The governor of Illinois honored the demand of the Missourians, and on the 8th day of August, 1842, President Joseph Smith and Orrin P. Rockwell were both taken into custody by the deputy sheriff of Adams County, on a warrant issued by the governor. The prisoners demanded the right of habeas corpus, and the court of Nauvoo issued a writ demanding that the bodies of the two accused men be brought before that court. The deputy sheriff and his aids refused to recognize the jurisdiction of the court, and returned to Governor Carlin for further instructions, leaving the Prophet and Rockwell in the hands of the marshal of Nauvoo. The marshal had no papers by which they could be held, so permitted them to go about their business.
The Prophet’s Comments on His Arrest
Commenting on his arrest, the Prophet said:
“I have yet to learn by what rule of right I was arrested to be transported to Missouri for a trial of the kind stated. ‘An accessory to an assault with intent to kill,’ does not come under the provision of the fugitive act, when the person charged has not been out of Illinois. An accessory before the fact to manslaughter is something of an anomaly. The isolated affidavit of ex-Governor Boggs is no more than any other man’s, and the constitution says, that no person shall be liable to be transported out of the state for an offense committed within the same. The whole is another Missouri farce.”
Expecting the return of the deputy sheriff, President Smith secured a writ of habeas corpus from the master in chancery for the district of Illinois, fearing that the court of Nauvoo might be deemed without jurisdiction or authority. Two days later when the officers returned, President Smith and Rockwell were not at home. The deputy sheriff made many threats and tried to intimidate the brethren at Nauvoo, but failing in this, when questioned, he admitted that the course the governor had taken was unjustifiable and illegal.
President Joseph Smith in Retirement
Because of the excitement which prevailed and the fear that they would be unlawfully dragged to Missouri, Joseph and O. P. Rockwell retired to seclusion. While in retirement the Prophet kept in touch with affairs in Nauvoo and wrote to the Saints from time to time. It was while thus confined that he wrote the important letters which now appear as sections 127 and 128 in the Doctrine and Covenants, on baptism for the dead.
Threats of Mob Vengeance
When the officers failed to find President Smith and Orrin Porter Rockwell, they were enraged and threatened to return with a sufficient force to search every house in Nauvoo. Ford, the officer from Missouri, declared that he would come with a mob from Missouri and take the Prophet by force. Hearing of these reports, President Smith wrote to Wilson Law, major general of the Nauvoo Legion, advising him to take necessary steps to protect the citizens of Nauvoo against any such attack. In his communication he said he had come to the conclusion that he would never suffer himself to fall into the hands of the Missourians alive, if he could help it. To surrender to the officers of Illinois meant the same thing, for Governor Carlin had joined hands with Missouri, taking unlawful steps to send him to that state. “I am determined, therefore,” the Prophet said, “to keep out of their hands, and thwart their designs, if possible.”