Community of Christ/Joseph Smith Papers
What is Emma Smith’s greatest accomplishment?
Jennifer Reeder smiled at the question and shared the first thought that came into her mind.
“That she survived,” she said.
The simple response is not intended to diminish the role and influence of the first Relief Society president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the person responsible for compiling its first hymnal. But it begins to offer some insight into the complex life of Emma, church founder Joseph Smith’s beloved wife, who Reeder calls the “first woman of the Restoration” in her new book, “First: The Life and Faith of Emma Smith.”