Each received four balls. John Taylor and Willard Richards, two of the Twelve Apostles, were the only ones in the room at the time besides the two martyrs. John Taylor was wounded severely with four balls, but after much suffering he recovered, and lived a life of usefulness, and finally presided over the Church, until his death. Willard Richards escaped without a hole in his robe, and died in peace in his Utah home many years after.
Thus two of the most noble sons of God have sealed their testimony with their blood, and henceforth are numbered with those whom John saw under the altar,—“the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying: How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that live on the earth? And white robes were given every one of them: and it was said unto them, that they should rest for a little season, until their fellow servants and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”
As Jesus our Saviour was crucified and his disciples martyred, and not one of their murderers ever brought to justice (only as God punished them), so has it been in this enlightened age of the world with assassins who have been equally guilty.
The picture, although a sad one, is [p.45] a true representation of the tragedy, and will never be forgotten by those who once behold it. Hyrum Smith was 44 years old in February, 1844, and Joseph Smith was Only 38 in December, 1843. They were martyred on the 27th of June, 1844. The late President John Taylor’s watch was struck with a bullet while in his pocket, and stopped between 4 and 5 o'clock.
Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith [p.46]
I first saw Joseph Smith in 1844 at my mother’s house. It was late in the spring season. I also heard him bear his testimony many times with a power that was not gainsaid by those who heard him testify with regard to the visions which he had been favored with. Some of his hearers said:
“Well, if it is true it will stand.”
When I heard the three witnesses testify to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and that they had in open daylight both seen and heard the voice of the angel, I knew their testimony was true. My first impression of Joseph nearly sixty years ago was that he was a true prophet, and I formed a love for him which increased with our acquaintance. I was with him in the state of Missouri during those trying scenes until his imprisonment in Liberty jail, and subsequently in Illinois, and with the bereaved family and thousands of Latter-day Saints shed a tear over his remains as he lay silently in death’s embrace. I took a last look at him in the Nauvoo Mansion in June, 1844.
Joseph Bates Nobles stated to me that he was with the Prophet when he was going voluntarily to give himself up to the pretended requirements of the law, on which occasion he said: