Item Detail
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Smith, Lucy Mack
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1775-1856
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MSS 326
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Biography
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Lucy Mack Smith was born on July 8, 1775 in Gilsum, New Hampshire as the youngest daughter of Solomon Mack and Lydia Gates. She married Joseph Smith, Sr. in January of 1796 in Tunbridge, Vermont and eventually mothered eleven children, including the prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith, Jr. Lucy died in Nauvoo, Illinois on May 14, 1856. For an extensive biography of Lucy Mack Smith, consult the following sources: Smith, Lucy. Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet and His Progenitors for Many Generations. Orem, Utah: Grandin Book Company, 1995. Smith, Lucy Mack. The History of Joseph Smith by His Mother. George A. Smith and Elias Smith, eds. American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, 2000.
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This two page typewritten biography of Lucy Mack Smith was written by Ruby Kate Smith, great-granddaughter of Lucy, and is found in the bound book entitled 'Family Biographies' (Box 6, Folder 1). Ruby praises Lucy by saying, 'And of the noble mothers of great men, she was one of the noblest,' for her entire life 'was bound up in the great mission of her prophet son.' The biography tells a story about Lucy's sons, Joseph and Hyrum, acquiring cholera and praying to God to be healed. Finally, during the third time that they prayed, Hyrum had a vision in which he saw his mother Lucy kneeling under an apple tree and asking God to spare their lives. They then knew that they would be healed by the union of their prayers with their mother's. Because Lucy's husband and sons died as martyrs, Ruby states, 'Hers was the supreme sacrifice, for she gave not only one life, as they, she gave the lives of all those that were dearer to her than life itself!'
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1848-1908