An elect lady

Emma desperately needed some comfort.

She made the big decision to be baptized into the Church.

She joined with her good friends, the Knights, down in Colesville, New York, along with other people in the area.

Emma was baptized!

But it seemed like as soon as this happened, the storms of the adversary blew in with full force.

Hecklers gathered around the baptism site.

They followed Emma, Joseph, and their friends back into the home.

The hecklers were so loud, rude, and disruptive that Emma and the others could not have the Holy Ghost conferred upon them.

Emma and Joseph tried running out to a different house, but Joseph was arrested and taken away.

Emma was afraid. She prayed with other women for her husband.

For two days.

And then finally, Joseph was released. They escaped back to Harmony, Emma still without the gift of the Holy Ghost.

She knew their family had felt opposition before, but this was a new level.

And she needed comfort.

Her desires to follow her heart and move forward with joining the Church seemed to cause intense and dramatic struggles.

And so Emma, through her husband, received a divine revelation. (Section 25)

She was called by her name.

Emma.

Her sins were forgiven.

She was told that she was an elect lady.

And she was told that as an elect lady, she had some duties and responsibilities:

To expound the scriptures
To exhort the church
To comfort her husband
To make a selection of hymns
To lift up her head and rejoice
To keep the commandments

God knew Emma.

He knew how difficult the past few months of her life had been.

And He knew how much more difficult it would become.

And so He comforted her. He promised her blessings.

And, He gave her things that only she could do in order to make a real difference.

Emma Hale Smith was an elect, chosen lady who handled the load she was given by relying on the Lord.

Because elect women suffer and struggle. They feel like every righteous effort is met with more opposition.

But elect women are also blessed beyond measure, even if the blessings don’t look like what they’d hope they would be.

And elect women have work to do.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black