Footnotes
[1]. Doctrine and Covenants, Section 124.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE CONFERENCE OF APRIL 6TH, 1841.
THE sixth of April, 1841, was a memorable day in the history of Nauvoo. That day the corner stones of the great temple which God by revelation had commanded His people to build were to be laid. To the Prophet Joseph the day must have been a veritable gleam of sunshine amid the constantly renewing storms of his eventful career. It was a beautiful day, clear and balmy—propitious for the exercises to take place.
Early in the morning there was a hurrying to and fro in the streets of militiamen, for the presence of sixteen uniformed companies of the Nauvoo Legion was to add brightness and interest to the imposing ceremonies. A great procession was formed and marched to the temple site. Here the Legion was formed in a hollow square surrounding the excavations made for the foundation of the temple and enclosing the officers of the Legion, choir, citizens and prominent Elders of The Church who were to lay the corner stones of that structure. Sidney Rigdon was the orator of the occasion; and, doubtless owing to the recent admonition he had received in the revelation from the Lord—to which reference has been made—he was aroused from his lethargy for the time. At any rate, on this occasion he spoke with his old fervor and eloquence. He reviewed the trials of the past, the blessings they then enjoyed, the brightening prospects of the future, and dwelt at some length upon the importance of building temples, and the labor to be performed in them.
At the conclusion of the oration, at the direction of the First Presidency, the architects lowered the southeast cornerstone to its place, and Joseph Smith said:
This principal corner-stone in representation of the First Presidency, is now duly laid in honor of the great God; and may it there remain until the whole fabric is completed; and may the same be accomplished speedily; that the Saints may have a place in which to worship God, and the Son of Man have where to lay His head.
To which Sidney Rigdon added:
May the persons employed in the erection of this house be preserved from all harm while engaged in its construction, till the whole is completed, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Even so, amen.
Thus were laid the corner-stones of the Nauvoo Temple, amid the rejoicing of the Saints; and even strangers forgot their prejudices and joined with hearty good will, as interested spectators of the proceedings. "Such an almost countless multitude of people," says one enthusiastic account of the scenes of the day, written at the time, "moving in harmony, in friendship, in dignity, told with a voice not easily misunderstood, that they were a people of intelligence, and virtue, and order; in short, that they were Saints; and that the God of love, purity and light, was their God, their exemplar and director; and that they were blessed and happy."
While on this subject, I quote the instructions on temple building from the history of the Prophet:
If the strict order of the Priesthood were carried out in the building of temples, the first stone will be laid at the southeast corner, by the First Presidency of The Church. The southwest corner should be laid next. The third, or northwest corner next; and the fourth or northeast corner the last.
The First Presidency should lay the southeast corner-stone, and dictate who are the proper persons to lay the other corner-stones.
If a temple is built at a distance, and the First Presidency are not present, then the quorum of the Twelve Apostles are the proper persons to dictate the order for that temple; and in the absence of the Twelve Apostles, then the presidency of the stake will lay the southeast corner-stone. The Melchisedek Priesthood laying the corner-stones on the east side of the temple, and the Lesser Priesthood those on the west side.
During the remaining days of the conference, opened with such splendid ceremonies, the Saints were instructed in principle and doctrine, the quorums of the Priesthood were arranged in their proper order and the important questions of business put to each quorum separately and voted upon; especially the names of those whom God had appointed and reappointed to fill the respective positions alluded to in the revelation above quoted.
Besides this, the several charters of Nauvoo, the Legion, University, Agricultural and Manufacturing Association, Nauvoo House Association, etc., were read and accepted by the people. Lyman Wight was sustained to fill the vacancy in the quorum of the Twelve. John C. Bennett was presented in connection with the First Presidency as assistant President until Sidney Rigdon's health should be restored. Everything necessary for the welfare, happiness and prosperity of the Saints was considered, and preparations made to push the work of God forward in all its departments. The conference lasted from Wednesday morning until Sunday night; and is one of the most important ever held by The Church.
