The Governor’s Threat
At ten o’clock on the morning of the 23rd the governor’s posse arrived in Nauvoo to arrest the Prophet, but not finding him they returned, leaving one of their number to watch for him. This posse said that if Joseph and Hyrum Smith were not given up the governor was determined to send his troops into the city and guard it until they were found, if it took three years.
Joseph Smith Accused of Cowardice
At one p.m. Emma Smith sent Orrin P. Rockwell to entreat the Prophet to come back. Reynolds Cahoon accompanied him with a letter to the same effect. Reynolds Cahoon, Lorenzo D. Wasson and Hiram Kimball accused Joseph of cowardice for wishing to leave the people, saying that their property would be destroyed, and they would be left without house or home. Like the fable, when the wolves came the shepherd ran from the flock.
The Return to Nauvoo
The persecutions of enemies were easy to bear, but when he was thus accused by those who should have been his dearest friends, the Prophet was stung to the quick. It was not for himself he sought safety, but for his people. If this was all they cared, he would not seek to save himself. He replied: “If my life is of no value to my friends, it is of none to myself.” Turning to Rockwell he said, “What shall I do?” Rockwell answered: “You are the oldest and ought to know best; and as you make your bed, I will lie with you.” Joseph then turned to Hyrum and said: “Brother Hyrum, you are the oldest, what shall we do?” Hyrum said, “Let us go back and give ourselves up, and see the thing out.” The Prophet remained in deep reflection for some time, and then remarked: “If you go back I will go with you, but we shall be butchered.” Hyrum said, “No, no; let us go back and put our trust in God, and we shall not be harmed. The Lord is in it. If we live or have to die, we will be reconciled to our fate.”
They then returned, and the first thing the Prophet did was to notify Governor Ford, by the hands of Theodore Turley and Jedediah M. Grant, that he would be ready to go to Carthage on the morrow. The governor promised to send a posse to protect him on the way, but through the influence of the Nauvoo conspirators, he changed his mind and ordered the Prophet and Patriarch to come to Carthage without escort.
The Start for Carthage
Early on the morning of the 24th of June, Joseph and Hyrum with the accused members of the city council and a few tried friends, left Nauvoo for Carthage. On the way the Prophet hesitated, and looked back with admiration upon the city, the temple, and his farm. “This is the loveliest place, and the best people under the heavens,” he said; “little do they know the trials that await them!” They passed the home of Esq. Daniel H. Wells, who was unwell. The Prophet stopped and called on him, and as he parted, he said: “Squire Wells, I wish you to cherish my memory, and not think me the worst man in the world either.”