The hardest nine years. An extermination order empties Missouri, and the Saints build a city out of swampland on a bend in the Mississippi. Nauvoo grows to rival Chicago, the Relief Society is organised, temple ordinances are given, and then Joseph and Hyrum Smith are killed at Carthage and the city is abandoned.
The "Young Gentlemens and Ladies Relief Society" is organized in Nauvoo. This is the first effort to establish an auxiliary for Mormon youth, but it apparently does not last a year. A church-wide youth program would not develop for twenty-six years. Also on this day, "Josiah Butterfield of the First Council of Seventy came to my house and insulted me so outrageously that I kicked him out of the house, across the yard, and into the street." Butterfield was step-father of young Maria and Sarah Lawrence for whom Smith was legal guardian. Smith would formally marry the Lawrence sisters in the fall.
The date of the so-called "White horse prophecy." Joseph Smith is reported to have said: "The last great struggle that Zion will have to contend with will be when the whole of America will be made the Zion of God. Those opposing will be called Gog and Magog. The nations of the world led by Russia and their power will be great but all opposition will be overcome and this land will then be the Zion of our God."
The general conference refuses to sustain
1843LDS History
The general conference refuses to sustain Joseph Smith's motion to drop Sidney Rigdon from the First Presidency.
The Wasp replaced by the Nauvoo Neighbor (John Taylor, editor)
1843LDS History
The Wasp replaced by the Nauvoo Neighbor (John Taylor, editor).
This is the last known occasion in which Emma Smith performs the washing and anointing for women receiving the endowment ceremony in the Anointed Quorum.
Two days before the election and three weeks after Joseph's comments about Hyrum's taking
1843LDS History
Two days before the election and three weeks after Joseph's comments about Hyrum's taking over as prophet, Hyrum Smith announces to a large assembly that it was the will of God that the Saints should vote for the Democratic candidate. The next day, before the election, Joseph Smith preaches at the Sunday gathering and says, "Brother Hyrum tells me this morning that he has had a testimony to the effect that it would be better for the people to vote for Hoge; and I never knew Hyrum to say that he had a revelation and it failed. Let God speak and all men hold their peace." Joseph had promised his support to the Whig party but had changed his mind. The Mormon vote allowed Joseph Hoge to win a close race without Joseph, technically, breaking his promise.
Vilate Kimball writes to her husband Heber C. Kimball: "I have had a visit from brother Parley P Pratt and his wife, they are truly converted it appears that Joseph has taught him some principles and told him his privilege, and even appointed one for him. "
Wilford Woodruff records that Brigham Young
1843Prophets
Wilford Woodruff records that Brigham Young said the fullness of the priesthood was yet to be given: "If any in the Church had the fullness of the Melchisedec Priesthood, he Brigham Young did not know it. For any person to have the fullness of that priesthood, he must be a king and a priest . . . . A person may be anointed king and priest long before he receives his kingdom."
Wilford Woodruff writes in his diary:
1843Prophets
Wilford Woodruff writes in his diary: "As the Romans took particular notice of any singular event as ominous of good or evil so I will record a sma11 circumstance that took place in my house this morning. Soon after I arose in the morning on this 4th Day of July my Sword while hanging in its usual place unsheathed of itself & the scabbard droped upon the floor leaving the bear blade suspended from the peg upon which it hung."
Wilford Woodruff writes that on a train "after dark
1843Prophets
Wilford Woodruff writes that on a train "after dark, and while going at full speed, we struck one of the rails which some persons had raised by rolling a log under it, and landed in a pile; three cars were filled with passengers, and their lives were saved by having a long train of freight between the passenger cars and the engine; all of them were mashed to pieces; the engineer was killed, some of the passengers had bones broken; I escaped unhurt."
Wilfred Woodruff History
1843Prophets
Is released by a federal judge in Springfield on a ruling that he is protected from arrest because of his Illinois citizenship.
Willard Richards writes in the official journal history, "Joseph Smith said he had tea with his breakfast. His wife asked him if it was good. He said if it was a little stronger he should like it better, when Mother Granger remarked, 'It is so strong and good I should think it would answer Both for drink and food.'"
