The Life of Joseph Smith, the Prophet

by George Q. Cannon

Footnotes

[1]. See [NOTE 4.], APPENDIX.

CHAPTER LI.

THE POWER OF HUMAN HARMONY—CHANGING HELL TO HEAVEN—JOSEPH AS A SERVANT—HIS SKETCH OF THE CHURCH—A RINGING EDITORIAL—ORGANIZATION OF THE RELIEF SOCIETY—BENNETT BEGINS HIS PLOTS.

Upon one occasion, when the power of persecution was descending upon the people, a threat of the mobocrats was carried to the Prophet. It was this: "We are going to drive the Mormons to hell, this time, sure."

With an entrancing mildness of look and sweetness of voice, Joseph replied:

Never mind, my brethren, if they drive us to hell, we'll turn the devil out and make a heaven of it.

This sentiment is at once a sermon upon unity and an epitome of the history of the Latter-day Saints. By their union and system of mutual help they have again and again redeemed wildernesses; every time demonstrating that the Prophet's view of the power of human harmony was correct—for where the love of truth and the concord of the Saints exist there is no room for Satan, and hell itself must be transformed into a region of bliss.

Joseph was putting these principles into practice at Nauvoo, and a beautiful city was growing out of a marsh; and institutions for human liberty and human advancement were growing out of the most adverse conditions.

Near the opening of 1842 the Prophet, with President Brigham Young and Bishop Newel K. Whitney, began to devise a plan, by which a cheap and expeditious conveyance of the Saints from the old world to Nauvoo might be secured through a united effort; and the mercantile interests of the people might be made to serve the general welfare and protect and help the poor. The Prophet himself did not hesitate to engage in mercantile and industrial pursuits; the gospel which he preached was one of temporal salvation as well as spiritual exaltation; and he was willing to perform his share of the practical labor. This he did with no thought of personal gain, for in opening the store at Nauvoo he said:

I rejoice that we have been enabled to do as well as we have, for the hearts of many of the poor brethren and sisters will be made glad with these comforts which are now within their reach.

In a letter to Brother Edward Hunter, under date of January 5th, 1842, the Prophet shows his humility and the love of his heart in these words:

The store has been filled to overflowing and I have stood behind the counter all day, distributing goods as steadily as any clerk you ever saw, to oblige those who were compelled to go without their Christmas and New Year's dinners for the want of a little sugar, molasses, raisins, etc.; and to please myself also, for I love to wait upon the Saints and to be a servant to all, hoping that I may be exalted in the due time of the Lord.

What a picture is here presented! A man chosen by the Lord to lay the foundation of His Church and to be its Prophet and President, takes joy and pride in waiting upon his brethren and sisters like a servant. The self-elected ministers of Christ in the world are forever jealous of their dignity and fearful of showing disrespect to their cloth; but Joseph never saw the day when he did not feel that he was serving God and obtaining favor in the sight of Jesus Christ by showing kindness and attention "even unto the least of these."

One Tom Sharp, editor of the Warsaw Signal, was devoting the greater part of his time and the greater part of his paper's space to slanders and misrepresentations of the Saints. The Prophet's comment upon this man, who afterward became a prominent factor in the persecutions against the people, was: "Let Sharp publish what he pleases: the faster he prints his lies the sooner he will get through."

There were signs of prosperity for the Saints and although they were not yet surrounded by comforts, they began to give freely of their substance to rear the temple, anxiously looking forward to its completion as a thing of mighty importance to the living and to the dead. With the rapid increase of their numbers, the politicians of the state sought their favor. The Prophet took occasion, during the gubernatorial contest of 1842, to announce that he would support without regard to their political predilections, the men who were devoted to humanity and equal rights—the cause of liberty and the law. And this was his text in every political campaign in which the people took part.

John Wentworth, proprietor of the Chicago Democrat, wrote to the Prophet early in 1842, asking for a sketch of the Church and its founder, stating that he desired the data for a Mr. Barstow who was writing the history of New Hampshire. Joseph very willingly complied with this request and gave a succinct history of the founding of the Church, its progress and persecutions; with a statement of the faith of the Latter-day Saints. The Prophet's own words cannot fail to be of intense interest to students of his life; and as his account shows masterly condensation and completeness, it is here presented in full:

I was born in the town of Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont, on the 23rd of December, A. D. 1805. When ten years old my parents removed to Palmyra, New York, where we resided about four years, and from thence we removed to the town of Manchester. My father was a farmer and taught me the art of husbandry. When about fourteen years of age I began to reflect upon the importance of being prepared for a future state, and upon inquiring upon the plan of salvation, I found that there was a great clash in religious sentiment; if I went to one society they referred me to one plan, and another to another; each one pointing to his own particular creed as the summum bonum of perfection; considering that all could not be right, and that God could not be the author of so much confusion, I determined to investigate the subject more fully, believing that if God had a church it would not be split up into factions, and that if He taught one society to worship one way, and administer in one set of ordinances, He would not teach another principles that were diametrically opposed.

Believing the word of God, I had confidence in the declaration of James—"If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." I retired to a secret place in a grove, and began to call upon the Lord; while fervently engaged in supplication, my mind was taken away from the objects with which I was surrounded, and I was enwrapped in a heavenly vision, and saw two glorious personages, who exactly resembled each other in features and likeness, surrounded with a brilliant light which eclipsed the sun at noonday. They told me that all the religious denominations were believing in incorrect doctrines, and that none of them was acknowledged of God as His Church and kingdom; and I was expressly commanded to "go not after them;" at the same time receiving a promise that the fullness of the gospel should at some future time be made known unto me.

On the evening of the 21st of September, A. D. 1823, while I was praying unto God, and endeavoring to exercise faith in the precious promises of scripture, on a sudden a light like that of day, only of a far purer and more glorious appearance and brightness, burst into the room: indeed the first sight was as though the house was filled with consuming fire. The appearance produced a shock that affected the whole body. In a moment a personage stood before me surrounded with a glory yet greater than that with which I was already surrounded. This messenger proclaimed himself to be an angel of God, sent to bring the joyful tidings, that the covenant which God made with ancient Israel was at hand to be fulfilled, that the preparatory work for the second coming of the Messiah was speedily to commence; that the time was at hand for the gospel, in all its fullness, to be preached in power unto all nations, that a people might be prepared for the millennial reign.

I was informed that I was chosen to be an instrument in the hands of God to bring about some of His purposes in this glorious dispensation.

I was also informed concerning the aboriginal inhabitants of this country, and shown who they were and from whence they came; a brief sketch of their origin, progress, civilization, laws, governments, of their righteousness and their iniquity, and the blessings of God being finally withdrawn from them as a people, was made known unto me. I was also told where there were deposited some plates on which were engraven an abridgment of the records of the ancient prophets that had existed on this continent. The angel appeared to me three times the same night, and unfolded the same things. After having received many visits from the angels of God, unfolding the majesty and glory of the events that should transpire in the last days, on the morning of the 22nd of September, A.D. 1827, the angel of the Lord delivered the records into my hands.

These records were engraven on plates which had the appearance of gold. Each plate was six inches wide and eight long, and not quite so thick as common tin. They were filled with engravings in Egyptian characters, and bound together in a volume as the leaves of a book, with three rings running through the whole. The volume was something near six inches in thickness, a part of which was sealed. The characters on the unsealed part were small and beautifully engraved. The whole book exhibited many marks of antiquity in its construction and much skill in the art of engraving. With the records was found a curious instrument, which the ancients called "Urim and Thummim," which consisted of two transparent stones set in the rim of a bow fastened to a breastplate.

Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record, by the gift and power of God.

In this important and interesting book the history of ancient America is unfolded, from its first settlement by a colony that came from the tower of Babel at the confusion of languages, to the beginning of the fifth century of the Christian era. We are informed by these records that America in ancient times had been inhabited by two distinct races of people. The first were called Jaredites, and came directly from the tower of Babel. The second race came directly from the city of Jerusalem about six hundred years before Christ. They were principally Israelites of the descendants of Joseph. The Jaredites were destroyed about the time the Israelites came from Jerusalem, who succeeded them in the inheritance of the country. The principal nation of the second race fell in battle towards the close of the fourth century. The remnant are the Indians that now inhabit this country. This book also tells us that our Savior made His appearance upon this continent after His resurrection, that He planted the gospel here in all its fullness, and richness, and power, and blessing; that they had apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers and evangelists; the same order, the same Priesthood, the same ordinances, gifts, powers and blessings as were enjoyed on the eastern continent; that the people were cut off in consequence of their transgressions; that the last of their prophets who existed among them was commanded to write an abridgment of their prophecies, history, etc., and to hide it up in the earth, and that it should come forth and be united with the Bible for the accomplishment of the purposes of God in the last days. For a more particular account I would refer to the Book of Mormon.

As soon as the news of this discovery was made known, false reports, misrepresentations and slander flew as on the wings of the wind in every direction; the house was frequently beset by mobs and evil-designing persons. Several times I was shot at and very narrowly escaped, and every device was made use of to get the plates away from me, but the power and blessing of God attended me, and several began to believe my testimony.

On the 6th of April, 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in the town of Fayette, Seneca County, state of New York. Some few were called and ordained by the spirit of revelation and prophecy, and began to preach as the Spirit gave them utterance, and, though weak, they were strengthened by the power of God, and many were brought to repentance, were immersed in the water, and were filled with the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. They saw visions and prophesied, devils were cast out, and the sick healed by the laying on of hands. From that time the work rolled forth with astonishing rapidity, and churches were soon formed in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri; in the last named state a considerable settlement was formed in Jackson County; numbers joined the Church, and we were increasing rapidly; we made large purchases of land, our farms teemed with plenty, and peace and happiness were enjoyed in our domestic circles and throughout our neighborhoods; but as we could not associate with our neighbors—who were, many of them the basest of men, and had fled from the face of civilized society to the frontier country to escape the hand of justice—in their midnight revels, in their Sabbath breaking, horse racing and gambling, they commenced at first to ridicule, then to persecute, and, finally, an organized mob assembled and burned our houses, tarred and feathered, and whipped many of our brethren, and finally drove them from their habitations, who, houseless and homeless, contrary to law, justice and humanity, had to wander on the bleak prairies till the children left the tracks of their blood on the prairie. This took place in the month of November, and they had no other covering but the canopy of heaven, in this inclement season of the year. This proceeding was winked at by the government, and although we had warrantee deeds for our land, and had violated no law, we could obtain no redress.

There were many sick, who were thus inhumanly driven from their houses, and had to endure all this abuse, and to seek homes where they could be found. The result was, that a great many of them, being deprived of the comforts of life and the necessary attendance, died; many children were left orphans, wives widows, and husbands widowers. Our farms were taken possession of by the mob, many thousands of cattle, sheep, horses and hogs were taken, and our household goods, store goods, and printing press and type were broken, taken or otherwise destroyed.

Many of our brethren removed to Clay, where they continued until 1836, three years; there was no violence offered, but there were threatenings of violence. But in the summer of 1836 these threatenings began to assume a more serious form; from threats, public meetings were called, resolutions were passed, vengeance and destruction were threatened, and affairs again assumed a fearful attitude. Jackson County was a sufficient precedent, and as the authorities in that county did not interfere, they boasted that they would not in this, which, upon application to the authorities, we found to be too true, and after much violence, privation and loss of property, we were again driven from our homes.

We next settled in Caldwell and Daviess counties, where we made large and extensive settlements, thinking to free ourselves from the power of oppression by settling in new counties with very few inhabitants in them; but here we were not allowed to live in peace, for in 1838 we were again attacked by mobs; an exterminating order was issued by Governor Boggs, and under the sanction of law organized banditti ranged through the country, robbed us of our cattle, sheep, horses, hogs, etc. Many of our people were murdered in cold blood, the chastity of our women was violated, and we were forced to sign away our property at the point of the sword; and after enduring every indignity that could be heaped upon us by an inhuman, ungodly band of marauders, from twelve to fifteen thousand souls—men, women and children—were driven from their own firesides, and from lands that they had warrantee deeds of, houseless, friendless and homeless, in the depth of winter, to wander as exiles on the earth, or to seek an asylum in a more genial clime and among a less barbarous people.

Many sickened and died in consequence of the cold and hardships they had to endure; many wives were left widows, and children orphans and destitute. It would take more time than is allotted me here to describe the injustice, the wrongs, the murders, the bloodshed, the theft, misery and woe that have been caused by the barbarous, inhuman and lawless proceedings of the state of Missouri.

In the situation before alluded to, we arrived in the state of Illinois in 1839, when we found a hospitable people and a friendly home; a people who were willing to be governed by the principles of law and humanity. We have commenced to build a city called "Nauvoo," in Hancock County. We number from six to eight thousand here, besides vast numbers in the county around, and in almost every county of the state. We have a city charter granted us, and a charter for a legion, the troops of which now number 1,500. We have also a charter for a university, for an agricultural and manufacturing society, have our own laws and administrators, and possess all the privileges that other free and enlightened citizens enjoy.

Persecution has not stopped the progress of truth, but has only added fuel to the flame, it has spread with increasing rapidity: proud of the cause which they have espoused, and conscious of their innocence, and of the truth of their system, amidst calumny and reproach, have the Elders of this Church gone forth, and planted the gospel in almost every state in the Union; it has penetrated our cities, it has spread over our villages, and has caused thousands of our intelligent, noble and patriotic citizens to obey its divine mandates, and be governed by its sacred truths. It has also spread into England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales; in the year 1840, where a few of our missionaries were sent, over five thousand joined the Standard of Truth; there are numbers now joining in every land.

Our missionaries are going forth to different nations, and in Germany, Palestine, New Holland, the East Indies and other places, the Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing, persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done.

We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in His Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.

We believe that through the atonement of Christ all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.

We believe that these ordinances are 1st: Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; 2nd, Repentance; 3rd, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; 4th, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

We believe that a man must be called of God by "prophecy and by laying on of hands" by those who are in authority, to preach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.

We believe in the same organization that existed in the primitive church, namely, Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers, Evangelists, etc.

We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelations, visions, healing, interpretations of tongues, etc.

We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion will be built upon this continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth, and that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.

We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where or what they may.

We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers and magistrates, in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law.

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul "we believe all things, we hope all things," we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely or of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

Respectfully, etc.,

JOSEPH SMITH.

In February of 1842, Joseph became the editor of the Times and Seasons, assisted by Apostle John Taylor. The Prophet continued to carry this responsibility for nearly a year when a press of other business, combined with the persecution of his enemies, compelled him to relinquish the task into the hands of his assistant, Elder Taylor, who was then formally announced as the editor. During 1842, Joseph gave many instructions of precious truth through that periodical to the Saints, and published, with engravings made by Elder Reuben Hedlock, his translation of the Book of Abraham.

In the issue of the Times and Seasons for March 1st, 1842, appears the Prophet's first editorial article. It is significant and strong:

"HONOR AMONG THIEVES."

We extract the following from the New York Tribune:

"The paymaster of the Missouri militia, called out to put down the Mormons some two years since, was supplied with money some time since and started for western Missouri, but has not yet arrived there. It is feared that he has taken the saline slope."

We are not surprised that persons who could wantonly, barbarously and without the shadow of law, drive fifteen thousand men, women and children from their homes, should have among them a man who was so lost to every sense of justice, as to run away with the wages for this infamous deed; it is not very difficult for men who can blow out the brains of children; who can shoot down and hew to pieces our ancient veterans that fought in the defense of our country and delivered it from the oppressor's grasp; who could deliberately, and in cold blood, murder men, and rob them of their boots, watches, etc., and whilst they were yet weltering in their blood and grappling with death, and then proceed to rob their widowed houses. Men who can deliberately do this, and steal nearly all the horses, cattle, sheep, hogs and property of a whole community, and drive them from their homes en masse, in an inclement season of the year, will not find many qualms of conscience in stealing the pay of his brother thieves, and taking the "saline slope."

The very idea of government paying these men for their bloody deeds, must cause the sons of liberty to blush, and to hang their harps upon the willow; and make the blood of every patriot run chill. The proceedings of that state have been so barbarous and inhuman that our indignation is aroused when we reflect upon the scene.

We are here reminded of one of the patriotic deeds of the government of that state, which, after it had robbed us of everything we had in the world, and taken from us many hundred thousand dollars worth of property, had its sympathies so far touched (alias, its good name,) that it voted two thousand dollars for the relief of the "suffering Mormons," and choosing two or three of the state's noblest sons to carry the heavenly boon, these angels of salvation came in the plenitude of their mercy, and in the dignity of their office, to Far West. To do what? to feed their hungry, and clothe their naked with the $2,000? Verily nay! but to go into Daviess County and steal the Mormons' hogs (which they, [the Mormons] themselves, were prohibited from obtaining, under penalty of death) to distribute among the destitute, and to sell where they could obtain the money. These hogs, thus obtained, were shot down in their blood, and not otherwise bled; they were filthy to a degree. These, the Mormons' own hogs, and a very few goods, the sweepings of an old store in Liberty, were what these patriotic and noble-minded men gave to the "poor Mormons," and then circulated to the world how sympathetic, benevolent, kind and merciful the legislature of the state of Missouri was in giving two thousand dollars to the "suffering Mormons." Surely, "the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel."

