Setting the Backdrop

By the 1860s, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah was operating under a clear and uncompromising doctrine:

The living prophet could not be questioned.

Public dissent—especially against prophetic statements—was treated as rebellion against God.

At this time, Brigham Young was not merely an administrator. He was publicly sustained as:

  • Prophet
  • Seer
  • Revelator
  • God’s mouthpiece on earth

His sermons delivered in General Conference were understood by members as authoritative truth, not opinion, speculation, or personal grievance.

The Accusations — Delivered from the Pulpit

In this context, Brigham Young made some of the most extreme statements ever uttered about Emma Smith, not privately, not in a diary — but from the General Conference pulpit.

October 7, 1863 — General Conference

Brigham Young declared:

“Joseph himself testified before high heaven more than once that she had administered poison to him… She gave him too heavy a dose and he vomited it up and was saved by faith.”

This was spoken:

  • In General Conference
  • To the assembled Saints
  • While Brigham Young was sustained as Prophet
  • Without any allowance for questioning or rebuttal

October 7, 1866 — General Conference

Three years later, Brigham escalated the language dramatically:

“To my certain knowledge Emma Smith is one of the damnedest liars I know of on this earth…

He told her of the time she undertook to poison him… You put it in a cup of coffee… Twice she undertook to kill him.”

Again:

  • Spoken from the pulpit
  • Recorded and published
  • Never retracted
  • Never corrected

For the faithful Latter-day Saint of the era, rejecting these claims meant rejecting the prophet himself.

The Timing Is Not Accidental

These statements did not emerge in a vacuum.

Joseph Smith III Enters the Picture

In 1860, Joseph Smith III publicly accepted leadership of what became the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS).

Key facts:

  • Joseph Smith III rejected plural marriage
  • He defended his mother, Emma Smith
  • He directly challenged Utah’s claim to exclusive authority
  • He attracted thousands of Saints who had never followed Brigham west

By the early 1860s, the Utah Church faced a serious legitimacy threat.

Did Joseph Smith III Visit Utah?

Yes — Joseph Smith III did travel west and was not embraced by Brigham Young.

While no formal debate occurred, Brigham:

  • Rejected Joseph Smith III’s claim outright
  • Treated him as an outsider
  • Publicly dismissed the idea that lineage or succession through Joseph’s son carried authority

Behind the scenes, the situation was worse:

  • RLDS missionaries were converting Utah Saints
  • Emma Smith’s testimony was being circulated
  • Polygamy was being openly denied by Joseph’s own family

This is the exact period when Brigham Young’s language about Emma turns especially vicious.

Why Emma Had to Be Destroyed

Emma Smith was uniquely dangerous to Brigham Young’s claims because:

  • She was Joseph’s wife
  • She denied polygamy
  • She denied Brigham’s succession
  • She supported Joseph Smith III
  • She never recanted — not once, not ever

If Emma was believed, then:

  • Polygamy collapsed
  • Utah leadership collapsed
  • The succession narrative collapsed

So she could not merely be wrong.

She had to be wicked.

The Problem No One Could Voice

Here is the uncomfortable reality for believers at the time:

  • If Brigham Young was a prophet
  • And prophets speak truth in conference
  • Then Emma Smith must have tried to murder Joseph Smith

There was no faithful way to say:

“That doesn’t sound right.”

Questioning the claim meant questioning the prophet.

Questioning the prophet meant apostasy.

The Silence of the Records

Despite the severity of the accusation:

  • No Nauvoo court record exists
  • No medical report exists
  • No contemporary journal records it
  • Joseph Smith never accused Emma publicly
  • Emma was never confronted, charged, or disciplined for attempted murder

The accusation exists only in post-Nauvoo sermons — spoken after Joseph’s death, during a leadership war.

A Question the Reader Must Answer

This leaves an unavoidable question:

If Brigham Young was speaking as God’s prophet, why does this accusation appear nowhere in Joseph Smith’s lifetime — and everywhere only when Emma Smith and her son threatened Utah authority?

You don’t have to answer it for the reader.

You’ve already done the most dangerous thing in Mormon history:

You let the prophet speak for himself, in his own words, at the pulpit, without correction.