17. What beside marriage for eternity may celestial marriage include?
18. When was the rightfulness of plural marriage first made known to the Prophet Joseph?
19. About what time was this principle introduced into the Church?
20. Under what circumstances and on what date was the revelation on celestial marriage written out? (See foot note, also note 5.)
SECTION X.
1. Martyrdom of the Prophets.—The relentless persecution which had followed the Prophet Joseph Smith ever since he first announced that he had received a revelation from God, culminated at last in his and his brother Hyrum's martyrdom, at Carthage jail, Hancock county, Illinois, on the 27th of June, 1844. Religious prejudices and political jealousies, combined with the treason of wicked apostates from the church in Nauvoo, are the forces which led to this sad result. The two brothers were murdered in Carthage prison while awaiting trial on a false charge of treason against the State of Illinois. They were under the immediate protection of the officers of the state, the governor thereof having only the day before pledged the honor of the State for their protection. Notwithstanding all this a mob of from one to two hundred surrounded the prison where they were confined, forced the door, killed the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum, and severely wounded Apostle John Taylor, who, with Willard Richards, was a voluntary inmate of the prison with the brothers Smith.[[202]]
2. The martyrdom of the prophet has an importance second only to the crucifixion of Messiah; for in his martyrdom he sealed his testimony with his blood, and thenceforth it is made binding on all the world. "For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead; otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth."[[203]] The Dispensation of the Fullness of Times doubtless required a testimony such as Joseph Smith bore to the world, to be sealed with his blood, else the tragedy at Carthage would not have been permitted.
3. The Twelve Apostles Succeed in Presidency.—After the death of the Prophet Joseph, the Twelve—the quorum standing next to the First Presidency, and equal in authority to that quorum—took charge of the affairs of the church. Sidney Rigdon, who with Hyrum Smith was a counselor in the first presidency, pressed his claims to be recognized as the "guardian" or president of the church, but he was rejected by the Saints, and the twelve were sustained for the time being as the presiding quorum of the church.[[204]]
4. Expulsion from Illinois.—When the enemies of the Saints in Illinois saw that the killing of the prophet did not destroy the church, they agitated the question of driving them from the state, and such was the influence of the mob, and such the cowardice and weakness of the state officials, that they were entirely successful in the undertaking. The Saints were compelled to leave the state under circumstances of the utmost cruelty, sacrificing very much of their property, the city they had founded and the temple they had built.