The organization of the Female Relief Society at Nauvoo began under the Prophet's direction on the 17th of March, 1842, and was completed on the 24th day of that month. The purpose of the society was to comfort the poor and relieve the destitute and sustain the widow and the orphan. The sisters among the Saints had always been signalized for their acts of kindness; but the cruel usage they had received in Missouri had prevented their extending the hand of charity as they desired. Yet even in the midst of their persecution, when the bread was torn from the mouths of their offspring by the oppressors, they had always been willing to open their doors to the weary travelers and to divide their pittance with the stranger. With the growing prosperity of the Church, the Prophet felt sure that the sisters would concentrate their efforts to ameliorate the condition of the suffering stranger, to pour oil and wine into the wounded heart of the distressed, to dry up the tears of the orphan, and make the widow's heart to rejoice.

On the 20th day of March, 1842, after a sermon in the grove near the temple, the Prophet went down to the river and baptized eighty persons for the remission of their sins. Fifty of this number received their confirmation under his hands later in the day. One week afterward he baptized one hundred and seven people in the Mississippi.

At the conference of the Church held at the city of Nauvoo on the 6th day of April, 1842, the twelfth anniversary of its organization, Apostle Page made explanation of the delays through which he failed to accompany Elder Orson Hyde to Jerusalem.

The Prophet decided that Elder Page should be restored to his fellowship; he took the occasion to instruct the Elders that when they went forth as companions they were to adhere to each other as Elisha and Elijah of old.

During this conference two hundred and seventy-five Elders were ordained under the hands of the Apostles.

On Saturday, the 9th day of April, 1842, the Prophet attended the funeral of Ephraim Marks, a son of William Marks, president of the Nauvoo Stake. President Wilford Woodruff's journal of that date records that Joseph addressed the funeral assemblage, and in the course of his remarks said:

Some of the Saints have supposed that "Brother Joseph" could not die; but this is a mistake. It is true that there have been times when I have had the promise of my life to accomplish certain things; but, having now done these things, I have no longer any lease of my life. I am as liable to die as other men.

This sermon is like a premonition of his own fate. At the time it was uttered his surroundings had never been so propitious since the day when he first received the plates from the Hill Cumorah. But soon after he made this declaration, his enemies began again to pursue him vindictively, and they continued until his death a little more than two years after he delivered that sermon.

In the spring of 1842, the Nauvoo Legion of the Illinois state militia consisted of twenty-six companies, comprising about two thousand troops. On the 7th day of May the staff of the Legion dined at the house of the commander-in-chief. Other guests were there, including Judge Stephen A. Douglas, who had adjourned the circuit court, then in session at Carthage, that he and the lawyers might visit Nauvoo and witness the parade of the Legion. A sham battle between the two cohorts under Brigadier-Generals Wilson Law and Charles C. Rich was a feature of the day. The battle and the parade were brilliant; and the visitors expressed their admiration of the energy and the patriotism of the Prophet and his brethren who had organized and trained this large body of loyal troops to be in readiness for their country's call.

It was during the sham battle of this day that the Prophet became assured that John C. Bennett was a wicked man—impure and traitorous. The proper place for the Lieutenant-General commanding, was upon an eminence where, surrounded by his staff and the ladies and distinguished visitors, he could review the contest between his cohorts. But Bennett made several endeavors to draw Joseph down into the battle; failing in that, to get him separated from his staff and party and in the rear of one of his forces. Joseph might have yielded to some of these requests but the Spirit whispered him that treachery was meditated. A little later the purpose of Bennett was made manifest. He had intended to get Joseph into such a position that he could be killed by a shot and no one be able to identify the assassin. Bennett no doubt had accomplices in this plot, and his plans were shrewdly laid; but this was not the hour nor this the method for the Prophet's death.

In recording the events of this day in his journal, Joseph develops Bennett's treachery and predicts that the wicked doing of the traitor will soon be made manifest before the world. The prophecy was fulfilled.

CHAPTER LII.

BENNETT'S IMPURITIES—HIS COWARDLY STAB AT THE PROPHET'S NAME AND LIFE—FELLOWSHIP WITHDRAWN FROM THE EVIL-DOER—QUOTING HIS OWN LETTERS TO INJURE THE SAINTS—ATTEMPT TO KILL BOGGS—ABSURD CHARGES AGAINST "THE MORMONS"—JOSEPH'S HORSE, "JOE DUNCAN"—A PROPHECY.

Insidious as was the attempt of Bennett upon the Prophet's life during the sham battle of the Legion on the 7th of May, 1842, it was not so cowardly as the stab which Bennett sought to inflict very soon after that. The first blow aimed solely at the Prophet's life; the second intended to slay his reputation and then to have him killed with a dishonorable stain upon his name. Bennett was lustful in his nature, though he had brought that disposition into subjection, or at least concealment, for a little time after his arrival at Nauvoo. But he soon gave way to the whisper of the tempter. And to make his purpose successful, and to encloak himself with protection, he taught secretly to men and women that the Prophet countenanced sin between the sexes. Bennett's prominence, and the intimacy that he represented as existing between the Prophet and himself deceived a few, and he found some followers in the city of Nauvoo. Men and women professing to accept his teachings as having emanated from the Prophet, gave themselves up to profligacy. They excused themselves to their own souls and their fellow-beings by the pretense that the Prophet of God justified these immoralities. Bennett's converts were few; and these were only among the ignorant or the depraved, for everyone who was himself pure in soul and blessed with reasonable intelligence knew that nothing was more abhorrent to the Prophet than sexual impurity. Joseph's teachings upon this point were emphatic and frequent. He regarded and taught that virtue in man or woman was dearer than life, and that adultery was a sin second only to the shedding of innocent blood.

But Bennett worked secretly and prevailed over several to yield to his desires, and induced a few men to engage in his awful course, securing concealment by the most adroit and outrageous falsehoods.

Among the persons addressed by Bennett were some pure minded brethren and sisters, who knew in an instant that his teachings were corrupt, and knew by the Spirit of the Lord that the Prophet was no party to such an atrocious crime.

Bennett's sins were not long hidden from Joseph's knowledge. The Prophet acted promptly as was his wont. He charged the sins of falsehood and seduction upon Bennett, and the latter was forced to confess. He humbled himself and with many tears begged for pardon. Of his own volition he went before Alderman Daniel H. Wells and made oath that Joseph Smith had never taught him "anything contrary to the strictest principles of the gospel, or of virtue, or of the laws of God or man, under any circumstance, or upon any occasion, either directly or indirectly in word or in deed." These sentiments he reiterated in public assemblages, declaring that so far as he knew and believed, Joseph's life was unspotted by one act or word of immorality. On the 17th of May he resigned the office of mayor, being terrified by the indignation of insulted men and abused women. The council accepted his resignation and appointed Joseph to fill the vacancy.

On the 25th of May, notice was given to John C. Bennett that his fellowship had been withdrawn from him and that notice must be given through the press to warn the public against his evil doings. Weeping, he fell upon his knees acknowledged his licentious conduct toward women in Nauvoo, confessed that he was worthy of the severest chastisement; but supplicated the brethren to spare him for his poor old mother's sake, promising that he would sin no more and would endeavor to atone for his wrong-doing. Joseph, who had been deeply injured, was the one to plead for mercy for Bennett, and at his especial solicitation the public notice was temporarily withdrawn. But the tears were hypocritical, for Bennett renewed his machinations; and it became necessary to warn all people against him as a dangerous man, a liar and a seducer. Some of the persons who had lent a willing ear to his corrupt counsels were also excommunicated. Evil reports soon began to come in from other places concerning Bennett, and it was discovered that he had pursued on former occasions the same sinful line of conduct which caused his fall at Nauvoo.

In June Bennett withdrew from Nauvoo and circulated lying publications against the truth and the Prophet, and endeavored to incite a mob to march up against Nauvoo. The hideous character of this man is fully shown by one circumstance: shortly after the Saints settled in Nauvoo he began to publish a series of letters over the nom de plume of "Joab, General in Israel," in which he recounted many of the atrocities of the Missouri persecutions. His articles breathed a spirit of resentment against the mobocrats and their official supporters, but these views belonged to Bennett personally and were not shared by anyone else. When he fled from Nauvoo after the exposure of his evil deeds, he called attention through the public prints to the sanguinary utterances of his own letters attributing them to the Saints and attempting by their sentiments to show that Joseph and his people were disposed to violence. Such an act of duplicity is almost unparalleled.

Bennett published a book filled with dark falsehoods about the Prophet and the Saints. It created a momentary excitement; but its author was despised by everybody and soon sank into obscurity and distress. He lived some years in agony, being wrecked in mind and body and died in poverty and distress.

On the 6th day of May, 1842, ex-Governor Lilburn W. Boggs was shot and dangerously wounded in his house at Independence, Jackson County, Missouri. His little boy had found him lying near an open window, weltering in blood, with three buckshot in his head. Outside of the window were footprints and a smoking pistol. The case was clearly one of attempted assassination. At first no hope was entertained that Boggs would recover; but he subsequently took a favorable turn and his life was saved. A rumor at once went forth charging the affair upon the "Mormons," although there was not the slightest circumstance to connect them with the deed. Boggs had plenty of enemies of a desperate character; he had shown the utmost disregard for law, and had glutted his vengeful spirit by murder and excitement to murder. What more natural than that he who had invoked massacre should fall by the hand of a ruffian taught by the example of Boggs himself to hold human life in light esteem! At first the charge against the Saints was a general one. It was safer to say that "Mormons did it," than to designate the particular hand which fired the shot.

It was stated that the Prophet had predicted a violent death for Boggs; and this rumor was circulated by his enemies to confirm suspicion against the Saints. But he promptly denied having expressed any such idea.

While this falsehood was being spread through that region, John C. Bennett and David and Edward Kilbourn conspired to kidnap Joseph and get him into Missouri. All the evil forces and powers of persecution united themselves at this hour.

Under the Prophet's direction, Governor Reynolds of Missouri and Governor Carlin of Illinois were informed of the efforts which were being made in both states to precipitate mobocratic attacks upon the Saints; Joseph being determined that the officials should not permit this movement to gain head except by their wilful acquiescence or neglect.

About the 1st of July, 1842, the first "Anti-Mormon" political convention was held in Hancock County, Illinois. Its resolutions read like a page out of recent Utah history. The complete set of candidates were pledged to a man to receive no support from and to yield no quarter to the "Mormons;" and then the ticket was commended to the suffrage of all the citizens of Hancock County. The Prophet punctured the bubble by a vigorous exposure of the hypocrisy, intolerance and stupidity of such a campaign.

On Sunday, the 3rd day of July, eight thousand people assembled in the grove to hear the Prophet and his brother Hyrum preach. Joseph addressed the vast assemblage in the morning and Hyrum in the afternoon.

In the Prophet's journal, under date of July 11th, 1842, he records the fact that he bought a horse of Harmon T. Wilson, which he afterwards named Joe Duncan. This was the famous and beautiful steed which Lieutenant-General Smith afterwards rode at the head of the Nauvoo Legion. The Prophet had a great fondness for animals. His horse Charley was widely known among the people, and with the boys of Nauvoo he was a great favorite. Speaking of the horse Charley brings to mind an occurrence which created considerable amusement at the time. A boy named Wesley Cowle was flying a kite in one of the streets of Nauvoo. One or two strangers came up to him and asked him where the Prophet could be found. At that time officers were said to be coming from Carthage for the purpose of serving papers upon Joseph and arresting him. "Wes." Cowle did not know but the strangers were officers. He said the Prophet was not in the city. He and Hyrum had gone to heaven on "old Charley" and he was flying his kite to send them their dinner.

On Saturday, the 6th day of August, 1842, while Joseph was conversing with several of his brethren at Montrose, Iowa, he uttered a remarkable prophecy which, like every other prediction from his lips, has been literally fulfilled. He declared that the Saints would continue to suffer much affliction and would finally be driven to the Rocky Mountains. Many would apostatize; others would be put to death by their persecutors or lose their lives in consequence of their exile; and many of those who listened to him would live to assist in building cities and to see the Saints become a mighty people in the tops of the Rocky Mountains.

That prophecy was uttered publicly and was placed on record at the time.

CHAPTER LIII.

THE PROPHET CHARGED WITH BEING AN ACCESSORY TO THE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF BOGGS—ORRIN PORTER ROCKWELL ACCUSED OF THE CRIME—THE GOVERNOR'S REQUISITION—THE ARREST—THE PROPHET'S DESIRE FOR PEACE—WILSON LAW'S BRAVE WORDS—EMMA SMITH'S NOBLE APPEAL TO THE GOVERNOR—CARLIN'S FALSE REPLY—AMASA M. LYMAN ORDAINED AN APOSTLE—THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY FAITHFUL VOLUNTEERS.

Independence was hundreds of miles from Nauvoo. The vast stretch of country lying between the two cities was inhabited by a people who had sworn death to any "Mormon" daring to set foot on Missouri soil. The county of Jackson was the place from which the Saints had first been driven in the state, with the loss of all their possessions; and from which the Prophet and his companions, in 1839, had barely escaped with their lives. On the day when Lilburn W. Boggs was shot at Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, Joseph Smith attended the officers' drill at Nauvoo. The day before the attempt on Boggs' life General Adams of Springfield had been with the Prophet; the day following the attempt, Judge Stephen A. Douglas and many lawyers of his court, with twelve thousand other people, saw Joseph Smith reviewing the Legion at Nauvoo.

And yet Lilburn W. Boggs went before a justice of the peace for Jackson County, one Samuel Weston, and swore to a complaint charging Joseph Smith with "being an accessory before the fact, to an assault with intent to kill made by one Orrin P. Rockwell on Lilburn W. Boggs, on the night of the 6th of May, 1842." This affidavit was not made until the latter part of July; and, during the interval, Boggs and his friends had ample time to ascertain that no "Mormon" could possibly have been connected with the assault—even if they had not been able to secure the actual assassin. They had investigated the subject, for their kidnappers were constantly hovering around the Prophet's person. If they could have secured him by force, Boggs would not have committed this perjury. But they must get him at all hazards. It would not do to charge him as principal in the commission of the deed because hundreds of prominent men in the state of Illinois could have testified to an alibi. They must select some person comparatively obscure, upon whom to charge the deed itself. As this victim they chose Orrin Porter Rockwell, although he had spent the spring and summer of 1842 in Illinois; and they charged the Prophet as being accessory, without taking the pains to trace any connection between Rockwell and the deed, or between the Prophet and Rockwell.

Boggs, having been governor of Missouri, found it easy to secure a requisition from Governor Reynolds for the persons of Joseph Smith and Orrin P. Rockwell; and upon this manifestly absurd and unconstitutional demand, Governor Carlin issued his warrant for their apprehension.

On the 8th day of August, 1842, the deputy sheriff of Adams County with two assistants, arrested Joseph Smith and Orrin P. Rockwell, at Nauvoo, by virtue of the warrant from Carlin upon the requisition of the governor of Missouri.

The monstrous character of the charge and the proceedings was clearly apparent, but neither Joseph nor his fellow-prisoner made any attempt to use force in the evasion of the illegal process. They succeeded in getting a writ of habeas corpus; but the officers refused to comply with its demands for the bodies of Smith and Rockwell and returned their original writ to Governor Carlin for further instruction. No doubt they were aware of the character of the duty entrusted to them: they were to arrest as fugitives from the justice of Missouri men who had not been in that state during or since the commission of the crime charged, men who were as palpably innocent of the offense as the officers themselves. Under these circumstances it is no cause for wonder that they should have sought renewed orders.

When the officers were gone from Nauvoo, Joseph and Orrin absented themselves pending preparations for a legal defense against this unlawful seizure. The sheriff returned with his aides to Nauvoo on Wednesday, the 10th of August. Failing to find his prey, he sought to terrify Emma and others into a disclosure of the Prophet's whereabouts—making violent threats to be executed in case of their refusal. William Law contended in argument with the officers, pronouncing the whole proceedings to be illegal and ridiculous. So closely did he press the point that the deputy sheriff acknowledged his own belief that Joseph was entirely innocent, and that Governor Carlin's course was unjustifiable and unconstitutional.

Rockwell, to escape from the Missouri kidnappers, took a journey to the eastern states where he remained some months.

Joseph left Nauvoo and spent a little time at his Uncle John Smith's in Zarahemla. On the night of Thursday, the 11th of August, he went in a skiff with Brother Erastus H. Derby to an island in the Mississippi between Nauvoo and Montrose, where they were met by Emma, Hyrum, William Law, Newel K. Whitney, George Miller, William Clayton and Dimick B. Huntington. Joseph's visitors stated to him the current report that the governor of Iowa had issued a warrant for his apprehension and that the sheriff of Lee County was expected any hour to execute it. The situation was critical; and Joseph's immediate removal from his Uncle John's seemed necessary. It was decided that the Prophet should proceed to the house of Edward Sayers in Nauvoo, and abide there for a time. The next day William Walker crossed the river from Nauvoo into Iowa, riding the Prophet's well-known horse Joe Duncan, to lead the gathered officers and kidnappers away from the idea that Joseph was on the Nauvoo side of the river.

On Saturday, the 13th, a letter was received by Hyrum from Elder Hollister at Quincy, stating that Governor Carlin admitted the proceedings to be illegal and declared that he would not pursue them further. Ford, the agent appointed to receive Joseph from the hands of the sheriff and carry him to Missouri, now announced his conclusion to take the first boat for home, as it was useless to wait longer. These announcements of Carlin and Ford were but part of a plan to lead the Prophet from his hiding-place and get him into the hands of his enemies. It was learned that Ford had declared his purpose to have a large force brought from Missouri, and already companies of marauders were making search in Montrose, Nashville, Keokuk and other places for Joseph, to win the reward of $1,300 which was offered for his capture. William Walker's ruse had been successful, and most of the efforts were directed to the Iowa side of the river; but the officers of Illinois, who were also eager to gain the reward, were determined if possible to have him delivered to them at Nauvoo. They said they would stay in the city a month but that they would find him, and if he were not then forthcoming, they would lay Nauvoo in ashes.

