D&C 135 – John Taylor reports the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith
Historical Context
Steven Harper gives the following historical background to D&C 135:
It was “a deliberate political assassination, committed or condoned by some of the leading citizens of Hancock County.”[1]Dallin H. Oaks and Marvin S. Hill, Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith (Urbana, 1975), 6, 214. That’s how law professor Dallin H. Oaks and co-author Marvin S. Hill described the murder of Joseph Smith, who was butchered with his brother Hyrum on June 27, 1844.
Apostles John Taylor and Willard Richards were voluntarily with Joseph and Hyrum in jail when they were murdered on June 27, 1844. They survived as witnesses of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, the Prophet Joseph Smith who restored it, and his brutal martyrdom. Their witness is declared in section 135.
Section 135 is a eulogy of the Prophet and an indictment of the state and nation that allowed him to be slain. As such, its tone is a rich mixture of reverence and disdain, praise and contempt. Attributed to John Taylor, who was himself shot repeatedly in the massacre, the document has an apostolic air. It declares a witness in certain terms. It announces Joseph Smith’s significance to mankind, his translation of the Book of Mormon and spreading of the gospel, his receipt of revelations, the gathering of Israel, the founding of Nauvoo, and, with Hyrum, the sealing of his testimony with his life.
Though critics have knowingly manipulated the language of verse 3 to make it sound as if Latter-day Saints value Joseph Smith more than Jesus Christ, the text does not say that, nor do Latter-day Saints believe it. Rather, they praise Joseph Smith because he revealed Jesus Christ, which no one had done for more than a millennium. Section 135 testifies that Joseph and Hyrum died innocent and that their deaths put their testaments in full force. It testifies that the Lord will avenge their deaths and that the honest-hearted in all nations will be touched by their testimony of Jesus Christ.
Section 135 emphasizes the enduring significance of Joseph Smith and his testimony. Joseph regarded himself as “obscure,” a “boy of no consequence” (Joseph Smith—History 1:23), but at age seventeen he received from an angel named Moroni the improbable news that “my name should be had for good and evil among all nations” (v. 33). In his own lifetime his name became known for good and evil in Nauvoo, in Illinois, in the United States, and now globally. However unlikely, Moroni’s prophecy has been fulfilled. Bostonian Josiah Quincy visited Joseph shortly before he went to Carthage. Quincy wrote that Joseph Smith was “born in the lowest ranks of poverty” and came of age “without book-learning and with the homeliest of all human names” and that by the end of his shortened life he had become “a power on earth.”[2]Josiah Quincy, Figures of the Past From the Leaves of Old Journals (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1883), 337.
It is not remarkable that a flawed teenage Joseph sought forgiveness in the woods and at his bedside, nor that he had to repent relentlessly and grow into his demanding calling, nor that he often felt frustrated at both himself and the Saints, nor that his testimony deeply touched the hearts of some and antagonized others, nor that it continues to do so. The remarkable thing about Joseph Smith, as section 135 emphasizes, is what he did. Who else has brought forth the equivalent of the Book of Mormon or the Doctrine and Covenants? Who else restored the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ? “He left a fame and a name,” no matter how plain, “that cannot be slain” (D&C 135:3). In every way he gave his life for the Lord’s work. What a life!
“Fanatics and imposters are living and dying every day,” Josiah Quincy wrote,
and their memory is buried with them; but the wonderful influence which this founder of a religion exerted and still exerts throws him into relief before us, not as a rogue to be criminated, but as a phenomenon to be explained. The most vital questions Americans are asking each other today have to do with this man and what he has left us.[3]Quincy, Figures of the Past, 317.
That is Joseph Smith’s significance and his appeal: he revealed the answers to the ultimate questions: Why am I here? Where did I come from? Where am I going? Is there purpose in life? What is the nature of people? Are individuals free agents or determined? What is the nature of the Savior’s atonement? Does it reach those who do not hear the gospel in mortality? And perhaps above all, what is the nature of God?
“If I am so fortunate as to be the man to comprehend God, and explain or convey the principles to your hearts, so that the Spirit seals them upon you,” Joseph taught just a few weeks before he was murdered, “then let every man and woman henceforth sit in silence, put their hands on their mouths, and never lift their hands or voices, or say anything against the man of God, or the servants of God again.”[4]“History, 1838–1856, volume E-1 [1 July 1843–30 April 1844],” 1969, The Joseph Smith Papers. Joseph answered the ultimate questions as a witness. He beheld angels, translated by the power of God, received visions and revelations. He knew God and Christ. He thus died as a testator—a witness. Section 135 announces that a testator had been killed, but his testimony endures forever.
The Destruction of the Press
Casey Paul Griffiths gives some context to the destruction of the printing press established in Nauvoo to oppose Joseph Smith:
In the spring of 1844, internal dissentions among the Saints and external tensions with their neighbors in surrounding communities were reaching a breaking point. Leaders of neighboring towns became jealous of Nauvoo’s increasing population, its temple, and its growing prosperity. Antagonists in other communities threatened violence against all Latter-day Saints residing in Nauvoo if the Saints did not abandon their holdings and leave the state. Thomas Sharp, editor of the Warsaw Signal, a local newspaper, wrote, “Joe Smith is not safe out of Nauvoo. We would not be surprised to hear of his death by violent means in a short time.”[5]Warsaw Signal, May 29, 1844. Meanwhile, apostates among the Saints who shared Sharp’s sentiments laid plans to murder the Prophet.
Joseph Smith initially believed these men “would not scare off an old setting hen,” but when their negative views were printed in the Nauvoo Expositor, they ignited public sentiment.[6]Discourse, 24 March 1844-A, as Reported by Wilford Woodruff, p. 214, JSP. Joseph, acting as mayor of Nauvoo, met with the Nauvoo city council to discuss the libelous accusations printed in the Expositor. The decision of the city council, stemming from the discussions, was to denounce the newspaper as a public nuisance and to authorize the Nauvoo sheriff to stop future publication of the Expositor. Dallin H. Oaks later addressed the legality of these actions:
As a young law professor pursuing original research, I was pleased to find a legal basis for this action in the Illinois law of 1844. The amendment to the United States Constitution that extended the guarantee of freedom of the press to protect against the actions of city and state governments was not adopted until 1868, and it was not enforced as a matter of federal law until 1931.[7]See Dallin H. Oaks, “The Suppression of the Nauvoo Expositor,” Utah Law Review 9 [1965]: 862. We should judge the actions of our predecessors on the basis of the laws and commandments and circumstances of their day, not ours.
The destruction of the Expositor press may not have been illegal, but it further enflamed the passions of the Saints’ antagonists. The actions of the Nauvoo sheriff and his posse led the publishers of the Expositor to accuse Joseph and the Nauvoo city council with starting a riot. Joseph was arrested (and discharged twice) on charges of destroying the Expositor press. These legal actions failed to placate the enemies of the Saints, who were intent on bringing Joseph Smith to trial.
Joseph and Hyrum attempted to avoid submitting themselves into the hands of their enemies. They took a small group and crossed the Mississippi River, hoping their absence would defuse the situation. They were thwarted when several ill-advised friends counseled them to submit to the law in Carthage. Upon hearing the pleas from those in Nauvoo, Joseph said, “If my life is of no value to my friends[,] it is of none to myself.”[8]JS History, vol. F-1, p. 148, JSP. On Monday morning, June 24, 1844, Joseph and Hyrum journeyed to Carthage, the county seat of Hancock County. In Carthage, the accusations of riot, linked to the incident with the Nauvoo Expositor, were elevated to treason. The local hostile militias in Carthage openly declared that Joseph and Hyrum would not leave Carthage alive: “There was nothing against these men [the Smith brothers]; the law could not reach them[,] but powder and ball would, and they should not go out of Carthage alive.”[9]JS History, vol. F-1, p. 158, JSP.
