The Saints had fled to Far West hoping for a rest from their enemies, but the growing mob violence resulted in the imprisonment of Joseph Smith at Liberty Jail and the slaughter at Haun’s Mill. Driven from their homes in the dead of winter, the Saints began the long journey to Nauvoo.
Emma was among the saints forced to cross the frozen Mississippi River. Can you imagine the faith it must have taken to step on that ice carrying an eight-month old baby and two year old son, while the others clung to her skirts? During those dark days, Joseph wrote, “Oh God Where art Thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?”
I thought of the pain and sorrow both Joseph and Emma were laboring under at that moment and realized that for Joseph and Emma, though separated by distance they were truly of one heart.
At those times when I feel alone and forgotten I look at this painting and remember that nothing in mortality can place us beyond the reach of divinity.
