The Life of Joseph Smith, the Prophet

by George Q. Cannon

But in our own age the same scenes are re-enacted. Joseph Smith, a Prophet of God, called by the Almighty to receive the everlasting Priesthood to lay the foundation of the Church of Christ, and to preach the ancient pure gospel, performs the mission to which he was divinely appointed, and is pursued with vindictive hate through his life, and is finally barbarously slain. The explanation of all this is given by the Lord Himself in His words to His disciples: "If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."

According to the predictions, this is the dispensation of the fullness of times—the crowning dispensation of all. To leave the world without excuse and to prepare the way for the second coming of the Lord, the holy Priesthood, the pure gospel and the true Church of Christ are restored to earth through the ministration of angels. Satan, fully conscious that if these prevail his dominion will be overthrown, arrays all his forces against the servants and work of God. He resorts to his old tactics to accomplish his purposes. He was a liar and a murderer from the beginning. Lies and murder are the agencies he depends upon. Many, being free agents and having power to choose whom they will serve, become the instruments of hate, and the earth is drenched with the blood of innocence. The Prophet Joseph, while he lived, was the conspicuous object of his vengeance. Like Paul, he could have recounted a long list of perils which he had to encounter, not the least of which, as in the case of Paul, were "perils among false brethren."' Of all the evils with which this great Prophet had to contend, none were so grievous or so hard to be borne as the defection and treason of "false brethren." The most deadly wounds he ever received were from those who, Judas-like, had been his companions. When, through their transgressions, they lost the Spirit of God, and turned away from the truth, the spirit of murder took possession of them, they became fit instruments for Satan's service, and to this class more than to any others, can the foul murders of the 27th of June, 1844, be charged.

The great bulk of those who composed the mobs which attacked the Saints in Missouri and Illinois were ignorant men. Their passions were easily aroused. A few cunning and unscrupulous leaders were able to use them to accomplish their ends. Seeing the increase of the Saints, they were easily persuaded that, if left to themselves, they would soon outnumber the old settlers, they would outvote them, take possession of the offices, and drive them out of the country. By such representations and artifices as these, appealing to the lowest and basest of motives, they were able to inflame the minds of ignorant and unprincipled men. Envious of the prosperity of the Saints, coveting their possessions, they thought to profit in driving them from their homes. Apostates had personal vengeance and hates to gratify; politicians saw a growing power which they could not control, and whose union made it formidable in county and state affairs; the clergy saw a system of religion which they could not controvert; and the rabble had their cupidity excited at the prospect of plunder, which might fall to them through the abandonment of lands and improvements and stock by the people whom they were driving away.

CHAPTER LXVI.

THE LAST DAY—FORD'S ACTION AT NAUVOO—CONSPIRACY BETWEEN THE GUARDS AND THE MURDEROUS MOB MILITIA—THE PRISONERS LEFT TO THEIR FATE—"A POOR WAYFARING MAN OF GRIEF"—THE ASSAULT AND THE MURDER—THE END.

Governor Ford went to Nauvoo on the morning of the 27th of June, 1844, accompanied by a body of troops. When he arrived there he made a public speech before thousands of the Saints, in which he used this expression: "A great crime has been done by destroying the Expositor press, and placing the city under martial law, and a severe atonement must be made, so prepare your minds for the emergency."

Whether Ford was fully cognizant of the plot to murder the Prophet during his absence from Carthage is not altogether clear. He was unquestionably aware of the murderous feeling which existed among the Carthage Greys, and the men who were associated with Levi Williams and the Laws, Higbees, Fosters and others at Carthage. It has been stated upon good authority, and it has never been disputed, that he was informed of the intentions of the mob. But he ventured into Nauvoo. Would a cowardly man like he was have dared to risk himself in such a manner at such a time, if he was fully advised of the time the massacre was to take place? The presumption is that he was indifferent as to the fate which would befall the Prophet and his companions; but that he did not know, as some of his officers did, that the bloody deed was to be consummated while he was absent at Nauvoo. If Ford had been a man of greater daring, it might with certainty be assured that his visit to Nauvoo was a part of the conspiracy, and that he went there to avoid the appearance of complicity in the murder. This is certain, that while Ford was addressing the people, a sound like the distant firing of a cannon, or the slight sound of distant rumbling thunder, was heard by many in the audience, and by some of Ford's aides who stood near him, and that they whispered something to him, and without loss of time and in the greatest haste, he and his escort rode out of Nauvoo. Their departure was more like a flight than the decorous leave-taking of the executive of the state accompanied by a command of troops. A cannon was fired at a certain point distant from Carthage, as a signal that the massacre had been accomplished; but it was never known whether or not this was the sound which attracted attention at Nauvoo. Governor Ford's hasty flight at that time has always been deemed conclusive evidence that he had been informed by some of his companions—if he had not been fully advised of the plot and its details before—that Joseph Smith and his companions had been murdered.

Ford and his aides occupied a room in the Nauvoo mansion that day. Orrin P. Rockwell heard one of them at three o'clock say: "the deed is done before this time."

The governor and his company went to the temple. Some of the officers broke the horns from the oxen supporting the baptismal font, while Ford made rare sport of the sacred edifice.

One of his attendants remarked: "This temple is a curious piece of workmanship; and it was a damned shame that they did not let Joe Smith finish it."