Lucy Walker (Latter Day Saint)
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April 30, 1826
Peacham, Vermont, United States
Heber C. Kimball
| Lucy Walker | |
|---|---|
 Photograph c. 1850 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lucy Walker April 30, 1826 Peacham, Vermont, United States |
| Died | October 1, 1910 (aged 84) |
| Spouse(s) | 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.[1]: 463 Lucy was 17 at the time, while Smith was 36-years-old.[2]
Lucy became Smith's foster daughter after her mother died, and Smith sent her father on a mission. Smith welcomed Lucy and three of her sisters into his home and called them his "daughters."[2]
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.[2]
Why should I be chosen from among thy daughters, Father, I am only a child in years and experience, no mother to counsel [she died a few months prior]; no father near to tell me what to do in this trying hour [Smith sent him on a mission]. Oh, let this bitter cup pass. And thus I prayed in the agony of my soul.
-- Lucy Walker, 1888, Salt Lake City [emphasis added][2]
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.[2]
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."[2]
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.[2]