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Show Louisa Maria Lyman 267 Maria was proud of Amasa's success in the church, wife likes to feel that she comes first in her husband's affection, and in Amasa's case this would have been hard to establish. Deep inside, but a Maria's greatest trial came after her husband became the close confident of the prophet and was taught the principle of plurality of wives. Amasa's biographer states that the prophet told him his salva tion depended on his acceptance of the principle and that if he re jected it he would be damned." It is doubtful if the wives were prophet necessary to insure about details and he indicated to Amasa how many plural was never the kind salvation, but he soon added seven wives to his family. It is difficult to know how much Maria was apprised of what was going on in regard to Amasa's plural wife activities. It has often been stated that husbands were required to receive approval of the first wife before taking another. Whether this, if true, eased the hurt to quibble doubtful, and the author questions the notion that any first wife relished the idea of her husband dividing his love. At best the wife only acquiesced under the pressure of religious custom and the belief in the principles as a command of God. Amasa's biographer mentions the fact that the princip1e "tried the souls of eight women and one is man.?" soul was tried was Elizabeth wives who, after the prophet's In a journal more candid than had the courage to write, she confided: One of the eight women whose Partridge, prophet's plural assassination, married Amasa Lyman. one most women of the A woman living in polygamy dare not let it be known, and nothing but a firm desire to keep the commandments of the Lord could have induced a girl to marry in this way. I thought my trials were very severe in this line, and I am often led to wonder how it was that a person of my temperament could get along with it and not rebel." was anything more difficult than being a first wife and for her husband to take another, it was probably her consent giving a wife. Eliza was a plural wife to two different men, being plural either of whom she would have been proud to introduce as her husband, but she "dare not let it be known." Maria had something to be thankful for; she was the "known wife" of Amasa M. Lyman. If there area Maria gave birth to three children while they were in the Nauvoo Francis Marion was born in Newhope, Illinois, January 12, - |
