might be among them.
Emma, it's the Lord that chose, not me.
Mary Whitmer told me herself that she saw the plates.
Do you know how many times I could have looked?
But I did as you said.
Why her and not me?
Emma...
All of my life I wanted to make Father proud of me, Joseph.
He is not proud of me now. He thinks I'm a fool.
Have I failed in God's eyes as well?
Sometimes the Lord tries our faith,
but He'll never give us more than we're able to handle.
Maybe He just trusts you too much.
Emma, he's making a fool out of you.
I can't believe that a daughter of mine could be so taken in.
You haven't seen this record?
Then how can you be certain he even has this gold Bible?
Emma!
I taught you better than this!
Father, sometimes you know things with your heart
that you don't know with your head.
Didn't you ever see the plates?
I didn't have to.
Strength doesn't come through seeing, Julia.
It only comes through faith.
Really, Mother, I think I would have looked.
Emma. Emma, it's finished.
Oh.
Look, "An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon,
upon the Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi."
"By Joseph Smith, Junior."
Here, let me show you something.
"If ye shall ask in faith, with a sincere heart,
He shall manifest the Truth unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost."
"And by the power of the Holy Ghost, ye may know the truth of all things."
I propose that we proceed and organize ourselves as a church,
according to the commandments of God.
All those who are in agreement, please so indicate.
Thank you.
If it means that much to you, Emmy...
Thou art an elect lady, whom I have chosen.
Joseph, what did the Lord mean in the revelation by "an elect lady"?
He meant you.
You, Emma, are a woman of great worth.
At times, I wonder.
Selecting the hymns is just the beginning.
You're to expound the scriptures, exhort the saints.
The truth is, Emma,
I rely on your counsel even more than you know.
It's just as well.
I am...
We are...
- Really? -Yes.
- Are you certain? -Yes, I'm certain.
What can I do?
Well, should an elect lady have to do the dishes alone?
Do not count out loud.
One, two, three. One, two, three.
The cradle you made, is it big enough for two?
- Two? -Maybe.
I think you better sit down.
I think I better sit down.
To my heart to sing Thy praise
Murmur not because of the things which thou has not seen.
Lay aside the things of this world and seek for those of a better.
That revelation was the source of great strength.
A song of the heart is a prayer,
and God must have known
how much I would need those prayers.
Ohio is so far away.
I know.
Will I ever see you again?
Come and visit.
Or you can always come home and visit.
Father says if I go, I'm not welcome.
You know he doesn't really mean that.
This was my grandmother's.
She gave it to my mother.
Now I want you to take it, as a reminder.
You can always come home.
Mother.
This means so much to me.
Don't you want to find out for yourself?
I wish I could.
I'm sorry.
I never saw Mother or Father again.
This one's gonna be just fine.
Keep pushing, keep pushing.
This baby's gonna come.
They came too early.
That's not your fault.
What if I can never have a child?
You are the choice of my heart.
Emma, it will work out.
Even tragedies can become blessings.
When your mother died giving birth,
they brought you and your brother to me.
Raising you as my daughter has been one of the great joys of my life.
Oh, Mother.
Oh, Mrs. Hopkins.
This is the truth about that so-called golden Bible.
Mormonism Unveiled. You'll want to read it.
You're Mrs. Smith.
Have we met?
Oh, I know who you are.
I see.
All this talk of visions and revelations,
no good will ever come of it.
Good things have already come of it.
My dear, if you believe that, you're as confused as your husband.
Joseph!
Hey, you thirsty?
Come on, this is how the Holy Ghost...
I have the tar coming, boys.
There will always be opposition.
How much do we have to endure?
We talk of Christ.
We rejoice in Christ.
He will bare our grief. He will carry our sorrows.
Carry our sorrows?
The very next day my brother died.
Poor little Joseph.
He died in my arms. There was nothing I could do.
If God is so kind, why does He allow the innocent to suffer?
I've asked that question 1,000 times.
And the answer is always the same.
God's ways are not always our ways.
I just can't accept that, Mother.
When we embark on a journey,
we must keep our eyes forward.
Never look back.
Morning, Brigham. Parley.
Sorry, ma'am.
Good morning, Father.
If you're looking for your husband, he's out there.
What kind of prophet would run through the streets like a schoolboy?
If God wanted to speak to men in our day,
it would not be to a 14-year-old boy.
Unless, of course, only a boy would listen.
Hmm.
