Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner
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| Born | April 9, 1818 |
| Died | December 17, 1913 (aged 95) |
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| Children | 10 |
Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner (born April 9, 1818 – died December 17, 1913) was an important member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). She was also a Mormon pioneer, meaning she was among the first people to travel west with the church. Mary was married to Joseph Smith and later to Brigham Young. She is remembered for bravely saving important church papers from angry crowds. These papers later became part of a book called the Doctrine and Covenants.
Contents
Early Life and New Beliefs
Mary Elizabeth Rollins was born on April 9, 1818, in Lima, New York. Her parents were John D. Rollins and Keziah Keturah Van Benthuysen. She had two siblings. When she was young, her father died in a shipwreck on Lake Ontario.
In 1828, Mary and her family moved to Kirtland, Ohio. They went to live with her uncle, Algernon Sidney Gilbert. They lived there for two years. During this time, they learned about the church started by Joseph Smith.
Joining the Church
Mary was baptized into the church in October 1830. She was only twelve years old. A man named Isaac Morley lent her a Book of Mormon for one night. She and her family stayed up late reading it. By morning, she had already memorized the first verse! Morley was so impressed that he let her keep the book until she finished reading it.
Soon after she finished the book, Joseph Smith moved to Kirtland in February 1831. He visited Mary's home. She received a special blessing from him.
Life in Missouri
In the fall of 1831, Mary and her family moved from Kirtland to Independence, Missouri. Here, Mary experienced a special spiritual gift. She could understand and explain sermons given in other languages.
She started working for Peter Whitmer Sr. as a seamstress, which means she sewed clothes. She even met Governor Lilburn Boggs while working there. Boggs tried to get Mary to leave the church. But she refused.
Mary saw many people treat church members badly in Missouri. Crowds of people destroyed their homes. They also set fire to their crops. She saw Edward Partridge being attacked by a mob.
Saving Important Papers
Mary also saw the destruction of the church's printing press in Independence. This happened on July 20, 1833. She watched as a mob tore down the building. They threw pages of the Book of Commandments into the streets.
Mary and her sister bravely grabbed armfuls of the papers. The mob chased them. They hid in a cornfield until the mob passed. They gave the papers to Sabrina Phelps, who was the wife of W. W. Phelps. Later, some of these pages were put together into a book for Mary. These papers were later published as part of the Doctrine and Covenants.
Church members were forced to leave Independence. They moved to nearby Clay County, Missouri. Mary became a teacher there. She taught for two years.
Mary lived with her uncle Gilbert until he died in 1834. During this time, she saw a group called Zion's Camp. She met Joseph Smith again. Smith later told Mary that he had a special feeling in 1834. He felt he should marry her as a plural wife. But because they were far apart, he did not do it then.
Marriage and Moving West
Mary Rollins married Adam Lightner on August 11, 1835. He was not a member of the church. They had ten children together. They moved to Far West, Missouri, to open a store. Their first son, Miles Henry, was born in 1836.
Later, they moved to Milford, Missouri, near Far West. They opened another store there. They also faced difficulties in Milford. Mary and Adam were asked to meet with a mob leader, General Clark. They were told that Governor Boggs planned to destroy the city. But he wanted Mary's family to be safe first. Mary refused to leave everyone else behind. The next day, the mob took Joseph and Hyrum Smith. But they did not harm Far West.
Mary and her family then went to Louisville, Kentucky, to visit Adam's brother. They left their belongings in Far West. Mary earned money by painting pictures and giving painting lessons.
Life in Nauvoo
The Lightners traveled to rejoin the Latter Day Saints. They went through St. Louis, Missouri to Alton, Illinois. Mary's brother Henry was there. On their trip, Mary taught painting lessons to a woman on the boat.
Mary continued teaching painting lessons. She also found work as a seamstress. They moved to Farmington, Illinois, and stayed for two years. They lost their money when their bank failed. So, they went to live with Mary's stepfather, Mr. Burt.
Mary's family moved many times. She often found work as a seamstress and a painting teacher. Some of her students included Julia Murdock Smith and Sarah Ann Whitney.
Joining the Relief Society
The Latter Day Saints later left the area of Nauvoo, Illinois. Before leaving, Joseph Smith told Mary's family and her brother's family to be baptized again. Everyone was baptized except her husband, Adam, who was not a church member.
In February 1842, Mary was married to Joseph Smith as a plural wife. In 1843, she became a member of the women's Relief Society in Nauvoo.
Challenges in Pontoosuc
Mary's family moved to Pontoosuc, Illinois. Joseph Smith was sad about this. He told Mary that if they left the church, they would face hard times. Soon after, her son George died.
In May 1843, Mary had her fourth child. Shortly after, she became very sick. She stayed in bed. One day, she woke up to find everyone in her house lying on the floor. It was as if they were dead. Lightning had struck the house while she was in bed. Luckily, Mary and all her family members eventually recovered.
