Emma Smith--My Story: A Beautiful Film
My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed the new movie, Emma Smith-My Story. The LDS Church clearly supported and cooperated in the production of this film. The actors who portray Joseph and Emma are the same ones who appear in the Church's own film about Joseph that it shows in its visitors centers. It uses outtakes form the film for some of its scenes. They are essentially twin productions, telling the story of these two people at the center of the Restoration from their respective perspectives.
One aspect of the Emma movie that I found interesting is that it did not show any of the miraculous events that were experienced by Joseph, even those to which Emma was a direct witness, such as healings of people with malaria in the initial settlement of Nauvoo, Illinois. This is in contrast to the Joseph Smith film that is shown in church visitor centers, which specifically affirms those experiences which Joseph testified of and which were witnessed by others. This contrast emphasizes that Emma was exercising faith and trust in Joseph and his prophetic calling throughout her life, from the time they courted to the end of his life. It is pointed up directly in connection with the golden plates on which the Book of Mormon was recorded, which she never sees or touches except when they are wrapped in a cloth. Emma's faith was tested in this case and others. When we see the faith that she has in Joseph, expressed by her defense of him and her faithfulness through all kinds of trials, including the rejection by her father, it is a testimony to us that he is someone worthy of our trust as well. The person who knew him most intimately had to exercise faith, and she did.
Another theme of the film is the yearning of Emma and Joseph to have children, and the heartbreak of several deaths of their infants. When Joseph promises Emma the fulfillment of whatever blessing she writes for herself, she asks to raise her children. Hers is a selfless wish.
What comes through loud and clear is that Joseph loved Emma and that her love for him was one of the anchors of his turbulent and difficult life. Anyone who loves Joseph must love Emma too.
When Emma loses the husband that has been the main force in her life, we understand how her battered and bruised heart lacked the energy to follow the other Saints to a refuge in the unknown West. To leave Nauvoo would have been to leave the last vestige and visible evidence of the love that had been the center of her life. Those of us who never went through her heartache are in a poor position to judge her harshly.
The film is beautifully photographed, often in the original locations where the events took place (another mark of the Church's cooperation with the producers). There is nothing amateurish about the movie to distract us from the pure experience of the story. The actress who portrays Emma in old age deserves commendation as well. Anyone who sees this film will be prepared to see the Church film with a deeper appreciation for the reality in which Joseph's miraculous experiences were anchored. They will know through Emma's eyes that Joseph was an honest and sincere man who earned the love and trust of his intimate companion, and so deserves our trust in his testimony about God and angels.
The enemies of Mormonism will hate this movie, because it makes Joseph real for us. It invites us to approach him and trust him, as Emma Hale Smith did.