Good day.
The one thing I knew for certain
was that Joseph had been called of God.
We do not ask people to give up any good that they have.
We only invite them to come and to get more.
Hyrum.
How much longer is the meeting?
I thought it would be over by now.
Emma.
Joseph is talking of building a temple.
A what?
A temple.
Can we do that?
I don't know.
Part of me says we can't afford it, we don't know how to do it,
and a hundred other reasons why the answer should be no.
My whole life I've been...
- He has vision. -Yes.
When I look at Joseph, I stop thinking about "how,"
and I start thinking "when."
So do I.
Father was often away, wasn't he?
More and more as the work expanded.
Perhaps I relied on Joseph too much.
And that was the hardest test for me.
Being alone and facing the birth of another child.
Here is your son.
What a happy day.
He's so beautiful.
Hi, Joseph.
Yes.
That's you, Joseph.
God's tender mercies are all around us, Julia.
Beautiful boy.
We just have to be willing to see.
Disappointments come to us all.
I must be content to teach other people's children.
There's always reason to hope.
I find it difficult to believe in things I cannot see.
Some things are more certain than sight.
Lydia.
Read the revelations for yourself, then ask of God.
"I, the Lord, knowing the calamity"...
It's been my experience that revelation doesn't come
until you are ready to ask.
When you're a little older, son,
I will tell you all about how proud I am of your mother.
She always seems to be lifting my sights.
For example,
the Lord's law of health, the word of wisdom,
wasn't revealed until after your mother raised the question.
Thou has grieved for the hardness of the hearts of thy father's house.
And thou has longed for their salvation.
The Lord will have respect for thy cries
and cause some of them to repent.
Seems you were right about that gold Bible.
No.
No, I was dreadfully wrong.
Joseph said we were not just building a temple.
The Lord was building us.
I think it will be perfect for the temple dedication.
Brother Phelps just finished it in time.
It's the last hymn of my book.
Would you sing that song again?
The spirit of God like a fire is burning
The Latter-day glory begins to come forth
One night, when I was praying in a temple,
I saw a glimpse into Heaven.
And my brother Alvin was there.
And I wondered how that could be.
Because, you see, Alvin died before he ever got a chance to be baptized.
And the voice of the Lord told me
that all those without a knowledge of the Gospel
will have a chance to hear it...
and accept it.
Mother, don't you want to find out for yourself?
I would if I could.
That means that Heavenly Father has a plan
so that all of His children can come back and live with Him,
if we listen.
Do you really believe that, Mother?
Yes, Julia.
Heaven wouldn't be Heaven without those we love.
I wish I could feel that way.
You can.
Few in this world have a correct understanding
of the nature and the character of God.
Many do not understand their relationship to Him.
I testify to you that they live.
For I saw them.
And I cannot deny it.
Mama, look, it's as big as me.
Remember what I told you, Julia.
That's what happens when you plant a seed and you take good care of it.
It's called the law of the harvest.
Even the smallest of seeds can grow.
Your mother has taught me a few things.
What?
Well, for one thing, you reap what you sow.
You can't plant potatoes and get pumpkins, young lady.
Some of us tried to do that, you know.
I thought things were supposed to be better
once the temple was finished.
So did I.
But Joseph said just the opposite would happen.
He said that the powers of darkness would strive even harder
to stop the work.
And they did.
Even men of great faith,
friends like Parley Pratt,
even they began to have doubts.
Some of us have lost nearly everything.
Is that what God wants?
I say Joseph is a fallen prophet.
What if he's right?
Joseph's been called of God, Parley. Nothing can change that.
I say God has rejected him.
If Joseph...
Pride can be such a difficult test.
- It's true. -That's right.
You bore witness that Joseph had been called of God.
I felt the power of your faith.
Perhaps we were both mistaken.
No.
You knew it.
Now I know it as well.
How could God let my wife die?
First, Oliver and now... now Parley. Who's next?
Parley is speaking from anger.
He doesn't mean it.
Losing his wife so suddenly...
You know how that feels...
to lose someone that we love.
The Lord said I was to be a comfort to Joseph.
But I was also to exhort the church.
I resolved to do all that I could.
Parley.
Don't let sorrow rob you of faith.
She wouldn't want that.
Joseph told me the Lord would bless us.
I believed him.
Then believe in him now.
Sometimes when trials overwhelm us,
we forget that God is our friend.
He always has our best interest at heart.