Even Thomas Ford, the governor of Illinois, joined the chorus of conspirators, mobbers, and militia in abetting the deaths of Joseph and Hyrum. “Could my brother Hyrum but be liberated,” Joseph told one of his companions, “it would not matter so much about me.”[10]JS History, vol. F-1, p. 168, JSP. Writing to his wife Emma, Joseph confided on the day of the martyrdom, “I am very much resigned to my lot, knowing I am justified, and have done the best that could be done. Give my love to the children and all my friends.”[11]JS History, vol. F-1, p. 175, JSP.
I highly recommend this video “The Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith” produced by the Joseph Smith Papers and hosted by Glen Rawson. This video covers the details of Joseph’s initial arrest, as well as the complications associated with his posting bail for the initial charge of riot, and being re-arrested and charged with treason.[12]Gordon A. Madsen explains the complications of the mittimus issued by the sheriff at the 18:30 mark of the video. Madsen contends that Governor Ford knew that Joseph was being held illegally at … Continue reading The video also covers the details of Wednesday and Thursday, the 26th and 27th of June, 1844.[13]Historian Kenneth W. Godfrey lays out many of the events that transpired on the evening of the 26th and the day of the 27th of June up to the time of the assassination of Joseph and Hyrum in this … Continue reading
Timeline[14]I combine elements of the timeline of events with McConkie and Ostler’s commentary as found in Revelations of the Restoration, p. 1125-1126, as well as some of the historical information … Continue reading
Some of the events leading to the martyrdom were as follows:
July 12, 1843: Revelation on plural marriage (D&C 132) recorded.[15]One author put this in context in this way: “Section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants is perhaps Joseph Smith’s most historically influential revelation after the Book of Mormon. Its … Continue reading
August, 1843: Hyrum Smith reveals plural marriage to the Nauvoo High Council.[16]This was mid-August, 1843. See Benjamin Park, Kingdom of Nauvoo: The Rise and Fall of a Religious Empire on the American Frontier, Liveright Publishing, 2020, p. 168-169.
August 5, 1843: Hyrum Smith and William Law publicly disagree[17]After Hyrum advised the people to vote for Hoge, William Law, counselor in the First Presidency of the Church, addressed the Saints and “stated that to his certain knowledge the Prophet Joseph was … Continue reading before “a large concourse of people” at the grove in Nauvoo over who the Saints should vote in the August 7 election for U.S. House of Representatives: The Whig candidate Cyrus Walker, or the Democrat: Joseph Hoge.[18]This disagreement between William Law and Hyrum Smith helps to contextualize the views that outsiders had regarding the power concentrated in Nauvoo and more specifically in Joseph Smith. According … Continue reading
August 19, 1843: A bipartisan meeting of political leaders in Illinois gather in Warsaw to discuss steps to revoke the Nauvoo Charter.[19]This came about because of the frustration that many in Illinois felt at Joseph’s ability to escape arrest due his legal maneuverability of the Nauvoo Charter. See Park, 179. At another meeting … Continue reading
Fall 1843: Hyrum Smith informs William Law of plural marriage.[20]Richard Bushman gives this description of William Law and his close association with the Prophet Joseph Smith: William Law gained Joseph’s confidence after he came to Nauvoo in 1839. An … Continue reading
October 11, 1843: Joseph, Hyrum, and William Law[21]Park writes, “It is difficult to know whether Jane was present” at this meeting. See Park, p. 178. discuss plural marriage at the John Benbow farm outside of Nauvoo.
December 8, 1843: The Nauvoo City Council doubles down on their powers to prevent Joseph Smith’s arrest by Missourians.[22]The City Council passed an ordinance on December 8, 1843 dictating that any person who attempted to arrest Joseph Smith based on any Missouri charge would themselves be arrested on the spot, tried by … Continue reading
April 7, 1844: Joseph Smith gives The King Follett Sermon.[23]With bombshells bursting around him, Joseph continued to meet weekly with the Council of Fifty to plan western explorations and keep the presidential campaign moving. Temple construction resumed as … Continue reading
Late April 1844: Dissenters in Nauvoo organize their own church, one week after the Laws and Fosters are excommunicated.[24]These dissenters, estimated to number around 300 in and around Nauvoo, held weekly meetings, and sought recruits, teaching their members that Joseph Smith was a “fallen prophet and that William Law … Continue reading
June 7, 1844: The Nauvoo Expositor is published.
June 10, 1844: The Nauvoo Expositor Press is destroyed, as ordered by the Nauvoo City Council.[25]William Law went to Carthage, the seat of Hancock County, to swear out a complaint against Joseph Smith for inciting a riot and unlawfully destroying property. Law claimed that the losses amounted to … Continue reading
June 11, 1844: Thomas Sharp writes in his Warsaw paper that “War and Extermination is inevitable! Citizens arise one and all! … Let it be done with powder and ball!”[26]Warsaw Signal, June 11, 1844.
June 18, 1844: Joseph Smith declared martial law in Nauvoo and called the Nauvoo Legion to protect the city.[27]Launius, p. 20. Joseph drew his sword and publicly exclaimed, “I call God and angels to witness that I have unsheathed my sword with a firm determination that this people shall have their legal … Continue reading
June 22, 1844: Governor Ford tells representatives of the Church that if Joseph did not submit himself to arrest, “I have great fears that your city will be destroyed, and your people many of them exterminated.”[28]Smith, History of the Church, 6:536; Launius, p. 21. Joseph is warned to flee to the Rocky Mountains.[29]Saturday, June 22, 1844.—About 9 p. m. Hyrum came out of the Mansion and gave his hand to Reynolds Cahoon, at the same time saying, “A company of men are seeking to kill my brother Joseph, and … Continue reading
June 23, 1844: Joseph and Hyrum cross the Mississippi, and begin to make preparations to go west and leave Nauvoo. Early in the morning a posse arrived in Nauvoo to arrest Joseph, but as they did not find him, they started back to Carthage immediately, leaving one man of the name of Yates behind them, who said to one of the brethren that Governor Ford designed that if Joseph and Hyrum were not given up, he would send his troops and guard the city until they were found, if it took three years to do it.[30]BYU Studies. Joseph consults with Reynolds Cahoon, and reads a letter written to him by his wife Emma.[31]At 1 p. m. Emma sent over Orrin P. Rockwell, requesting him to entreat of Joseph to come back. Reynolds Cahoon accompanied him with a letter which Emma had written to the same effect, and she … Continue reading
Monday, 24 June 1844: “Joseph and Hyrum Smith, accompanied by seventeen friends, started for Carthage, to submit to another trial, under pledge of protection from Governor Thomas Ford. Joseph paused when they got to the Temple, and looked with admiration first on that, and then on the city, and remarked, “This is the loveliest place and the best people under the heavens; little do they know the trials that await them.”[32]History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 6 by Joseph Smith, Jr.) On the way they received a demand from the governor to surrender the State arms in possession of the … Continue reading and then proceeded to Carthage.”[33]Revelations of the Restoration, p. 1125. Joseph and his companions found lodging in Hamilton’s tavern near the courthouse, awaiting the legal proceedings the following day.[34]Launius, p. 22. When Joseph arrived in Carthage, Ford promised the mob he would parade Joseph in front of them the following day.[35]“The Governor put his head out of the window and very fawningly said, “I know your great anxiety to see Mr. Smith, which is natural enough, but it is quite too late tonight for you to have … Continue reading
Tuesday, 25 June: Joseph Smith and his brethren surrendered themselves to a constable at Carthage and are later released on the charge of inciting a riot as they post bail. They are then re-arrested on the charge of treason, a capital offense.[36]Gordon A. Madsen explains the complications of the mittimus issued by the sheriff at the 18:30 mark of this video, showing why this charge and the holding of the prophet in custody was illegal, … Continue reading Governor Ford parades Joseph in front of the troops in Carthage.[37]From the General’s quarters Joseph and Hyrum went in front of the lines, in a hollow square of a company of Carthage Greys. At seven minutes before ten they arrived in front of the lines, and … Continue reading Joseph warns Orrin Porter Rockwell not to come to Carthage.[38]Joseph also sent a message to Orrin P. Rockwell not to come to Carthage, but to stay in Nauvoo, and not to suffer himself to be delivered into the hands of his enemies, or to be taken a prisoner by … Continue reading Joseph interviews many of the militia officers in his room at Carthage.[39]Several of the officers of the troops in Carthage, and other gentlemen, curious to see the Prophet, visited Joseph in his room. General Smith asked them if there was anything in his appearance that … Continue reading
Wednesday, 26 June: “Governor Ford had a long interview with the prisoners in Carthage jail. He renewed his promises of protection and said, if he went to Nauvoo, he would take them with him.”
