Popular Emma Smith lecture moved to larger venue

SALT LAKE CITY — Emma Smith's life after the martyrdom of her prophet-husband Joseph Smith is the subject of the final lecture of this season's Women's History Lecture Series, sponsored by the LDS Church History Library.

Because of the popularity of both the topic and this year's series, the lecture by archivist Sharalyn Howcroft on Thursday at 7 p.m. will be moved to from the library — where standing-room-only crowds have spilled out of conference rooms — to main-floor auditorium of the Church Office Building across the street at 50 E. North Temple.

Attendees should enter the auditorium's northwest doors on the building's north side.

"Generally speaking, members of the LDS Church have a tendency to not know much about Emma after the martyrdom," Howcroft said. "This lecture focuses on the several months in Emma's life after her husband's death — her reaction to it, the scrutiny of the press upon her, and the extremely complicated negotiations between her and the church's trustees in determining what residue of Joseph's property belonged to her or to the church."

— Scott Taylor