Findings
Cohesion
The findings from this study help determine what type of family the Smiths were. The family that emerges from the research is a particularly close family, one whose members remained loyal to each other through many difficult circumstances. At times, the family appears strongly connected, as shown in the father and son relationship of the two Josephs. At the same time, this strong bond was not excessive to the point that family members lost their individual identities. Both parents and children appear to have a strong sense of self, and as the children moved into adulthood, their several personalities were manifest.
According to the social science research highlighted in chapter 2, the family showed high levels of cohesion for a number of reasons. First, family members spent considerable time together. Besides the time Alvin left the family for temporary work and the time period when Joseph Jr. lived in Harmony, Pennsylvania, the entire Smith family lived within close proximity to one another their entire lives. Even after the children were raised, the Smith parents chiefly lived with one or another of their children for their entire married life. Time together in the Smith family included family devotionals, church attendance, various forms of work, as well as an assortment of recreational activities. Modern research indicates that spending time together is a characteristic of strong families.1 [212]
Second, the family relationships were close because of the emotional ties to one another. It was not only that family members spent considerable time together, it was the nature of that time that strengthened familial connections. Both parents engaged in emotional exchanges with each other and with their children. The affinity expressed from parents to their children and from children to their parents is evidence of the emotional closeness in the family. In addition, the Smith parents continually supported their children, as in their approval of their children’s mates, for example. Parental approval of in-laws is one factor identified in contemporary literature as a significant indicator of the success of a child’s marriage.2 Such approval is evident and attests to the intergenerational bond between parents and children in the Smith family. The Smith parents and children were temporally and emotionally supportive of each other, and the same held true in the sibling relationships.
Finally, members of the family exhibited a strong sense of family identification, a factor identified in the literature as being characteristic of cohesive families. The Smiths stood by one another. Joseph Jr. and William’s 1835 conflict and Joseph Sr. and Lucy’s differences over religion illustrate how family members remained loyal and supportive even in the midst of their conflicts. Furthermore, the Smiths often felt they were of the “royal blood,” and as such were entitled to special privileges. Although most evident after the martyrdom, it underscores the Smiths’ sense of family identity.
Resiliency and Religiosity
This familial bond also helped the family deal with many trials. In fact, this bond was one of the factors that fostered a high level of resiliency. The constant support of [213] family members enabled each individual to cope with an extraordinary number of life challenges, including persecution, death, ridicule, imprisonment, and financial devastation.
The family’s ability to see such hardships as purposeful was a contributing factor in helping them endure. Most family members found strength in comparing their trials to the faithful Saints of the past. As they made such comparisons, they sought to increase their discipleship as well. In the midst of struggles, family members found the necessary compensation by turning to religion, both formally and informally. Before 1830, the family demonstrated an increase in church attendance and were more pious in their religious habits in the face of major disruptive events. The family expressed a high level of hopefulness that things would improve—if not in this life, then in the next, a characteristic found in emotionally healthy people.3 This attitude of hopefulness and their faith in the Divine helped them endure setbacks.
The Smiths were a highly religious family. Given their religious paradigm and their exceptional number of hardships, it is no wonder family members increased in religious dedication. Their spirituality was largely intrinsic, in that they practiced more private forms of religiosity: personal and family prayer, Bible reading, and family devotionals. Later, family members manifested extrinsic kinds of religious behavior (such as baptism and church membership), but they never decreased in their private forms of religious worship. Those who have high levels of private religiosity, like the Smiths, have been found to be more affectionate and have more meaningful relationships with their children.4 These intrinsic [214] forms of religiosity contributed to family solidarity.
Once the Church was organized, all the family labored diligently as missionaries and in callings for the cause they espoused. This dedication resulted at least partially from the Smith parents’ diligence in instilling spiritual values into their children. Like her own mother, Lucy Mack Smith continuously instructed and encouraged her children to seek their salvation. Father Smith was unfailing in leading the family in prayers, both morning and night. The parents’ chief concern was ensuring that “their children [would] dignify their [Heavenly] fathers name by an upright and honorable course of conduct.”5 Father and Mother Smith encouraged religious behavior and gave spiritual instruction to achieve this goal. Religiosity has been found to be a variable that strengthens commitment to the family.6 Further, modern research indicates that both marital stability and satisfaction are higher among religious couples.7 Thus, the Smiths’ familial bond was likely strengthened by their religious practices.