Thursday, 27 June: “Governor Ford went to Nauvoo, leaving the prisoners in jail to be guarded by their most bitter enemies, the ‘Carthage Greys.’ About 5:20 p. m. an armed mob with blackened faces surrounded and entered the jail, and murdered Joseph and Hyrum Smith in cold blood; Apostle John Taylor was severely wounded, while Apostle Willard Richards only received a slight wound on his ear.”[40]Jenson, Church Chronology, 25-26.
June 29, 1844: The bodies of Joseph and Hyrum were returned to Nauvoo.
William Law
William and Jane Law played an important part in the events that led to the assassination of Joseph and Hyrum Smith on June 27 1844. William served a mission with Hyrum Smith, and until 1843 was a very close associate of both Hyrum and Joseph, even building his family home near Joseph and Emma’s home. William Law was in the First Presidency of the Church during the time that he became more and more disaffected with Joseph Smith and Joseph’s behavior, and by the time William is given sure knowledge of the practice of plural marriage, both he and Jane are troubled to say the least.
Reasons William Law left the Church
William Law’s disaffection with the Prophet is a type for many of the people that worked against Joseph Smith’s authority in 1844. Why did William Law leave the Church? Getting down to his core issues can help moderns examine their own foundations of faith. When individuals are having a crisis of faith and they come to me with concerns, I ask the question, “How far down do your cracks go?” We must dig around the foundation stones to examine them carefully to see the depths of these cracks. For example, I try to get the person having the crisis of faith to articulate where the cracks exist. Do they believe in God? If they do not, then issues involving Joseph Smith’s plural marriages or how he contracted these unions are irrelevant. We need to first talk about the existence of God. For William Law, he seems to still have believed in God and the practices of the Church, but from reading Law’s own words, his issue really had to do with Joseph’s exercising his authority and plural marriage. Those seem to have been his core issues.
Historian Lyndon Cook provides greater details into the mind of William Law:
According to his own statements made just prior to and after his excommunication William Law turned against the Prophet because of William’s perception that (1) Joseph was totally ungovernable and defiant and was determined to obey or disobey the law of the land at his convenience ie., a claim to higher law (2) Joseph united church and state both as mayor of Nauvoo (in the passage of city ordinances and the use of police power) and as an influential religious leader by manipulating or seeking to manipulate politicians[41]As to manipulating politicians, one historian relates that when Joseph was arrested in Dixon, Illinois on 23 June, 1843, that he acquired the legal services of lawyer Cyrus Walker, a Whig candidate … Continue reading for private purposes (ie., breakdown of the rule of law); (3) Joseph had allowed the established judicial order of church government[42]William Law points out that the rules for removing him from the First Presidency of the Church had been violated. Law was also upset that the record of his removal by the Church court was not kept … Continue reading to be trampled underfoot; (4) Joseph had attempted to control the temporal financial interests of the Mormon people[43]William Law owned lots in the upper part of Nauvoo that were in direct competition with lots owned by Joseph that existed in the lower part of the city. By 1843 the fundamental economic interests of … Continue reading by ecclesiastical authority; and (5) more importantly Joseph had corrupted the church by introducing false and damnable doctrines such as a plurality of gods a plurality of wives and the doctrine of unconditional sealing up unto eternal life (ie., Joseph Smith was a fallen prophet).
Despite a growing antagonism, William had restrained his feelings and dissembled his opposition as best he could. He was hoping things would change for the better. Although at first Law found himself occupying a middle ground between rational conviction and emotional uncertainty, he became progressively more confident that Joseph Smith was in transgression. It was not until perhaps April or May 1844 that he organized his thinking in such a way as to systematically attack his enemy.((Lyndon W. Cook, William Law, Nauvoo Dissenter, BYU Studies Volume 22, Issue 1, 1982, p. 56.))
William Law will eventually lead the charge of those in Nauvoo who opposed Joseph, and would work to acquire the printing press that would be publish the one and only edition of the Nauvoo Expositor. The destruction of this printing press by the Nauvoo authorities would lead to Joseph Smith’s arrest and appearing before the legal authorities in Carthage.
D&C 135.3 – Joseph Smith has done more save Jesus
How Joseph Smith ranks among the prophets, both past and future, we know not, nor do we think there is any particular merit in weighing the faithful labors of one servant of the Lord against those of another. However, we know that among all those chosen of God to labor in his name, none have been privileged to do a labor that would have a greater effect on more of our Father’s children than that of the prophet Joseph Smith. Illustrating this point, President Wilford Woodruff commented, “Why, did he [the Lord] call him [Joseph Smith] into the spirit world? Because he held the keys of this dispensation, not only before he came to this world and while he was in the flesh, but he would hold them throughout the endless ages of eternity (D&C 90:3). He held the keys of past generations— of the millions of people who dwelt on the earth in the fifty generations that had passed and gone who had not the law of the gospel, who never saw a prophet, never saw an Apostle, never heard the voice of any man who was inspired of God and had power to teach them the gospel of Christ, and to organize the church of Christ on earth. He went to unlock the prison doors to these people, as far as they would receive his testimony, and the Saints of God who dwell in the flesh will build temples unto the name of the Lord, and enter these temples and perform certain ordinances for the redemption of the dead. This was the work of Joseph the prophet in the spirit world.”[44]Conference Report, April 1880, 8-9.
Joseph Smith stands at the head of the gospel dispensation that may include the majority of the premortal host. More people will learn of Christ and his gospel by missionaries who trace both their commission to teach and their understanding of Christ through the Prophet Joseph Smith than will be the case in any other dispensation or with any other prophet who ever lived.[45]Revelations of the Restoration, p. 1129-1130.
Under his direction, the gospel would be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. Temples would be built in which the work for the living and the dead would be available. Prophets of former dispensations looked forward to this dispensation for the fulfillment of the promises made to and by them. In fact, all the heads of dispensations, along with other prophets, appeared to Joseph Smith and restored keys and knowledge that had been lost. All the dispensations of the past have come together in the dispensation of the fulness of times. No other prophet has brought forth more scripture than has Joseph Smith. Through him, the Lord revealed to the world the Book of Mormon; the writings of Moses, Enoch and Abraham, as found in the Pearl of Great Price; the Doctrine and Covenants; the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible; and many other inspired and revealed statements among his recorded sermons and personal history.[46]Garrett and Robinson, Commentary, volume 4.
D&C 135.7 – Under the altar that John saw
Reference is to the vision seen by John the Revelator in the book of Revelation. He saw under the altar of the temple “the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled” (Revelation 6:9-11).
John sees the blood of those who died for Christ as being—like the blood of the sacrificial lambs—Christ’s blood, for these were his servants and acted in his name. As he was to be honored with crowns of glory, so will they be honored.[47]Revelations, p.1130.
