Perhaps John Taylor
summed up things the best when he wrote: “They lived for glory;
they died for glory; and glory is their eternal reward.
From age to age shall their names go down to [the] posterity
as gems [of] the sanctified.”
Coming up next: “The Martyrdom of
Joseph and Hyrum Smith.”
KJZZ television, in cooperation with
the Church History Department of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, presents this
weekly series highlighting the research of scholars
and historians as they prepare for the publication of
The Joseph Smith Papers. And now your host, Glenn Rawson.
In today’s show, we’ll discuss those events that culminated in
the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.
One of the most important factors that led to that
was a newspaper in Nauvoo,
a rival newspaper called the Nauvoo Expositor.
The intent of that paper was to inflame
the public against Joseph Smith and the Mormons.
The men who published it were a small group of dissidents.
A few, like William Law, had been close to Joseph Smith,
and their intent now was to drive Joseph Smith out of Church
leadership. The first and only issue of
the Nauvoo Expositor was published on June the 7th, 1844.
Three days later, June 10th,
drastic action was taken against that paper by Nauvoo’s leaders.
One of those behind the Expositor, Charles Foster,
published his view of what happened on that date. He said:
“A company consisting of some two or three hundred of the
Nauvoo Legion, assisted by as many volunteers,
armed with muskets, swords, pistols, bowie knives, etc.,
marched up in front of the office of the Expositor,
entered the building by breaking open the door with
a sledgehammer, and destroyed the press and all
the materials, by throwing them into the street
and setting the whole on fire.”
One of the most aggravating events that undoubtedly led to
public sentiment against Joseph Smith and
the Latter-day Saints was, of course,
the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor.
There’s no surprise that the Expositor was coming.
But when it finally did get published,
I think everyone was surprised at the reaction in the community.
Sidney Rigdon wrote that it looked like there was going
to be mobbing in the streets,
that they were going to self-help and destroy the press.
And so then they said, We better get the government involved.
And so as they met that Saturday and then again on Monday,
they were deciding exactly what were
the viable legal options to control what was becoming
a tremendously dangerous situation in Nauvoo,
dangerous for a couple reasons and from
a couple different directions:
One, from the citizens themselves of Nauvoo
rising up against the publishers.
Second, the newspaper itself would be reprinted and be picked up by
the people anti to the Mormon cause,
and that from the outside could cause an attack on the city.
After much deliberation,
the city government determined that the press was
a public nuisance and ordered the city marshal to destroy it.
I suppose some have the sentiment that it was
a complete outrage that Latter-day Saints would suppress
a publication that advanced
merely criticism of the Latter-day Saints and in particular of
their prophet. But it was a bit more complicated than that.
We have to remember a couple things.
First, that the Bill of Rights had not been extended to states
yet. So as they sought legal advice,
those Bill of Rights would not be applicable to them until after
the Civil War. And so
the concept of freedom of press as being one of
the founding principles was not going to be a founding principle
for a state yet.
And it’s probably significant, I think, to recognize that
the destruction of that press—
something that was not all that out of the ordinary
on the American frontier at that time.
To understand why the city fathers deemed the Expositor
as dangerous, one need only to read what the paper said.
There were 15 resolutions that were advanced wherein
they gave indications of what they viewed as abuse
not only by Joseph Smith but by Latter-day Saints.
Some of these regarding Joseph Smith dealt with things that he
had been teaching that did not square with their particular
perceptions about Latter-day Saint belief.
There were some disappointments in business,
in the way that Joseph Smith handled his monetary affairs.
There were allegations, of course,
of plural marriage that just turned over
the traces when it came to a monogamous society.
After the press was destroyed.
the publishers fled Nauvoo and went to Carthage,
where they filed a complaint charging the mayor,
Joseph Smith, and the city council with riot.
Now, that’s interesting because
the issue evidently with them is not that the press was destroyed,
but how it was done.
The irony about the whole suppression of the Expositor
is that the claim against the city council would be
for riot, and the very thing they were trying to prevent was a riot,
a riot by the citizens against the publisher of the Expositor.
Well, the arrest warrant comes into Nauvoo, and Joseph and
the others are arrested on the 12th of June,
and immediately Joseph seeks to have a writ of habeas corpus.
In the hearing that followed,
the testimony was almost uniform that there had been no riot
in the destruction of the press.
The riot under Illinois law comprised one of two methods: One,
two or more people doing an unlawful act.
Clearly don’t have this. Or, two or more people doing
a lawful act in a violent manner.
Joseph is, and they use the term, discharged and not acquitted.
