The Rise and Fall of Nauvoo

by B. H. Roberts

These statements were shortly confirmed by the action of the conspirators themselves, as they soon came out in open as well as secret opposition to the leading Church authorities; and in March a number of them were excommunicated for unchristianlike conduct. Among the number was William Law, a member in the First Presidency, his brother Wilson Law; the Higbee brothers, Chauncey L., and Francis M., and Dr. Robert D. Foster.

An effort was made by these apostates to organize a church after the pattern of the true Church, by the appointment of apostles, prophets, presidents, etc., but it failed miserably, their following was insignificant. These men were desperately wicked; in addition to gross licentiousness they were guilty of theft and of counterfeiting money. They brought much reproach upon the city of Nauvoo, since their crimes were traced to her borders, and that fact went far towards undoing the city's reputation abroad. But though these men at one time, and indeed up to the time of their excommunication, held high official positions in The Church and the city, their wickedness was not sustained either by The Church laws or by the members of The Church, or citizens of Nauvoo. It was known that there existed a band of desperate men within the city, and these parties were suspected, but it required some time to obtain proof sufficiently positive to act upon; and where the counterfeiting was done was never learned.

The mask having at last fallen from the faces of this coterie of men, they joined with the avowed enemies of the Saints outside of Nauvoo, and openly advocated the repeal of the city charter, which but a short time before they had assisted to obtain. They violated on several occasions the city ordinances, resisted the city officers, and threatened the life of the mayor. These disturbances led to the arrests and trials before the municipal court, from which the accused generally appealed to the circuit courts; and retaliated by counter arrests of the city authorities for false imprisonment, defamation of character, etc. In all these cases the power of the municipal courts to grant writs of habeas corpus was freely exercised, and released the city authorities, as the actions were malicious, and without sufficient cause on which to base the complaints. Thus the affairs of Nauvoo became more and more complicated, and the bitterness constantly increased.

At last the disaffected parties imported a press into the city and proposed publishing a paper to be called the Nauvoo Expositor. It avowed its intention in the prospectus it published to agitate for the repeal of the Nauvoo charter, and also announced that since its position in the city of the Saints afforded it opportunities of being familiar with the abuses that prevailed, its publishers intended to give a full, candid and succinct statement of facts as they really existed in the city of Nauvoo, regardless of whose standing in the community might be imperiled. The proprietors of the paper were the band of conspirators already named, and Sylvester Emmons was employed as editor.

The first, and indeed the only number of the Expositor was published on the seventh day of June, 1844, and contained a most scandalous attack upon the most respectable citizens of Nauvoo. It at once filled the entire city with indignation, and the city council immediately took into consideration what would be the best method of dealing with it. The result of the council's meditations was this: Blackstone declared a libelous press a nuisance; the city charter gave to city authorities the power to declare what should be considered a nuisance and to prevent and remove the same; therefore it was

Resolved, by the city council of the city of Nauvoo, that the printing office from whence issues the Nauvoo Expositor is a public nuisance, and also all of said Nauvoo Expositors, which may be or exist, in said establishment; and the mayor is instructed to cause said printing establishment and papers to be removed without delay, in such manner as he may direct.

On receiving this order the mayor issued instructions to the city marshal to destroy the press without delay, and at the same time gave orders to Jonathan Dunham, acting Major-General of the Nauvoo Legion, to assist the marshal with the Legion if called upon to do so.

The marshal with a small force of men appeared before the Expositor printing establishment, informed one or more of the proprietors of the character of his mission, and demanded entrance into the building to carry out his instructions from the mayor. This was denied and the door locked; whereupon the marshal broke in the door, carried out the press, broke it in the street, pied the type and burned all the papers found in the office, and then reported to the mayor, who sent an account of these proceedings to the governor of the State.

This act enraged the conspirators to a higher pitch of desperation. They set fire to their buildings and then fled to Carthage, the county seat of Hancock County, with the lie in their mouths that their lives were in danger in Nauvoo, and that they were driven away from their homes. Fortunately the police discovered the flames started by these incendiaries in time to extinguish them, so that they failed to have the smoking ruins of their own houses to support their story; but their misrepresentations spread like wild-fire and inflamed the public mind, already blinded with prejudice against the people of Nauvoo, to a point which made violence almost certain.

Francis M. Higbee made a complaint before Thomas Morrison, a justice of the peace, against Joseph Smith and all the members of the Nauvoo city council for riot committed in destroying the anti-Mormon press. The warrant issued by the justice was served by Constable Bettisworth upon Joseph Smith at Nauvoo. It required him and the others named in the warrant to go before the justice issuing the warrant, "or some other justice of the peace." Joseph called the attention of the constable to this clause in the writ, and expressed a willingness to go before Esquire Johnson, or any other justice of the peace in Nauvoo. But Bettisworth was determined to take Joseph to Carthage before Justice Morrison, who had issued the writ. Joseph was equally determined not to go, and petitioned the municipal court for a writ of habeas corpus which was granted, and under it the prisoner was honorably discharged. The other parties mentioned in the writ followed his example and were also discharged.