The Greatest Influence
Josiah Quincy, a man who eventually became mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, wrote in his book, The Figures of the Past, “What the passer-by would instinctively have murmured upon meeting the remarkable individual who had fashioned the mould which was to shape the feeling of so many thousands. . . . Capacity and resource were natural to his stalwart person. . . .
“It is by no means improbable that some future textbook, for the use of generations yet unborn, will contain a question something like this: What historical American of the nineteenth century has exerted the most powerful influence upon the destinies of his countrymen? And it is by no means impossible that the answer to that interrogatory may be thus written: Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet.”[48]Josiah Quincy, Figures of the Past, p. 376. Quincy continues: “The man who established a religion in this age of free debate, who was and is today accepted by hundreds and thousands as a direct … Continue reading
D&C 136
Historical background is given by Steven Harper:
Of all the would-be successors to Joseph Smith, only Brigham Young understood what was at stake. He explained that no one could lead the Church without the keys of the holy priesthood which Joseph had received from ministering angels. Joseph had conferred those keys on Brigham and eight other apostles.
Joseph had gathered them three months before his death and said,
It may be that my enemies will kill me, and in case they should, and the keys and power which rest on me not be imparted to you, they will be lost from the earth; but if I can only succeed in placing them upon your heads, then let me fall a victim to murderous hands if God will suffer it, and I can go with all pleasure and satisfaction, knowing that my work is done, and the foundation laid on which the kingdom of God is to be reared in this dispensation of the fullness of times. Upon the shoulders of the Twelve must the responsibility of leading this church hence forth rest until you shall appoint others to succeed you. … Thus can this power and these keys be perpetuated in the Earth.[49]In Declaration of the Twelve, Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878, Church History Library, Salt Lake City; spelling, punctuation, and capitalization modernized. See: The Work of God Rolls … Continue reading
Joseph and his brother Hyrum then confirmed the ordinations of each of the apostles who were present, and Joseph gave them a final charge. “I roll the burthen and responsibility of leading this church off from my shoulders on to yours,” he declared. “Now, round up your shoulders and stand under it like men; for the Lord is going to let me rest.”[50]Declaration of the apostles, circa September 1844 to March 1845, Church History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.
As president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Brigham Young explained these principles to the Saints on August 8, 1844. Many, including Martha Tuttle Gardner, received a confirming witness from the Lord. She testified that Brigham Young “told the people that although Joseph was dead, Joseph had left behind the keys of the Kingdom and had conferred the same power & authority that he himself possessed upon the Twelve Apostles and the Church would not be left without a leader and a guide.”
Martha had written reverently of witnessing the (capital P) Prophet Joseph Smith, and she now confidently transferred that designation to “the Prophet Brigham Young.” She wrote that he “had the Nauvoo Temple finished” and endowed her with power there early in 1845. Then, under Brigham’s leadership, she and many other Saints fled Nauvoo for peace and safety somewhere in the West.[51]Testimony written by Martha Tuttle Gardner.
President Young led them across Iowa Territory, and they camped for the winter on the banks of the Missouri River. There, in a January 1847 council meeting, the Prophet Brigham Young asked the Lord to reveal “the best manner of organizing companies for emigration.” The Lord answered. “President Young commenced to give the Word and Will of God concerning the emigration of the Saints,” section 136.[52]At 4:30 PM the council adjourned. At seven, the Twelve met at Elder Benson’s. President Young continued to dictate the word and will of the Lord. Council adjourned at ten P.M., when President Young … Continue reading It is concerned with three basic issues: governing authority, camp organization, and individual behavior.[53] Richard E. Bennett, We’ll Find the Place: The Mormon Exodus 1846–1848 (Salt Lake City: Deseret, 1997), 70.
The key words in the early verses of section 136 are organized and covenant. The Saints were to be organized into companies “under the direction of the Twelve Apostles” (D&C 136:3). “And this shall be our covenant—that we will walk in all the ordinances of the Lord” (v. 4). Like Martha, many of them had recently made temple covenants in Nauvoo. Section 136 tells them how to consecrate their lives to Zion. It reiterates the principles of consecration that pervade so many of Joseph Smith’s revelations. The first principle is agency. Section 136 tells the Saints how to act relative to organization, preparation, property, contention, the commandments to not covet and or take the Lord’s name in vain, alcohol, fear, sorrow, and ignorance. The Lord prescribes specific behaviors for each of these.
Another principle of consecration is stewardship. Free agents act upon stewardships, or what the Lord gives them to act upon. “Thou shalt be diligent in preserving what thou hast,” he commands in verse 27, “that thou mayest be a wise steward; for it is the free gift of the Lord thy God, and thou art his steward.” Section 136 gives commands that tell the Saints how to act relative to stewardships that include draft animals, seeds, farming tools, widows, orphans, the families of the men who have joined the United States Army, houses, fields, and the Saints who will follow in later waves of migration. He adds instructions for the use of “influence and property” (D&C 136:10) and even for borrowed and lost property.
Another principle of consecration is accountability. Verse 19 declares the consequence of failing to keep one’s covenant to walk in the ordinances of the Lord: “And if any man shall seek to build himself up, and seeketh not my counsel, he shall have no power, and his folly shall be made manifest,” suggesting that one’s endowment of power is dependent on keeping the covenants made in the endowment ordinance (D&C 136:4, 19; emphasis added).
The motif of pilgrims in search of a promised land, of exodus as a sanctifying precondition to finding and becoming Zion, is common in scripture and the backbone of section 136. It casts the Saints as a modern Camp of Israel (D&C 136:1), following the “God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob” as they are led through the wilderness by a modern Moses in search of a promised land (vv. 21–22). They are wanderers, exiles even from the United States, upon which the Lord prophesies an imminent punishment for rejecting the Saints’ testimony and killing the prophets “that were sent unto them” (vv. 34–36). In these ways section 136 includes the Latter-day Saints with all the former faithful of past dispensations, those section 45 describes as “pilgrims on the earth” who wandered in search of Zion and “obtained a promise that they should find it” (D&C 45:12–14).
Finally, section 136 explains Joseph Smith’s martyrdom from the Lord’s perspective. “Many have marveled because of his death,” the Lord omnisciently knows, “but it was needful that he should seal his testimony with his blood, that he might be honored and the wicked might be condemned” (D&C 136:39). From the Lord’s vantage, allowing Joseph to die as a testator was a wise move that left an enduring witness of His name even as it delivered the Saints, including Joseph, from their enemies (v. 40). The revelation ends with a poetic covenant in verse 42, promising deliverance on the condition that the Saints choose to diligently keep commandments.
Section 136 resulted in the best organized and executed overland emigration in American history. However, it may be more important for the way it established Brigham Young as a revelator. Saints exercised faith to see in him their (capital P) Prophet, and it required personal sacrifice. Section 136 confirmed the correctness of their choice. There was much outspoken criticism of Brigham before and after section 136. The Saints had other options besides him.[54]Bennett, We’ll Find the Place, 69.
Apostle Heber Kimball noted in his journal that section 136 was the first revelation “penned since Joseph was killed. … The Lord has given it through the President for the good of this people as they are traveling to the west.”[55] Heber C. Kimball, Journal, January 19, 1847, Church History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Jedediah Grant voiced what many Saints felt. “Since the death of Joseph, [I] have believed that the keys of revelation were in the Church. When I heard that [section 136] read I felt a light and joy and satisfied that the Holy Ghost had dictated the words within.”[56]As quoted by Willard Richards, Journal, January 15, 1847, Church History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.
For Saints who had covenanted to literally “walk in all the ordinances of the Lord” up and over the Rocky Mountains as outcasts, section 136 would sustain them in the heat of the day (D&C 136:4). Joseph was gone, but the Prophet Brigham Young was just as much a Moses (D&C 28:3).