In June 1844, men from Pontoosuc wanted to harm Joseph Smith. They forced Mary to make a flag for their group. She refused at first, but they threatened her, so she made the flag. This group was part of the mob that attacked Carthage Jail. This attack led to the death of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum. Mary's family was kept in Pontoosuc for three months. These men also stole many of their belongings.
Mary became sick again. Doctors said she would die soon. But she felt a strong need to go to Nauvoo. She wanted to get a blessing from Alpheus Cutler, who worked in the Nauvoo Temple. Her friends and family worried the trip would kill her. But she insisted on going. She made it to Nauvoo. She received a blessing and felt much better within two weeks.
Mary received her endowment in the Nauvoo Temple on January 30, 1845. While earning money for the trip, she was sewing. Half of a needle got stuck in her arm in June 1847. Doctors could not remove it.
In the fall of 1844, Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball offered to be proxy husbands for Joseph Smith's widows. Mary accepted Brigham Young's offer. She and Young were married on May 22, 1845, in the temple.
Life in the North
After having another son in February 1848, Mary took a job as a tailor. Her husband had trouble finding work. They were offered a job managing a hotel in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. There, Adam and their baby became very sick. Mary's leg swelled, and doctors thought she might need to have it removed. She prayed for God to save her leg, and it healed.
While living there, a man stopped by her house. He offered a medicine that he said would heal anything. Mary was not interested. But to get the man to leave, she, her husband, and her aunt tasted the medicine. She even gave some to her children. Within moments, they all became ill. Two of her children died. The man had given them poison. The man was caught by the police. But Mary begged them not to hang him. He escaped and was never put on trial.
The family bought a 65-acre farm near Lake St. Croix, Minnesota. But they faced many difficulties. Several of their horses died. They took a job managing a three-story hotel in Willow River, Minnesota. They stayed there for two years.
In 1853, Mary left to care for her sick sister Caroline in Farmington. Her sister died five weeks later. Mary took some of Caroline's children home to raise them. The family later moved to Maine in 1854. They opened their own boarding house. They lost their property during the Civil War.
After suffering so many losses, Mary convinced her husband that they should rejoin the Latter Day Saints.
Journey Westward
After their hotel failed, they moved back to Hannibal, Missouri. After staying only a year, they returned to Minnesota. Their tenth child, Adam, was born there on October 28, 1862.
On May 25, 1863, they boarded a boat called the "Canada" heading for St. Louis. They began traveling westward. They faced threats from soldiers and Native Americans. They also faced sickness. They reached Omaha, Nebraska. There, they met other Latter Day Saints from different countries. They traveled across the plains in a wagon company. They arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah, on September 15, 1863.
Life in Minersville
The Lightners settled in Minersville, Utah. In 1869, the Relief Society was started there. Mary was asked to be its president.
Mary's mother died in 1877. Brigham Young also died later that same year. After 1880, Adam, Mary's husband, could not find work. Mary wrote to church president John Taylor in September 1881. She told him she needed money. In August 1884, Mary went to Salt Lake City to ask for help in person.
Adam became ill and died on August 19, 1885. He never joined the church. Mary was left with some debt.
Mary lived the rest of her life with very little money. She traveled to Salt Lake City sometimes. She relied on the church for financial help because she was one of Joseph Smith's widows. She often spoke at meetings. She shared her life experiences from the early days of the church. She also shared her strong belief in the church.
Mary spoke at the graduation ceremony at Brigham Young University on April 14, 1905. Before his death, Heber C. Kimball had promised her that she would see Joseph Smith again during her lifetime. In 1905, she shared that Smith had visited her after his death.
Mary Rollins Lightner died on December 17, 1913, in Minersville. When she died, she was the last surviving plural wife of Joseph Smith.
Her Marriages
Mary said that Joseph Smith spoke with her privately in 1831. She was only 12 years old. He told her that she was the first woman God told him to take as a plural wife. He spoke to her again in 1834. However, she married Adam Lightner on August 11, 1835. She later said she had dreamed of being Smith's wife.
Mary would not marry Smith until she received a sign from God herself. She prayed about the idea. She said she saw an angel pass through her room. Smith then told her that certain events would happen in her life, and they did. Mary agreed to marry Smith. This marriage did not cancel her marriage to Adam. She was the sixth of Smith's plural wives. They were married in February 1842 by Brigham Young. At that time, Mary was expecting her son George. Mary's husband, Adam, was away when she married Smith. So, it is not clear if Adam knew or agreed. Smith's first wife, Emma Smith, knew about the marriage. Mary signed a document in 1902 to record her marriage to Smith.
After Joseph Smith died in 1844, Mary was married to Brigham Young. This marriage took place in the Nauvoo Temple on May 22, 1845. Mary wrote, "I was also sealed to Brigham Young as proxy for Joseph." When Mary lived in Minersville, she said Young stopped by to visit. She wrote to him and updated him on her family throughout her life. Letters between Mary and Eliza R. Snow show that Mary knew and was friendly with other plural wives of Young.