Emma had followed Joseph to the house of Edward Sayers to nurse him as he was in ill health.

On the 14th of August Joseph wrote to Wilson Law, who had been elected Major-General of the Nauvoo Legion, concerning the threats of Missouri mobocrats and Illinois kidnappers against the welfare of Nauvoo and the liberty of her citizens. He said:

We will take every measure in our power, and make every sacrifice that God or man can require at our hands, to preserve the peace and safety of the people without collision. And if sacrificing my own liberty for months and years were necessary I would bow to my fate with cheerfulness, and with a due consideration for the lives, safety and welfare of others. But if this policy cannot accomplish the desired object * * * we will defend ourselves to the best advantage we can and to the very last.

The entire sentiment of this letter indicates the wish of the Prophet for peace and the supremacy of the law, and also his courageous intention of submitting supinely no more to mobocratic violence—murder and plunder.

The answer of Wilson Law is important in a personal sense. He says:

I do respond with my whole heart to every sentiment you have so nobly and feelingly expressed; and while my heart beats or this hand which now writes is able to draw and wield a sword, you may depend on its being at your service in the glorious cause of liberty and truth, ready at a moment's warning to defend the rights of men, both civil and religious.

Brave words these; but they were not sustained by subsequent deeds. Wilson Law was the Benedict Arnold of Nauvoo. In less than two years after he wrote that letter, filled with sentiments of intense affection, he aided to bring the Prophet to his death.

Joseph had considered, during a brief time after the service of this writ, the advisability of taking his family and traveling into the distant north-west, to remain for a season, in order that persecution might be drawn away from Nauvoo and the people there be spared the horrors which had attended the Saints in Missouri. But when he found that the hatred of his opponents was extended to the city and people of Nauvoo, he abandoned all thought of retreating from the scene. If his absence could have preserved his brethren and sisters he would have cheerfully banished himself into the wilderness; but since the danger which menaced them was a common danger he would remain and share it.

On the night of the l5th of August, Hyrum Smith and several others came to Joseph's hiding place and informed him that the officers had threatened to bring a great force against the city and that the Prophet would be safer at a distance. The brethren who brought this message and advice labored under great excitement and fear for Joseph; but he took occasion to calmly reprove them for their agitation, and he advised them to maintain an even and undaunted mind. Their courage was renewed with this exhibition of his fortitude, and they gladly remained with him in serenity and joy, listening to his salutary counsels until two o'clock in the morning.

From his retreat he issued on the 15th an editorial article for the Times and Seasons under the title of "Persecution," in which he analyzes this movement against himself and the Saints, and demonstrated the ridiculous illegality and insufficiency of the process.

Emma had declared her willingness to share her husband's exile and self-imposed banishment if necessary. As that plan was abandoned she offered to visit Governor Carlin and lay Joseph's case before that functionary. In answer to this proposition the Prophet wrote to her:

The governor is a fool; the more we flatter him the more eager he will be for our destruction. You may write to him whatever you see proper; but to go and see him I do not give my consent.

With this permission to write, Emma addressed a dignified and able communication to Carlin, in which she called upon him by virtue of his position as an officer and by every sense of manliness, to spare Joseph and the people of Nauvoo from unjust persecution. This letter alone is sufficient to demonstrate that Emma was a woman of superior ability, and that she had an exalted appreciation and love for her great husband. She says:

Was my cause the interest of an individual, or of a number of individuals, then, perhaps, I might be justified in remaining silent. But it is not. Nor is it the pecuniary interest of a whole community alone that prompts me again to appeal to your Excellency. But, dear sir, it is for the peace and safety of hundreds, I may safely say, of this community, who are not guilty of any offense against the laws of the country; and also the life of my husband, who has not committed any crime whatever, neither has he transgressed any of the laws, or any part of the Constitution of the United States; neither has he at any time infringed upon the rights of any man, or of any class of men, or community of any description. Need I say, he is not guilty of the crime alleged against him by Governor Boggs? Indeed, it does seem entirely superfluous for me, or any one of his friends in this place, to testify to his innocence of that crime, when so many of the citizens of your place, and of many other places in this state, as well as in the territory, do know positively that the statement of Governor Boggs is without the least shadow of truth; and we do know, and so do many others, that the prosecution against him has been conducted in an illegal manner; and every act demonstrates the fact, that all the design of the prosecution is to throw him into the power of his enemies, without the least ray of hope that he would ever be allowed to obtain a fair trial, and that he would be inhumanly and ferociously murdered, no person having a knowledge of the existing circumstances, has one remaining doubt; and your honor will recollect that you said to me, that you would not advise Mr. Smith ever to trust himself in Missouri.

And, dear sir, you cannot for one moment indulge one unfriendly feeling towards him, if he abides by your counsel. Then, sir, why is it that he should be so cruelly pursued? Why not give him the privilege of the laws of this state? When I reflect upon the many cruel and illegal operations of Lilburn W. Boggs, and the consequent suffering of myself and family, and the incalculable losses and sufferings of many hundreds who survived, and many precious lives that were lost,—all the effect of unjust prejudice and misguided ambition, produced by misrepresentations and calumny, my bosom heaves with unutterable anguish. And who, that is as well acquainted with the facts as the people of the city of Quincy, would censure me if I should say that my heart burned with just indignation towards our calumniators as well as the perpetrators of those horrid crimes?

But happy would I now be to pour out my heart in gratitude to Governor Boggs, if he had arose with the dignity and authority of the chief executive of the state, and put down every illegal transaction, and protected the peaceable citizens and enterprising emigrants from the violence of plundering outlaws, who have ever been a disgrace to the state, and always will, so long as they go unpunished. Yes, I say, how happy would I be to render him not only the gratitude of my own heart, but the cheering effusion of the joyous souls of fathers and mothers, of brothers and sisters, widows and orphans, whom he might have saved by such a course, from now dropping under the withering hand of adversity, brought upon them by the persecutions of wicked and corrupt men.

And now may I entreat your Excellency to lighten the hand of oppression and persecution which is now laid upon me and my family, which materially affect the peace and welfare of this whole community; for let me assure you that there are many whole families that are entirely dependent upon the prosecution and success of Mr. Smith's temporal business for their support; and if he is prevented from attending to the common avocations of life, who will employ those innocent, industrious, poor people, and provide for their wants?

But, my dear sir, when I recollect the interesting interview I and my friends had with you, when at your place, and the warm assurances you gave us of your friendship and legal protection, I cannot doubt for a moment your honorable sincerity, but do still expect you to consider our claims upon your protection from every encroachment upon our legal rights as loyal citizens, as we always have been, still are, and are determined always to be a law-abiding people; and I still assure myself, that when you are fully acquainted with the illegal proceedings practiced against us in the suit of Governor Boggs, you will recall those writs which have been issued against Messrs. Smith and Rockwell, as you must be aware that Mr. Smith was not in Missouri, and of course could not have left there, with many other considerations, which, if duly considered, will justify Mr. Smith in the course he has taken.

And now I appeal to your Excellency, as I would unto a father, who is not only able but willing to shield me and mine from every unjust prosecution. I appeal to your sympathies, and beg you to spare me and my helpless children. I beg you to spare my innocent children the heart-rending sorrow of again seeing their father unjustly dragged to prison or to death; I appeal to your affections as a son and beg you to spare our aged mother—the only surviving parent we have left—the unsupportable affliction of seeing her son, whom she knows to be innocent of the crimes laid to his charge, thrown again into the hands of his enemies, who have so long sought for his life; in whose life and prosperity she only looks for the few remaining comforts she can enjoy. I entreat your Excellency to spare us these afflictions and many sufferings which cannot be uttered, and secure to yourself the pleasure of doing good, and vastly increasing human happiness—secure to yourself the benediction of the aged, and the gratitude of the young, and the blessing and veneration of the rising generation.

The tone of the foregoing also proves that Emma shared the Prophet's humanitarian views, and it proves that the sentiments Joseph breathed at home were the sentiments he uttered abroad, prophetic and noble. William Clayton carried this letter to Governor Carlin at Quincy and delivered it to him in the presence of Judge Ralston. Carlin read the communication with great attention and expressed astonishment and admiration at its character. He first proceeded to announce his certainty that there was no excitement anywhere but in Nauvoo and among the "Mormons" themselves: that elsewhere all was quiet and there was no apprehension of trouble. However, before Elder Clayton departed, the governor so far forgot his falsehood as to say that persons were offering their services every day either in person or by letter to fight the "Mormons;" and that these warlike volunteers held themselves in readiness to come up against Nauvoo whenever he should call upon them. He had the effrontery to suggest that Joseph should give himself up to the sheriff, despite the fact that all the proceedings were notoriously illegal, and despite the fact that the Prophet's enemies had sworn to kill him in case he should be acquitted of the charge made against him. Carlin could not even say that if Joseph gave himself up his protection from the mob, in traveling to and from court, would be guaranteed.

On the 18th of August the pursuers had pressed so closely upon the Prophet's retreat that he departed from Brother Sayers' house and went to the residence of Carlos Granger in the north-east part of the city.

On the 19th of August Joseph concluded to go to his own home and remain for a time.

The next day, Saturday, August 20th, 1842, the Apostles met in council and ordained Amasa M. Lyman to be one of the Twelve. Amasa had been ordained an Elder under Joseph's hands in Hiram, Portage County, Ohio, in 1832, and had been one of the Prophet's fellow-prisoners chained to him with the same manacles, in Richmond jail, Missouri.

On Monday, the 29th day of August, 1842, the Prophet had been absent from the congregation of the Saints three weeks—hiding from his enemies. On that day the conference was assembled in the grove near the temple, when Joseph suddenly appeared upon the stand. The Saints were delighted to see him and showed great animation and cheerfulness. He addressed them with all his wonted fire, and advised them concerning all the exigencies of their situation. He reminded the people that the lies of John C. Bennett were being scattered over the land and called for Elders to go abroad to declare the truth and refute the slanders which the enemies of the Prophet and the Church were circulating. While he talked an indescribable transport of joy was manifested by the assembly; and when he concluded three hundred and eighty Elders volunteered to go immediately into the east upon the proposed mission of enlightenment.

CHAPTER LIV.

ATTEMPT TO CAPTURE JOSEPH—REWARD OFFERED—TRICKS TO ENTRAP THE PROPHET—HE SUBMITS TO ARREST—VISITS GOVERNOR FORD—HIS EXAMINATION AND RELEASE—A TRAITOR'S THREAT.

The interposition of Providence saved Joseph from the hands of his enemies on the 3rd day of September, 1842.

A considerable party of mobocrats, joined with some officers of the law, left Quincy on the 2nd of the month, intending to reach Nauvoo in the night, surround the Prophet's house and seize him in his bed. Although their road lay plainly before them, and to lose it would seem impossible, yet they wandered from the track and were many hours late in reaching their destination. About noon on the 3rd, Deputy Sheriff Pitman with two other men came stealthily upon Joseph's residence and entered it while he was at dinner with his family. Before they reached the room where the Prophet was they met John Boynton and demanded that he should reveal Joseph's hiding place. While Boynton was making some evasive answer, the Prophet walked out through a rear door of the mansion, and entering a patch of tall corn in the garden, passed serenely through to the residence of Newel K. Whitney.

In the meantime the officers proceeded to search the house. Emma demanded a sight of the warrant under which they were proceeding. Pitman said he had none authorizing him to search, but insisted upon going through the house. After Emma felt sure that Joseph had escaped, she permitted them to hunt through the building.

Again that night two parties made another search of the residence but failed to discover him whom they wished to make their prey.

About nine o'clock in the evening the Prophet went to the house of Edward Hunter, where he received a joyous welcome and where it was believed that he could be kept safe from the hands of his enemies. News was brought that the Missourians were again moving in force to obtain his person, and two requisitions were issued, one upon the governor of Illinois and the other upon the governor of Iowa.

From his retirement, the Prophet sent out comforting epistles to the Saints. In one letter, written from the residence of Elder Hunter under date of September 6, 1842, the Prophet said:

* * * * * It is sufficient to know, in this case, that the earth will be smitten with a curse, unless there is a welding link of some kind or other between the fathers and the children, upon some subject or other: and behold, what is the subject? It is baptism for the dead. For we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect. Neither can they or we be made perfect without those who have died in the gospel also; for it is necessary in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fulness of times, which dispensation is now beginning to usher in, that a whole, and complete and perfect union, and welding together of dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories should take place, and be revealed, from the days of Adam even to the present time; and not only this, but those things which have never been revealed from the foundation of the world, but have been kept hid from the wise and prudent, shall be revealed unto babes and sucklings in this the dispensation of the fullness of times.

Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven, and a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that bring glad tidings of good things, and that say unto Zion, Behold! thy God reigneth. As the dews of Carmel, so shall the knowledge of God descend upon them! * * * *

Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward, and not backward. Courage, brethren, and on, on, to victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceeding glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prisons; for the prisoners shall go free.

Let the mountains shout for joy, and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your eternal King. And ye rivers and brooks and rills flow down with gladness. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; and ye solid rocks weep for joy. And let the sun, moon and the morning stars sing together, and let all the sons of God shout for joy. And let the eternal creations declare His name for ever and ever. And again I say, how glorious is the voice we hear from heaven, proclaiming in our ears, glory, and salvation and honor, and immortality and eternal life, kingdoms, principalities and powers!

Behold the great day of the Lord is at hand; and who can abide the day of His coming, and who can stand when He appeareth?

The brethren constantly visited him in his retirement, and he gave them instructions and counsels to suit every need.

On the 10th day of September the Prophet returned to his home, believing that he would be as safe there as anywhere else, since his enemies would no longer expect him to take such a risk.

About the 1st of October Governor Carlin issued a proclamation offering a reward of two hundred dollars each for the persons of Joseph Smith and Orrin P. Rockwell. At the same time Governor Reynolds of Missouri promised an additional price for the same purpose. On the day when this news was brought to the Prophet his wife Emma was dangerously sick. She continued to grow worse until the 5th, when fear of her death was entertained. The Prophet had her baptized twice in the river; and she began to mend and on the day following, hope was restored to the family.

Sidney Rigdon and Elias Higbee reported at Nauvoo that the Missourians were gathering to unite with the militia of Illinois to secure the Prophet's person. They had learned that Carlin had intentionally issued an illegal writ, expecting thereby to draw Joseph to Carthage where he would be discharged under habeas corpus proceedings and fall at once into the hands of his waiting enemies, who were to be there in numbers to seize and carry him away to Missouri without further ceremony. Sidney Rigdon was told by Stephen A. Douglas that the governor's proclamation, offering a reward to any man or set of men to secure Joseph's person, would give as much authority as a legal warrant could to an officer.

It seemed likely that a general search would be instituted in Nauvoo, and Joseph concluded to leave his home once more and go into more remote retirement. On the night of Friday, the 7th of October, 1842, he started away from Nauvoo, in company with Elders John Taylor, Wilson Law and John D. Parker, traveling through that night and a part of the next day when, greatly wearied, they arrived at Father Taylor's house. Elder John Taylor was very dangerously ill at this time, being prostrated with fever. The message from the Prophet that he desired Elder Taylor to accompany him as a guide to Father Taylor's came to him when he was in bed and too weak to be capable of much exertion. It was a task utterly beyond his strength, and to human appearance it might cost him his life if he attempted it. But Joseph had sent him word that the Lord would strengthen him and heal him, and he would be able to perform the journey. Elder Taylor believed him and prepared to start. He was so weak that he had to be lifted on his horse. The night was dark and he was not very familiar with the road, and they lost their way; but the promise of the servant of the Lord to Elder Taylor was fulfilled. He endured the fatigue of the journey excellently and they reached his father's house safely.

The Prophet remained away until Thursday, the 20th of October, when he returned to his family and the brethren who needed his presence and advice.

In this same month a written opinion was received from Justin Butterfield, United States attorney for the district of Illinois, in which he proved the illegality of the requisition made by the governor of Missouri upon the governor of Illinois for the surrender of the Prophet. In the same document he showed in a very lucid manner what were the rights and privileges of the people of Nauvoo, pertaining to writs of habeas corpus issued from their municipal court, and the full power and authority of the city council. This opinion removes at once and forever all shadow of suspicion that the Prophet was acting in a disrespectful manner toward the laws of his country.

After one day at Nauvoo, Joseph returned to Father Taylor's; but in a week he was called home to find Emma worse. With his presence her health was soon renewed.

On Sunday, the 30th of October, the Saints met in worship upon a temporary floor in the temple. The Prophet was expected to address them, but on that day he was so ill as to be unable to be present. Two days later, while driving out with his three children and William Clayton, the carriage was upset on the hillside. Joseph was thrown some distance, but all of the little ones were pinioned under the shattered vehicle. As soon as he could rise he rushed to rescue his boys and found them unhurt. The escape was marvelous, and he thanked his Maker therefor.

The multiplicity of other business upon his hands made it impossible for Joseph to continue as editor of the Times and Seasons. On the 15th day of November, 1842, he appointed Apostle John Taylor to that position.

Carlin's term as governor closed in 1842, and on the 8th day of December of that year Thomas Ford, his successor, delivered an inaugural address to the Senate and House of Representatives of the state in which he declared that the charters granted to the people of Nauvoo were objectionable to other citizens of the state, and that these charters should be modified and restricted.