Indeed the circumstances surrounding the Saints at the time were of a character to bid them hope that Nauvoo would be to them "a safe retreat." The friendship of nearly all of the leading men of the State; the universal sympathy felt by the people of Illinois for the victims of Missouri's fury; the action of the State legislature in granting the several charters noted in chapter fifteen—all supported the hopes entertained.
CHAPTER XVIII.
PROPHET'S TRIAL AT MONMOUTH.
EARLY in the summer of 1841, an event happened which threatened the peace of the inhabitants of Nauvoo. When busily intent in the performance of some labor, or duty, or even when in pursuit of pleasure, how often it happens that we work on, or enjoy our pleasure in the bright sunshine, without ever thinking of storms, until a sudden clap of thunder startles us, and looking up we see that dark clouds have arisen above the horizon; the bright skies are rapidly becoming overcast—a storm is impending! So it was with the Saints at Nauvoo concerning the matter of which we speak. It fell upon them as unexpectedly as falls a thunderbolt from a cloudless sky.
It occurred in this manner: When Hyrum Smith and William Law started on the mission to the Eastern States, to which they were appointed by the revelation of January 19, 1841, Joseph accompanied them as far as Quincy; and when returning to Nauvoo he stopped at Heberlin's hotel, on Bear Creek, some twenty-eight miles south of that city. While here a sheriff's posse under the direction of Thomas King, sheriff of Adams County, accompanied by an officer from Missouri, arrested him on a requisition from the governor of the State of Missouri. The warrant upon which the arrest was made was the one issued by the authorities of Missouri early in September, 1840; an effort to serve which was made on the fifteenth of that month, but the officers failed in their errand, as the brethren wanted, viz: Joseph Smith, Jr., Sidney Rigdon, Lyman Wight, P. P. Pratt, Caleb Baldwin and A. Brown were not in Nauvoo, that is, they evaded arrest, as already related in a former chapter.
The complaint on which the requisition of the governor of Illinois was based charged that these men were fugitives from justice; and they were wanted in Missouri to answer to the old charges of "theft, arson and murder," supposed to have been committed in Caldwell and Daviess counties in the summer and fall of 1838.
What made Joseph's arrest more a matter of surprise to him was, that only a few hours previous to its being made, he had been in company with Governor Carlin at the latter's residence, and was treated with the greatest respect and kindness; yet not one word was said by the governor about the requisition made by Missouri for his arrest.
Joseph returned to Quincy in company with the sheriff's posse and secured a writ of habeas corpus from Charles A. Warren, master in chancery. The same evening, Saturday, June 5th, Judge Stephen A. Douglass arrived in Quincy, and appointed the hearing on the writ to take place the following Tuesday, at Monmouth, Warren County.
In the meantime the news of Joseph's arrest reached Nauvoo and created no little excitement. A party of seven men, under the leadership of Hosea Stout, left Nauvoo for Quincy, Sunday morning, in a skiff, to render the Prophet any assistance in their power, and prevent if possible his enemies taking him to Missouri. They struggled against a head-wind all day, but reached Quincy at dusk, only to learn that Joseph had gone to Nauvoo in charge of Sheriff King and another officer; there was nothing for them to do but to return.
Sheriff King was taken sick at Nauvoo, but Joseph nursed him with all the tenderness of a brother, and the day following Monday, started for Monmouth, accompanied by a large number of the leading men of Nauvoo, and the sheriff, whom Joseph cared for personally during the journey of seventy-five miles. The party arrived at Monmouth on Tuesday, but at the request of the State attorney, who claimed he was not prepared on the case, the hearing was postponed until the next day.
The appearance of Joseph in Monmouth caused considerable excitement. He was invited to preach, but thought it best, as he was a prisoner, not to do so; but he appointed Amasa Lyman to preach in the court room on Wednesday evening.
