| Birth Name: | Lucy Walker |
| Birth Date: | 30 April 1826 |
| Birth Place: | Peacham, Vermont, United States |
| Spouse: | Joseph Smith Heber C. Kimball |
| Children: | 9 |
| Parents: | John Walker Lydia Holmes |
Lucy Walker was an early member of the Latter-day Saint movement and one of the plural wives of founder Joseph Smith. She was secretly sealed to Smith without the knowledge or consent of Smith's first wife, Emma Smith. Lucy was 17 at the time, while Smith was 36-years-old.[1]
Lucy became Smith's foster daughter after her mother passed away, and Smith sent her father on a mission. Smith welcomed Lucy and three of her sisters into his home and called them his "daughters."[1]
Shortly after, Smith revealed the secret doctrine of polygamy to Lucy and proposed, saying that the marriage was a "command from God" and if she refused, "the gate will be closed forever against you". Lucy refused, stating that God must manifest His will to her regarding the matter, and told him to never speak of it again. After two sleepless nights, where she considered suicide, she finally agreed to the marriage.
In 1888, as part of a project to collect testimonies of early Latter-day Saints Lucy wrote her life story in her own hand.[1]
Lucy Walker was born April 30, 1826 in Peacham, Vermont. Her father joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1832, and her mother joined two years later.[1]
She was baptized in 1835 along with her other siblings who were over the age of 8. She recorded that at the baptism ceremony, some of her sibling spoke in tongues, other prophecied, others gained the ability to heal the sick. Lucy wrote, "One of this little band prophecied that before we reached our destination we would be surrounded by armed mobs with blackened faces, and would need much faith in God to endure the many persecutions and trials before us, and that some of our number would lay down their lives; others would see their brethren shot down before their very eyes. This was verified at the wholesale slaughter at Haun's Mill."[1]
She and her siblings hid with her mother less than five miles from Hawn's Mill during the massacre that happened in 1838. Her family left Missouri shortly after, moving to Quincy, Illinois, and later to Nauvoo in 1841.[1]
Lucy's mother died in January 1842, leaving her father widowed with 10 children to look after. Her death was especially hard on Lucy's father whose "health seemed to give way under this heavy affliction". Shortly, Joseph Smith came to their family home and directed Lucy's father to go on a 2-year-mission. Lucy recorded,
The children were upset "at the thought of being broken up as a family, and being separated from the loved ones". Lucy's father agreed to the mission and sought to comfort his children by saying "two years would soon pass away, then with renewed health he hoped to return and make [them] a home where [they] might be together again".
Lucy lived at the Smith house for several months, and Emma and Joseph called her their "daughter" when introducing her to others.
Joseph approached Lucy in private in 1842 and proposed polygamous marriage. Lucy recorded,
Joseph fully explained the principle of plural marriage and promised that "it would prove an everlasting blessing to [Lucy's] father's house". He then invited her to pray sincerely to gain a testimony of the prinicple.
Lucy was unable to sleep that night as she pondered and prayed about this invitation. She wrote:
Joseph saw how upset and sorrowful she was, and approached her again. He said:
At this, Lucy recorded,
Smith then promised Lucy that she would receive the witness she sought. He said:
That evening, after a second sleepless night praying and asking God for this confirmation, as the sun rose, Lucy recorded,
Based on this experience, she agreed to marry him in secret.
During the 1892 Temple Lot Case depositions, Lucy was questioned by an RLDS lawyer about Emma's knowledge of the marriage. Lucy confirmed, "She [Emma] did not consent to my marriage... she did not know anything about it at all."
Lucy was married to Joseph in secret on May 1, 1842. She was 17, and Smith was 36. Many years later she recalled that her marriage to Joseph was "not a love matter ... at least on my part it was not,-but simply the giving up of myself as a sacrifice to establish that grand and glorious principle that God had revealed to the world."
After Smith's death in 1844, she remarried Heber C. Kimball, recording that her marriage to Kimball was for "time only" and that she believed she would be reunited with Smith after death to be his polygamous wife forever.
The early Latter-day Saints had experienced intense backlash and persecution because of the controversial teachings of Founder Joseph Smith. Lucy recorded that on the evening of October 29, 1838, a mob of 40 people surrounded their camp. "They hooted and yelled and looked more like demons than human beings," she wrote. The mob forced them into the snow, pointed weapons at the children, and threatened violence. A local woman jeered at them shouting, "Shoot them down! They should not be allowed to live!" However, no direct violence occurred that night.
The next morning, October 30, Lucy's father and other men in the community, including Joseph Young gathered at Hawn's Mill to discuss what to do. Lucy wrote that her father and the others were standing in the blacksmiths shop when a mob of men appeared, formed a line, and opened fire on them.
Lucy's father was shot in the right arm, and returned fire before fleeing, and remaining hidden until the violence had ceased.
Less than five miles away, a young man came running to where Lucy and the others were camped, warning them that the violent mob would soon be upon them. Chaos ensued, and many ran into the woods, fearing for their lives. Lucy's mother and one other woman remained behind in the camp, saying that fleeing would be no use. The two women calmed their children's fears.
Lucy wrote,
That morning, an unnamed Officer entered the camp, and offered to lead them all to safety. The group followed him and were safely reunited with the other members of the Church.