On the next day, the 9th, Hyrum Smith started for Springfield, with a number of other brethren, to present testimony to the governor that Joseph was in Illinois at the time Boggs was shot, and consequently could not have been a fugitive from the justice of Missouri. It was hoped by this means, to procure a recall by Governor Ford of the writs and proclamations issued by Carlin. On the day of the departure of these brethren the Prophet began personally to haul and cut wood for the poor of Nauvoo; and this labor of love and charity was continued vigorously and cheerfully as opportunity permitted. About this same time he began to read German in company with Apostle Orson Hyde.

The friends of the Prophet called upon Governor Ford at Springfield on Wednesday, the 14th day of December, 1842, accompanied by Mr. Butterfield, United States district attorney. Butterfield read to the governor several papers in the case—including the affidavit of Boggs, the writs and proclamation of Carlin, the petition of the Prophet, and also his own written opinion upon the question at issue. In reply, the governor stated that he believed the writ issued by Carlin was illegal, but he hesitated to interfere with the act of his predecessor. Ford on the 17th of December, directed the following letter to Joseph:

Your petition requesting me to rescind Governor Carlin's proclamation and recall the writ issued against you has been received and duly considered. I submitted your case and all the papers relating thereto to the judges of the Supreme Court, or at least to six of them who happened to be present. They were unanimous in the opinion that the requisition from Missouri was illegal and insufficient to cause your arrest, but were equally divided as to the propriety and justice of my interference with the acts of Governor Carlin. It being, therefore, a case of great doubt as to my power, and I not wishing even in an official station, to assume the exercise of doubtful powers, and inasmuch as you have a sure and effectual remedy in the courts, I have decided to decline interfering. I can only advise that you submit to the laws and have a judicial investigation of your rights. If it should become necessary, for this purpose, to repair to Springfield, I do not believe that there will be any disposition to use illegal violence towards you, and I would feel it my duty in your case, as in the case of any other person, to protect you with any necessary amount of force from mob violence whilst asserting your rights before the courts, going to and returning.

This advice was repeated in communications of the same date from Justin Butterfield and General Adams to the Prophet; as these gentlemen thought that he would be certain of discharge and protection.

Joseph, after a few days of deliberation and prayer, concluded to pursue the course suggested. He allowed himself to be arrested under the governor's proclamation, on the 26th day of December by General Wilson Law. In custody of Law, and accompanied by Hyrum Smith, Willard Richards, John Taylor and others, the Prophet departed for Springfield on Tuesday, the 27th day of December.

Joseph and his party arrived at Springfield on the afternoon of Friday, December 30th; and the next morning under direction of his attorney, Butterfield, he signed a petition to Judge Pope for a writ of habeas corpus. Upon the brief and vigorous showing made by the lawyer the writ was granted at once; and, the Prophet being there, it was served and returned to the court in one minute. Bail was granted and General James Adams and General Wilson Law signed the bonds for the Prophet, in the sum of $2,000 each, Monday the 2nd day of January being set for the trial. While these preliminaries were being arranged, a vast crowd was gathering in the court room curious to see the famous Prophet. As Joseph and his friends were passing through the building, one of the multitude observed:

There goes Smith the Prophet, and a good-looking man he is.

Another said:

Every one that takes his part is as damned a rascal as he is.

A riot would have ensued and a mob would have been raised to do violence upon the Prophet and his friends, but for the vigorous exertion of Marshal Prentice.

After the crowd was dispersed so that the Prophet could get clear of the building, he walked for some distance between living walls of staring people. In company with his attorney, Mr. Butterfield, and Elder Willard Richards he went to the American House to see Governor Ford who was sick. In the course of their conversation Ford remarked: "I am not religiously minded."

Joseph responded: "I have no narrow creed to circumscribe my mind; therefore the sectarians do not like me."

When the visit closed the governor said: "Well, from reports, I had reason to think that the Mormons were a peculiar people, different from other people, having horns or something of the kind; but I found that they looked like other people; indeed, I think Mr. Smith a very good-looking man."

The interest and curiosity concerning the Prophet grew more intense throughout the day, after the news of his presence became generally circulated. In the afternoon a team ran away, dashing past the state house. Someone raised the cry:

Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet, is running away!

So great was the excitement occasioned by this announcement that the House of Representatives adjourned on the instant, to give the members an opportunity to get into the street and participate in the supposed sensation.

The next morning was Sunday, the 1st day of January, 1843; when the speaker of the house visited the Prophet and tendered the hall of representatives for religious service. Joseph appointed Apostles Orson Hyde and John Taylor to preach to the people; and a large congregation gathered to hear the sermons and feast their eyes upon Joseph Smith.

On Monday, before going to court, Joseph prophesied in the presence of Judge Adams that, in the name of the Lord, he would not go to Missouri dead or alive.

A postponement was had of the case at the request of the attorney general of the state until the morning of Wednesday, January 4th. During the intervening two days the Prophet made many friends. He was invited to the houses of the most distinguished people, and received as much deferential attention as would have been accorded by faithful Catholics to a prince of the church of Rome.

At nine o'clock on the morning of the day set for the trial Judge Pope appeared upon the bench with ten ladies by his side, who had been attracted by the novelty of the case and the fame of the petitioner. This Judge Pope was the father of Major-General Pope who, in the War of the Rebellion, became so distinguished for his gallant services. An effort was made by Josiah Lamborn, attorney general of the state of Illinois, to have the proceedings dismissed, and the prisoner remanded to the custody of the Missouri officers on the ground that the court lacked jurisdiction. After the motion of Lamborn had been resolutely and eloquently resisted by Butterfield, the court decided that it had jurisdiction.

Mr. Butterfield then made a strong plea for the discharge of the defendant, and proceeded to recount the enormities of these attempts upon the Prophet's liberty. He said that Governor Reynolds had subscribed to a lie in making his demand for the Prophet, as appeared from the papers, and he averred that Governor Carlin would not have given up his dog on such a requisition. That an attempt should be made to deliver up a man who had not been out of the state during or since the commission of the offense, was a blow at the sacred liberty of the citizen and the strength of our institutions. After reminding the court that, if the Prophet's rights were wantonly trampled upon under color of law, the fate visited upon him might in turn fall upon others—even upon the judge—for the precedent would be followed; he concluded by saying:

I do not think that the defendant ought, under any circumstances, be given up to Missouri. It is a matter of history that he and his people have been murdered or driven from that state. If he goes there it is only to be assassinated, and he had better be sent to the gallows here. He is an innocent and unoffending man.

The opinion of Judge Pope in deciding the case was very lengthy and comprehensive. It announced the discharge of the Prophet, and completely annihilated the pretended grounds upon which the requisition was made from Missouri and the warrant and proclamation issued in Illinois. In conclusion his Honor said:

No case can arise demanding a more searching scrutiny into the evidence than in cases arising under this part of the constitution of the United States. It is proposed to deprive a freeman of his liberty; to deliver him into the custody of strangers; to be transported to a foreign state; to be arraigned for trial before a foreign tribunal, governed by laws unknown to him; separated from his friends, his family, and his witnesses, unknown and unknowing. Had he an immaculate character, it would not avail him with strangers. Such a spectacle is appalling enough to challenge the strictest analysis.

The framers of the constitution were not insensible of the importance of courts possessing the confidence of the parties. They therefore provided that citizens of different states might resort to the Federal Courts in civil causes. How much more important that the criminal have confidence in his judge and jury. Therefore, before the capias is issued, the officers should see that the case is made out to warrant it. Again, Boggs was shot on the 6th of May. The affidavit was made on the 25th of July following. Here was time for enquiry, which would confirm into certainty, or dissipate his suspicions. He had time to collect facts to be had before a grand jury, or be incorporated in his affidavit.

The court is bound to assume that this would have been the course of Mr. Boggs but that his suspicions were light and unsatisfactory. The affidavit is insufficient. First, because it is not positive; second, because it charges no crime; third, because it charges no crime committed in the state of Missouri. Therefore he did not flee from the justice of the state of Missouri, nor has he taken refuge in the state of Illinois.

The proceedings in this affair, from the affidavit to the arrest afford, a lesson to governors and judges whose action may hereafter be invoked in cases of this character. The affidavit simply says that the affiant was shot with intent to kill; and he believes that Smith was accessory before the fact to the intended murder, and is a citizen or resident of the state of Illinois. It is not said who shot him, or that the person was unknown. The governor of Missouri, in his demand, calls Smith a fugitive from justice, charged with being accessory before the fact to an assault, with intent to kill, made by one O. P. Rockwell, on Lilburn W. Boggs, in this state (Missouri). This governor expressly refers to the affidavit as his authority for that statement.

Boggs, in his affidavit, does not call Smith a fugitive from justice, nor does he state a fact from which the governor had a right to infer it. Neither does the name of O. P. Rockwell appear in the affidavit, nor does Boggs say Smith fled. Yet the governor says he has fled to the state of Illinois. But Boggs only says he is a citizen or resident of the state of Illinois. The governor of Illinois, responding to the demand of the Executive of Missouri for the arrest of Smith, issues his warrant for the arrest of Smith, reciting that "whereas Joseph Smith stands charged by the affidavit of Lilburn W. Boggs with being accessory before the fact to an assault, with intent to kill, made by one O. P. Rockwell, on Lilburn W. Boggs, on the night of the 6th day of May, 1842, at the county of Jackson, in said state of Missouri; and that the said Joseph Smith has fled from the justice of said state, and taken refuge in the state of Illinois."

Those facts do not appear by the affidavit of Boggs. On the contrary, it does not assert that Smith was accessory to O. P. Rockwell, nor that he had fled from the justice of the state of Missouri, and taken refuge in the state of Illinois.

The Court can alone regard the facts set forth in the affidavit of Boggs as having any legal existence. The mis-recitals and overstatements in the requisition and warrant are not supported by oath, and cannot be received as evidence to deprive a citizen of his liberty and transport him to a foreign state for trial. For these reasons Smith must be discharged.

Thereupon Governor Ford certified that there was no further cause for the arrest or detention of Joseph Smith by virtue of any proclamation or warrant issued by the Executive of Illinois; and that, since the judgment of the circuit court, all such proclamations and warrants were inoperative and void.

After the conclusion of these proceedings and the settlement of matters attendant, the Prophet returned to Nauvoo on the afternoon of the 10th of January. The Saints were delighted to welcome him safe home, and the Twelve Apostles issued an epistle to the Saints, appointing Tuesday, the 17th day of January, 1843, as a day of humiliation, fasting, praise, prayer and thanksgiving before the great God for His mercies, and supplicating for a continued outpouring of His Holy Spirit upon the Prophet and Saints.

The promised joy of this festival was marred by the threats of a traitor. On the 15th of January Sidney Rigdon received the following letter from John C. Bennett:

Springfield, Illinois, January 10, 1843

Mr. Sidney Rigdon and Orson Pratt:

DEAR FRIENDS:—It is a long time since I have written to you, and I should now much desire to see you, but I leave tonight for Missouri, to meet the messenger charged with the arrest of Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Lyman Wight and others, for murder, burglary, treason, etc., etc., who will be demanded in a few days, on new indictments, found by the grand jury of a called court on the original evidence, and in relation to which a nolle prosequi was entered by the district attorney.

New proceedings have been gotten up on the old charges, and no habeas corpus can save them. We shall try Smith on the Boggs case, when we get him into Missouri. The war goes bravely on; and, although Smith thinks he is now safe, the enemy is near, even at the door. He has awakened the wrong passenger. The Governor will relinquish Joseph at once on the new requisition. There is but one opinion on the case, and that is, nothing can save Joseph on a new requisition and demand predicated on the old charges on the institution of new writs. He must go to Missouri; but he shall not be harmed, if he is not guilty; but he is a murderer, and must suffer the penalty of the law. Enough on this subject.

I hope that both your kind and amiable families are well, and you will please to give them all my best respects. I hope to see you all soon. When the officer arrives, I shall be near at hand. I shall see you all again. Please to write me at Independence immediately.

Yours respectfully,

JOHN C. BENNETT.

Sidney perused the cowardly missive, and instead of warning the Prophet, he gave the communication to Orson Pratt, but the latter at once presented it to the Prophet, that he might know of the further plot against his life. Orson Pratt wanted no correspondence with Bennett, the traitor, and had no fellowship with his works of darkness.

On Wednesday, the 18th day of January, 1843, Joseph and Emma entertained a large company of brethren and sisters at their house to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of their wedding.

CHAPTER LV.

A BREATHING SPELL—JOSEPH'S ANTICIPATION OF HIS SACRIFICE—MANY PROPHECIES AND AN IMPORTANT THEOLOGICAL EPOCH IN THE EARLY PART OF 1843—WRESTLING AND OTHER MANLY SPORTS—EXTRACTS FROM HIS SERMONS— ATTACK ON THE NAUVOO CHARTER—THE LULL WAS BRIEF.

One of the very few seasons of peace in Joseph's life now dawned upon him. It was none the less appreciated because it was brief.

The early part of 1843 is one of the marked epochs in the theological history of the Church. The Prophet, having his unrestrained liberty, was enabled to give to the Saints in writings, sermons and in personal conversations, many prophecies and principles for spiritual and temporal guidance.

Joseph must have known that this was but the lull which precedes the fiercer outburst of the tempest, for in January, 1843, outlining some work which he designed that the Twelve should perform very soon thereafter, he promised his assistance and leadership to them, with this very significant condition, upon which he placed emphasis:

"If I live."

A few days later, on Sunday, the 22nd day of January, he preached from the stand which had been erected inside the temple walls, a temporary floor having been put in that building for the purpose of holding meetings there. President Wilford Woodruff made a synopsis of the sermon, in which occurs the following:

God Almighty is my shield; and what can man do if God is my friend? I shall not be sacrificed until my time comes; then I shall be offered freely.

The Prophet recorded this same prophecy concerning his own fate in his journal, showing thereby that he recognized its weight and foresaw its fulfilment.

Among the many prophecies of this period was one concerning Orrin P. Rockwell, who had been captured, imprisoned and maltreated in Missouri. There seemed no human possibility of Porter Rockwell's deliverance; his murder was decreed before his arrest; and no one of the brethren would be permitted to enter Missouri to assist him with advice or bail, under penalty of death. And yet on the 15th day of March the Prophet publicly declared:

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I prophecy that Orrin P. Rockwell will get away honorably from the Missourians.

In the same month of March, Joseph, in company with Elders Willard Richards and Wilford Woodruff, discovered in the early evening a stream of light in the southwest quarter of the heavens. Its rays were in the form of a broad sword with the hilt downward; the blade was raised, pointing from the west to the southwest, at an angle of forty-five degrees, and extended nearly to the zenith. As they beheld this marvel in the sky Joseph said:

As sure as there is a God who sits enthroned in the heavens, and as sure as He ever spoke by me, so sure will there be a bloody war; and the flaming sword in the heavens is the certain sign thereof.

Two or three weeks later, he prophesied in the presence of Elder Orson Hyde and others that a struggle in which much blood would flow would begin in South Carolina, and would probably arise through the slave question. This was a repetition of the revelation which he had received and announced more than ten years earlier.

A delegation of young men from New York came to see Joseph at Nauvoo in February, 1843, and with great respect solicited his views concerning Millerism and the coming of Christ, and the day of judgment, which Miller had fixed for April 3, 1843. The Prophet warned them that Miller was in error; that before Christ should come the prophecies must all be fulfilled, the sun be darkened and the moon turned to blood. A Chicago paper of that time published a certificate of one Hyrum Reading, of Ogle County, Illinois, stating that he had seen the sign of the Son of Man; and the editor of the paper declares that Joseph Smith had met his match. The Prophet responded that Mr. Reading had not seen the sign of the Son of Man, as foretold by Jesus, neither had any man nor will any man, until after the fulfilment of the prophecies; and he declared:

Hear this, oh earth! the Lord will not come to reign over the righteous in this world in 1848, nor until everything for the bridegroom is ready.

Joseph was once praying very earnestly to know the time of the coming of the Savior, when he heard a voice saying:

Joseph, my son, if thou livest until thou art eighty-five years old, thou shalt see the face of the Son of Man. Therefore let this suffice and trouble me no more.

In recording this divine utterance, the Prophet says that he was left thus without being able to decide whether this coming referred to the millennium or to some previous appearing, or whether he should die and thus see the face of Christ. Joseph would have been eighty-five years old on the 23rd day of December, 1890; and he says:

I believe the coming of the Son of Man will not be any sooner than that time.

The question was proposed at a lyceum which Joseph attended whether the kingdom of God was set up before the day of Pentecost or not till then? The Prophet's answer was recorded at some length by Apostle Wilford Woodruff from whose synopsis the following paragraphs are taken:

Some say the kingdom of God was not set up until the day of Pentecost, and that John did not preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; but I say, in the name of the Lord, that the kingdom of God was set up on the earth from the days of Adam to the present time.

Whenever there has been a righteous man on earth unto whom God revealed His word and gave power and authority to administer in His name, and where there is a priest of God—a minister who has power and authority from God to administer in the ordinances of the gospel and officiate in the Priesthood of God, there is the kingdom of God; and, in consequence of rejecting the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Prophets whom God has sent, the judgments of God have rested upon people, cities and nations, in various ages of the world, which was the case with the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were destroyed for rejecting the prophets.