The prejudice of the people of Monmouth was as excessive as it was blind. They employed at their own expense several attorneys to assist the prosecution, and declared that if there were any lawyers in the district who would even undertake the defense of the Prophet, they never need look to the people of that county again for political favors. But there were strong men in attendance at the court, men not to be frightened by such threats, and whose souls despised the petty minds that could frame them; Joseph, therefore, was ably defended by Messrs. Charles A. Warren, Sidney H. Little, O. H. Browning, James H. Ralston, Cyrus Walker, and Archibald Williams.
The pleadings of the lawyers for the defense were peculiarly affecting, since all of them were more or less acquainted with the condition of the Saints when they fled from the violence of Missourians to Illinois. O. H. Browning had seen several of these companies of Saints in their flight and could trace them by the blood left in their footprints on the snow; his recital of their sufferings moved Judge Douglass, most of the officers of the court and the spectators to tears. One of the brethren present who wrote an account of the trial for the Nauvoo papers says:
He [Mr. Browning] concluded his remarks by saying, To tell the prisoner to go to Missouri for a trial was adding insult to injury, and then said: "Great God! Have I not seen it? Yes, my eyes have beheld the blood-stained traces of innocent women and children, in the dreary winter, who had traveled hundreds of miles barefoot, through frost and snow, to seek a refuge from their savage pursuers. 'Twas a scene of horror, sufficient to have enlisted the sympathy of an adamantine heart. And shall this unfortunate man, whom their fury has seen proper to select for sacrifice, be driven into such a savage land, where none dare to enlist in the cause of justice? If there was no other voice under heaven ever to be heard in this cause, gladly would I stand alone, and proudly spend my latest breath in defense of an American citizen."
The lawyers for the prosecution, according to Joseph's own account, acted honorably and confined themselves to the merits of the case, excepting two—Messrs. Knowlton and Jennings. They made an appeal both to the passions and prejudices of the people, and sought to create an excitement over the matter. Judge Douglass, however, was impartial in his rulings, and doubtless one officer of the court—the sheriff of Warren County—thought him severe in his efforts to protect the prisoner. The court room was densely packed and the judge ordered the sheriff to keep the spectators back; but this he neglected and the judge fined him ten dollars. In a few minutes the order to keep the spectators from crowding the prisoner and witnesses was repeated, and the sheriff told the court that he had ordered a constable to do it. "Clerk," said Judge Douglass, "add ten dollars more to that fine." This was effectual, the sheriff after that did his duty.
Joseph claimed in this case that he was unlawfully held a prisoner, and he could prove that the indictment upon which he was arrested had been obtained by fraud, bribery and duress. This line of defense, however, raised the question as to whether the court had the right to inquire into the merits of the case. A long debate between opposing counsel followed. But it will be remembered that an attempt to arrest Joseph on the requisition from the governor of Missouri had been made in September previous; and it appears that after the fruitless effort to make the arrest, the sheriff of Hancock County returned the writ; and the defense claimed that after the return of the writ to the executive, the defendant could not be again legally arrested upon it. It was upon this point that the court set Joseph at liberty. Following is Judge Douglass' decision on this point:
The writ being once returned to the executive by the sheriff of Hancock County was dead, and stood in the same relationship as any other writ which might issue from the circuit court, and consequently the defendant cannot be held in custody on that writ.
On the other point in the case—as to whether evidence in the case was admissible—the judge withheld his opinion for further consideration, as the question was a grave one, involving the future conduct of the States in their relationship with each other; but on the ground that the writ was void, dead by reason of a former return being made on it by the sheriff of Hancock County, he ordered the discharge of the prisoner. And Missouri was again foiled in her designs upon the life of the Prophet.
At the conclusion of the trial Joseph ordered dinner for his company, which numbered by that time some sixty men. "And when I called for the tavern bill," says Joseph, "the unconscientious fellow replied, 'only one hundred and sixty dollars.'" Some time after this, in September following, Joseph sent the costs of this trial to the sheriff of Adams County, of which the following is a copy:
NAUVOO, September 30, 1841.
