Sarah Marietta Kingsley Cleveland (October 20, 1788 - 1856) was the first counselor to

Emma Smith Emma Hale Smith Bidamon (July 10, 1804 – April 30, 1879) was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement and a prominent member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church) as well as the first wife of Josep ...

in the presidency of the

Relief Society The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, United States, and has more than 7 million members in over 1 ...

from 1842 to 1844. Cleveland was born in

Becket ''Becket or The Honour of God'' (), often shortened to ''Becket'', is a 1959 stage play written in French by Jean Anouilh. It is a depiction of the conflict between Thomas Becket and King Henry II of England leading to Becket's assassination in ...

Berkshire County, Massachusetts Berkshire County (pronounced ) is the Western Massachusetts, westernmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state, U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 129,026. Its la ...

to Ebenezer Kingsley. She was married to John Cleveland and later to the Mormon prophet

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

. Her husband was a judge in

Nauvoo, Illinois Nauvoo ( ; from the ) is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa. The population of Nauvoo was 950 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Nauvoo attracts visitors for its h ...

, and unlike her did not join the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded dur ...

; he was a

Swedenborgian The New Church (or Swedenborgianism) can refer to any of several historically related Christian denominations that developed under the influence of the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). The Swedenborgian tradition is considered to ...

. Cleveland remained in Nauvoo with her husband when the main body of the Latter Day Saints moved to what later became

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th st ...

Marriage to Joseph Smith

A letter from John L. Smith, Sarah Kingsley’s son-in-law, to the First Presidency, dated March 8, 1895, states: "In the days of Joseph. Mother arah M. Kingsley (Howe)Cleveland by advice, was sealed to the prophet in Nauvoo but lived with her on-LDShusband John Cleveland." Sarah was also resealed to Joseph Smith vicariously in the

Nauvoo Temple The Nauvoo Temple was the second temple constructed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.''Manuscript History of the Church'', LDS Church Archives, book A-1, p. 37; reproduced in Dean C. Jessee (comp.) (1989). ''The Papers of Jose ...

in 1846.Brian Hales
"Sarah Kingsley"
''Joseph Smith's Polygamy''.

Sources

*''

Encyclopedia of Mormonism The ''Encyclopedia of Mormonism'' is a semi-official English-language encyclopedia for topics relevant to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church, see also "Mormon"). The encyclopedia's five volumes have been digitized and ar ...

'' p. 1635. *''2005 Deseret Morning News Church Alamanac'' (Deseret Morning News: Salt Lake City, Utah, 2004) p. 115 * ! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #FABE60;" , Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints titles {{DEFAULTSORT:Cleveland, Sarah M. 1788 births 1856 deaths Converts to Mormonism Counselors in the General Presidency of the Relief Society Latter Day Saints from Illinois Latter Day Saints from Massachusetts People from Becket, Massachusetts People from Nauvoo, Illinois