Now I will give my testimony. I care not for man. I speak boldly and faithfully, and with authority. How is it with the kingdom of God? Where did the kingdom of God begin? Where there is no kingdom of God, there is no salvation. What constitutes the kingdom of God? Where there is a prophet, a priest or a righteous man unto whom God gives His oracles, there is the kingdom of God; and where the oracles of God are not, there the kingdom of God is not.

In these remarks, I have no allusion to the kingdoms of the earth. We will keep the laws of the land; we do not speak against them; we never have spoken against them; though we can scarcely mention the state of Missouri and our persecutions there, but that the cry goes forth that we are guilty of treason, which is false. We speak of the kingdom of God on the earth; not the kingdoms of men.

These emphatic statements show the loyal position which the Prophet maintained toward his country, and the view he had concerning governments in general.

The Prophet gave his brethren three grand keys whereby to know whether any supernatural visitor was from God or from Satan.

When a messenger comes, saying he has a message from God, offer him your hand, and request him to shake hands with you. If he be an angel, he will do so, and you will feel his hand. If he be the spirit of a just man made perfect, he will come in his glory; for that is the only way he can appear. Ask him to shake hands with you, but he will not move, because it is contrary to the order of heaven for a just man to deceive; but he will still deliver his message. If it be the devil as an angel of light, when you ask him to shake hands, he will offer you his hand, and you will not feel anything: you may therefore detect him.

In the midst of these exalted labors, Joseph took great delight in mingling with the brethren in manly sports. On Saturday, the 28th day of January, 1843, he played a fine game of ball at Nauvoo with his brethren. During the same winter some of his friends saw him teaching his little son Frederick to slide upon the ice; and the Prophet enjoyed the exhilaration and was as merry as a boy. On Monday, the 13th day of March, 1843, Joseph met William Wall, the most expert wrestler of Ramus, Illinois, and had a friendly bout with him. He easily conquered Wall who up to that time had been a champion. About the same time he had a contest at pulling sticks with Justus A. Morse, reputed to be the strongest man in that region. The Prophet used but one hand and easily defeated Morse.

One evening in March, twenty-seven children were brought to a meeting to be blessed. Joseph took great joy in laying his hands upon the heads of the innocent little ones, and he blessed nineteen of them himself with great fervency. He turned pale and lost his strength, and was compelled to retire, leaving the meeting and its duties to his brethren. Elder Jedediah M. Grant inquired of him the next day concerning the cause of the strange manifestation. The Prophet replied that as he blessed the little ones, it was made known to him that Lucifer would exert an influence to destroy them, and he strove with all his faith to seal upon them security of their lives and virtue upon earth. So much power emanated from him into the children that he became weak. Joseph referred to the case of the woman who touched the hem of the garment of Jesus, by which her issue of blood was staunched, and the Savior said: "Somebody hath touched me; for I perceive that virtue has gone out of me."

Joseph told Elder Grant that the virtue referred to by the Savior was the spirit of life; and men who exercised great faith in administering to the sick, blessing little children, and making confirmations were liable to become weakened.

On Monday, the 6th day of February, 1843, the Prophet was elected mayor of Nauvoo by unanimous vote; at the same time Orson Spencer, Daniel H. Wells, George A. Smith and Stephen Markham were elected aldermen; and Hyrum Smith, John Taylor, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Sylvester Emmons, Heber C. Kimball, Benjamin Warrington, Daniel Spencer and Brigham Young were elected councilors.

Joseph put his accustomed vigor into his duties as chief officer of the municipality. At the first meeting of the council after the election Joseph urged the necessity of relieving the city of unnecessary expenses and burdens, and warned the members against demanding pay for every little service rendered. At the same meeting it was resolved to establish markets in the city; and the Prophet spoke earnestly about the regulation of prices, so that the poor should not be oppressed; that, while the farmer should have fair compensation for his products, the mechanic should also have justice in purchasing the necessaries of life.

If the principles of official integrity and economy, and the principles of fair dealing and mutual protection between producers and dealers, which the Prophet taught at this time, could have general acceptance and obedience throughout the world, what a wonderful stride would be taken toward the social redemption of the human race! Politics would be purified—for only men of integrity and nobility of character could or would hold office. Pauperism, that fruitful source of crime, would be practically unknown. Public economy and private prosperity would go hand in hand.

On the 2nd day of March, 1843, the House of Representatives of the Illinois Legislature took up a bill to repeal a part of the Nauvoo city charter. There was a determination on the part of the majority to push the bill to its passage; and all the protests of a few fair-minded and courageous men availed nothing. Representative Thomas B. Owen compared the charter of Nauvoo with those of other cities and showed that this bill proposed to repeal the same powers in the Nauvoo charter which existed in every other charter in the state. He declared positively of his own knowledge that good order and industry characterized the "Mormons," and he made no doubt that they were much abused. He protested against such a malicious and contemptible course of cowardice as that which was proposed. Next day the bill was put upon its passage; and William Smith of Nauvoo, who was a representative in the Assembly, moved an amendment to the title of the measure so that it would read—"A bill for an act to humbug the citizens of Nauvoo." The motion created great sensation, in the midst of which William declared that he considered the amendment perfectly described the contents of the bill, and he was anxious that things should be called by their right names. Naturally the chair decided that such an amendment, "not being respectful," was not in order, and the bill with its original title was then passed. On the 4th of March the Senate considered this same measure and refused to pass it.

Hyrum brought information to the mayor on the evening of the 25th of March, 1843, upon which Joseph issued a proclamation as follows:

Whereas it is reported that there now exists a band of desperadoes, bound by oaths of secrecy, under severe penalties in case any member of the combination divulges their plans of stealing and conveying properties from station to station, up and down the Mississippi and other routes: And

Whereas it is reported that the fear of the execution of the pains and penalties of their secret oath on their persons prevents some members of said secret association (who have, through falsehood and deceit, been drawn into their snares), from divulging the same to the legally-constituted authorities of the land:

Know ye, therefore, that I, Joseph Smith, Mayor of the City of Nauvoo, will grant and insure protection against all personal mob violence to each and every citizen of this city who will come before me and truly make known the names of all such abominable characters as are engaged in said secret combination for stealing, or are accessory thereto, in any manner. And I respectfully solicit the co-operation of all ministers of justice in this and the neighboring states to ferret out a band of thievish outlaws from our midst.

Joseph was determined to protect Nauvoo from plunderers without, and from thieves within, and this determination expressed in the document just quoted was so vigorously enforced that the bad elements, in self protection, combined against him. This league was one of the factors in the culminating persecutions of his life.

In the beginning of April the Prophet went to Ramus accompanied by Apostle Orson Hyde and William Clayton, to preach to the Saints there. Among many important utterances contained in his sermons of that time are these:

When the Savior shall appear, we shall see Him as He is. We shall see that He is a man like ourselves; and that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy. (John 14:2, 3.) The appearing of the Father and the Son, in that verse, is a personal appearance; and the idea that the Father and the Son dwell in a man's heart is an old sectarian notion, and is false.

In answer to the question, "Is not the reckoning of God's time, angel's time, prophet's time, and man's time according to the planet on which they reside?" I answer, yes. But there are no angels who minister to this earth but those who do belong or have belonged to it. The angels do not reside on a planet like this earth; but they reside in the presence of God, on a globe like a sea of glass and fire, where all things for their glory are manifest—past, present and future, and are continually before the Lord. The place where God resides is a great Urim and Thummim. This earth, in its sanctified and immortal state, will be made like unto crystal and will be a Urim and Thummim to the inhabitants who dwell thereon, whereby all things pertaining to an inferior kingdom, or all kingdoms of a lower order, will be manifest to those who dwell on it; and this earth will be Christ's. Then the white stone mentioned in Revelation 2:17, will become a Urim and Thummim to each individual who receives one, whereby things pertaining to a higher order of kingdoms, even all kingdoms, will be made known; and a white stone is given to each of those who come into the celestial kingdom, whereon is a new name written, which no man knoweth save he that receiveth it. The new name is the key word

* * * * * * *

Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection; and if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come. There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated; and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.

The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also: but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us. A man may receive the Holy Ghost, and it may descend upon him and not tarry with him.

In May, while returning through Carthage from his mission to Ramus, Joseph dined with Stephen A. Douglas, who was there holding court. After dinner, the Prophet, at the request of Douglas, gave a minute history of the persecutions of the Saints in Missouri. The judge listened attentively and pronounced unstinted condemnation upon the conduct of Boggs and the other mobocrats of Missouri, and declared that they ought to be punished. Joseph concluded by saying that this wholesale plunder and extermination was a foul and corroding blot upon the fair fame of the Republic, the very thought of which would have caused the patriotic framers of the Constitution to hide their faces in sorrow and shame. He prophesied to Douglas:

Judge, you will aspire to the presidency of the United States, and if you ever turn your hand against the Latter-day Saints, you will feel the weight of the hand of the Almighty upon you; and you will live to see and know that I have testified the truth to you, for the conversation of this day will be with you through life.

These words of the Prophet to Judge Douglas have been fulfilled to the very letter. Douglas did aspire to the presidency of the United States; he did use his influence against the Latter-day Saints thinking he could gain popularity by so doing; and he miserably failed. He was deserted by his own friends, and died a disappointed man.

Commencing on the first day of the fourteenth year of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a special conference was held on the floor of the temple at Nauvoo. In presenting the authorities of the Church, the Prophet asked the people if they were satisfied with the First Presidency. "If," said he, "I have done anything to injure my standing or dishonor our religion in the sight of angels, or men, or women, I am sorry for it. I do not know that I have done anything of the kind; but if I have, come forward and tell me of it."

Joseph wanted the Saints to feel that every officer of the Church, from the President down to the least in authority, was responsible to the body of the Saints, as well as to God, for his conduct; and thereby established a rule which was of great help at a later time.

Brigham Young made the motion to sustain Joseph Smith as President of the whole Church, and one vast sea of hands was presented, carrying the motion unanimously.

At this conference Apostle Orson Pratt remarked that a man's body changes every seven years; and Joseph replied:

There is no fundamental principle belonging to a human system that ever goes into another in this world or in the world to come; I care not what the theories of men are. We have the testimony that God will raise us up, and He has the power to do it. If anyone supposes that any part of our bodies, that is, the fundamental parts thereof, ever goes into another body, he is mistaken.

* * * * *

A special conference of the Elders was convened on the 10th day of April, 1843, to ordain missionaries to go forth into the vineyards and build up churches; and one hundred and fifteen appointments were made by the united voice of the conference.

On the 12th of April two large parties of Saints landed at Nauvoo under the charge of Elders Lorenzo Snow, Parley P. Pratt and Levi Richards. On the day following, the emigrants and a great multitude of others assembled at the temple to listen to an address from the Prophet to the new comers. He advised them concerning their temporal welfare, their means of life; and pronounced the blessings of heaven and earth upon them, inasmuch as they should keep the commandments of God.

The lull in the active persecution against the Prophet was soon at an end. His enemies never for an instant contemplated the relinquishment of their purpose to carry him into Missouri to be assassinated. Threats came to him from time to time, the low mutterings which precede the crash of a thunderbolt. He applied to the governor of Iowa to recall the writs issued against him upon requisitions from Missouri, so that he might visit the Saints in Zarahemla, basing his request upon the action taken by Judge Pope at Springfield, which substantiated the illegality of Missouri's demand. But his request was in vain, and he was obliged to risk his liberty and his life whenever duty called him to the Iowa side of the river.

CHAPTER LVI.

THE CELESTIAL ORDER OF MARRIAGE—ETERNITY AND PLURALITY OF THE COVENANT —THE REVELATION WRITTEN AND DELIVERED TO THE HIGH COUNCIL—JOSEPH, HYRUM AND OTHERS OBEY IT.

Every woman has the right to virtuous wifehood and maternity. This was the omnipotent design in her creation. Yet how shall it be fulfilled under modern systems? Clearly, the Creator can make known.

"When they are out of the world they neither marry nor are given in marriage," saith the revelation; therefore the tie of conjugal relation must be made here and to endure beyond the gates of death it must be fixed by an eternal covenant with the divine sanction.

Joseph Smith's mission was all-comprehending. From the Church organization, it expanded until it made known a code of moral law by which the modern world, under the light of Christian truth, may achieve social redemption and be forever purified.

The decree of the Lord making known to the Prophet the eternity and plurality of marriage, was a part of this sublime plan. It came to him little by little, as he was enabled to bear the dazzling light of celestial glory: and when eventually the full view of the holy order was permitted to him, he saw the principles of eternal progression, the laws by which the universe is filled with shining and inhabited spheres to make the infinite glory of our God. The exaltation of these visions was all that mortal man could bear; and the Prophet felt that the dull, selfish world would refuse to understand the purity and promise, would refuse to undergo the earthly trials to secure the heavenly blessing, and would seek the death of such humble disciples of the Savior as should embrace this principle of eternal life.

Even after that portion of the revelation now recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants was made known to him, Joseph did not write it for a time, although he obeyed its commands and taught it to Hyrum and other faithful men, who, in prayer and humility before God, accepted and fulfilled its requirements.

The revelation therefore remained the unwritten law of God, established in the hearts and obeyed in the lives of some of His faithful servants, until the 12th day of July, 1843, when it was recorded, that it might remain a comfort and guide to the people after Joseph and Hyrum should pass away. On that day, under the Prophet's dictation, and in the presence of Hyrum, the revelation was written by William Clayton. A copy of it was taken the next day by Joseph C. Kingsbury for Bishop Newel K. Whitney.

On the 12th day of August, 1843, the revelation was read before the high council and presidency of the stake of Nauvoo. There were present Hyrum Smith, who presented the principle; William Marks, Charles C. Rich, and Austin Cowles, the stake presidency; and Samuel Bent, William Huntington, Alpheus Cutler, Thomas Grover, Lewis D. Wilson, David Fullmer, Aaron Johnson, Newel Knight, Leonard Sobey, Isaac Allred, Henry G. Sherwood and Samuel Smith, the high council.

After reading the revelation, Hyrum promised his brethren that they who accepted it should be blessed and sustained in the Church by the Spirit of God and the confidence of the Saints, and they who rejected it should fall away in their faith and power; and it was even so.

To promulgate this commandment and to obey it was probably the Prophet's greatest earthly trial. Emma did not at first accept it; but later she became convinced of its truth and gave good women to her husband to wife as Sarah of old administered to Abraham.

Some of the Prophet's brethren caused him great sorrow by teaching impurity of life under the guise of this holy principle: but their wickedness was uncovered and the Church was purged of their presence.

The teaching of the revelation has been a test of personal holiness. The men who have seen in this commandment a holy and exalted duty and who obeyed in meekness and purity, have lived by their faith and have come off triumphant; while those who have sought to minister to evil passions have sunk and been cast out.

There is not one word in the revelation, nor was there one word in the Prophet's teaching other than purity and self sacrifice.

The Lord said:

I am the Lord thy God; and I give unto you this commandment—that no man shall come unto the Father but by me or by my word, which is my law, saith the Lord;

And everything that is in the world, whether it be ordained of men, by thrones, or principalities, or powers, or things of name, whatsoever they may be, that are not by me or by my word, saith the Lord, shall be thrown down, and shall not remain after men are dead, neither in nor after the resurrection, saith the Lord your God;

For whatsoever things remain are by me, and whatsoever things are not by me, shall be shaken and destroyed.

Therefore, if a man marry him a wife in the world, and he marry her not by me nor by my word, and he covenant with her so long as he is in the world and she with him, their covenant and marriage are not of force when they are dead, and when they are out of the world; therefore, they are not bound by any law when they are out of the world;

Therefore, when they are out of the world they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are appointed angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory;

For these angels did not abide my law, therefore they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without exaltation, in their saved condition, to all eternity; and from henceforth are not gods, but are angels of God forever and ever.

And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife, and make a covenant with her for time and for all eternity, if that covenant is not by me or by my word, which is my law, and is not sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, through him whom I have anointed and appointed unto this power—then it is not valid neither of force when they are out of the world, because they are not joined by me, saith the Lord; neither by my word; when they are out of the world, it cannot be received there, because the angels and the gods are appointed there, by whom they cannot pass; they cannot, therefore, inherit my glory; for my house is a house of order, saith the Lord God.

And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power, and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them, ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths—then shall it be written in the Lamb's Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity, and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the Gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.

Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye abide my law, ye cannot attain to this glory.

For strait is the gate, and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world neither do ye know me.

But if ye receive me in the world, then shall ye know me, and shall receive your exaltation, that where I am, ye shall be also.

This is eternal lives, to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. I am he. Receive ye, therefore, my law.

* * * * * * * *

And again, as pertaining to the law of the Priesthood: If any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give her consent; and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then is he justified; he cannot commit adultery, for they are given unto him; for he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to no one else;

And now, as pertaining to this law, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will reveal more unto you hereafter.

CHAPTER LVII.

AN EVIL QUARTETTE—REYNOLDS, FORD, BENNETT AND OWENS—A NEW WRIT— JOSEPH KIDNAPPED AT DIXON AND THREATENED WITH DEATH—EFFORTS FOR RELEASE ON "HABEAS CORPUS"—A WRESTLING MATCH—ENTRY INTO NAUVOO— JOSEPH RELEASED—THE KIDNAPPERS AS FOR A MOB ARMY—INDEPENDENCE DAY AT NAUVOO.

A pitiable yielding to murderous hate was exhibited in the conduct in June, 1843, of Reynolds and Ford, the governors respectively of the great states of Missouri and Illinois. The adviser of Reynolds was John C. Bennett, the corrupt traitor; the adviser of Ford was Sam C. Owens, one of the leaders of the Jackson mob.

