Children of Joseph Smith
The children of Joseph Smith Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and his wife Emma Smith, are historically significant because of their roles in establishing and leading the Latter Day Saint Movement, which includes The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, The Church of Jesus Christ, the Church of Christ and several other sects. Several Latter Day Saint sects, including the RLDS, believed that leadership of the church would flow through lineal succession of Smith's descendants. In 1860, Joseph Smith III became its prophet and president of the RLDS Church, although they no longer adhere to this practice. The larger LDS Church did not follow that practice, and it was led after Joseph Smith's death by Brigham Young.
Joseph Smith publicly condemned polygamy, but there is ample evidence that Smith both taught in its favor and practiced it, and had a number of wives sealed to him. "The number of Smith's polygamous offspring is a bit of a mystery." Several women later testified that they were wives in the full sense of the word. Emily D. P. Partidge said she 'roomed' with him, and Melissa Lott Willes testified that she was his wife 'in very deed.' Though there were allegations of paternity in some of these polygamous marriages, ongoing genetic research of descendants of these plural marriages have been negative. This list names the nine biological children of Emma and Joseph Smith, four of whom survived to adulthood, and the two children they adopted.