The case isn't over. It's just that
the arresting warrant was found not to have probable cause.
The discharge of the arrest warrant caused an uproar,
so the Mormons decided to try
the case again to see if they could quell it.
And they decide this time to go outside of Nauvoo city and to
use a local justice of the peace,
a non-Mormon justice of the peace: Daniel H. Wells.
And he then similarly concludes that there aren't sufficient
facts to have probable cause that in fact
a riot occurred by the destruction of the newspaper.
And that is where Joseph thinks now he has somewhat resolved it.
And that is until Governor Ford gets involved,
who has come now to Carthage and is reviewing the facts.
The governor then writes a letter and says in effect,
“Joseph, you produce your body here in Carthage forthwith,
or I’m going to send the militia out to get you, and if it has to
come to that, there will be war until everybody in Nauvoo
is exterminated.
June 14th, 1844: Four days after the destruction of
the Nauvoo Expositor,
Joseph Smith wrote a letter to Governor Thomas Ford
explaining why the city council did what they did
in the destroying of the press.
“I write you this morning, briefly to inform you of
the facts relative to the removal of the press
and fixtures of the Nauvoo Expositor as a nuisance. . . .
In the investigation
it appeared evident to the council that
the proprietors were a set of unprincipled, lawless,
debauchees, counterfeiters, bogus makers, gamblers,
peace disturbers, and
the grand object of said proprietors was to destroy our
constitutional rights and chartered privileges;
to overthrow all good and wholesome regulations in society.”
Now, that may seem like
an overreaction to someone saying that they disagreed with
the way that Joseph Smith and
the Latter-day Saints did business,
but it must be taken in context.
Francis Higbee, one of the
main agitators against Joseph Smith,
said something that is difficult to just dismiss and say,
“Well, he really didn’t mean what he said.” He stated, “Let us
arise in the majesty of our strength and sweep the influence
of tyrants and miscreants from the face of the land,
as with the breath of heaven.” This was a call to action.
No wonder the city fathers took issue with him
and with those that were in league with him.
Within days of the press’s destruction.
public outrage prevailed against
the Mormons due to Charles Foster's allegations.
Now, there were some Latter-day Saints who tried to mitigate that
by presenting a more balanced account of what really happened,
such as this letter that was written by physician
John M. Bernhisel to Governor Thomas Ford.
“[The] General Smith’s letter to you of this [day] has been read in
my hearing; that the statement[s] contained therein in relation
to the proceedings of the municipal authorities
for the removal of the press whence issued
a scandalous sheet entitled the Nauvoo Expositor are correct,
having been an eye-and-ear witness of them.
The whole affair was conducted by the city marshal
and his posse in the most quiet and orderly manner, without
the least noise, riot or tumult;
and when the nuisance was abated,
they immediately retired and were dismissed.”
On the 22nd of June 1844,
Joseph Smith wrote to the governor,
and he invited him to come to Nauvoo and to determine
for himself what really happened with the destruction of
the Nauvoo Expositor.
He went on to say, “I would come to Carthage,
but because of this affidavit that I’ve just furnished you saying
my life would be in danger if I did, I dare not come.”
Then the governor writes a letter saying,
“I pledge the faith of myself and the state for your safety.”
However, the Prophet was still uneasy
as to what was happening in Hancock County and
the amount of hatred that was being generated against him
and against Hyrum Smith and other Church leaders.
So on the 22nd, he received a revelation as he was pondering
on what exactly he should do.
And in this revelation,
he was told that if he went to the West or left Nauvoo, that
the people in Nauvoo would be protected,
that nothing harmful would happen to them,
and his own life could be saved.
And in a small boat that leaked, Joseph and Hyrum, Porter Rockwell,
and Willard Richards made their way across
the Mississippi. On the 23rd of June 1844,
then, they’re on the Iowa side of the river,
and early that morning,
Joseph received a visit from Reynolds Cahoon,
Hiram Kimball, and Lorenzo D. Wasson, his nephew.
And these men brought with them
a letter from Emma Smith. The exact contents of the letter
no one seems to know,
but in the discussion that ensued with these three individuals,
the Prophet is told that there are people in Nauvoo that are
accusing him of being a coward.
It was at this time that Joseph Smith said,
“If my life is of no value to my friends, it is of none to myself.”
And they return to Nauvoo then, arriving there sometime in
the afternoon of the 23rd.
Joseph spends the night of the 23rd in
the Mansion House with his family.
There's a bit of rejoicing
and happiness in this terrible week prior to
the martyrdom, in that Hyrum Smith
on that evening performs
the marriage of his daughter Lovina to Lorin Walker,
and so there’s a wedding performed and
the happiness that accompanies a new wedding.