On the 13th day of June, Thomas Reynolds, governor of the state of Missouri, made a requisition upon the state of Illinois for the person of Joseph Smith, charged with treason, on the ground that he was a fugitive from justice. To show the close communion of the quartette, Reynolds, Bennett, Ford and Owens, it is well to note that Bennett and Owens, before any papers were issued, made their boasts that the governors of the two states would comply with their demands, and that Joseph Smith would be delivered to death at the hands of his old enemies in Missouri. And on the 10th of June, three days before the requisition was issued, Sam Owens and John C. Bennett had informed Governor Ford by letter that Joseph Reynolds, sheriff of Jackson County, (although the alleged offense of treason had been committed in Daviess County) would be appointed by Governor Reynolds of Missouri to receive the person of Joseph Smith from the officials of Illinois; and they, in the same letter, instructed Governor Ford to appoint Harmon T. Wilson of Hancock County, to serve the writ which they demanded Ford to issue. Their reason for wanting Reynolds of Jackson County is clear; he was known to be in sympathy with the mob there, while the officers of Daviess County might have an abhorrence of murder and might refuse to be so pliant as the assassins desired. While their reason for demanding the appointment of Harmon T. Wilson was stated in a letter to Ford by Sam C. Owens in the following words:

Dr. Bennett further writes me that he has made an arrangement with Harmon T. Wilson, of Hancock County, ( Carthage, seat of justice), in whose hands he wishes the writ that shall be issued by you to be put.

The plan as dictated to the governors by these villains was executed.

On the same day that the governor of Missouri appointed Reynolds to go to Illinois after the person of the Prophet, Joseph started with Emma and their children to see her sister Mrs. Wasson, who lived near Dixon, Lee County, Illinois. Five days later, on the 18th of June, a message was received at Nauvoo from Judge James Adams, of Springfield, from which it was learned that Ford had issued the writ for Joseph and that it was on the way. Hyrum Smith immediately sent Stephen Markham and William Clayton on horseback, William riding Joe Duncan, to find and warn the Prophet. These devoted men traveled two hundred and twelve miles in sixty-six hours, and found Joseph between the town of Dixon and Wasson's place. When they told him of the danger he said:

Do not be alarmed, I have no fear, and shall not flee. I will find friends and the Missourians cannot slay me, I tell you in the name of Israel's God.

Wilson and Reynolds had disguised themselves and proposed to be "Mormon" elders, following Joseph to Wasson's. On the 23rd of June they reached that place while the family were at dinner and said: "We want to see Brother Joseph."

They seized him the instant they found him and presented cocked pistols to his breast, without showing any writ or serving any process. Joseph inquired: "What is the meaning of this?"

And Reynolds replied: "God damn you, be still, or I'll shoot you, by God."

Wilson joined in this awful profanity and threat, and they both struck the Prophet with their pistols. He only said:

Kill me if you will, I am not afraid to die; and I have endured so much oppression that I am weary of life. But I am a strong man, and I could cast both of you down, if I would. If you have any legal process to serve, present it, for I am at all times subject to law and shall not offer resistance.

At this time, Stephen Markham walked toward them and the kidnappers swore they would kill him; but he paid no attention to their threats. Still bruising the Prophet with their pistols and threatening every instant to kill him if he spoke, they dragged him to a wagon without, and would have driven away not permitting him to say one word to his family or to obtain his hat and coat, but Stephen Markham interposed He boldly seized the horses by the bits, and would not let them go until Emma could run from the house with the Prophet's clothing.

Stephen mounted a horse and started to Dixon where the kidnappers also proceeded at full speed without even allowing Joseph to speak to his wife or little children. The wretches had not shown any writ, nor had they told the Prophet what was the charge against him. During the whole journey of eight miles to Dixon they continued to strike his sides with their pistols and to swear that they would have his life. So brutal were their blows that he almost fainted, and each side was turned black and blue for a circumference of eighteen inches.

At Dixon they thrust him into a room at the tavern and guarded him there, while ordering fresh horses to be ready in five minutes. As Stephen Markham had raised an alarm at Dixon and proposed to get a lawyer, Reynolds once more declared his intention to shoot the Prophet. Joseph said: "Why do you make this threat so often? If you want to shoot me, do so. I am not afraid."

The continued calmness and the undaunted heroism of the Prophet had their effect upon his captors; and at last they desisted from their threats, although they continued their abuse. No doubt they would have killed him but they were too cowardly. They wanted to get him into Missouri where the murder could be consummated without any danger to them. The lawyers whom Stephen secured for the Prophet were not permitted by Reynolds and Wilson to consult their client; but the effect of this highhanded proceeding was to arouse the indignation of the landlord and his friends. They gathered around the hotel and told Reynolds that this might be the Missouri way, but it would not do for Dixon, where the people were law-abiding and would not permit any man to be kidnapped and dragged away without knowing the charge against him and without an opportunity for judicial examination. As a large crowd had gathered by this time and as they threatened to take summary action against the brigands, Reynolds and Wilson concluded to permit a consultation with the lawyers. As soon as he could get speech with the attorneys, Joseph told them that he had been taken prisoner without process, had been insulted, bruised and threatened; and that he wanted to sue out a writ of habeas corpus. At this Reynolds swore that he would only wait half an hour. A Mr. Dixon who had opposed Reynolds and Wilson in their outrageous doings, immediately sent messengers to the master in chancery and to Lawyer Walker to have them come to Dixon to get out a writ of habeas corpus.

The next morning the writ was issued, returnable before Judge Caton of the ninth judicial circuit at Ottawa and duly served upon Reynolds and Wilson.

Writs were also obtained against them for threatening the life of Stephen Markham, for assaults upon Joseph and for false imprisonment; and these villains were soon placed in the custody of the sheriff of Lee County, whereupon their demeanor became as craven as it had before been bold and threatening.

In the meantime Joseph had sent William Clayton to Nauvoo to inform Hyrum of what was being done.

The Prophet still in captivity to Reynolds and Wilson, who in turn were in custody of Sheriff Campbell, proceeded that night to Pawpaw grove, thirty-two miles on the road to Ottawa. Here Reynolds and Wilson again began to abuse their captive; but Campbell came to his assistance and slept by his side that night to protect him from further assault.

Early the next morning the hotel was filled with citizens who wanted to see the Prophet and hear him preach. Fearing the effect of an address from Joseph, Sheriff Reynolds yelled: "I want you to understand that this man is my legal prisoner, and you must disperse."

This was false. No writ or other process had been served upon Joseph, and he was nobody's legal prisoner. But without waiting to discuss the legal question, an old man named David Town, who was lame and carried a large hickory walking stick, advanced upon Reynolds and said:

You damned infernal puke, we'll learn you to come here and interrupt gentlemen. Sit down there, [pointing to a very low chair] and sit still. Don't you open your head till General Smith gets through talking. If you never learned manners in Missouri, we'll teach you that gentlemen are not to be imposed upon by a nigger-driver. You cannot kidnap men here. There's a committee in this grove that will sit on your case; and, sir, it is the highest tribunal in the United States, as from its decision there is no appeal.

Reynolds was made aware that Mr. Town was the head of a committee, just then assembled to deal with some land speculators who had attempted to impose upon honest settlers, and he obeyed with great meekness.

The Prophet talked an hour and a half on the subject of marriage, which was the topic selected for him by his congregation. From that hour on his freedom commenced.

Learning at Pawpaw grove that Judge Caton was absent in New York the party turned back to Dixon, arriving there about 4 o'clock in the afternoon of June 25th. A return of the writ of habeas corpus was made to the master in chancery, with the endorsement that the judge was absent; whereupon a new writ was issued, returnable before the nearest tribunal in the fifth judicial district authorized to hear and determine writs of habeas corpus, and Mr. Campbell, the sheriff of Lee County, at once served it upon Wilson and Reynolds. Arrangements were then made to go before Judge Stephen A. Douglas at Quincy, a distance of two hundred and sixty miles; and in the meantime, anticipating treachery, Stephen Markham started with a letter to the Prophet's friends informing them further of his movements. This action was deemed necessary; for the whole country seemed to be swarming with men anxious to carry Joseph into Missouri, where, according to the free boasts of Reynolds, Wilson and others, his death was certain.

The party in charge of the Prophet proceeded toward Quincy. On Tuesday, the 27th of June, shortly after crossing Fox River, they met seven of the Prophet's friends. The brethren burst into tears at sight of Joseph; and as they embraced him he spoke to his captors who, it must be remembered, had not yet shown any writ or other process and were therefore kidnappers:

"I think I will not go to Missouri this time, gentlemen. These are my boys."

Then he mounted his favorite horse, Joe Duncan; and the entire company proceeded to a farmhouse and made a halt. This party of the Prophet's friends was under the leadership of Thomas Grover, and from them it was learned that Elders Charles C. Rich and Wilson Law with other and larger parties were seeking the Prophet to prevent his murder and abduction.

Reynolds and Wilson shook with fear. Peter W. Cownover, one of the Prophet's friends, said to Wilson: "What is the matter with you? Have you got the ague?"

Wilson managed to stammer, "No."

Reynolds asked, "Is Jem Flack in the crowd?"

Someone answered: "He is not now, but you will see him tomorrow about this time."

"Then," said Reynolds, "I am a dead man; for I know him of old."

Cownover told the foolish fellow not to be frightened, for no one intended to injure him.

Stephen Markham had turned back when he met this party and was with them. He walked up to Reynolds and offered his hand, when the bandit cried out: "Do you meet me as a friend? I expected to be a dead man when I met you again."

Markham replied: "We are friends, except in law; that must have its course."

At Andover that night Reynolds and Wilson gathered a party and held a consultation. They intended to raise a company, take the Prophet by force, escape from their own arrest, and run with him to the mouth of Rock River, on the Mississippi, where they said they had a company of men all ready to drag him into Missouri and wreak vengeance upon him. But for Stephen Markham's vigilance they would have executed this plan, but he foiled them by putting the Sheriff of Lee County on his guard.

On Wednesday, the 28th of June, they encamped in a little grove at the head of Elleston Creek. While the animals were feeding, Reynolds said: "No, we will go from here to the mouth of Rock River and take steamboat to Quincy."

Markham replied: "No; for we are prepared to travel and will go by land."

Wilson and Reynolds both yelled out: "No, by God, we won't; we will never go by Nauvoo alive."

Both drew their pistols upon Markham, who turned to Sheriff Campbell saying: "When these men took Joseph a prisoner, they took even his pocket knife. They are now prisoners of yours and I demand that their arms be seized."

Reynolds and Wilson refused to yield their weapons; but when the sheriff threatened to call for assistance, they submitted.

While on this journey and resting in a little grove of timber where the ground was well sodded, one of the lawyers for Reynolds and Wilson began to boast of his prowess as a wrestler. He offered to wager any sum that he could throw any man in the state of Illinois at side-hold. Stephen Markham, a side-hold wrestler, told the lawyer that he would not contest for money but would try a bout for fun. They grappled, and the man threw Markham, when a great shout arose from Joseph's enemies, and they began to taunt the Prophet and his friends.

Joseph turned to Brother Philemon C. Merrill, a young man from Nauvoo, subsequently adjutant in the Mormon Battalion, and later a resident of St. David, Arizona, and said: "Get up and throw that man."

Merrill was about to say that side-hold was not his game; but before he could speak the Prophet commanded him in such a way that his tongue was silenced. He arose to his feet filled with the strength of a Samson. Merrill lifted his arms and said to the lawyer: "Take your choice of sides."

The man took the left side with his right arm under; when the company all declared that this was not fair, as he had a double advantage. Merrill felt such confidence in the word of the Prophet that it made no difference to him how much advantage his opponent took, and he allowed the hold. As they grappled Joseph said: "Philemon, when I count three, throw him!".

On the instant after the word dropped from Joseph's lips, Merrill, with the strength of a giant, threw the lawyer over his left shoulder, and he fell striking his head upon the earth.

Awe fell upon the opponents of the Prophet when they saw this, and there were no more challenges to wrestle during the journey.

While they were lodged at a farm house near Monmouth one night Reynolds and Wilson again plotted to raise a mob and seize Joseph; but Peter Cownover detected them, and Sheriff Campbell put them under restraint, feeling that they were no longer to be trusted. On Thursday, the 29th of June, another party of the Prophet's friends joined him. He called James Flack to his side and told him he must not injure Reynolds whatever the provocation might have been; for the Prophet had pledged himself to protect the Missouri sheriff.

The lawyers and Sheriff Campbell, with other civil officers, decided that the hearing upon the writ of habeas corpus might lawfully be held in Nauvoo, and they desired to go there rather than to Quincy; so the party turned in that direction. This occasioned great joy to Joseph. His bruises were forgotten, and that night when they reached the house of Michael Crane, on Honey Creek, he sprang from the buggy, walked up to the fence, and leaped over without touching it.

A messenger had carried the news of the homecoming to Nauvoo, and on Friday, June the 30th, a joyous cavalcade went out to meet the Prophet. The meeting between Joseph and Hyrum was most touching. Joseph had just passed through one of the many perils of his life, but one of the few which Hyrum did not share; and his return caused Hyrum to weep for joy as he took the Prophet in his arms. The spectacle of the entry into Nauvoo was most imposing, for the delighted people sang for joy and made such demonstration of love and gladness in Joseph's behalf, that the lawyers and officers from Dixon were charmed and deeply impressed.

After they were within the city the multitude seemed unwilling to disperse, but Joseph said to them:

I am out of the power of the Missourians again, thank God; and thank you all for your kindness and love. I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ. I shall address you in the grove, near the temple, at 4 o'clock this afternoon.

A feast had been prepared at Joseph's house, and there he went—still in the hands of his captors, Reynolds and Wilson, who were the prisoners of Sheriff Campbell of Lee County; and all of these with about fifty of the Prophet's friends sat at his table. The place of honor was given to Reynolds and Wilson who were waited upon by Emma with as much courtesy as could have been bestowed upon a beloved guest. This kindness heaped coals of fire on their heads, for they remembered the time when they had dragged the Prophet from the side of his wife and little ones and had refused to permit him to say farewell.

Under advice of the lawyers, Joseph with his captors was brought before the municipal court at Nauvoo, and all the writs and other papers were filed there. The case was heard upon its merits, and the Prophet was discharged. The lawyers concurred that in all the transactions since the day of his arrest Joseph had held himself amendable to the law and its officers; and that the decision of the municipal court of Nauvoo was not only legal and just but was within the power of this tribunal under the city charter.

But before the actual hearing began in the municipal court, Reynolds and Wilson in company with Lawyer Davis, of Carthage, started for that place threatening to raise a mob with which to drag Joseph from Nauvoo. Desiring a larger force than they could readily command at Carthage, they applied to Governor Ford for the state militia. But the governor sent a trusted messenger to Nauvoo to obtain evidence concerning the seizure of the Prophet and his discharge on the writ of habeas corpus; and this gentleman secured a copy of all the papers and evidence in the case. Prominent citizens of Lee County added their affidavits; and several gentlemen went up to Springfield to represent the matter fairly to his Excellency. Whatever Ford's motive may have been—whether a desire to make political capital for his party with influential men who took the side of the Saints in this question, or whether he had fear that he would lose his personal prestige by precipitating the unlawful strife—he took the only proper course; and after long consideration, and upon the presentation of his trusted messenger, he refused to order out the militia, and so reported to Sheriff Reynolds and Governor Reynolds of Missouri. The position which Ford assumed was that no resistance had been made to any writ issued by the state of Illinois, and therefore that Illinois had neither right nor interest in the matter.

On the 2nd and 3rd days of July parties returned who had been out from Nauvoo searching for the Prophet. One party had gone up the river on the little steamer Maid of Iowa, under command of Dan Jones, and had passed through a very adventurous voyage. This company was accompanied by Apostle John Taylor. Another party, under the leadership of General Charles C. Rich, had traveled five hundred miles on horseback in seven days. They were all delighted to find the Prophet safe at home; and he blessed them for their love and devotion to him.

At a special conference, on Monday, the 3rd day of July, a large number of elders were called to go into the different counties of Illinois, to preach the gospel and convey correct information to the people of the state concerning the Prophet's arrest and his discharge from custody.

On the 4th day of July about fifteen thousand people congregated at the grove near the temple, among them being about one thousand ladies and gentlemen from St. Louis, Quincy and Burlington, who listened attentively to orations and speeches. In the course of the address which he delivered, the Prophet spoke a few words in relation to his own arrest, in which he defended himself to the satisfaction of the vast multitude, both Saints and visitors:

I never spent more than six months in Missouri, except while in prison. While I was free in that state, I was at work for the support of my family. I was never a prisoner of war during my stay, for I had nothing to do with war. I never took a pistol, gun, or sword; and the most that has been said on this subject by the Missourians is false. I have been willing to go before any governor, judge or tribunal where justice would be done, and have the subject investigated. I could not have committed treason in that state while I resided there, for treason against Missouri consists in levying war against the state or adhering to her enemies. Missouri was at peace, and had no enemy that I could adhere to, had I been disposed; and I did not make war, and no command or authority, either civil or military, but only in spiritual matters as a minister of the Gospel.

CHAPTER LVIII.

GROWTH OF NAUVOO—THE MANSION—SIDNEY RIGDON'S RECREANCY—MOBOCRATIC CONVENTIONS AT CARTHAGE—INCITING THE MISSOURIANS TO KIDNAP—THE PROPHET CHECKS A BOMBASTIC POLITICIAN—APPEALS FOR REDRESS—JOY ON A CHRISTMAS DAY—ORRIN PORTER ROCKWELL BACK FROM MISSOURI.