Brigham’s Legacy: Building the Great Basin Kingdom
Hartley[57]Coming to Zion: Saga of the Gathering, Ensign, July 1975. writes: More than 80,000 converts came from Europe between 1840 and 1900 in what one historian called “the largest and most successful group immigration in United States history.”[58]Maldwyn A. Jones, American Immigration, Chicago, 1960, p. 126, emphasis added. In addition, other thousands in this century have come on their own from all over the world to make their homes among the Saints.
During the 19th century, “gathering” to Zion was the second step after conversion…
By 1847, a decade after missionaries first preached the gospel in England, 250 branches and 30,000 members functioned there, more members than there were in the Salt Lake Valley. Within another decade thousands of converts joined the Church throughout Europe, particularly in Scandinavia after 1850, and the spirit of gathering also touched Utah Saints to assist those who desired to come.
U.S. historian H. H. Bancroft stresses the difficulty of reaching pre-railroad Utah: “Excepting perhaps some parts of Soudan,” he wrote, “there were … few places in the world more difficult to reach than the valley of the Great Salt Lake.”[59]Hubert Howe Bancroft, History of Utah, San Francisco, The History Company, 1889, p. 418, emphasis added. For immigrants, the journey across ocean, plains, and mountains totaled 5,000 miles. But thanks to Church organizational skills and resources, most immigrants avoided many hardships and mistakes that usually plagued inexperienced travelers.
Historian John Turner writes:
Beginning with settlements at Ogden to the north and on Utah Lake to the south, Mormon settlers established roughly one hundred colonies over the next ten years (1847-1857). Often at great cost to their personal finances and safety, men and families were called by Brigham Young to undertake the hard work of establishing settlements. Church leaders promoted colonization to stake a political claim to a vast territory, to make possible the allocation of land to future emigrants, to promote self sufficiency in agriculture and other economic enterprises, and to evangelize the Native Americans…
By the mid-1850’s, the Mormons under Brigham Young’s leadership had audaciously laid claim to a thousand-mile corridor of colonies and forts within the American West.[60]John Turner, Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet, Harvard University Press, 2012, p. 181.
Of central importance was the Perpetual Emigration Fund, sometimes called the “Poor Fund.” Established at first to help Nauvoo exiles move to Utah, it became a revolving fund raised in Utah and Europe by donations of money and goods to finance part or all of the immigrants’ journey. “We expect,” wrote Brigham Young in 1849, “that all who are benefited by its [Fund] operations will be willing to reimburse that amount as soon as they are able.”[61]Andrew Jenson, “Church Emigration,” Contributor, 13 (December 1891), p. 82. Such repayments would fund the next immigrants.
References
| ↑1 | Dallin H. Oaks and Marvin S. Hill, Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith (Urbana, 1975), 6, 214. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Josiah Quincy, Figures of the Past From the Leaves of Old Journals (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1883), 337. |
| ↑3 | Quincy, Figures of the Past, 317. |
| ↑4 | “History, 1838–1856, volume E-1 [1 July 1843–30 April 1844],” 1969, The Joseph Smith Papers. |
| ↑5 | Warsaw Signal, May 29, 1844. |
| ↑6 | Discourse, 24 March 1844-A, as Reported by Wilford Woodruff, p. 214, JSP. |
| ↑7 | See Dallin H. Oaks, “The Suppression of the Nauvoo Expositor,” Utah Law Review 9 [1965]: 862. |
| ↑8 | JS History, vol. F-1, p. 148, JSP. |
| ↑9 | JS History, vol. F-1, p. 158, JSP. |
| ↑10 | JS History, vol. F-1, p. 168, JSP. |
| ↑11 | JS History, vol. F-1, p. 175, JSP. |
| ↑12 | Gordon A. Madsen explains the complications of the mittimus issued by the sheriff at the 18:30 mark of the video. Madsen contends that Governor Ford knew that Joseph was being held illegally at Carthage at this time and that the people of Carthage were “borrowing a leaf from the Missouri book,” in that they found a way to hold Joseph in custody for a charge that could not be substantiated, in order to hold him long enough for him to be killed. |
| ↑13 | Historian Kenneth W. Godfrey lays out many of the events that transpired on the evening of the 26th and the day of the 27th of June up to the time of the assassination of Joseph and Hyrum in this video (minute mark 20:00 – 27:30). I find it noteworthy that Governor Ford was being fed by Emma in her home while the Carthage Greys were working to kill her husband at about the same time of day on June 27, 1844. See: Gracia Jones, My Great-Great Grandmother, Emma Hale Smith, Ensign, August, 1992. On June 27th, Jones highlights that “Emma serves dinner to Governor Ford and sixty of his men in Nauvoo Mansion House about 5:00 p. m. Emma learns about 10:00 p. m. that Joseph and Hyrum have been shot and killed.” See also: Jannalee Sandau, 9 Things you didn’t know about Emma Smith, LDS Living. See the timeline of the 96 hours prior to Joseph Smith’s martyrdom in the Church News. The Church News articles does not specify that Ford was eating in Joseph’s home, but does place Ford in Nauvoo from 5-6 p.m. on the date of the assassination of Joseph and Hyrum. See also: Gracia Jones, Emma and Joseph: Their Divine Mission, Covenant Communications, 1999, p. 298-299. Jones cites the bill of services Emma gave to Ford for the cost of feeding Ford’s men from June 24-27. Gracia Jones makes a point to give details of the postscript to the bill. She relates that in the postscript is a request for prompt payment as she (Emma Smith) badly needed the money. The document cited came into the collection of Wilford Wood of Bountiful, Utah, and Jones received permission to use this documentation in the publication of her book. See also Launius, p. 24. |
| ↑14 | I combine elements of the timeline of events with McConkie and Ostler’s commentary as found in Revelations of the Restoration, p. 1125-1126, as well as some of the historical information provided by Richard Bushman, Lyndon Cook, Roger Launius and Benjamin Park. |
| ↑15 | One author put this in context in this way: “Section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants is perhaps Joseph Smith’s most historically influential revelation after the Book of Mormon. Its significance flows from its language of deification- tied closely to the notion of “sealing”- and its explicit promotion of polygamy. Though disclosure of the revelation was limited at first, the resulting rumors about it had a powerful effect on cognizant Church leaders and members in Nauvoo, Illinois. It would fracture Church leadership at the highest levels and set the stage for acts that both led to the assassination of Joseph Smith and elevated the Twelve Apostles to the summit of Church leadership. Beyond this, the plural marriage revelation, delivered on July 12, 1843, has had a profoundly important interpretive and textual history that reflects a complex internal structure with several interwoven themes.” William Victor Smith, Textual Studies of the Doctrine and Covenants: The Plural Marriage Revelation, Greg Kofford Books, 2018, p. 1, emphasis added. |
| ↑16 | This was mid-August, 1843. See Benjamin Park, Kingdom of Nauvoo: The Rise and Fall of a Religious Empire on the American Frontier, Liveright Publishing, 2020, p. 168-169. |
| ↑17 | After Hyrum advised the people to vote for Hoge, William Law, counselor in the First Presidency of the Church, addressed the Saints and “stated that to his certain knowledge the Prophet Joseph was in favor of Mr. Walker and that the prophet was more likely to know the mind of the Lord on the subject than the patriarch (Hyrum Smith).” When Law showed “the people how shamefully they had treated Mr. Walker . . . they began to shout” for the Whig candidate. “I am as obedient to revelation as any man,” continued Law. “Bro. Hyrum does not say he had a revelation.” Many in the crowd agreed.