It was likely near the time when Joseph Smith was about to depart
Nauvoo and go to Carthage,
those difficult last moments, when his wife, Emma,
asked him for a blessing.
It's important to recognize that at this moment in time,
she was four months pregnant, and she had at home four children
ranging in age from 13 to 6—little ones.
She’d lost a couple of babies in the previous two years.
So this is a woman with
a lot of responsibilities apart from Church responsibilities
and her relationship with Joseph.
But given all of his running back and forth, his councils,
that's not something that he can do
for her at this moment in time,
and apparently asks her to write out what she desires,
and he will sign it, and then this will be a blessing for her.
Emma Smith called this written blessing the desires of her heart.
“First of all that I would crave as
the richest of heaven’s blessings, would be wisdom from my
Heavenly Father bestowed daily, so that whatever I might do
or say I could not look back at the close of the day with regret,
nor neglect the performance of any act that would bring
a blessing. I particularly desire wisdom to bring up all
the children that are or may be committed to my charge in such
a manner that they will be useful ornaments in
the kingdom of God, and in a coming day,
arise up and call me blessed.
I desire with all my heart to honor and respect my husband
as my head, ever to live in his confidence
and by acting in unison with him,
retain the place God has given me by his side.”
These words of Emma’s are beautiful and plaintive.
I think they show a woman who is a seeker,
a seeker of the Spirit, and a deep thinker,
one who is in touch with her own weaknesses,
one who believes in Joseph and his priesthood power to be
the channel through which those blessings might be expressed.
Early in the morning of June 24th,
1844, Joseph Smith bid farewell to his family
and set out for Carthage.
As they get to the top of the hill
where the Nauvoo Temple is,
Joseph looks back over the city and says: “This is
the loveliest place and the best people under heaven.
Little do they know the trials that await them.”
Well, by the time they arrive in Carthage, it’s almost midnight,
and there’s a great clamor, when they come into the city,
from the militia.
The militia wanted to see the prisoners.
In order to placate them, the governor promised that
the next day he would parade them before them, and he did.
Now, it was also on that same day, June the 25th,
that Joseph Smith and his colleagues were brought before
Justice of the Peace Robert Smith about the riot charge.
Interesting enough, in this case, that without testimony,
they're going to hold them for a trial.
However, they will issue bail so that everyone can get out
on bail and prepare the case.
People have asked whether the suppression of
the Expositor resulted in the death of our Prophet
and his brother, the Patriarch.
And I think on a legal footing, the answer would be a clear no.
The reason for that is that even when they went to Carthage,
they got bail for the riot charge. Joseph would have
returned home with the aldermen, the councilmen,
the sheriff, and the rest of them.
After posting bail on the riot charge,
the Mormon prisoners were about to return to Nauvoo
when the sheriff appeared with a mittimus,
charging Joseph and Hyrum with treason.
They were ordered to jail.
You can’t write a mittimus
for that to happen without having had a bail hearing first.
His mittimus says a hearing was held, but none in fact was.
That was called to the governor’s attention early on,
at the time, in fact, they’re being transported to the jail,
and the governor ignored it.
And remember Ford before he became governor was justice of
the state supreme court. He had been an attorney.
He’d been a lawyer. He jolly well knew that Justice of
the Peace Smith’s mittimus was false. And the treason
and the charge for it is based upon an affidavit of
an Augustine Spencer and a Henry O. Norton.
We do not have either of those affidavits,
so we can’t say with finality what fact they claimed to be
the basis. But the fact that Governor Ford, that
I just read, attributes to them was that it was for calling out
the Legion and declaring martial law and resisting
the posse comitatus. That just never happened.
The overriding point to be made here is that
the people at Carthage were borrowing a leaf from
the Missouri book and holding them on a charge
for which no bail could be raised long enough for them to kill them.
The prisoners were sent to the jail on
the evening of Tuesday, June 25th, 1844,
and they passed most of the next day without incident.
But that night, the night of June 26th, was most eventful.
Dan Jones remembered that just before they retired,
they ask John Taylor to give a prayer.
Dan Jones remembered it as being a marvelous prayer.
Hyrum Smith read some out of the Book of Mormon.
He read an account of some prisoners in
the Book of Mormon that had escaped from jail
and hoped, I suppose, that he and Joseph and
the others would suffer a similar fate
and be allowed to escape the Carthage jail.
Dan Jones also said that this discussion turned very spiritual,
that some of the guards listened in on the discussion.
And later, Dan Jones, in his account of the martyrdom,
said this was one of the most spiritual evenings
of his whole life.
Thursday, June 27th, 1844: the day of martyrdom.
The Prophet writes a letter to Emma Smith, and among other things
in this letter, he says at
the last of it that she is not to be concerned about
the fact that he is now charged with treason because he says,
“I have committed no treason.”
Sometime after, after finishing the letter,
Dan Jones returns to the jail, tells
the Prophet that while he’s been out mingling amongst the people,
he has discovered there are plots on the Prophet’s life,
that he should be very concerned
because there are men that are bent on killing him.
Then the Prophet also learned that
the governor is going to take the 1400 members of
the militia with him to Nauvoo,
and he’s not going to take Joseph Smith with him,
but he’s leaving behind a small group to guard the Carthage jail.
The troops that were left to guard the prisoners were
the Carthage Grays. They were
a local militia unit who were no friends of the Saints.
And about six miles out of Nauvoo,
Governor Ford disbanded most of the rest of the militia,
telling them to go home.
Thomas Sharp with about 80 individuals from Warsaw,
instead of going home, begin to make their way
to Carthage, Illinois, and the jail, bent on destroying
Joseph Smith. The governor then goes on into Nauvoo,
Illinois. And so about the same time
that Joseph and Hyrum are being killed in the Carthage jail,
the governor is being served a meal in the Prophet’s own home.
The prisoners spent most of
the afternoon of June 27th preparing for their trial,
which was scheduled two days hence.
Now, by this time, there are only four men remaining in
the jail: Joseph and Hyrum Smith, John Taylor, and Willard Richards.
Before the changing of the guard,
John Taylor is asked by Hyrum Smith to sing
a song that had just become popular
in Nauvoo. It’s a ballad.
We now call it “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief.”
It has lots of verses, and John Taylor sang all of the verses.
And then a bit later, Hyrum again
asks John Taylor to sing this ballad again,
which he reluctantly does.
He says he doesn’t feel much like singing,
but he responds to Hyrum’s request. Hyrum then reads
a little bit from Josephus.
And then, by this time, Thomas Sharp and his group have arrived
in Carthage. The first shots that are fired are fired into
the cell where the serious prisoners are kept
because apparently the mob believed that’s where Joseph
and Hyrum and the others were incarcerated.
Upon hearing these shots, they—
Joseph and the others—close the door to the jailer’s bedroom.
There's a shot that is fired through
the keyhole that doesn’t hit anyone.
And then Hyrum puts his left shoulder against
the door with his head bowed.
A second ball punched through the door panel,
and Hyrum received that ball just left of his nose.
The ball exited through his throat and grazed his breast.
He fell backwards, saying, “I am a dead man.”
Joseph looks at Hyrum and says, “Oh, my poor dear brother Hyrum.”
Joseph Smith then fired the pepper box into the mob,
a small six-shooter pistol that had been smuggled in, while
John Taylor used the walking stick to knock down
the gun barrels as they were thrust into the room.
After the Prophet has discharged his weapon,
John Taylor realizes that he's not doing very much good with his
rascal beater, and so he makes a dash for the east window,
intending to jump. A ball from
the landing behind him struck Taylor in the left thigh,
grazed the bone, and pushed him within—
pushed within a half an inch of the other side of his body.
He collapsed on the wide sill,
denting the back of his vest pocket watch.
The force shattered the glass cover of
the timepiece against his ribs and pushed
the internal gear pins against the enamel face, thus popping out
a small segment that was later mistakenly identified as
a bullet hole. So it was the windowsill that caused
the watch to break and stop, not a bullet as we’ve thought.
Tumbling back into the room,
he crawled toward the nearby bed when one ball hit his left
forearm, lodging in the wrist, and another struck
the bone just below the left knee.
Another ball hit him and tore the flesh from his left hip,
splattering blood on the wall and floor of the jail.
Joseph then ran to the window. With one leg dangling outside of
the window, he shouted, “Oh Lord my God,”
which is the beginning of the Masonic distress signal.
A ball from the door pierced his right hip
and exited through his lower body.
A shot from outside entered at his right chest
and exited below the shoulder blade, and another hit under
the heart. A fourth shot may have hit the right collarbone.
Joseph fell to the ground, landing on his left side.
He died within moments, trying to sit up against the well.
John Taylor would later write, “He lived great, and he died great
in the eyes of God and his people;
and like most of the Lord's anointed in ancient times,
has sealed his mission and his [testimony] with his . . . blood.”
Next week on The Joseph Smith Papers: the aftermath.
I’m Glenn Rawson.
Thanks for joining us.