When the Prophet once more saw one hour of security in Nauvoo, he recorded the fact that he had been subjected in his time to thirty-eight suits against his person and property. Not one of these was just. They were all incited for the purpose of vexing and despoiling him, and by the satanic power that had sought to shed the blood of prophets and holy men through all ages.

But he was compensated and filled with joy to see the progress of Nauvoo. From the states in this country and from the lands across the sea, faithful Saints were gathering by tens, and hundreds, and thousands. Homes were being built and factories were projected; the walls of the temple were rising in grandeur, uplifting the souls of the Saints with hope that they would soon minister in the holy ordinances for their living and their dead; and all that was wanted to insure the dominion of peace was the cessation of the wicked assaults upon the Prophet and his friends.

On the last of August Joseph and his family moved into the Nauvoo Mansion. It was his intention to support this place as a home for all visitors who should come up to Zion seeking to know the glory of God. Such hospitality was no new thing for the Prophet to bestow. His home, whenever he had one, had always been open to Saints and to strangers. It had been a resting place for thousands; and many times his family had gone without food, after giving their last morsel to the poor wayfarers. The mansion was a place in which such hospitality as the Prophet loved could well be extended. With these facilities to entertain company, Joseph soon found his resources exhausted. But for the persecutions and robberies which he had suffered he might have continued to dispense his bounties with generous hand; but now he was compelled to have the mansion opened as a hotel, at first under his own direction, but a little later it was leased for that purpose to Ebenezer Robinson, the Prophet only retaining two or three rooms for his personal use. Joseph's mother lived with him at this time.

Among the saddest afflictions of the Prophet's closing hours was the recreancy of Sidney Rigdon. As early as August, 1843, Joseph had solemnly withdrawn his fellowship from Sidney, and had refused to acknowledge him longer as a counselor—unless the charge could satisfactorily be refuted that he was in league with the Prophet's enemies to betray him and give him up to death in Missouri. This was not the only ground for complaint. Sidney was charged with an alliance with dishonest persons to deal fraudulently against the innocent and unwary. At a special conference begun in Nauvoo on the 6th of October, examination was made of the statements against President Rigdon. The Prophet recalled the many times that he had borne with Sidney's failings, having forgiven him again and again; and that now Sidney had ceased altogether to be useful and devoted, and Joseph lacked entire confidence in his integrity. Filled with mercy, Hyrum desired that one more trial should be given to Elder Rigdon, and upon his motion Sidney was sustained. The Prophet arose and said:

I have thrown him off my shoulders, and you have again put him on me. You may carry him, but I will not.

Subsequent events clearly showed how truly the Prophet had judged of the man who was once his friend and counselor, but had now lost faith and power in the gospel.

Assaults from without were threatened, with violence constantly augmenting. In August some of the brethren who were elected to county offices went to Carthage to give bonds and take the official oath. While these men were before the court, a rabble consisting of Constable Harmon T. Wilson and about fifteen others came in armed with hickory clubs, knives and pistols, and swore that the bonds should not be approved nor the men from Nauvoo inducted into office; if they were, blood would be spilled; and the mob pledged their words, honor and reputation, not only to keep these men out of office, but to put down the "Mormons." After some delay, the rabble withdrew to convene a mob meeting, and the bonds were approved by the court. This mob secured a convention at the courthouse on the 19th of August and appointed a committee to draft resolutions concerning the Saints; and at an adjourned meeting held on the 6th of September, 1843, a most vindictive tirade, filled with lies and threats, was presented and accepted under the name of preamble and resolutions. These mobocrats pledged themselves in the most determined manner to give aid in the capture of Joseph if he were demanded again, and threatened signal and summary vengeance upon the Saints in case of a collision. All the office-seekers were warned that the influence of the mobocrats would be withdrawn from them if they sought support at Nauvoo.

This action was designed to comfort the Missourians and to incite them to further efforts; and also to warn the office-holders and office-seekers of the state of Illinois not to extend any help to Joseph and his people in case of an attack upon them. The sole causes of the movements, in addition to the falsehoods of Reynolds and Wilson, who felt chagrined at their failure to drag the Prophet to his death as they had threatened, was that the people were increasing, Nauvoo was becoming a beautiful city, and Joseph Smith, the Prophet of God and head of the community, was the object of sectarian and apostate jealousy and political hate. Joseph wrote to the governor concerning the threatened movements against the Saints, but received no satisfaction.

The promise of the Hancock County mob and the quiescence of the governor of Illinois gave license and promise of support to the people of Missouri in the commission of further outrages. In November, Daniel Avery and his son Philander were kidnapped from Hancock County, by a company of Missourians, and imprisoned and threatened with death for the purpose of extorting false statements from them upon which prosecutions could be based against the citizens of Nauvoo. A man named Elliot of Carthage, who had assisted the kidnappers, was arrested and brought before a court at Nauvoo for examination. No attempt was made to inflict punishment upon him; the evidence clearly showed his guilt, and he was bound over to the circuit court at Carthage. This same Elliot had sworn to have the Prophet's life, and complaint was lodged against him for threatening to kill. Elliot was alone and defenseless; and when the Prophet saw the man's fear and helplessness, he obtained a withdrawal of the charge, paid the costs himself, and invited Elliot to his own home to be fed and lodged.

Writs for the other persons engaged in the Avery kidnapping were issued, but an armed mob congregated to prevent the service of process. A party of the mob went to the house of David Holman near Ramus, and in his absence plundered it of provisions and then burned it to the ground, leaving himself and family shelterless in the bleak winter.

An attack was threatened upon Nauvoo by gathering mobs from Missouri and Illinois; and in view of this danger the Nauvoo Legion was ordered to be kept in readiness to repel unlawful assaults.

The vindictive and lawless character of the mob which menaced the city is shown by the statement of Amos Chase, who heard the following conversation between a spectator and the rabble:

"What will you do if the governor refuses to sanction your course?"

"Damn the governor! If he opens his head we will punch a hole through him! He dare not speak! We will serve him the same sauce we will the Mormons."

And their cowardly character is shown by the experience of Nelson Judd. A man called on Brother Judd at Nauvoo and said he wanted to sell him some wood at a little distance down the river. Nelson went with the man and when they came into the woods two men on horseback attempted to kidnap him. He avoided them and they drew their pistols and fired, but without effect. Judd then coolly said: "Now it is my turn."

Putting his hand into his pocket as though to draw a pistol, he looked fiercely at the bandits, and they fled shrieking with terror. Nelson had no weapon with him except his bravery and innocence, and he walked home laughing at the ruffians.

At a meeting of the city council in December, 1843, the subject of the menace to the city and the mayor was under consideration, and Joseph said among other things:

I am exposed to far greater danger from traitors among ourselves than from enemies without, although my life has been sought for many years by the civil and military authorities, priests and people of Missouri; and if I can escape from the ungrateful treachery of assassins, I can live as Caesar might have lived, were it not for a right-hand Brutus. I have had pretended friends betray me. All the enemies upon the face of the earth may roar and exert all their power to bring about my death, but they can accomplish nothing, unless some who are among us, who have enjoyed our society, have been with us in our councils, participated in our confidence, taken us by the hand, called us brother, saluted us with a kiss, join with our enemies, turn our virtues into faults, and, by falsehood and deceit, stir up their wrath and indignation against us, and bring their united vengeance upon our heads. All the hue and cry of the chief priests and elders against the Savior could not bring down the wrath of the Jewish nation upon his head, and thereby cause the crucifixion of the Son of God, until Judas said unto them: "Whomsoever I shall kiss he is the man: hold him fast." Judas was one of the Twelve Apostles, even their treasurer, and dipped with their Master in the dish, and through his treachery the crucifixion was brought about; and we have a Judas in our midst.

James Arlington Bennett, a lawyer, journalist and politician of New York, had been attracted by the Prophet's fame and character. Mr. Bennett had ambition to run for office in the state of Illinois, and he wrote a very complimentary letter to Joseph, in which he spoke of the boldness of the Prophet's plans and measures; and that he, Bennett, would yet run for high office in Illinois, and would give the Prophet his best services; intimated that he would like to become Joseph's right-hand man, since "Mahomet had his right-hand man"; and he declared that his mind was of so mathematical and philosophical a cast that divinity made an impression upon him.

To this bombastic letter the Prophet replied with such incisive vigor that must have taught Mr. Bennett a lesson:

You say, "The boldness of my plans and measures, together with their unparalleled success so far, are calculated to throw a charm over my whole being, and to point me out as the most extraordinary man of the present age."The boldness of my plans and measures can readily be tested by the touchstone of all schemes, systems, projects and adventures—truth, for truth is a matter of fact; and the fact is, that by the power of God I translated the Book of Mormon from hieroglyphics, the knowledge of which was lost to the world; in which wonderful event I stood alone, an unlearned youth, to combat the worldly wisdom and multiplied ignorance of eighteen centuries with a new revelation, which (if they would receive the everlasting Gospel) would open the eyes of more than eight hundred millions of people, and make "plain the old paths," wherein, if a man walk in all the ordinances of God blameless, he shall inherit eternal life; and Jesus Christ, who was, and is, and is to come, has borne me safely over every snare and plan, laid in secret or openly, through priestly hypocrisy, sectarian prejudice, popular philosophy, executive power, or law-defying mobocracy, to destroy me.

If, then, the hand of God, in all these things that I have accomplished towards the salvation of a priest-ridden generation, in the short space of twelve years through the boldness of the plan of preaching the Gospel, and the boldness of the means of declaring repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, and a reception of the Holy Ghost, by laying on of the hands, agreeably to the authority of the Priesthood, and the still more bold measures of receiving direct revelation from God, through the Comforter, as promised, and by which means all holy men, from ancient times till now, have spoken and revealed the will of God to men, with the consequent "success" of the gathering of the Saints, throws any "charm" around my being, and "points me out as the most extraordinary man of the age," it demonstrates the fact, that truth is mighty, and must prevail; and that one man empowered from Jehovah has more influence with the children of the kingdom than eight hundred millions led by the precepts of men. God exalts the humble and debases the haughty.

* * * * *

The summit of your future fame seems to be hid in the political policy of a "mathematical problem" for the chief magistracy of this state, which, I suppose, might be solved by "double position," where the errors of the supposition are used to produce a true answer.

But, sir, when I leave the dignity and honor I received from heaven to hoist a man into power through the aid of my friends where the evil and designing, after the object has been accomplished, can look up the clemency intended as a reciprocation for such favors, and where the wicked and unprincipled, as a matter of course, would seize the opportunity to flintify the hearts of the nation against me for dabbling at a sly game in politics; verily, I say, when I leave the dignity and honor of heaven to gratify the ambition and vanity of man or men, may my power cease, like the strength of Samson, when he was shorn of his locks, while asleep in the lap of Delilah! Truly said the Savior, "Cast not your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you."

Shall I, who have witnessed the visions of eternity, and beheld the glories of the mansions of bliss, and the regions and misery of the damned, shall I turn to be a Judas? Shall I, who have heard the voice of God, and communed with angels, and spake, as moved by the Holy Ghost, for the renewal of the everlasting covenant and for the gathering of Israel in the last days, shall I worm myself into a political hypocrite? Shall I who hold the keys of the last kingdom, in which is the dispensation of the fulness of all things spoken by the mouths of all the holy prophets since the world began, under the sealing power of the Melchizedek Priesthood—shall I stoop from the sublime authority of Almighty God to be handled as a monkey's catspaw, and pettify myself into a clown to act the farce of political demagoguery? No, verily no! The whole earth shall bear me witness, that I, like the towering rock in the midst of the ocean, which has withstood the mighty surges of the warring waves for centuries, am impregnable, and am a faithful friend to virtue, and a fearless foe to vice; no odds, whether the former was sold as a pearl in Asia or hid as a gem in America, and the latter dazzles in palaces or glitters among the tombs.

I combat the errors of ages; I meet the violence of mobs; I cope with illegal proceedings from executive authority; I cut the Gordian knot of powers; and I solve mathematical problems of universities with truth—diamond truth; and God is my "right-hand man."

In December memorials were prepared and sent to Congress supplicating for a redress of the wrongs inflicted upon the Saints in Missouri and for protection against further plundering. This seemed necessary, for the governor of Illinois had practically confessed the helplessness of the state to prevent the infliction of additional wrongs upon this longsuffering people. The memorials were signed by the citizens of Hancock County and the city council of Nauvoo; they were truthful and eloquent; and they were of as little avail as other appeals for justice made by the people of God in this and other ages. Several of the elders wrote addresses to their native states, setting forth with the vigor of truth the wrongs and oppressions which had been inflicted upon them by Missouri. Joseph wrote a stirring appeal to the people—the Green Mountain boys—of his native state of Vermont. After sketching the great wrongs which the people had endured, the Prophet says:

Must we, because we believe in the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the administration of angels and the communion of the Holy Ghost, like the prophets and apostles of old,—must we be mobbed with impunity, be exiled from our habitations and property without remedy, murdered without mercy, and government find the weapons and pay the vagabonds for doing the jobs, and give them the plunder into the bargain? Must we, because we believe in enjoying the constitutional privilege and right of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own consciences, and because we believe in repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, the millennium, the day of judgment and the Book of Mormon as the history of the aborigines of this continent,—must we be expelled from the institutions of our country, the rights of citizenship, and the graves of our friends and brethren, and the government lock the gate of humanity and shut the door of redress against us? If so, farewell freedom! adieu to personal safety! and let the red hot wrath of an offended God purify the nation of such sinks of corruption; for that realm is hurrying to ruin where vice has the power to expel virtue.

My father, who stood several times in the battles of the American Revolution, till his companions in arms had been shot dead at his feet, was forced from his home in Far West, Missouri, by those civilized or satanized savages, in the dreary season of winter, to seek a shelter in another state; and the vicissitudes and sufferings consequent to his flight brought his honored gray head to the grave a few months after.

* * * * * * * * *

I appeal to the "Green Mountain Boys" of my native state to rise in the majesty of virtuous freemen, and by all honorable means help to bring Missouri to the bar of justice. If there is one whisper from the spirit of an Ethan Allen, or a gleam from the shade of a General Stark, let it mingle with our sense of honor and fire our bosoms for the cause of suffering innocence, for the reputation of our disgraced country, and for the glory of God; and may all the earth bear me witness, if Missouri—blood-stained Missouri, escapes the due demerit of her crimes—the vengeance she so justly deserves, that Vermont is a hypocrite, a coward, and this nation the hot-bed of political demagogues.

I make this appeal to the sons of liberty of my native state for help to frustrate the wicked designs of sinful men. I make it to hush the violence of mobs. I make it to cope with the unhallowed influence of wicked men in high places. I make it to resent the insult and injury made to an innocent, unoffending people, by a lawless ruffian state. I make it to obtain justice where law is put at defiance. I make it to wipe off the stain of blood from our nation's escutcheon. I make it to show presidents, governors and rulers prudence. I make it to fill honorable men with discretion. I make it to teach senators wisdom. I make it to teach judges justice. I make it to point clergymen to the path of virtue. And I make it to turn the hearts of this nation to the truth and realities of pure and undefiled religion, that they may escape the perdition of ungodly men: and Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is my great counselor.

On Christmas morning, 1843, Joseph and Hyrum were roused from their slumbers by the hymn of a choir singing, "Mortals, Awake! with Angels Join." The choir was composed of a widow named Lettice Rushton and her children and neighbors; and their sweet voices and the noble sentiments of the hymn thrilled the souls of the Prophet and Patriarch into gladness and thanksgiving. Joseph blessed the singers and thanked his Heavenly Father for the visit. Hyrum said that he thought at first that a cohort of angels had descended, for the music had such a heavenly effect upon his soul. It was the last Christmas carol that Joseph and Hyrum heard in this life. Before another year had passed these two grand mortals had passed into the slumber of death, to awake with immortality upon them and to join with the choir invisible.

On the night of the same day another joy came to Joseph. He was entertaining a company of friends at his house when the festivities were interrupted by a man who came unbidden to the feast. His hair was long and fell over his face and upon his shoulders. He seemed a stranger to all and yet acted boldly and confidently as if at home. The company thought he was a Missourian and he would have been ejected, but the Prophet came and looked him fairly in the face and discovered to his great joy that it was his long-tried and persecuted friend Orrin Porter Rockwell who, in fulfillment of the prediction of Joseph, had come away honorably from Missouri.

Orrin was gladly welcomed then to the banquet, and the Prophet listened to the recital of his adventures. After going to the east in 1842 and remaining some months, Rockwell determined to return to his home in Nauvoo, not desiring perpetual exile. At St. Louis he was captured and thrown into jail. Iron hobbles and manacles were fastened upon him and he was carried to Independence. He was dragged from place to place, from court to court, tortured, threatened, starved, and all without any legal or just charge against him. Not the remotest connection could be traced between him and the attempt upon Boggs' life. He had not been seen in the entire state of Missouri during the year in which that event took place. No court from very shame could hold him on this monstrous charge, but when it failed others were concocted; and in the meantime several mob parties attempted to take his life as he was dragged to and fro in custody. After repeated solicitations he induced Joseph Reynolds, the sheriff of Jackson, to write to Bishop Whitney at Nauvoo, and this is the communication which that officer of law forwarded:

Independence, Missouri

April 7th, 1843

Sir:—At the request of Orrin Porter Rockwell, who is now confined in our jail, I write you a few lines concerning his affairs. He is held to bail in the sum of $5,000, and wishes some of his friends to bail him out. He also wishes some friend to bring his clothes to him. He is in good health and pretty good spirits. My own opinion is, after conversing with several persons here, that it would not be safe for any of Mr. Rockwell's friends to come here, notwithstanding I have written the above at his request; neither do I think bail would be taken (unless it was some responsible person well known here as a resident of this state). Any letter to Mr. Rockwell, (post paid) with authority expressed on the back for me to open it, will be handed to him without delay. In the meantime he will be humanely treated and dealt with kindly, until discharged by due course of law.

