It was all in vain that hearings were had before the municipal court of Nauvoo, on the Expositor matter; in vain that a subsequent hearing was had before Esquire Wells, then not a Mormon and living outside of Nauvoo limits; in vain that the Nauvoo Neighbor sought to conciliate the awakening wrath that was aroused in the community, by pleading that if the city council had "exceeded the law of the land, a higher court could regulate the proceedings;" in vain that President Smith urged Governor Ford to come to Nauvoo to make personal investigation of conditions and take the necessary steps to prevent riot and war—all was in vain; preparations were in the making on all sides for an uprising against Nauvoo and the Saints, and there was nothing left but to defend the city by placing it under martial law and calling upon the Legion to resist the threatened assault, which act was made the basis for the subsequent charge of "treason."
Then followed in quick succession the demand of the governor for the Mayor and members of the City Council to come to Carthage and submit to trial under circumstances that inevitably meant death; the inspiration of the Prophet to go to the West and all would be well; the crossing of the Mississippi by the Prophet and a few trusted friends to make preparations for that journey; the accusation by false friends of cowardice on the Prophet's part, the flight as of a false shepherd leaving the flock to be devoured by wolves; the lightning-like retort of the Prophet—"If my life is of no value to my friends, it is of none to myself;" the return to Nauvoo; the subsequent going to Carthage to submit to the demands of the governor of Illinois in every particular, and the well-known story of Carthage jail—the martyrdom.
XVII. The Prophet's Nobility in the hour of Trial.
The bearing of the Prophet throughout the closing months with which this volume deals is admirable. There is no faltering or evidence of weakness at any point of his conduct. If criticized at all it would be for over-daring, for over self-confidence, that approached sublimity. Strong men through wickedness fell away from their discipleship, and conspired against him; the Prophet reproved them in the gate, and proclaimed their iniquities in public when hope of reforming them was gone. He saw mobs forming for the destruction of himself and Nauvoo and his people; he calmly prepared to meet force with force, and drilled and prepared his legion for the conflict, entrenched some of the approaches to the city, and picketed them with guards; as mayor of the city he placed the city under martial law; and as lieutenant-general he took personal command of the Nauvoo Legion and stood ready to defend the rights of himself and his people, for which his revolutionary ancestry had fought in the war for American independence. He believed gloriously in the right of self-defense, and resistance to oppression by physical force if necessary. To his uncle John Smith at Ramus who had asked for counsel in the disturbed state of things, he wrote ten days before his death:
"I write these few lines to inform you that we feel determined in this place not to be dismayed if hell boils over all at once. We feel to hope for the best, and determined to prepare for the worst, and we want this to be your motto in common with us: We will never ground our arms until we give them up by death."
And from Carthage prison, on the morning of the day of his martyrdom, he wrote to his wife for transmission to his people:
"There is one principle which is eternal: It is the duty of all men to protect their lives and the lives of their household, whenever necessity requires, and no power has a right to forbid it, should the last extreme arrive; but I anticipate no such extreme; but caution is the parent of safety."
When the jail in Carthage was assailed, and the mob was pouring murderous volleys into the room occupied by himself and friends, the Prophet turned prom the prostrate form of his murdered brother to face death-dealing guns and bravely returned the fire of his assailants, "bringing his man down every time," and compelling even John Hay, who but reluctantly accords the Prophet any quality of virtue, to confess that he "made a handsome fight" in the jail.[[27]]
XVIII. Always the Prophet-Teacher.
But what was more wonderful than the manifestation of moral and physical courage and good generalship during these turbulent months of his career, was the pursuance of his duties as a teacher of religious truth—his calling as a Prophet of God. Notwithstanding he was troubled on every side, he could compose his mind to instruct the Church on such doctrines as the complete salvation of their dead; how to proceed with the administration of all ordinances given for and in behalf of the dead; the doctrine of the resurrection and the reality of spiritual existences; the plurality of Divine Intelligences, or Gods; the nature of man's spirit; the doctrine of eternal progress for intelligences who keep the estates through which they are appointed to pass; the nature and character of the Godhead, and the relationship of man to God. All these themes and many more he dwelt upon in public discourse and private interview and written communications. He lived his life, as I have said elsewhere, in crescendo, it grew in intensity and volume as he approached its close. Higher and still higher the inspiration of God directed his thoughts; bolder were his conceptions, and clearer his expositions of them. So far was he from being a "fallen prophet" in the closing months of his career, as apostates charged, that he grew stronger with each passing day; more impressive in weight of personal character, and charm of manner; for he preserved amid all the conflicts and trials through which he passed—until the shadows of impending death began to fall upon him in Carthage prison—the natural sweetness of his nature, and the intellectual playfulness characteristic of him from boyhood—so do not fallen prophets.