is there a place for heavenly mother in mormon theology?

S U N S T O N E
lice did finally find her, it took some extensive
questioning to get her to admit that she
was really Elizabeth Smart and not
“Augustine,” the name given her by her abductor,
Brian Mitchell.
However, the family emphasizes that
Elizabeth feared for her life and her family’s
life—that she had been convinced by
Mitchell that he had followers who were
watching her family’s home, ready to kill
them if she disobeyed. It has been argued
that Elizabeth’s strict Mormon upbringing
with its emphasis on obedience and respect
for elders may have made her more susceptible
to brainwashing. But the Smarts certainly
do not make this argument. In fact, as
if in answer, they make a point of noting that
their religion “emphasizes freedom of choice”
(19) and that Elizabeth had been raised with
“the ability to think freely, make good
choices, and believe in a loving Heavenly
Father” (21).
THE struggles of the family during this
ordeal are dizzying in their ups and
downs. Each new episode, from the
“utter disbelief and shock” of finding their
daughter missing (2), to feeling “resentful of
the [investigation’s] focus on the extended
Smart family” (91), to the confusion over
several false leads, is given lengthy explanation,
with both criticism and praise of the police
and media meted out.
The picture painted of the Salt Lake City
Police Department is often unflattering. We
learn that in the early hours of the investigation,
the police assumed that either Elizabeth
was a runaway or that the perpetrator was a
family member; therefore, a vigorous search
of the surrounding canyon (which might
well have found Elizabeth and her captor,
who were at the time fleeing on foot) was not
initiated until much later that day. Ed writes:
I remember feeling as if the police
didn’t have control over the situation.
It was as if they were waiting
for something to happen or for
someone to come and tell them
what to do. I was bothered that
they weren’t out there looking for
my daughter. . . . The house had
not yet been sealed as a crime
scene, which was confusing and
troubling to us. Looking back, this
turned out to be a huge oversight
on the part of the police. (49–50)
The Smarts express understanding for the
need to investigate family members, noting
that “forty-eight percent of the time a child
goes missing . . . the culprit is a close family
member or friend” (54), but they are understandably
pained when male family members,
including Elizabeth’s older brother, are
repeatedly questioned about the possibility
of their involvement in the crime.
One cannot in fairness fault the Smarts for
their desire to defend their family. However,
they make a point of certain facts that now
seem irrelevant (that Ed really did call 911
before he called his brother—phone records
show this!). They describe Ed’s hospitalization
for a “mild nervous breakdown” (73—a
The most interesting
aspect of this book is
the way it serves as
promotional material
for the Mormon Church.
One cannot help but
get the message that
the Smarts got their
daughter back because
of their exemplary faith.
term with an accepted meaning among
laypeople, but no specific medical meaning),
which no doubt was deeply embarrassing at
the time.
The Smarts do officially thank the police
in the book. But we are left to understand
that without the pressure exerted by Salt
Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, whom the
Smarts roundly praise, Police Chief Rick
Dinse and the Salt Lake force might never
have followed the leads necessary to eventually
find Elizabeth.
Throughout the book, the news media
play both hero and villain. Leading the good
guys is the host of America’s Most Wanted,
John Walsh, who (although it is not noted in
the book) himself lost a son to kidnapping
and murder. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine
this story’s being resolved successfully
without Walsh’s help. A couple of months
after the abduction, media interest had
dropped significantly. Without Walsh’s willingness
to air possible new leads, one of
which eventually led to Mitchell, it is possible
Elizabeth wouldn’t have been found as
quickly as she was or at all. As it happened,
photographs of Mitchell and Barzee were
provided by Barzee’s family members after
they saw Walsh’s show. “Aside from God’s
help, the media was the most important instrument
in bringing our daughter home,”
the Smarts attest (9).
The Smarts mention the infamous
National Inquirer story; however, they “declined
to acknowledge the scandalous report”
(100) at the time of its printing and
decline to include the headline in their
book. 1 They do note that they have received
a retraction and settlement from the Inquirer.
They only allude to the debacle that followed
at the Salt Lake Tribune, in which two reporters
(who had provided the Inquirer with
information) were fired and the editor resigned.
AS their story drags on for nine
months, there are several false leads
that at one point or another were
pursued vigorously. It is in the detailed account
of one particular false lead that the
narrators appear the coldest. Richard Ricci
was the focus of many months of investigative
effort by the Salt Lake police. As is obvious
now, he did not abduct Elizabeth. But
for many months—both before and after his
death from a brain aneurysm while he was
being held in a local jail—he was the police’s
prime suspect. The family’s involvement with
Ricci is an odd story. We learn that the Smart
family generously hired this eager but not
very able worker and that he spent about
three months working in their home. We
learn that the Smarts agreed to sell him their
old Jeep in exchange for some of his work.
He repays their kindness by attempting to
take off with the Jeep before finishing the
work and then stealing some of the family’s
jewelry. All this takes place many months
prior to Elizabeth’s disappearance.
When the police take Ricci in for questioning
about the kidnapping, he adamantly
denies involvement but does end up admitting
to the theft and is also indicted for an
armed bank robbery he had been involved
with much earlier. There is evidence that he
took a long car trip around the time of
Elizabeth’s abduction, but he adamantly refused
to provide an alibi. “Police had hoped
that leaving him in solitary confinement
would prompt a confession about Elizabeth,
but Ricci never admitted to any involvement”
PAGE 50 JULY 2004