Not to be undone, Hyrum rose and took the stand a second time. He told the people he knew with a certainty how they were to vote the coming Monday, for “he had sought to know, and knew from knowledge that would not be doubted, from evidences that never fail, that Mr. Hoge was the man, and it was for the interest of this place and people to support him.” He raised both arms and held up an election ticket (“printed on yellow post office wrapping paper”). “Thus saith the Lord,” Hyrum proclaimed, giving his words the stamp of heavenly approval, “those that vote this ticket, this flesh colored ticket, this Democratic ticket, shall be blessed; those who do not, shall be accursed.” A resounding cheer went up from those present. The Mormons were to vote for Hoge. Foister and Wicks, p. 45. See also: “B” to Macomb Weekly Journal, 22 January 1877 (Macomb Weekly Journal 25 January 1877) (ac- cursed quote). “K” to The Tribune 7 August 1843, “The Vote of the Mormons—Hoge Elected,” New York Weekly Tribune, 26 August 1843. |
| ↑18 | This disagreement between William Law and Hyrum Smith helps to contextualize the views that outsiders had regarding the power concentrated in Nauvoo and more specifically in Joseph Smith. According to Law, Joseph had promised Walker, the Whig candidate, that the Saints would give him their vote. Later, as the election approached, Hyrum declared publicly on August 5, 1843, that the Saints should vote for the Democrat Hoge. Leading Democrats had promised the Saints that if they voted for the Democrat that “the militia should not be sent against them.” Foister and Wicks, Junius and Joseph, “To Save the District for the Whigs,” p. 44. Ford, History of Illinois, Quaife, ed., 2:151. According to Governor Ford (a democrat), he was unaware of this agreement until October 1846, after the Mormons had departed the state. (Ford, History of Illinois, 317–18 and Roberts, Comprehensive History 2:196, note 5.) The go-between was William Backenstos, “a managing democrat of Hancock County” and a former clerk for Stephen A. Douglas. Smith, History of the Church 5:532–36 and William Law, Interview, Cook, William Law, 125. See also Clayton, Nauvoo Journal 2 [18 May 1843], Clayton, Intimate Chronicle, 104. |
| ↑19 | This came about because of the frustration that many in Illinois felt at Joseph’s ability to escape arrest due his legal maneuverability of the Nauvoo Charter. See Park, 179. At another meeting held on September 6, 1843, “the group vowed to solve the Mormon problem ‘peaceably if we can, but forcibly if we must.’” Park writes that “their frustration bordered on violence.” |
| ↑20 | Richard Bushman gives this description of William Law and his close association with the Prophet Joseph Smith:
William Law gained Joseph’s confidence after he came to Nauvoo in 1839. An immigrant from Northern Ireland who had converted to Mormonism in Canada, Law was one of the few Saints to arrive with capital. He and his brother Wilson Law purchased land and constructed steam powered mills to produce flour and lumber. William Law, said to have “great suavity of manners and amiability of character,” impressed Joseph. When Hyrum left the First Presidency to move into his father’s position as patriarch. Law was made Joseph’s counselor. Law admired Joseph. “I have carefully watched his movements since I have been here,” he wrote a friend after a year, “and I assure you I have found him honest and honourable in all our transactions which have been very considerable I believe he is an honest upright man, and as to his follies let who ever is guiltless throw the first stone.” Law was one of the nine trusted men given the endowment in May 1842, and he and his wife, Jane, were members of the Anointed Quorum that met regularly in prayer meetings in the fall of 1843. See: Rough Stone Rolling, p. 528. As to the date Hyrum reveals plural marriage to William Law, see: Park, p. 177-178. Law was confounded. “Hoping it was a mistake, William Law rushed to Joseph’s house, only 50 yards from his own. Joseph Smith assured him that the revelation was indeed authentic.” William Law will be a key leader in a group of Saints that will oppose the practice of plural marriage, and eventually oppose Joseph Smith’s leadership, and eventually create the first and only edition of the Nauvoo Expositor. William and Jane Law continually struggle with the practice of plural marriage for the remainder of Joseph’s lifetime. Law stated, “(Jane) and I were turned upside down by it, we did not know what to do.” See: Cook, 64; “Law Interview,” 30 March 1887, p. 6. |
| ↑21 | Park writes, “It is difficult to know whether Jane was present” at this meeting. See Park, p. 178. |
| ↑22 | The City Council passed an ordinance on December 8, 1843 dictating that any person who attempted to arrest Joseph Smith based on any Missouri charge would themselves be arrested on the spot, tried by Nauvoo’s municipal court, and, if guilty, sentenced to life in prison. See: Park, p. 179. |
| ↑23 | With bombshells bursting around him, Joseph continued to meet weekly with the Council of Fifty to plan western explorations and keep the presidential campaign moving. Temple construction resumed as the spring weather allowed, and in the groves around the temple Joseph delivered theological addresses to his people. At the annual conference in April, he gave what the literary critic Harold Bloom has called “one of the truly remarkable sermons ever preached in America.” Though never canonized as scripture, the King Follett sermon, known only through the overlapping notes of four diarists, has been called the culminating statement of Joseph Smith’s theology.
The April 7, 1844, morning session of the annual Church conference held in a grove a quarter mile east of the temple, attracted the largest congregation ever assembled in Nauvoo. That afternoon, Joseph spoke for more than two hours, straining to speak over a high wind. The next day his voice was gone, and he could not speak at all. The occasion of the afternoon meeting was the accidental death of city constable King Follett, crushed when a tub of rocks fell on him in a well. Joseph was in a contemplative mood. He was thirty-eight and taking stock; perhaps he was a little melancholy, perhaps lonely. “You never knew my heart. No man knows my hist[ory],” he ruminated at the end. How could they know him, separated as he was by his visionary experiences. Sometime, somewhere, they would know one another. “When I am called at the trump & weighed in the balance you will know me then.” Joseph said he would speak on the subject of death, but soon veered to the nature of God. His authority was being challenged; he was being called a false prophet, he admitted, but was “never in any nearer relationship to God than at the present time.” He asked the congregation to consider this important subject. If he could explain the nature of God, “let everyone sit in silence and never lift your voice against the servants of God again.” He spoke confidently, as if he was giving the obvious meaning of the Bible, even in making the most startling assertions. To begin, he wanted to “refute the Idea that God was God from all eternity.” “God that sits enthroned is a man like one of yourselves.” The statement so astounded Thomas Bullock that he recorded the reverse: “He was God from the begin of all Eternity.” But the other manuscripts concur in the opposite: Joseph wanted to say that God had a history. “We suppose that God was God from eternity. I will refute that Idea,” Wilford Woodruff has Joseph declaring. “It is the first principle to know that we may converse with him and that he once was a man like us.” The scriptural basis for the doctrine was Jesus’s statement about doing nothing but what he saw the Father do. God “was once as one of us and was on a planet as Jesus was in the flesh.” It was so obvious, Joseph asserted, “I defy all Hell and earth to refute it.” The point of this radical doctrine was obvious: God was one of the free intelligences who had learned to become God. The other free intelligences were to take the same path. “You have got to learn how to make yourselves God, king and priest, by going from a small capacity to a great capacity to the resurrection of the dead to dwelling in everlasting burnings.” Souls were meant to grow from smaller to greater. “You have