When the spirit of truth touches your heart,
then there is no room left for doubt.
Joseph.
When you told me we were to build this temple,
I marveled at your faith.
Now I marvel even more.
How can we leave it behind?
There will be other temples.
Will things be better in Missouri?
Sometimes the river seems so peaceful.
But unseen, beneath the surface,
it's eroding everything you work for,
undercutting all your dreams.
Missouri was supposed to be the promised land.
It was.
But something went terribly wrong.
Instead, it became a refiner's fire.
Those were dark, dark days.
And in the midst of such trials,
you come to rely on strength beyond your own.
Everyone thinks I am strong.
I don't feel strong.
What's going to happen, Joseph?
We will do the best that we can.
And go on.
These Mormons are to be treated as enemies
and must be exterminated or driven from the state.
We only came because we had your word of honor.
Well, you, sir, were misinformed.
Rumor and fear only make things worse.
False charges were raised, and Joseph was betrayed.
He was taken to await a trial that never came.
You're a glutton for punishment, Smith.
Hey, Joe!
That wife of yours is mighty prissy!
- Yeah! -But she won't be so proud for long!
Smith!
Get yourself up here.
It's been weeks now, Joseph.
How long?
I don't know.
You're trembling.
Don't...
Don't worry about me, Emma.
How are the children?
They miss you.
Fredrick cries for you every night.
Tell them that Father loves them and prays for them.
They need your prayers, Joseph.
What they really need is you.
And what about you, Emma?
What do you need?
It's not safe here anymore.
I should take the children and go.
Emma, go.
But how can I leave you here?
Go, by all means. Leave as soon as you can.
Has God forsaken us?
No one but God knows the feelings of my heart.
As we left our home and almost all of everything we possessed,
we made our way out of the state.
We crossed the river to Illinois.
But my heart kept looking back.
People scattered like sheep, left to the wolves.
And all your talk of salvation means nothing!
Were it not for divine mercy, Joseph,
I should never have been able to endure
the suffering I have passed through.
Yet I am willing to suffer more if it is the will of kind Heaven.
Oh, my affectionate Emma.
My heart is entwined around yours forever and ever.
Lucy says that when one door closes, another eventually opens.
When that door closes for me...
You mustn't think such things.
Oh, but I do.
Lucy is a strong woman.
But let me tell you the secret.
She relies on me...
almost as much as I rely on her.
Promise me something.
That when I'm gone, she can rely on you.
She can.
Always.
There's something I wanted to read later to everyone that...
I think you need to hear it now.
"Emma,
I'm sending this epistle to the church through you
because I want you to read it first.
All these things shall give thee experience
and shall be for thy good.
Thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment.
And then if thou undo it well,
God shall exalt thee on high.
The river, to me,
seemed a barrier to the storm which raged on the other side.
I waited there for him.
Emma.
Oh, Joseph!
Oh, you got away!
They let us go.
I promised myself that whatever else came,
I would not cross that river again.
Have faith, brethren.
"Nauvoo" means "beautiful place."
Emma.
- Emma. -Shh, shh, it's all right.
It's all right.
She's looking after some of the others,
and she asked me to look after you.
Then I'll do my best to mind.
I'm just going to say one thing, brother Joseph.
This place you brought us to is certainly wet.
My word, it's been raining for three days straight.
How many are sick?
The whole house is full. Not much of a house, though.
How many holes can one roof have?
I guess I'd better get up.
No, you don't.
You are not going anywhere until this fever breaks.
Try not to get wet.
You seem to be improving.
I asked God to spare my life so that I could ease your burdens
and comfort your heart.
Then do what I say.
This place is not much now, Emma, but it will get better.
This will be a beautiful city,
with fine houses and a temple.
Be patient.
It could be worse.
I think it already is.
Joseph had a clear vision of the work he was to do.
Nothing less than building up the kingdom of God on the Earth.
He shared that vision with all who would listen.
Here it comes! Out of the way!
We united our hearts and our hands with the task.
Make a note of it.
Whoa, there!
I love it when you work on our house.
Oh, thanks very much.
Fix the roof, and I'll fix your dinner.
Ooh, it's a race, then.
What do you think?
I like it.
I can hear my wife already.
Thank you. They are beautiful.
That's why they made me think of you.
Samuel, over here!
The truth of God will go forth, boldly, nobly, and independent,
until it has penetrated every continent,
sounded in every ear.
