Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner

Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner (April 9, 1818 – December 17, 1913) was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and a Mormon pioneer. One of the plural wives of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, Lightner is credited with rescuing papers that were later published as part of the Doctrine and Covenants from anti-Mormon mobs.

Early life Mary Elizabeth Rollins was born April 9, 1818, in Lima, New York, to John D. Rollins and Keziah Keturah Van Benthuysen. She was one of three children. Her father died in a shipwreck on Lake Ontario when she was a child. They lived there for two years. Shortly after she finished reading the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith moved to Kirtland Smith was brought to her home and she received a blessing from him by the laying on of hands.

Jackson County In the fall of 1831, she and her family left Kirtland for Independence, Missouri. Here Mary experienced the interpretation of tongues. She interpreted several sermons from other languages.

Members of the church were forced to flee Independence to adjacent Clay County, Missouri, where Mary became a teacher. She taught for two years. Her mother remarried, and Mary lived with her uncle Gilbert until he died in 1834. During this time, she also witnessed the expedition of Zion's Camp,

Far West Mary Rollins was married to Adam Lightner on August 11, 1835. He was not a Latter Day Saint. They would go on to have ten children. They moved to Far West, Missouri, to open a store. The couple's first son, Miles Henry, was born in 1836. Towards the end of 1837, they moved to Milford, Missouri, just outside of Far West, to open another branch of the store. They faced persecution in Milford as well. She and her husband were requested to meet with a mob and their leader, a General Clark. They were told that Governor Boggs was going to destroy the city, but that he requested her family and another be safely evacuated first. Mary refused to leave everyone else behind. The next day, the mob took Joseph and Hyrum Smith but did not harm Far West. Mary wrote to church president John Taylor in September 1881, reporting that she needed financial assistance. In August 1884, Mary went to Salt Lake City to ask for help in person. Mary would not marry Smith until she had received a witness from God for herself. She prayed about the proposal, and reported that she saw an angel pass through her room. Smith's first wife, Emma Smith, knew about the marriage. Mary later reported that she knew that Smith had other children by his plural wives. Mary signed an affidavit in 1902 to document her sealing to Smith.

After Joseph Smith's death in 1844, Mary was sealed to Brigham Young. The sealing was performed in the Nauvoo Temple on May 22, 1845. Mary recorded, "I was also sealed to Brigham Young as proxy for Joseph." When Mary lived in Minersville, she records that Young stopped by to visit. She wrote to him and updated him on how her family was doing throughout her life. Through correspondence letters between Mary and Eliza R. Snow, it appears that Mary knew and was friendly towards other plural wives of Young.