Conflict Management
The Smiths were not without their conflicts. Joseph Sr. and Lucy struggled in their marriage over religious differences. Joseph Jr. and William disagreed over certain matters—to the point of a physical altercation. Yet in the midst of these struggles, family members managed to stay loyal and support one another. Although the differences between Joseph Sr. and Lucy were not immediately solvable, the couple remained emotionally close, affectionate, and united in their family goals. The family frequently [215] used prayer as a medium to resolve differences. Joseph Jr. and William wrote letters that facilitated problem resolution. Eventually, family members were able to work through their differences, evidence of their effective use of problem-solving strategies. All parties were active in trying to resolve their differences and were supportive and committed to one another when they could not.
The problem-solving strategies used by the Smiths were effective in dealing with their conflicts. Although instances of family conflicts are sparse in the surviving sources, accounts indicate that family members effectively resolved their conflicts. Families who successfully work through their conflicts increase in their emotional closeness.8 Additionally, the Smiths maintained their support and solidarity in the midst of conflict, a quality indicative of strong families and healthy marriages.9
Work and Recreation
Recent research demonstrates that the Smith family unquestionably had a strong work ethic. The amount of work they performed during the Palmyra years was substantial. Evidence indicates that the family made considerable improvements on the hundred-acre farm in Palmyra. The family undertook many different kinds of work to help ensure their survival. In the end, the family lost the farm, but it was not for lack of effort on their part. The reason was more likely because the Smiths struggled in managing their money. Father Smith was likely too trusting in some of his entrepreneurial ventures. Further, the family might have been able to stay on the farm had they made their one-hundred-dollar payment instead of using their limited funds in finishing the frame home. Nonetheless, [216] their strong work ethic is abundantly evident.
Moreover, the ability to work persisted as the children matured. The family rallied around the common goal of obtaining land and ensuring that the Smith parents would be provided for in their declining years. The unity of the family is apparent; all capable family members lent support to this common cause. Modern-day literature indicates that if children are taught to do family work rather than self-care tasks, they will experience greater connection to the family.10 When families work together toward a common goal, they develop caring for those with whom they labor. The result is a deeper emotional bond.11 The Smiths’ common goal of obtaining and improving their Palmyra farm strengthened their ties to the family and their sense of family identification.
Although the struggle for survival remained the foremost priority for the Smith family, they still were able to take time out for recreation and relaxation. The family enjoyed evening devotionals, initially with just their immediate family, but in time with neighbors as they broadened their social group. These devotionals typically included singing, religious discussions, and family prayer. As the children moved into adulthood and established their own families, they also practiced this mode of relaxation. The family also enjoyed wrestling, hunting, shooting at targets, military and Masonic pageantry, debating, and carriage rides. In addition, the women in the family enjoyed preparing banquets and participating in quilting bees and weaving clubs and the accompanying socialization these activities provided.
Joseph Jr.’s attitude toward recreation as a nineteenth-century religious leader [217] was unique. He frequently expressed the need for balance between work and recreation, a belief that had likely formulated in his family of origin. Although it is documented that the entire family participated in recreational activities, it is difficult to determine if they achieved a “healthy” balance.
Implications
Implications for Latter-day Saints
From an LDS perspective, the family picture that emerges is significant. For a Church that emphasizes the importance of witnesses, what greater witness could be given than the complete and united acceptance of an entire family of the restoration of the gospel of Christ?12 After all, these were the individuals who participated in and were most familiar with the events of the Restoration. Their continued acceptance of their son and brother as a legitimate prophet, seer, and revelator—knowing firsthand his weaknesses—is a remarkable component of Church history and unique in the annals of the past. As Truman Madsen has summarized, “There is no greater example of total familial endurance in history than that of the Smith family. It is true that they had their ups and downs and that William Smith was almost as insecure and unsteady as Hyrum was loyal and unyielding. But from an overall perspective, one of the strengths of the history of the Church is that the first family [218] held true to each other.”13
What begins to materialize is a powerful, combined witness, one that may be termed a Smith family testimony. Initially, all family members were allowed to heft and feel the plates while they were covered in a tow frock.14 Furthermore, it appears that along with Mother Smith, other family members were familiar enough with the breastplate and the Urim and Thummim that they either saw or handled these items.15 In June of 1829, three males of the household became formal witnesses, having the opportunity to both see and handle the plates while uncovered.16 Katharine and Sophronia hid the plates during the height of persecution in Palmyra.17 The Prophet Joseph and brothers Hyrum and Samuel made up half of the original six members of the Church.18 This family felt, saw, and experienced the early events of the Restoration. The Smiths were firsthand witnesses of the Restoration and unitedly testified of its truthfulness and bore the resulting persecution.