got to learn how to be a god yourself in order to save yourself—to be priests & kings as all Gods has done—by going from a small degree to another—from exaltation to ex[altation]—till they are able to sit in glory as with those who sit enthroned.” Christ was the model. What did Christ do? Joseph asked. Christ said: “I do the things that I saw the father do when worlds came into existence. I saw the father work out a kingdom with fear & trembling & I can do the same & when I get my K[ingdom] work[ed out] I will present [it] to the father & it will exalt his glory and Jesus steps into his tracks to inherit what God did before.” The words evoked a hierarchy of gods, succeeding to higher stations of greater glory as kingdoms are presented to them and as rising souls below them ascend to godhood. As humankind’s advocate and leader, Christ is the one through whom humans are saved; the kingdom prepared on earth is presented to Him, and He presents it to the Father, Elohim. In the light of this doctrine, the early statement from the 1830 revelations of Moses took on new depth. “This is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality & eternal life of man,” God had said to Moses. Now it could be seen that God’s creation of humans contributed to His own glory as kingdoms of the rising gods were presented to him. As He glorified them, they glorified Him. Critics are wrong when they say Joseph Smith created a heaven of multiple gods like the pagan pantheons of Zeus and Thor. The gods in Joseph Smith’s heaven are not distinct, willful personalities pursuing their own purposes. The Christian trinity was Joseph’s model; the gods are one as Christ and the Father are one, distinct personalities unified in purpose and will. A free intelligence had to become one with God in order to become as God. The gods had formed an eternal alliance, welding their wills into one. The idea of earth life was to join that alliance and participate in the glory and power of the gods. The way to become a god was to conform to the order of heaven and receive light and truth. The unity and order Joseph strove to instill in the Church was a type of the higher unity among the gods in their heavens. The King Follett discourse was the final and most complete presentation of Joseph Smith’s dramaturgical theology. Joseph filled out the creation story he had been telling in various forms ever since Liberty Jail. The Creation came under the oversight of a “grand Council” of gods who “came together & concocked the plan of making the world & the inhabitants.” These gods made the world not out of nothing, but from eternal matter, which they organized out of chaos. Intelligence existed eternally too. “God was a self exhisting being, man exhists upon the same principle.” “God never had power to create the spirit of man, God himself could not create himself. Intelligence is Eternal & it is self exhisting.” That made individual persons radically free. Their nature was not predetermined by their creator. They were what they were, not what God made them. Rather than God being the sovereign creator of all things from nothing. He was the most intelligent of the free intelligences. The universe is a school for these free, self-existing intelligences. Richard Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling, p. 533-535, emphasis added. Law will call this sermon “false and damnable doctrines.” Cook, p. 56. |
| ↑24 | These dissenters, estimated to number around 300 in and around Nauvoo, held weekly meetings, and sought recruits, teaching their members that Joseph Smith was a “fallen prophet and that William Law had been appointed in his stead.” See: Park, p. 227. |
| ↑25 | William Law went to Carthage, the seat of Hancock County, to swear out a complaint against Joseph Smith for inciting a riot and unlawfully destroying property. Law claimed that the losses amounted to $30,000, including their homes, farms, city lots, a large steam flour and saw mill, and a store. See: “Dr. Wyl and Dr. Wm. Law, A Deeply Interesting Talk on Old Nauvoo Days,” Salt Lake Tribune, 30 March 1887, p. 2. See also: Roger Launius, “The Murders in Carthage: Non-Mormon Reports of the Assassination of the Smith Brothers,” The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal, 1995, Vol. 15, 1995, p. 18. |
| ↑26 | Warsaw Signal, June 11, 1844. |
| ↑27 | Launius, p. 20. Joseph drew his sword and publicly exclaimed, “I call God and angels to witness that I have unsheathed my sword with a firm determination that this people shall have their legal rights, and be protected from mob violence, or my blood shall be spilt upon the ground like water, and my body consigned to the silent tomb.” It is this declaration of martial law that will be used against Joseph in the subsequent charge of treason against the state when Joseph and his friends post bail for the riot charge. See: Launius, p. 22. |
| ↑28 | Smith, History of the Church, 6:536; Launius, p. 21. |
| ↑29 | Saturday, June 22, 1844.—About 9 p. m. Hyrum came out of the Mansion and gave his hand to Reynolds Cahoon, at the same time saying, “A company of men are seeking to kill my brother Joseph, and the Lord has warned him to flee to the Rocky Mountains to save his life. Good-by, Brother Cahoon, we shall see you again.” In a few minutes afterwards Joseph came from his family. His tears were flowing fast. He held a handkerchief to his face, and followed after Brother Hyrum without uttering a word. See: History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 6 by Joseph Smith, Jr. |
| ↑30 | BYU Studies. |
| ↑31 | At 1 p. m. Emma sent over Orrin P. Rockwell, requesting him to entreat of Joseph to come back. Reynolds Cahoon accompanied him with a letter which Emma had written to the same effect, and she insisted that Cahoon should persuade Joseph to come back and give himself up. When they went over they found Joseph, Hyrum and Willard in a room by themselves, having flour and other provisions on the floor ready for packing.
Reynolds Cahoon informed Joseph what the troops intended to do, and urged upon him to give himself up, inasmuch as the Governor had pledged his faith and the faith of the state to protect him while he underwent a legal and fair trial. Reynolds Cahoon, Lorenzo D. Wasson and Hiram Kimball accused Joseph of cowardice for wishing to leave the people, adding that their property would be destroyed, and they left without house or home. Like the fable, when the wolves came the shepherd ran from the flock, and left the sheep to be devoured. To which Joseph replied, “If my life is of no value to my friends it is of none to myself.” Joseph said to (Orrin Porter) Rockwell, “What shall I do?” Rockwell replied, “You are the oldest and ought to know best; and as you make your bed, I will lie with you.” Joseph then turned to Hyrum, who was talking with Cahoon, and said, “Brother Hyrum, you are the oldest, what shall we do?” Hyrum said, “Let us go back and give ourselves up, and see the thing out.” After studying a few moments, Joseph said, “If you go back I will go with you, but we shall be butchered.” Hyrum said, “No, no; let us go back and put our trust in God, and we shall not be harmed. The Lord is in it. If we live or have to die, we will be reconciled to our fate.” About 4 p. m. Joseph, Hyrum, the Doctor and others started back. While walking towards the river, Joseph fell behind with Orrin P. Rockwell. The others shouted to come on. Joseph replied, “It is of no use to hurry, for we are going back to be slaughtered,” and continually expressed himself that he would like to get the people once more together, and talk to them tonight. Rockwell said if that was his wish he would get the people together, and he could talk to them by starlight. History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 6 by Joseph Smith, Jr. |
| ↑32 | History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 6 by Joseph Smith, Jr.) On the way they received a demand from the governor to surrender the State arms in possession of the Nauvoo Legion; Joseph returned and complied with the request,((When the fact of the order for the state arms was known in Nauvoo, many of the brethren looked upon it as another preparation for a Missouri massacre, nevertheless, as Joseph requested that it should be complied with, they very unwillingly gave up the arms.