Yours, etc.,

J. H. Reynolds

From Orrin's own narrative of his experience the following paragraphs are taken:

When I was put in Independence jail, I was again ironed hand and foot, and put in the dungeon, in which condition I remained about two months. During this time, Joseph H. Reynolds, the sheriff, told me he was going to arrest Joseph Smith, and they had received letters from Nauvoo which satisfied them that Joseph Smith had unlimited confidence in me, that I was capable of toling him in a carriage or on horseback anywhere that I pleased; and if I would only tole him out by riding or any other way, so that they could apprehend him, I might please myself whether I stayed in Illinois or came back to Missouri; they would protect me, and any pile that I would name the citizens of Jackson County would donate, club together and raise, and that I should never suffer for want afterwards: "you only deliver Joe Smith into our hands, and name your pile." I replied—"I will see you all damned first, and then I won't."

About the time that Joseph was arrested by Reynolds at Dixon, I knowing that they were after him, and no means under heaven of giving him any information, my anxiety became so intense upon the subject, knowing their determination to kill him, that my flesh twitched on my bones. I could not help it; twitch it would. While undergoing this sensation, I heard a dove alight on the window in the upper room of the jail, and commence cooing, and then went off. In a short time he came back to the window, where a pane was broken; he crept through the bars of iron, which were about two and a half inches apart. I saw it fly round the trapdoor several times; it did not alight, but continued cooing until it crept through the bars again, and flew out through the broken window.

I relate this, as it was the only occurrence of the kind that happened during my long and weary imprisonment; but it proved a comfort to me; the twitching of my flesh ceased, and I was fully satisfied from that moment that they would not get Joseph into Missouri and that I should regain my freedom. From the best estimates that can be made, it was at the time when Joseph was in the custody of Reynolds.

In a few days afterwards Sheriff Reynolds came into the jail and told me that he had made a failure in the arrest of Joseph.

At last, finding that no charge could be maintained against the prisoner, and that he could not be bribed or cajoled, or driven into a traitorous act, he was turned loose to find his way on foot across the state of Missouri, which swarmed with enemies. He was marvelously preserved from dangers which encompassed his path, and reached Nauvoo as much to Joseph's joy as to his own.

The Prophet must have compared the fidelity of this unpretending but loyal man with the selfish and traitorous action of some men upon whom benefits and confidences had been showered.

CHAPTER LIX.

JOSEPH SMITH FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES—AN INSPIRED CANDIDATE —HIS VIEWS OF THE POWERS AND POLICY OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT—HOW THE COUNTRY COULD HAVE SAVED THE CARNAGE OF WAR.

For President of the United States: Joseph Smith, of Illinois.

This was the announcement made to the world in the opening of 1844, from Nauvoo. At a political meeting held there on the 29th day of January, Joseph was nominated and on the 17th day of May, at a state convention held in the same place the nomination was sustained.

Such a candidacy was not assumed at such a time without careful and lengthy deliberation. Its purpose was less to secure political fame or elevation for the Prophet, than to bring his patriotic and statesmanlike ideas before the world, and to force the sufferings of the Saints upon the attention of the thinking men throughout the land.

Joseph's views of government, its powers and duties, his knowledge of the steps by which the nation could retrace its way from the gulf into which it was being plunged, were far in advance of his time. The recreancy and the moral cowardice of many of the public men in the republic who were aspirants for that high station, called for some rebuke; for many of them were deliberately precipitating the evils which soon deluged the land with blood, and others through fear were skulking from the face of this danger. It was time for a declaration of truth from a man who not only had the prophetic foresight but who had the courage to declare for justice. Viewed from the standpoint of politicians, the candidacy of the Prophet was hopeless in 1844. What it might have been if he had lived and it had been renewed at a later time, when the best minds of the nation could have grasped and advocated the noble principles which he enunciated, and thinking men throughout the length and breadth of the land could have seen that this was the way of all others for escape from war, let the student of history decide. Certain it is, that had Joseph Smith been elected President of the United States and been sustained by Congress in his policy, this land would have been spared the desolating woe which filled its hamlets and fields with carnage and its homes with sobbing widows and orphans.

From this same state of Illinois a backwoodsman came sixteen years later to settle the national dispute and save the Union by the stern arbitrament of the sword, for by this time the paltering politicians of the schools were by the mighty voice of the people set aside. This man, raised up by Providence for the task, and with the courage to do, was the nation's support and rescuer in 1861-65. But had the nation accepted Joseph Smith, with the views which he proclaimed and with the divine prescience upon him, he would have proved, in 1845-49, the republic's savior. Peaceful methods would have prevailed, and Columbia would have been spared the most bloody and costly civil war of which profane history gives any account.

Looking back upon that time of the war after nearly a generation has past, men are prone to think less of the agonies of the strife; they begin to feel that it was necessary; to feel that the republic is stronger because cemented by the blood of brother who fell under brother's hand and by the tears of the widow and the fatherless. To sense the full beneficence which Joseph Smith might have wrought, let the patriot project his mind into the future and think if peril impended today how much better to save the country and the Constitution by heroic statesmanship than by military valor.

The sentiment which permitted the persecutions in Missouri and Illinois to go unchecked and unredressed was rapidly ripening for the greater strife. Joseph saw this. When he permitted his name to be used he said to his friends:

I would not have suffered my name to have been used by my friends on anywise as President of the United States or candidate for that office, if I and my friends could have had the privilege of enjoying our religious and civil rights as American citizens, even those rights which the constitution guarantees unto all her citizens alike. But this we as a people have been denied from the beginning. Persecution has rolled upon our heads from time to time from portions of the United States, like peals of thunder, because of our religion; and no portion of the government as yet has stepped forward for our relief. And under view of these things, I feel it to be my right and privilege to obtain what influence and power I can, lawfully, in the United States, for the protection of injured innocence; and if I lose my life in a good cause, I am willing to be sacrificed on the altar of virtue, righteousness and truth, in maintaining the laws and constitution of the United States, if need be, for the general good of mankind.

Joseph had not allowed this candidacy to be announced until every effort had been made to impress the leading politicians of the day with a sense of national peril and with recognition of the means by which overhanging disaster might be dissipated. Late in 1843 and in the opening of 1844, he held correspondence with Clay, Calhoun, Van Buren, Cass and others, in which his own courage and exalted ideas of government come in contradistinction to the sycophantic and excessive caution of time-serving politicians.

He hit Calhoun, the champion of states rights, on a tender spot, and used the woes of the Saints for an illustration when he said:

Your second paragraph leaves you naked before yourself, like a likeness in a mirror, when you say that "according to your view, the Federal Government is one of limited and specific powers," and has no jurisdiction in the case of the Mormons. So then a state can at any time expel any portion of her citizens with impunity, and, in the language of Mr. Van Buren, frosted over with your gracious "views of the case," though the cause is ever so just, government can do nothing for them, because it has no power.

Go on, then, Missouri, after another set of inhabitants (as the Latter-day Saints did) have entered some two or three hundred thousand dollars, worth of land, and made extensive improvements thereon; go on, then, I say, banish the occupants or owners, or kill them, as the mobbers did many of the Latter-day Saints, and take their land and property as spoil; and let the legislature, as in the case of the Mormons, appropriate a couple of hundred thousand dollars to pay the mob for doing that job; for the renowned senator from South Carolina, Mr. J. C. Calhoun, says the powers of the Federal Government are so specific and limited that it has no jurisdiction of the case! O ye people who groan under the oppression of tyrants! ye exiled Poles, who have felt the iron hand of Russian grasp!—ye poor and unfortunate among all nations! come to the asylum of the oppressed; buy ye lands of the general government; pay in your money to the treasury to strengthen the army and the navy; worship God according to the dictates of your own consciences; pay in your taxes to support the great heads of a glorious nation; but remember, a 'sovereign state' is so much more powerful than the United States, the parent government, that it can exile you at pleasure, mob you with impunity, confiscate your lands and property, have the legislature sanction it,—yea, even murder you as an edict of an emperor, and it does no wrong; for the noble senator of South Carolina says the power of the Federal Government is so limited and specific, that it has no jurisdiction of the case. What think ye of Imperium in imperio?

And to Clay he said:

True greatness never wavers; but when the Missouri compromise was entered into by you for the benefit of slavery, there was a shrinkage of western honor.

Soon after his nomination was promulgated, he wrote an address to the American people containing his views of the powers and policy of the government of the United States. It was something new in the way of political platforms. Ignoring the evasions and the platitudes with which the scheming and shifting talk of the day was burdened, he uttered burning words of patriotism and statesmanship upon the issues which were then paramount in the land. With the acceptance of his plans, the slave question might have been settled without the effusion of blood and at an expense infinitely less than that of war; and rebellion in any state might have been instantly crushed under the national heel. The following paragraphs are from his address:

Born in a land of liberty, and breathing an air uncorrupted with the sirocco of barbarous climes, I ever feel a double anxiety for the happiness of all men, both in time and in eternity.

My cogitations, like Daniel's, have for a long time troubled me, when I viewed the condition of men throughout the world, and more especially in this boasted realm, where the Declaration of Independence "holds these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;" but at the same time some two or three millions of people are held as slaves for life, because the spirit of them is covered with a darker skin than ours; and hundreds of our own kindred for an infraction, or supposed infraction, of some overwise statute, have to be incarcerated in dungeon glooms, or suffer the more moral penitentiary gravitation of mercy in a nutshell, while the duelist, the debauchee, and the defaulter for millions and other criminals, take the uppermost rooms at feasts, or, like the bird of passage, find a more congenial clime by flight.

The wisdom which ought to characterize the freest, wisest and most noble nation of the nineteenth century, should, like the sun in its meridian splendor, warm every object beneath its rays; and in main efforts of her officers, who are nothing more or less than the servants of the people, ought to be directed to ameliorate the condition of all, black or white, bond or free; for the best of books says, God "hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth."

Our common country presents to all men the same advantages, the same facilities, the same prospects, the same honors, and the same rewards; and without hypocrisy, the constitution, when it says, "We, the people of the United States in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America," meant just what it said without reference to color or condition, ad infinitum.

The aspirations and expectations of a virtuous people, environed with so wise, so liberal, so deep, so broad, and so high a character of equal rights as appears in said constitution, ought to be treated by those to whom the administration of the laws is entrusted with as much sanctity as the prayers of the Saints are treated in heaven, that love, confidence and union, like the sun, moon and stars, should bear witness,

(For ever singing as they shine.)
The hand that made us is divine!

Unity is power; and when I reflect on the importance of it to the stability of all governments, I am astounded at the silly moves of persons and parties to foment discord in order to ride into power on the current of popular excitement; nor am I less surprised at the stretches of power or restrictions of right which too often appear as acts of legislators to pave the way to some favorite political scheme as destitute of intrinsic merit as a wolf's heart is of the milk of human kindness.

* * * * * * *

Now, O people! people! turn unto the Lord and live, and reform this nation. Frustrate the designs of wicked men. Reduce Congress at least two-thirds. Two senators from a state and two members to a million of population will do more business than the army that now occupy the halls of the national legislature. Pay them two dollars and their board per diem (except Sundays). That is more than the farmer gets, and he lives honestly. Curtail the officers of the government in pay, number and power; for the Philistine lords have shorn our nation of its goodly locks in the lap of Delilah.

* * * * * * *

Advise your legislators, when they make laws for larceny, burglary, or any felony, to make the penalty applicable to work upon roads, public works, or any place where the culprit can be taught more wisdom and more virtue, and become more enlightened. Rigor and seclusion will never do as much to reform the propensities of men as reason and friendship. Murder only can claim confinement or death. Let the penitentiaries be turned into seminaries of learning, where intelligence, like the angels of heaven, would banish such fragments of barbarism. Imprisonment for debt is a meaner practice than the savage tolerates, with all his ferocity. Amor vincit omnia.

Petition, also, ye goodly inhabitants of the slave states, your legislators to abolish slavery by the year 1850, or now, and save the abolitionist from reproach and ruin, infamy and shame.

Pray Congress to pay every man a reasonable price for his slaves out of the surplus revenue arising from the sale of public lands and from the deduction of pay from the members of Congress.

Break off the shackles from the poor black man, and hire him to labor like other human beings; for "an hour of virtuous liberty on earth is worth a whole eternity of bondage." Abolish the practice in the army and navy of trying men by court-martial for desertion. If a soldier or marine runs away, send him his wages, with this instruction, that his country will never trust him again; he has forfeited his honor.

Make honor the standard with all men. Be sure that good is rendered for evil in all cases, and the whole nation, like a kingdom of kings and priests, will rise up in righteousness, and be respected as wise and worthy on earth, and as just and holy for heaven, by Jehovah, the author of perfection.

More economy in the national and state governments would make less taxes among the people; more equality through the cities, towns and country, would make less distinction among the people; and more honesty and familiarity in societies, would make less hypocrisy and flattery in all branches of the community; and open, frank, candid decorum to all men, in this boasted land of liberty, would beget esteem, confidence, union and love; and the neighbor from any state, or from any country, of whatever color, clime or tongue, could rejoice when he put his foot on the sacred soil of freedom, and exclaim, The very name of "American" is fraught with friendship. Oh, then, create confidence! restore freedom! break down slavery! banish imprisonment for debt, be in love, fellowship and peace, with all the world! Remember that honesty is not subject to law: the law was made for transgressors.

* * * * * * *

Give every man his constitutional freedom, and the President full power to send an army to suppress mobs, and the state authority to repel and impugn that relic of folly which makes it necessary for the governor of a state to make the demand of the President for troops, in case of invasion or rebellion.

The governor himself may be a mobber; and instead of being punished, as he should be, for murder or treason, he may destroy the very lives, rights and property he should protect.

* * * * * * *

As to the contiguous territories of the United States, wisdom would direct no tangling alliance. Oregon belongs to this government honorably; and when we have the red man's consent, let the Union spread from the east to the west sea; and if Texas petitions Congress to be adopted among the sons of liberty, give her the right hand of fellowship, and refuse not the same friendly grip to Canada and Mexico. And when the right arm of freemen is stretched out in the character of a navy for the protection of rights, commerce and honor, let the iron eyes of power watch from Maine to Mexico, and from California to Columbia. Thus may union be stretched, and foreign speculation prevented from opposing broadside to broadside.

Seventy years have done much for this goodly land. They have burst the chains of oppression and monarchy, and multiplied its inhabitants from two to twenty millions, with a proportionate share of knowledge keen enough to circumnavigate the globe, draw the lightning from the clouds, and cope with all the crowned heads of the world.

The southern people are hospitable and noble. They will help to rid so free a country of every vestige of slavery, whenever they are assured of an equivalent for their property.

* * * * *

We have had Democratic presidents, Whig presidents, a pseudo-Democratic-Whig president, and now it is time to have a President of the United States: and let the people of the whole Union, like the inflexible Romans, whenever they find a promise made by a candidate that is not practiced as an officer, hurl the miserable sycophant from his exaltations as God did Nebuchadnezzar, to crop the grass of the field with a beast's heart among the cattle.

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In the United States the people are the government, and their united voice is the only sovereign that should rule, the only power that should be obeyed, and the only gentlemen that should be honored at home and abroad, on the land and on the sea. Wherefore, were I the president of the United States by the voice of a virtuous people, I would honor the old paths of the venerated fathers of freedom. I would walk in the tracks of the illustrious patriots who carried the ark of the government upon their shoulders with an eye single to the glory of the people; and when that people petitioned to abolish slavery in the slave states, I would use all honorable means to have their prayers granted, and give liberty to the captive by paying the southern gentlemen a reasonable equivalent for his property, that the whole nation might be free indeed!

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And when the people petitioned to possess the territory of Oregon, or any other contiguous territory, I would bend the influence of a chief magistrate to grant so reasonable a request, that they might extend the mighty efforts and enterprise of a free people from the east to the west sea, and make the wilderness blossom as the rose. And when a neighboring realm petitioned to join the union of the sons of liberty, my voice would be, Come—yea, come, Texas; come, Mexico; come, Canada; and come, all the world; let us be brethren, let us be one great family, and let there be a universal peace.

Abolish the cruel customs of prisons (except in certain cases), penitentiaries, court-martials for desertion; and let reason and friendship reign over the ruins of ignorance and barbarity; yea, I would, as the universal friend of man, open the prisons, open the eyes, open the ears, and open the hearts of all people, to behold and enjoy freedom—unadulterated freedom; and God, who once cleansed the violence of the earth with a flood, whose Son laid down His life for the salvation of all His Father gave Him out of the world, and who has promised that He will come and purify the world again with fire in the last days, should be supplicated by me for the good of all people.^[[1]]

To enunciate the Prophet's views for the salvation of the republic, the twelve apostles and other leading elders were sent throughout the land. It was a long parting with Joseph for most of the twelve. One of their number, Wilford Woodruff, says:

Joseph looked upon me long and mournfully. I shall never forget his look. It was as though he was bidding us an eternal farewell.