And the purposes of God shall be accomplished.
Emma?
Father's gone.
I didn't even know.
All I wanted was a chance to make him proud.
Emma.
One day his eyes will be open.
I think he will be proud of you.
- It's too late. -No, no, no.
Emma, God can make things right again.
You can always come home.
Mother died soon after Father.
And there followed so much grief that I felt something die in me.
Sorrow can hollow you out inside,
leave you empty, if you let it.
Is the power of God unto salvation.
Joseph.
I see Alvin.
God will not take another of my children.
Promise me.
Emma is strong, Mother...
like you.
Being strong can be a very lonely thing.
You will have your children again.
I told the brethren that eternity is like this ring.
Without beginning and without end, it goes on forever.
The Lord has made known unto me
that the sisters in the Kingdom of God
should organize themselves together as a society.
And to lead this society, to preside over it,
the Lord has chosen Emma Smith.
Sisters...
We are going to do something extraordinary.
We expect pressing calls,
grand occasions.
Each member should be ambitious to do good.
The Lord has said, "When you're in the service of your fellow beings,
you're only in the service of your God."
We will bring relief to those who are in need.
Emma, you're so kind to me.
Heaven would not be Heaven if you were not there.
I feel the same way.
Boys, shame on you!
Shame, shame, shame!
Now, you come inside right...
Come on, boys!
Ah!
You speak your mind almost as good as you cook.
Most men are not ready for that.
Well, sir, most men don't know what they're missing.
Hmm.
I'll just have another.
- Candidates. -Such an arrogant man.
I suppose it does take a certain kind of confidence
to run for public office.
You realize he only wants to use your influence.
I think we need all the friends we can find.
Real friends, Joseph. Be careful.
Don't let yourself trust a man like that.
Don't worry. I won't.
He did like your fritters, though.
He couldn't even remember their name.
Perhaps I should call them something else
in honor of the election.
Candidates.
Candidates?
All puffed up and full of hot air.
I always believed, when you trust in the Lord,
things work out.
I see you've been shopping.
But even as we were building,
something else was tearing down.
Oh, Miss Smith.
Yes?
I got a warrant here to arrest Joe Smith.
On what charge?
There are some unanswered questions in Missouri.
My husband is not at home.
Oh. What kind of a man runs off and hides
and leaves a pretty little woman like you all alone?
A woman like you needs protecting.
Are you quite finished?
For now.
God gave Joseph a work to do.
And all the powers of Earth and hell combined
could not keep him from doing it.
Very, very good.
Very good.
- Oh! -Oh!
Oh, you nearly scared me to death.
I scared you?
I'm an unarmed man.
Emma, honestly, a hairbrush.
Danger or no, I just had to see you.
- That thing's not loaded, is it? -No.
I wanted to give each of the children a blessing.
Don't wake them.
Just let her sleep.
Oh, she's beautiful, isn't she?
Dear Lord, bless this sweet girl.
Help her to do Thy will.
Help her to know of Thy love.
Your father believed in you, Julia.
So do I.
I never knew.
They'll be watching the house.
I better go.
I wrote a letter to the governor.
Maybe he'll intervene.
God is my friend, Emma.
And He is yours.
Give this to the brethren?
But I want you to read it first.
I love you.
Never forget that.
"What do we hear in the Gospel which we have received?
A voice of gladness, a voice of mercy from Heaven.
Glad tidings for the living and the dead.
Shall we not go on in so great a cause?"
Why can't good things last?
They can.
That's what Joseph was trying to teach us.
There is no end to hope, Julia.
There is no end to love.
Lucy, why does the Lord want us to build another temple?
He wants us to have a fullness of joy.
And that can only come through the blessings of the temple.
Joseph was called to teach us that.
Some things are very clear now.
It may seem to some a very bold doctrine.
Power which can bind on Earth and in Heaven.
God has restored that authority again.
In a temple, we can receive all the ordinances of salvation,
not only for ourselves...
but for those who have died without them.
So what have you been up to?
Wrote another letter to the governor.
- Another? -Mm-hmm.
That's very ambitious.
I intend to plow with a racehorse. You better hold on real tight, Joseph.
Don't mind if I do.
Brothers and sisters,
it is one of the Lord's greatest blessings,
the most beautiful aspect of His plan of salvation,
that the relationships we form on Earth carry on into the next life,
that a man and a wife, joined by the power of the holy priesthood,
can be joined in eternity.
