SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints collaborated with the Joseph Smith Jr. and Emma Hale Smith Historical Society on the new movie, Emma Smith: My Story , which was released in theaters across Utah on 11 April.

Emma Smith was the wife of Church founder Joseph Smith Jr., but, according to producers, her perspective of the pivotal events that gave rise to a world religion of more than 13 million members has rarely been told. 

Emma Smith: My Story. © Candlelight Media Group

“We wanted to show the side of Emma that most people don't know: her personality, nature, and the type of woman she was,” said executive producer Michael Kennedy who is also a direct descendant of Joseph and Emma.  “We wanted to show these things to Church members from the Smith family point of view.” 

The movie chronicles Emma's life from her childhood with a father who was not fond of religion, to her courtship and marriage to Joseph Smith, as well as the challenges she faced being driven from state to state because of religious persecution.

Executive producer Paul Savage said, “I think no other woman in early Church history endured so much as Emma Smith.  She was remarkable in almost every respect.  Hopefully this film will help us begin to gain a more complete picture of why Joseph called her the choice of his heart.” 

The film is similar in style to the Church-produced movie, Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration , and uses footage from that movie that had been cut due to time constraints.  Many of the actors and actresses in that film also have major roles in this film.

The Joseph Smith Jr. and Emma Hale Smith Historical Society was organized in 2006 to promote activities and programs related to the life and legacy of Joseph Smith Jr. (1805-1844) and Emma Hale Smith (1804-1879). 

This article was prepared by the LDS Newsroom at lds.org.