The mischief that threatened during the Prophet's life time, and which finally befell the Saints, was clearly foreseen by the Church leaders; and the desire to escape from the threatening portents of it prompted the nomination of Joseph Smith for the office of President of the United States, in the general election of 1844. Of course there could be no hope seriously entertained that he would be elected; but, as explained by an editorial in the Times and Seasons,[[23]] if the Saints could not succeed in electing their candidate, they would have the satisfaction of knowing that they had acted conscientiously; they had used their best judgment, under the circumstances, and if they had to throw away their votes, it was better to do so upon a worthy than upon an unworthy individual who might use the weapon they put into his hand to destroy them. The Prophet himself evidently regarded his nomination humorously rather than seriously, except that it might result in withdrawing the Saints from the position of shuttle-cock between the battle doors of the two old political parties. "I care but little about the presidential chair," he said on one occasion. "I would not give half as much for the office of President of the United States as I would for the one I now hold as Lieutenant General of the Nauvoo Legion." Again he said: "When I get hold of eastern papers, and see how popular I am; I am afraid myself that I shall be elected; but if I should be, I would not say [i. e. to the Latter-day Saints] your cause is just but I can do nothing for you."
As a further evidence that Joseph Smith did not regard his candidacy as likely to be successful, he was, at the time of his nomination and afterwards, pushing vigorously his project of a western movement for the Church. He had drawn up a memorial and ordinance to the national congress asking to be authorized by the general government to raise one hundred thousand armed volunteers to police the intermountain and Pacific coast west from Oregon to Texas, for the purpose of assuring Texas her independence, and maintaining the claims of the United States to Oregon, and affording the whole western population of our country protection from Indian depredations; and thus contribute to the rapid settlement and development of that noble extent of country lying between the Mississippi and the Pacific Ocean. His agents, Orson Hyde and Orson Pratt, presented the matter to senators and representatives at Washington, and a number favored the project of the removal of the Mormons to the west, but generally urged that Joseph Smith go without seeking special authorization from the government. Reference to Orson Hyde's report of the procedure among congressmen and their views upon the subject will be found in his two important communications to the Prophet from Washington, in chapter XVI of this volume. Mr. John Wentworth, representative to Congress from northern Illinois, introduced President Smith's Memorial and Ordinance into the House on the 25th of May, to be read for the information of the House; but before the reading was concluded, objection was made, and as it required unanimous consent to have it read, further reading was prevented. A vote to suspend the rules in order that Mr. Wentworth might secure the reading of the memorial stood 79 yeas, and 86 nays, which vote gives evidence at least of a widespread desire to have the matter presented to the House.[[24]]
XIII. Missouri as a Factor in the Affairs of Nauvoo.
In addition to all the Illinois factors that entered into the complex situation confronting the Saints at Nauvoo, at the time of the Prophet's death, and some time previous to his arrest, was the attitude and course pursued by Missouri with reference to Nauvoo and the Saints. Disgraced as a state by her own conduct towards the Latter-day Saints, when they were inhabitants within her borders, her people were all too willing to co-operate with any party or agency that would continue to make war upon them. If the state of Illinois which with open arms had received the people that Missouri exiled from her borders, under such circumstances of cruelty, could also be brought to drive them from that state, it would be regarded, in a way, as a vindication of Missouri and the course she had taken in her treatment of the Saints, since in effect it would say, that the people of Illinois, no less than the people of Missouri, found it impossible to tolerate the "Mormons;" and therefore there must be something fundamentally wrong with them, rather than with the people of these states. Hence the anti-Mormons of Hancock and adjoining counties in Illinois, always found support in whatever of violence or wrong they planned against the Saints. Hence the constant threats of invasion of mobs from Missouri, emphasized by occasional kidnapping expeditions into Hancock county, together with frequent requisitions upon the Illinois authorities for the arrest and extradition of Joseph Smith on the old charges against him in Missouri. And these Missouri threats and outrages were not among the least of the annoyances and anxieties of the Saints; and they make clear the necessity that was felt for an efficient militia force at Nauvoo. Hence the Nauvoo Legion and the lively interest manifested in its frequent musters and drills, and its thorough equipment; all of which, but for the constant danger of invasion from Missouri mobs, and the co-operation with them of like forces in Illinois, would have been inconsistent with the deportment of a religious community whose mission was one of peace and good will towards men; and who had been especially commanded to "renounce war and proclaim peace" (Doc and Cov. Sec. 98:16); and commanded also to "sue for peace," both to those who had "smitten" them—the revelation was given after the expulsion from Jackson county, Missouri—and "to all people;" and "lift up an ensign of peace, and make a proclamation of peace unto the ends of the earth" (Doc. and Cov. sec 105: 38-40). But invasions from Missouri constantly menacing them, and the danger of mob violence breaking out in Illinois, justified the organization of the Legion, and the maintenance of its efficiency by full equipment of arms and frequent drills and musters; for the right of self-preservation is not abrogated by any divine law given to the Saints; and duty to protect home and family against the assaults of the evil-disposed, presses as firmly upon the Saints, as upon those who have not definitely pledged themselves to a program of righteousness.
XIV. Apostate Conspirators at Nauvoo.
One other factor only remains to be mentioned of those that enter into that combination of forces that resulted in the death of the Prophet and the Patriarch. That is the conspiracy of apostates within Nauvoo itself.
The apostates and their sympathizers were headed by a coterie of prominent young men: The two Law brothers, William and Wilson; Robert D. and Charles A. Foster, brothers; Francis M. and Chauncey L. Higbee, brothers, and unworthy sons of that most faithful man and the Prophet's devoted friend, Judge Elias Higbee (See Vol. IV pp. 81-100 passim); Sylvester Emmons and Joseph H. Jackson. Of these, William Law was counselor in the First Presidency, and Wilson Law was a major general, and commander of one of the cohorts of the Nauvoo Legion, and all were or had been more or less prominent in the public life of Nauvoo.
The cause of their apostasy seems to have been the baneful influence of John C. Bennett's immoralities; for these men were quite generally associates of his before his flight from Nauvoo. They evidently lost the spirit of the gospel, wandered through sin into spiritual darkness, and seemingly were obsessed by a murderous spirit against the Prophet who boldly revealed their wickedness and publicly denounced their conduct; and in retaliation this coterie of apostates entered into conspiracies to encompass President Smith's death, and that of his brother Hyrum. They were in communication with the Prophet's enemies in Missouri, and sought to betray him into their hands. They were among the chief actors in all schemes of opposition and conspiracies against him in the closing year of his life, including those plots which eventuated in the martyrdom of both Prophet and Patriarch at Carthage.
XV. The "Expositor" Affair.
Such are the chief factors that enter into the combination of events detailed in this volume of HISTORY and which have a direct relationship to the martyrdom of the Smith brothers. They existed as combustible materials awaiting only the spark that would set them aflame to work death and destruction.