To the Deputy Sheriff of Adams County:
The following is a statement of my expenses, costs and liabilities, consequent upon my arrest and trial while in your custody, to-wit:
To amount of fees to Esquires Ralston, Warren & Co...$250.00
To Esquires Little, Williams, Walker and Browning...$100.00
To seven days for self, horse and carriage, @$5.00 per day...$35.00
To money spent during that time consequent upon arrest...$60.00
To twelve witnesses...$240.00
________
$685.00
To which was added this note:
DEAR SIR.—You will please take such measures as to put me in possession of the above amount, which is justly due me as above stated; to say nothing of false imprisonment and other expenses.
* * *
Receive my respects, etc.
JOSEPH SMITH.
With the exception of the difficulty just considered, the summer of 1841 glided pleasantly by, bringing to the busy inhabitants of Nauvoo many occasions of social and spiritual enjoyment.
CHAPTER XIX.
EVENTS OF THE SUMMER OF 1841.
NAUVOO was the most promising and thrifty city in Illinois, and the fame thereof extended throughout the nation, due, in part, of course, to the peculiar religion of its inhabitants. Strangers from far and near made it a point to visit Nauvoo, and the peace, sobriety, industry and public spirit of the citizens challenged their admiration, whatever views they might entertain respecting their religion. A large bowery was constructed just west of the temple site where the people assembled for worship. Here the Prophet Joseph preached some of his most powerful discourses, and taught his people in the doctrine of the heavenly kingdom; and not infrequently it happened that
Fools who came to mock, remained to pray.
The Saints never intended to make either their city or the Nauvoo Legion exclusively Mormon.[[1]] On the contrary, the people at Nauvoo expressed a willingness to unite with their fellow-citizens in every good work and enterprise, and tolerate religious differences. Indeed, repeated invitations were sent out to the honorable men, not only of the State of Illinois, but of the United States, to men of capital and of influence and of integrity, asking them to come to Nauvoo, and assist in building up a glorious city.
In July, Sidney H. Little, of the State senate, was killed by leaping from his carriage while his horse was unmanageable; and that the "Saints might mourn with those who are called to mourn," the eighteenth day of July was set apart as a day of fasting among the people of Nauvoo. By thus manifesting a feeling of sympathy and interest, they sought to cultivate peace and good-will among their fellow-citizens, and a number of honorable, and some of them influential men, while not accepting the faith of the Saints, became friendly disposed towards them, and associated with them in various business transactions.
But the good-will of the Saints was not very generally reciprocated by the people of Illinois; and there were, even at that early date, envyings and bitterness manifested by those who were jealous of the prosperity and increasing power of the Mormons in Nauvoo and vicinity. The same spirit existed to some extent in Iowa as will be seen by the following occurrence: General Swazey, in command of the militia of Iowa, Territory, invited Joseph and Hyrum Smith and General Bennett to attend the parade of the militia of that Territory at Montrose. The invitation was accepted, and General Swazey received his visitors courteously, and so did the militia. But during a recess in the exercises taken at noon, a Mr. D. W. Kilburn tried to create a disturbance by circulating the following note among the troops:
Citizens of Iowa—The laws of Iowa do not require you to muster or be reviewed by Joe Smith or General Bennett; and should they have the impudence to attempt it, it is hoped that every person having a proper respect for himself, will at once leave the ranks.
The facts are that these militia companies were not mustered by Joseph's order, nor did he expect to review them. He had simply accepted General Swazey's invitation to witness the movements of the troops as other spectators were doing, and neither Joseph nor Hyrum was in uniform. General Swazey had been several times invited to attend the drills and reviews of the Legion at Nauvoo, and he had simply returned the courtesy to the officers of the Legion. Kilburn's effort, however, to create a disturbance was not successful, though the papers of the State commented upon it, and some of them began to whisper that it was Joseph's ambition to build up a military church and extend his faith, "Mohammed-like," by the sword.
Early in the summer of 1841, in fact in the month of May, Joseph called upon the Saints everywhere to come into Hancock County, that there might be a concentration of effort to build up Nauvoo. The proclamation closed with these words:
Let it therefore be understood that all the stakes excepting those in this county (Hancock) and in Lee County, Iowa, are discontinued; and the Saints instructed to settle in this county as soon as circumstances will permit.
The Twelve Apostles, whose departure from Nauvoo on their missions to England under very trying circumstances, was related in a former chapter, returned during the summer, after accomplishing one of the most successful and remarkable missions in modern times. They were a tower of strength to Joseph, and he was not long in availing himself of their valuable support. At a special conference convened in Nauvoo on the sixteenth of August, 1841, Joseph said:
The time had come when the Twelve should be called upon to stand in their place next to the First Presidency; and attend to the settling of emigrants and the business of The Church at the stakes, and assist to bear off the kingdom victoriously to the nations.[[2]]
And he at once turned over to their management many of the temporal affairs, with which he had been perplexed, and devoted himself more exclusively to spiritual labors.
One of the most pleasing events that happened, during the summer of which I write, was the visit of the Indian chief Keokuk to Nauvoo. He was accompanied by Kiskukosh, Appenoose and about one hundred chiefs and braves of the Sac and Fox tribes, together with their families. They were brought over from the Iowa side on the ferry and two large flat boats. The band and a detachment of the Legion met them at the landing, but as soon as Keokuk failed to recognize Joseph among those who had come to bid him welcome, he refused to land or allow any of his party to go ashore until Joseph made his appearance. The arrangement had been made for the band and the detachment of the Legion to lead the dusky visitors to the grove where the Saints held their meetings; and there Joseph would have joined them. But Keokuk seemed to have his own ideas in relation to the etiquette to be observed at his reception, and waited until the Prophet met him at the landing and bade him welcome to Nauvoo.
At the grove Joseph addressed the Indians at some length, upon what the Lord had revealed to him concerning their fore-fathers, and recited to them the glorious promises contained in the Book of Mormon respecting themselves, the despised remnants of a once splendid race. How their hearts must have glowed and their eyes brightened as they listened to the young Prophet relate the story of their forefathers' rise and fall, and the bright promises held out to them of redemption from their fallen state! In conclusion Joseph counseled them to cease killing each other, and warring with other tribes or with the whites. To Joseph's speech Keokuk replied:
I have a Book of Mormon at my wigwam that you gave me a number of moons ago. I believe you are a great and good man. Keokuk looks rough, but I am a son of the Great Spirit. I have heard your advice. We intend to quit fighting, and follow the good talk you have given us.
After the "talk," they were feasted by the Saints with good food and dainties and melons. At the conclusion of the feast, they gave a specimen of their war dance to entertain the spectators, and then returned to the Iowa side of the river to their encampment.
Thus passed away the summer of 1841; and by the first of October—the date fixed for the semi-annual conference—the early autumn frosts had tinged the forest leaves with purple and gold, giving to the splendid scenery about Nauvoo an additional charm. President Joseph Smith was not present at the opening of the conference. He had that morning gone to assist in laying the corner-stone of the Nauvoo House which the Saints by revelation had been commanded to build;[[3]] and the conference was opened by President Brigham Young.
The principal subject brought before the people at this conference was the redemption of the dead, and building the temple. This matter appeared to impress itself upon the mind of Joseph with great force, and nothing, apparently, gave him more delight than to explain its importance to his people. Up to this time many baptisms for the dead had been performed in the river, but it was now announced that no more baptisms for the dead should be attended to, until it could be done in the font of the Lord's house, for thus had the Lord commanded. The Saints, however, were not long denied the privilege of performing this work of baptism for their dead, as on the eighth of November, following the conference, a temporary baptismal font had been completed and dedicated in the basement of the temple.[[4]]
On the occasion of the angel Moroni's first appearance to Joseph Smith, in 1823, he repeated to the young Prophet the words of Malachi, recorded in the fourth chapter of the Book of Malachi, the fifth and sixth verses, though quoting somewhat differently from the language of King James' translation, as follows:
Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord; and he will plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers; if it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.