About 6 P.M., when all the states’ arms were collected, and the company were ready to start, Captain Dunn and Quartermaster-General Buckmaster made a short speech, expressing their gratitude at the peaceable conduct of the citizens of Nauvoo, and that while they thus conducted themselves they would protect them. It appears that Governor Ford feared that the Nauvoo Legion, although disbanded, might avenge any outrage that might hereafter be committed on the persons of their leaders, and so thought he had better disarm them as he had previously disbanded them; yet the mob was suffered to retain their portion of the state’s arms, even when within a half-day’s march of Nauvoo, and they in a threatening and hostile attitude, while the Nauvoo Legion had not evinced the least disposition whatever, except to defend their city in case it should be attacked; and they had not set a foot outside the limits of the corporation. BYU Studies. |
| ↑33 | Revelations of the Restoration, p. 1125. |
| ↑34 | Launius, p. 22. |
| ↑35 | “The Governor put his head out of the window and very fawningly said, “I know your great anxiety to see Mr. Smith, which is natural enough, but it is quite too late tonight for you to have the opportunity; but I assure you, gentlemen, you shall have that privilege tomorrow morning, as I will cause him to pass before the troops upon the square, and I now wish you, with this assurance, quietly and peaceably to return to your quarters.” When this declaration was made, there was a faint “Hurrah for Tom Ford,” and they instantly obeyed his wish.” Further Study Lesson, volume 6, chapter 29, BYU Studies. |
| ↑36 | Gordon A. Madsen explains the complications of the mittimus issued by the sheriff at the 18:30 mark of this video, showing why this charge and the holding of the prophet in custody was illegal, and that the Governor of Illinois knew it. |
| ↑37 | From the General’s quarters Joseph and Hyrum went in front of the lines, in a hollow square of a company of Carthage Greys. At seven minutes before ten they arrived in front of the lines, and passed before the whole, Joseph being on the right of General Deming, and Hyrum on his left, Elders Richards, Taylor and Phelps following. Joseph and Hyrum were introduced by the Governor about twenty times along the line, as General Joseph Smith and General Hyrum Smith, the Governor walking in front on the left. The Carthage Greys refused to receive them by that introduction, and some of the officers threw up their hats drew their swords and said they would introduce themselves to the damned Mormons in a different style. The Governor mildly entreated them not to act so rudely, but their excitement increased. The Governor, however, succeeded in pacifying them by making a speech, and promising them that they should have “full satisfaction.” General Smith and party returned to their lodgings at five minutes past ten. BYU Studies, Further Study Lesson, Volume 6, Chapter 30. |
| ↑38 | Joseph also sent a message to Orrin P. Rockwell not to come to Carthage, but to stay in Nauvoo, and not to suffer himself to be delivered into the hands of his enemies, or to be taken a prisoner by any one. |
| ↑39 | Several of the officers of the troops in Carthage, and other gentlemen, curious to see the Prophet, visited Joseph in his room. General Smith asked them if there was anything in his appearance that indicated he was the desperate character his enemies represented him to be; and he asked them to give him their honest opinion on the subject. The reply was, “No, sir, your appearance would indicate the very contrary, General Smith; but we cannot see what is in your heart, neither can we tell what are your intentions.” To which Joseph replied, “Very true, gentlemen, you cannot see what is in my heart, and you are therefore unable to judge me or my intentions; but I can see what is in your hearts, and will tell you what I see. I can see that you thirst for blood, and nothing but my blood will satisfy you. It is not for crime of any description that I and my brethren are thus continually persecuted and harassed by our enemies, but there are other motives, and some of them I have expressed, so far as relates to myself; and inasmuch as you and the people thirst for blood, I prophesy, in the name of the Lord, that you shall witness scenes of blood and sorrow to your entire satisfaction. Your souls shall be perfectly satiated with blood, and many of you who are now present shall have an opportunity to face the cannon’s mouth from sources you think not of; and those people that desire this great evil upon me and my brethren, shall be filled with regret and sorrow because of the scenes of desolation and distress that await them. They shall seek for peace, and shall not be able to find it. Gentlemen, you will find what I have told you to be true.” History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 6 by Joseph Smith, Jr. |
| ↑40 | Jenson, Church Chronology, 25-26. |
| ↑41 | As to manipulating politicians, one historian relates that when Joseph was arrested in Dixon, Illinois on 23 June, 1843, that he acquired the legal services of lawyer Cyrus Walker, a Whig candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. Walker effectively pledged his influence in securing Joseph’s release in exchange for Joseph’s support in the August election of 1843. William Law was present in July 1843 when, according to William Law’s own words, Joseph promised Walker that he should have nine out of every ten Mormon votes. Within thirty days, however, Church leaders had decided that it would be in their interest politically to vote for Walkers opponent Joseph P Hoge. William Law violently disagreed with this so called “trickery.” Two days before the election, on Saturday, August 5, 1843, Hyrum Smith addressed the Saints in Nauvoo, advising them to vote for Hoge. Hoge carried the Mormon vote in the election. Of the 1,191 votes cast in Nauvoo, 1,092 went to Hoge, the Democrat candidate. When the votes were counted it became clear that Walker maintained a solid lead over Hoge outside of Nauvoo with a decisive lead in 13 counties, while Hoge only led in two counties other than Hancock County (where Nauvoo existed). The Mormon bloc vote had determined the outcome of Hoge’s election, he was victorious. See: Cook, p. 58. See also: The Quincy Herald, 28 February 1845; “Law Interview,” 30 March, 1887, p. 6. Robert Wicks and Fred Foister, Junius and Joseph, “To Save the District for the Whigs,” University Press of Colorado, p. 46. |
| ↑42 | William Law points out that the rules for removing him from the First Presidency of the Church had been violated. Law was also upset that the record of his removal by the Church court was not kept and that he was not given the names of his accusers. See: Cook, p. 60-61. |
| ↑43 | William Law owned lots in the upper part of Nauvoo that were in direct competition with lots owned by Joseph that existed in the lower part of the city. By 1843 the fundamental economic interests of William Law and Joseph Smith were in direct conflict. This competition caused Joseph to insist that the Saints purchase building lots from only the Church. To William Law, this represented totalitarianism. In 1844 the Laws publicized their opposition to this injunction requiring the saints to purchase from the Trustee-in-Trust. Later in his life William testily remembered that after their alienation he and his brother were effectively unable to sell their property. Cook, p. 62. |
| ↑44 | Conference Report, April 1880, 8-9. |
| ↑45 | Revelations of the Restoration, p. 1129-1130. |
| ↑46 | Garrett and Robinson, Commentary, volume 4. |
| ↑47 | Revelations, p.1130. |
| ↑48 | Josiah Quincy, Figures of the Past, p. 376. Quincy continues: “The man who established a religion in this age of free debate, who was and is today accepted by hundreds and thousands as a direct emissary from the Most High, such a rare human being is not to be disposed of by pelting his memory with unsavory epithets. Fanatic, imposter, charlatan, he may have been; but these hard names furnish no solution to the problem he presents to us. Fanatics and imposters are living and dying every day, and their memory is buried with them; but the wonderful influence which this founder of a religion exerted and still exerts throws him into relief before us, not as a rogue to be criminated, but as a phenomenon to be explained.” Quincy, p. 377. |
| ↑49 | In Declaration of the Twelve, Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878, Church History Library, Salt Lake City; spelling, punctuation, and capitalization modernized. See: The Work of God Rolls Forward, Church History, accessed 10.23.21. It is reported that Joseph also taught the following: “I have had sealed upon my head every key, every power, every principle of life and salvation that God has ever given to any man who ever lived upon the face of the earth. And these principles and this Priesthood and power belong to this great and last dispensation which the God of heaven has set His hand to establish in the earth. Now, . . . I have sealed upon your [the Twelve] heads every key, every power, and every principle which the Lord has sealed upon my head. . . . I tell you, the burden of this kingdom now rests upon your shoulders; you have got to bear it off in all the world, and if you don’t do it you will be damned” (Millennial Star, Aug. 22, 1892, 530; paragraph divisions altered). |
| ↑50 | Declaration of the apostles, circa September 1844 to March 1845, Church History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. |
| ↑51 | Testimony written by Martha Tuttle Gardner. |
| ↑52 | At 4:30 PM the council adjourned. At seven, the Twelve met at Elder Benson’s. President Young continued to dictate the word and will of the Lord. Council adjourned at ten P.M., when President Young retired with Dr. Richards to the Octagon and finished writing the same.” Journal History of the Church, January 14, 1847, Church History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. |
| ↑53 | Richard E. Bennett, We’ll Find the Place: The Mormon Exodus 1846–1848 (Salt Lake City: Deseret, 1997), 70. |
| ↑54 | Bennett, We’ll Find the Place, 69. |
| ↑55 | Heber C. Kimball, Journal, January 19, 1847, Church History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. |
| ↑56 | As quoted by Willard Richards, Journal, January 15, 1847, Church History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. |
| ↑57 | Coming to Zion: Saga of the Gathering, Ensign, July 1975. |
| ↑58 | Maldwyn A. Jones, American Immigration, Chicago, 1960, p. 126, emphasis added. |
| ↑59 | Hubert Howe Bancroft, History of Utah, San Francisco, The History Company, 1889, p. 418, emphasis added. |
| ↑60 | John Turner, Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet, Harvard University Press, 2012, p. 181. |
| ↑61 | Andrew Jenson, “Church Emigration,” Contributor, 13 (December 1891), p. 82. |
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