There was Lydia Goldthwait Baily, a convert of great charm, whose husband refused either to follow her to Kirtland or to grant her a divorce. Newel Knight, now a widower, fell in love with her, and there were few men for whom Joseph had so deep an affection. Newel, a trusted friend, gentle and generous, became so despairing over the hopelessness of his lot that Joseph was sorely tempted to defy the law in his favor. Finally, on November 23, 1835, he married them in a simple ceremony in the Knight home.