In fulfillment of this promised visitation, in April, 1836, Elijah the prophet appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and said:
Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he (Elijah) should be sent before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse. Therefore the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands, and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors.
And now when something like peace had come to The Church, and settled conditions obtained, the Prophet of God began to unfold the doctrine of salvation for the dead—the application of those principles of salvation to past generations who had lived upon the earth when neither the Gospel nor divine authority to administer its ordinances were among men.
In addition to the main idea of this doctrine which he taught with such great power, the following gems are gathered from his teachings at this conference, chiefly relating to the same subject:
The proclamation of the first principles of the Gospel, was a means of salvation to men individually, and it was the truth and not men that saved them; but men by actively engaging in rites of salvation substantially became instruments in bringing multitudes of their kindred into the Kingdom of God. [And hence] he presented baptism for the dead as the only way by which men can appear as saviors on Mount Zion.
* * *
The difference between an angel and a ministering spirit: the one [the first] is a resurrected or translated body with its spirit ministering to embodied spirits; the other a disembodied spirit visiting and ministering to disembodied spirits.
* * *
Jesus Christ became a ministering spirit (while his body was laying in the sepulchre) to the spirits in prison, to fulfill an important part of his mission, without which he could not have perfected his work or entered into his rest. After his resurrection he appeared as an angel to his disciples.
* * *
Translated bodies cannot enter into rest until they have undergone a change equivalent to death.
* * *
Translated bodies are designed for future missions.
* * *
The angel which appeared to John on the Isle of Patmos was a translated or resurrected body.
* * *
Jesus Christ went in body after his resurrection to minister to translated and resurrected bodies.
* * *
It is no more incredible that God should save the dead than that he should raise the dead.
* * *
There is never a time when the spirit is too old to approach God.
* * *
All are within the reach of pardoning mercy, who have not committed the unpardonable sin, which hath no forgiveness, neither in this world, nor in the world to come. There is a way to release the spirit of the dead; that is by the power and authority of the Priesthood—by binding and loosing on earth. This doctrine appears glorious, inasmuch as it exhibits the greatness of divine compassion and benevolence in the extent of the plan of human salvation.
This glorious truth is well calculated to enlarge the understanding, and to sustain the soul under troubles, difficulties, and distresses. For illustration, suppose the case of two men, brothers, equally intelligent, learned, virtuous and lovely, walking in uprightness and in all good conscience, so far as they had been able to discern duty from the muddy stream of tradition, or from the blotted page of the book of nature. One dies and is buried, having never heard the Gospel of reconciliation; to the other the message of salvation is sent, he hears and embraces it, and is made the heir of eternal life. Shall the one become a partaker of glory, and the other consigned to hopeless perdition? Is there no chance for his escape? Sectarianism answers, none! none! none!!! Such an idea is worse than atheism. The truth shall break down and dash in pieces all such bigoted Pharisaism; the sects shall be sifted, the honest in heart brought out, and their priests left in the midst of their corruption.
* * *
This doctrine presents in a clear light the wisdom and mercy of God in preparing an ordinance for the salvation of the dead, being baptized by proxy, their names recorded in heaven, and they judged according to the deeds done in the body. This doctrine was the burden of the Scriptures. Those Saints who neglect it, in behalf of their deceased relatives, do it at the peril of their own salvation. The dispensation of the fullness of times will bring to light the things that have been revealed in all former dispensations; also other things that have not been before revealed.
* * *
Another interesting feature of the conference was the report made by the Prophet of The Church property in his charge as trustee-in-trust for The Church. He also took occasion to report the amount of his own earthly possessions, of which the following is a copy:
Old Charley, a horse given to him several years before in Kirtland; two pet deers; two old turkeys and four young ones; an old cow given to him by a brother in Missouri; old Major, a dog; his wife, children, and a little household furniture!
Surely his earthly possessions did not far exceed those of Him who had not where to lay His head!