By the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you, Joseph Smith,
and you, Emma Hale Smith, sealed for time and for all eternity.
Forever.
You're counting again.
Be grateful.
If I don't, we'll both be dancing on your feet.
Do not underestimate these men, Joseph.
They will stop at nothing.
They intend to destroy you.
Hold it right there, Smith.
Don't move, or you're a dead man.
You're gonna shoot me?
We're taking you back to Missouri for good.
Don't move.
Joseph!
We need a place to stay, old man.
Seems to me, if you were really a prophet,
God ought to be taking better care of you.
He has blessed me more than you know.
Don't look that way to me.
Sometimes fear shouts so loud in our ears
that it almost drowns out our faith.
But God knows who we are, Julia.
We cannot go anywhere that He cannot find us.
Come on, boys!
Stop the wagon! Hold it right there!
Well, gentlemen,
looks like I won't be going with you to Missouri today.
But just to show there are no hard feelings,
why don't you be my guests tonight?
That means he'll be going to dinner.
Life is like the river, Julia.
Sometimes it sweeps you gently along.
Sometimes the rapids come out of nowhere.
The revelation on plural marriage
was one of those rapids, wasn't it, Mother?
How can you ignore something that hurt you so much?
I don't speak of it, but I have never ignored it.
Then why the silence?
What good would speaking of it do?
It flew in the face of everything that was dear to us,
all that we meant to each other.
Then why did you allow it?
Because it was the price of faith.
God commanded, and Joseph obeyed.
And it nearly broke both our hearts.
Some say that there were other reasons.
They say Father was a fallen prophet.
Well, people say all kinds of things.
But, Julia, I know better.
Joseph taught what God revealed, nothing more.
He sealed that witness with his life.
Emma...
The Lord is going to let me rest for a while.
Joseph...
No.
Oh, Emma.
There comes a time for all of us
when we must be more than we are.
We must follow the course which God has laid out.
They're making us out to be fools.
Opposition was coming from every direction.
We didn't know who we could trust anymore.
That was the greatest test.
You've come this far! You know better than that!
Joseph talked of going away, finding a new home in the West.
He started out, but the people were alarmed.
I could not bear the thought of him saying he'd run away.
So I wrote him a letter.
I asked him to come back.
If you could, what would you change?
Me.
I would change me.
That's the way the money goes
Pop goes the weasel
- Excuse me. -Very good.
She has a gift with the children.
- She has a gift to love. -
I would be willing to walk through hell itself,
barefoot, if necessary, for a woman like that.
Are you afraid to go to Carthage?
Are you?
A little.
So am I.
It's after midnight.
I can't sleep.
Neither can I.
What's going to happen, Joseph?
Whatever happens, the Lord is in it.
Emma, this work, the revelations, the temple...
It's all about bringing together the people that we love.
It's about learning to turn our hearts toward each other.
We cannot know at the present
the blessings which God has in store for us.
Emma?
If we are faithful, all of our losses will be made up.
Before you go tomorrow, will you give me a blessing then?
I have a better idea.
You write down the blessing that you desire, and I will sign it.
And it will be yours.
Exactly as you wish.
You are coming back.
Oh, I look forward to reading that blessing.
I used to pretend Father would come back.
I'd wait for hours by the window.
I just wanted things to be the same again.
But they never were.
How could they?
Part of you went with him.
Remember what Father said,
that God chooses the crucible in which we are tried.
I'm beginning to understand what that means, Mother.
But I still wish I had your strength.
Strength isn't something you have.
It's something God helps you find.
And usually we have to find it, Julia, one day at a time.
Mother wrote out the blessing.
"I desire the spirit of God
to know and understand myself.
I hope to perform all the work
that I covenanted to do in the spirit world.
That I may be able to comprehend the designs of God
without doubting.
I hope to be able to acknowledge the hand of God in all things.
I desire with all my heart to honor and respect my husband.
I hope to be able to retain the place
which God has given me by His side."
Father said that the Lord will judge us all
according to the desires of our hearts.
As I look back on Mother's life,
I believe that the blessing she wanted
is already hers.
There is no end to hope, Julia.
There is no end to love.
The distance between us
The stretches of pain
Will not divide us
I remain
The hands of injustice
That took you away
Can't separate us
I remain
Through walls and bars and running streams
Over rising hills and sinking valleys
With God as our strength to carry us through
Oh, I remain because of you