Historian Shantel Gardner joins us for a conversation about the legendary Emma Smith. When Moroni prophesied that Joseph’s name “should be both good and evil spoken of among all people,” the angel may as well have been talking about Joseph’s wife. Why have Latter-day Saints had a conflicted relationship with Emma through the years? Could that be changing? In this episode, we dig a little deeper into the real and complex woman whose life continues to inspire a diversity of opinions in members of the church she helped create.

Emma Smith, by Leslie Olpin Peterson
(used with permission)

Notes:
First: the Life and Faith of Emma Smith, by Jennifer Reeder
Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith, by Linda King Newell and Valeen Tippets Avery