In addition, Latter-day Saints may take comfort in the fact that the Smiths were a successful family. The Smith family was the one constant in an ever-evolving Church. It was the solidarity established during the children’s formative years that bound this family together and made it possible for them to stay close and committed to one another through many trying experiences.
Implications for Professionals and
Twenty-First-Century Families
Marriage and family therapists and contemporary families can benefit from the [219] findings in this study. The Smiths were a strong family. The variables provide a context for identifying the characteristics that made this family successful. Therefore, the qualities of this historical family can be used by professionals who teach and counsel contemporary families. The attributes exhibited in the Smith family that assisted them in resolving conflicts and in achieving a cohesive, resilient, religious, and hard-working family can be used by practitioners in helping families today.
Some examples include the Smiths’ attitude of hopefulness and of seeing their trials as purposeful. These attitudes may be strengthened through prayer, which assisted the Smiths in enduring hardships. Family members are benefitted when they look beyond their present problems at the bigger picture. In this way, problems are seen in context—as temporary setbacks—followed by eventual peace. Further, these setbacks can be viewed as providing the necessary experiences that will purify us and, if endured faithfully, link us with deity both in this life and in the life to come. This posture helps families endure present difficulties by providing hope and understanding to present suffering. Professionals can promote these traits as qualities that promote familial coping. This approach will be particularly effective if the family has a religious background.
Another factor derived from the study deals with family work. If families can create a work environment that includes laboring for a common cause, the children in the family will more likely perceive that work as meaningful, and the familial bond will be strengthened. This not only has the potential to unite family members, but may also increase the children’s work ethic. Professionals may assist families in identifying [220] methods of implementing such common work goals.
From the area of conflict management several findings emerge. First, families may benefit from using prayer as a means to resolve their differences. Prayer was found in the study to be effective in eliminating negative feelings toward the other party in conflict, especially when the conflict is not immediately resolvable. Second, letter writing proves to be an effective means of communication when feelings are charged. Writing allows for an appropriate expression of feelings, which then bridges the gap for meeting face to face. Last, allowing a third party to act as moderator proves to be an effective mode of calming feelings so that there is an environment to negotiate problem solving. Families may benefit by utilizing problem-solving strategies such as praying for the party in conflict, using letter writing when feelings are too escalated to communicate vocally, and allowing a moderator to help work through the problem.
Other implications include ways to increase family cohesion. Cohesiveness can be enhanced by engaging in meaningful activities. The Smith family benefitted by engaging in daily family devotionals. The Smith parents frequently prayed for their children and dictated moral values during these gatherings. This appears to have had the desired effect, as these values were passed on to succeeding generations, while at the same time linking the family more closely. Family life can be enhanced by engaging in rituals similar to the Smiths’ family devotional.
Parental support of the children in their life pursuits also served to bind the family. The Smith parents established close relationships with their sons- and daughters-in-law. As a result, three generations of the Smith family were closely linked to one [221] another. Thus, parental support of children correlates with generational cohesiveness. These findings, though not new, are substantiated by this study. Furthermore, findings indicate that certain familial qualities are indicative of strong families regardless of when the families lived.
Implications for Researchers
The study of historical figures from modern sociological perspectives is not unique. Many researchers have gleaned insights into historical personalities through use of this approach. Notwithstanding, to my knowledge no studies have used modern family process research in examining a historical family. Using the most well-researched models for evaluating families makes sense when attempting to understand historical family relationships. This study has shown that this approach to historical research can be an effective design in illuminating family dynamics. Certain aspects of family functioning can be successfully evaluated simply through the use of written records. It is hoped that future researchers will use this method to examine family relationships, and by so doing increase our understanding of historical families and extract strengths that may be beneficial to contemporary families. [222]
