But the fiends from Missouri would not give up. Once again he was taken while away from Nauvoo, by two officers, who abused him shamefully. I cannot tell you all about his exciting adventures—that you must read in a larger history—but at last he arrived safe again in Nauvoo.
Persecution continued. Mobs now gathered around Nauvoo. Threats were made that mobs would come from Missouri, and join with those of Illinois, against the "Mormons." There was great unrest. When Joseph was spoken to about the danger he was in, he said he was not exposed to as much danger from outside enemies as from traitors within. "We have a Judas in our midst," he said.
Thus ended the year 1843.
Topics.—1. Settlement at Nauvoo. 2. The healing of the sick. 3. City of Nauvoo. 4. Attempts to take Joseph to Missouri.
Questions and Review.—1. Locate Nauvoo. 2. What was its name before it was called Nauvoo? 3. Relate how Joseph healed the sick. 4. When did Joseph go to Washington? 5. What was his mission there? 6. What answer did President Martin Van Buren make? 7. Why was it useless to expect justice from Missouri? 8. What kind of city did Nauvoo become? 9. What was the Times and Seasons? 10. What was the Nauvoo Legion? 11. Name some of the causes that led to the new persecution. 12. Who was Dr. Bennett, and what did he do? 13. Tell of the efforts to get Joseph to Missouri.
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE MARTYRDOM.
On January 29, 1844, Joseph Smith was nominated for President of the United States. Neither he nor his friends had much hopes of his election, but it gave the citizens of Nauvoo at least a chance to vote for an honest man who was their friend. Brethren were sent to various parts of the country to make speeches in his favor, and Joseph published his views on how the government should be conducted. One of his ideas was that the government should set the negro slaves free, paying their masters for them. President Abraham Lincoln, twenty years later, also favored this plan.