The additions to the Mormon population from the settlers whom they found in the outlying country in Illinois and Iowa were not likely to be of a desirable class. The banks of the Mississippi River had long been hiding-places for pirate bands, whose exploits were notorious, and the "half-breed tract" was a known place of refuge for the horse thief, the counterfeiter, and the desperado of any calling. The settlement of the Mormons in such a region, with an invitation to the world at large to join them and be saved, was a piece of good luck for this lawless class, who found a covering cloak in the new baptism, and a shield in the fidelity with which the Mormon authorities, under their charter, defended their flock. In this way Nauvoo became a great receptacle for stolen goods, and the river banks up and down the stream concealed many more, the takers of which walked boldly through the streets of the Mormon city. The retaliatory measures which Smith encouraged his followers to practise on their neighbors in Missouri had inculcated a disregard for the property rights of non-Mormons, which became an inciting cause of hostilities with their neighbors in Illinois.
The complaints of thefts by Mormons became so frequent that the church authorities deemed it necessary to recognize and rebuke the practice. Lee quotes from an address by Smith at the conference of April, 1840, in Nauvoo, in which the prophet said: "We are no longer at war, and you must stop stealing. When the right time comes, we will go in force and take the whole state of Missouri. It belongs to us as our inheritance; but I want no more petty stealing. A man that will steal petty articles from his enemies will, when occasion offers, steal from his brethren too. Now I command you that have stolen must steal no more."*
* Lee's "Mormonism Unveiled;" p. 111.
The case of Elder O. Walker bears on this subject. On October 11, 1840, he was brought before a High Council and accused of discourtesy to the prophet, and "suggesting (at different places) that in the church at Nauvoo there did exist a set of pilferers who were actually thieving, robbing and plundering, taking and unlawfully carrying away from Missouri certain goods and chattels, wares and property; and that the act and acts of such supposed thieving, etc., was fostered and conducted by the knowledge and approval of the heads and leaders of the church, viz., by the Presidency and High Council."*
* Millennial Star, Vol. XVIII, p. 185.
The action of the church authorities themselves shows how serious they considered the reports about thieving. As early as December 1, 1841, Hyrum Smith, then one of the First Presidency, published in the Times and Seasons an affidavit denying that the heads of the church "sanction and approbate the members of said church in stealing property from those persons who do not belong to said church," etc. This was followed by a long denial of a similar character, signed by the Twelve, and later by an affidavit by the prophet himself, denying that he ever "directly or indirectly encouraged the purloining of property, or taught the doctrine of stealing." On March 25, 1843, Smith, as mayor, issued a proclamation beginning with the declaration, "I have not altered my views on the subject of stealing," reciting rumors of a secret band of desperadoes bound by oath to self-protection, and pledging pardon to any one who would give him any information about "such abominable characters." This exhibition of the heads of a church solemnly protesting that they were opposed to thieving is unique in religious history.
The Patriarch, Hyrum Smith, made an announcement to the conference of 1843, which further confirms the charges of organized thieving made by the non-mormons. While denouncing the thieves as hypocrites, he said he had learned of the existence of a band held together by secret oaths and penalties, "who hold it right to steal from anyone who does not belong to the church, provided they consecrate one-third of it to the building of the Temple. They are also making bogus money.... The man who told me this said, 'This secret band referred to the Bible, Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and Book of Mormon to substantiate their doctrines; and if any of them did not remain steadfast, they ripped open their bowels and gave them to the catfish.'" He named two men, inmates of his own house, who, he had discovered, were such thieves. The prophet followed this statement with some remarks, declaring, "Thieving must be stopped."*
* Millennial Star, Vol. XX, pp. 757-758.
The Rev. Henry Caswall, in a description of a Sunday service in Nauvoo in April, 1842 "City of the Mormons," (p. 15) says:—
"The elder who had delivered the first discourse now rose and said a certain brother whom he named had taken a keg of white lead. 'Now,' said he, 'if any of the brethren present has taken it by mistake, thinking it was his own, he ought to restore it; but if any of the brethren present have stolen a keg, much more ought he to restore it, or else maybe he will get catched.'... Another person rose and stated that he had lost a ten dollar bill. If any of the brethren had found it or taken it, he hoped it would be restored." This introduction of calls for the restoration of stolen property as a feature of a Sunday church service is probably unique with the Mormons.