The Tumultuous Beginnings: Emma and Joseph’s Elopement

The love story between Joseph Smith and Emma Hale is often portrayed by the LDS Church as a romantic tale of a prophet and his Beloved, devoted wife. In fact, the church has consistently used the statement ‘Beloved Wife’ when referring to to manipulate members into believing that this is an accurate representation when in fact it is not. 

 A closer examination of historical records—particularly the 1834 affidavit of Emma’s father, Isaac Hale—reveals a far darker and more complex beginning. Joseph's pursuit of Emma was fraught with deceit, disrespect, and an elopement that broke her fathers heart. The church’s sanitized version fails to capture the manipulation and dishonesty that marked the earliest days of their relationship.

 

Isaac Hale’s Account: A Father’s Warning

Isaac Hale, in his 1834 affidavit published in the Susquehanna Register, recounted his first meeting with Joseph Smith in November of 1825. At the time, Joseph was a young man working as a “money digger,” engaging in a practice that involved using a seer stone to locate hidden treasures. Hale described Joseph as a “careless young man—not very well educated and very saucy and insolent to his father.” This paints a vastly different picture from the one the LDS Church often presents, where Joseph is seen as a humble, virtuous young man destined to restore God’s one true church.

Instead, Hale’s account shows Joseph as a disrespectful figure with questionable morals, living off the deceptive practice of treasure digging. Joseph’s fraudulent attempts to locate buried treasures had already led to legal trouble in 1826, as this activity was not only seen as deceitful but also illegal at the time. Hale clearly disapproved of this behavior, and it became one of the primary reasons he refused Joseph’s initial request to marry his daughter, Emma.  He gave several reasons for refusing the marriage in his affidavit. 

"Some of which were that he was a stranger and followed a business that I could not approve," Hale stated, pointing to Joseph’s dubious character and unsavory lifestyle.

 (Isaac Hale affidavit, Susquehanna Register, May 1, 1834).

 

A Hasty Elopement

When Isaac Hale denied Joseph permission to marry his daughter, Joseph did not respectfully back down. Instead, while Isaac was away from home, Joseph returned and convinced Emma to elope with him.  Whisking her off to New York where they married without her father’s consent. Isaac Hale later described the heartbreak of discovering his daughter had been taken away and married behind his back.

"Not long after this he returned and while I was absent from home carried off my daughter into the state of New York where they were married without my approbation or consent," Hale recounted. (Susquehanna Register, May 1, 1834).

This act of disregard for Emma’s family’s wishes set the tone for much of the chaos and heartbreak that would follow in their marriage.  While in our modern age the idea of a father having to give permission for marriage may seem archaic and patriarchal, in Emma’s case, her loving father simply wanted to protect her from the heartache of marrying a man with questionable morals.  As we will see through this post and many to follow, Emma’s father was entirely correct in his view of Joseph. Joseph’s willingness to ignore the moral boundaries of the time—disregarding a father’s rightful concerns—reveals a deep-seated pattern of manipulation that continued throughout his life.

 

Joseph’s Dishonesty and Isaac Hale’s Dismay

Isaac Hale’s 1834 affidavit also makes it clear that he had little respect for Joseph’s religious claims or his intentions for Emma. After observing Joseph’s interactions with his associates and witnessing his behavior firsthand, Hale became convinced that the entire Book of Mormon project was nothing more than a scam intended to prey on the gullibility of others.

“I had a good opportunity of becoming acquainted with him and somewhat acquainted with his associates and I conscientiously believe...that the ‘Book of Mormon’ (so called) is a silly fabrication of falsehood and wickedness got up for speculation and with a design to dupe the credulous and unwary,” Hale wrote. 

(Susquehanna Register, May 1, 1834).

Isaac Hale’s words are damning. He saw through Joseph’s schemes and openly declared that the young man’s religious endeavors were rooted in greed and deception. Far from the divinely inspired prophet the LDS Church reveres today, Hale saw Joseph as an opportunist, willing to manipulate others—including his own family—for personal gain.

 

Emma’s Defiance and the Consequences

Emma’s decision to elope with Joseph was not a romantic act of rebellion but a reckless move that alienated her from her family and set the stage for the suffering she would endure in the years to come. While modern readers might view Emma’s elopement through a lens of personal freedom, the historical context paints a different picture. Emma’s father had legitimate concerns about Joseph’s integrity and honesty, and his warnings would soon prove prophetic.

In her later years, Emma would face immense heartache as Joseph’s deceptive practices escalated. His eventual introduction of polygamy, which involved marrying many women—including teenagers and Emma’s close friends—drove a deep wedge between them. Their marriage was anything but the loving partnership that the LDS Church portrays, and it was Emma who ultimately suffered the consequences of Joseph’s unscrupulous behavior.

Isaac Hale’s 1834 affidavit offers a stark, unfiltered look into the origins of Joseph and Emma’s relationship. Far from being a romantic tale, their elopement was an act of defiance against a father’s reasonable concerns about a young man whose life was steeped in deceit. Joseph’s manipulative nature is evident from the start, and it set the stage for the many betrayals that would define his relationship with Emma. The LDS Church’s attempts to whitewash this story ignore the painful reality of Emma’s early rebellion and the consequences of marrying a man who thrived on deception.

Isaac Hale’s warnings were not the rantings of a disgruntled father—they were the insights of a man who saw through Joseph’s facade and understood the dangers his daughter faced in marrying such a man.

 

Sources:

Hale, Isaac. Affidavit, Susquehanna Register, May 1, 1834.