This edition was created in Pittsburg, USA and was compiled by Sidney Rigdon. There were 182 Hymns in this edition. At the time it was the only edition.
A private council meeting votes to sustain Brigham Young's resolution to fulfill all
1844LDS History
A private council meeting votes to sustain Brigham Young's resolution to fulfill all of Joseph Smith's Nauvoo innovations.
A special convention is held in Nauvoo at the end of general conference
1844LDS History
A special convention is held in Nauvoo at the end of general conference to launch Joseph Smith's presidential campaign. Brigham Young asks for volunteers to "to preach the Gospel and electioneer" He gets 244 responses and cash and pledges of $200.
A special council publicly excommunicates Sidney
1844LDS History
A special council publicly excommunicates Sidney Rigdon for his succession claim in opposition to the Twelve. Rigdon is not present. Before the membership votes "President Young arose and requested the congregation to place themselves so that they could see all who voted. We want to know who goes for Sidney and who are for the Twelve." Ten Mormons who vote in favor of Rigdon at this meeting are suspended from fellowship pending trial before the High Council, an action to be extended to all "who shall hereafter be found advocating his principles." Benjamin Winchester, a prominent elder, writes: "As regards the trial of Elder Rigdon at Nauvoo, it was a forced affair, got up by the Twelve to get him out of their way, that they might the better arrogate to themselves higher authority than they ever had, or anybody ever dreamed they would have; and also (as they perhaps hope) to prevent a complete expose of the spiritual wife system, which they knew would deeply implicate themselves." William Clayton writes, "There was a good feeling among the people and a bad feeling among the Rigdonites."
A special Nauvoo conference sustains the Twelve as the acting church presidency
1844LDS History
A special Nauvoo conference sustains the Twelve as the acting church presidency. Some years later report witnessing a transfiguration of Brigham Young into the image of Joseph Smith. Brigham Young writes of this day: " Sidney Rigdon took his position in a wagon, about two rods in front of the stand, and harangued the saints for about one and a half hours" Council of Fifty member and Presiding Bishop George Miller writes that Brigham Young's performance was a "long and loud harangue."
Addison Pratt landed on Tubuai, the first missionary to begin work in the South Pacific.
At a meeting designated for the appointment of a guardian
1844LDS History
At a meeting designated for the appointment of a guardian, Rigdon stated his views, after which Brigham Young announced an afternoon meeting. During the latter session, Young claimed the right of the Twelve Apostles to lead the Church and was sustained by a vote of the Church.
Before leaving Carthage Jail at 1:30
1844LDS History
Before leaving Carthage Jail at 1:30 p.m., Stephen Markham listens as Joseph Smith says he has lost the spirit of God for disobedience in returning to Nauvoo.
Brigham Young arrives in Nauvoo and in private meetings begins defending the succession right
1844Prophets
Brigham Young arrives in Nauvoo and in private meetings begins defending the succession right of the Twelve.
Brigham Young at Peterboro, Massachusetts, learns
1844Prophets
Brigham Young at Peterboro, Massachusetts, learns of the martyrdom: "The first thing which I thought of was, whether Joseph had taken the keys of the kingdom with him from the earth. . . . My head felt so distressed I thought it would crack." Then Young struck his hand on his knee. "The keys of the kingdom are right here with the Church,"
Brigham Young becomes lieutenant-general of the Nauvoo Legion
1844Prophets
Brigham Young becomes lieutenant-general of the Nauvoo Legion, although the governor does not officially appoint him until Sept. 27.
Brigham Young begins marrying some of Joseph Smith's polygamous widows as his own wives
1844Prophets
Brigham Young begins marrying some of Joseph Smith's polygamous widows as his own wives.
Brigham Young claimed the right of the Twelve to lead the Church
1844LDS History
Brigham Young claimed the right of the Twelve to lead the Church and was sustained.
Learned of martyrdom of Joseph Smith while campaigning for Joseph Smith's candidacy for United States president.
Brigham Young places the following advertisement
1844Prophets
Brigham Young places the following advertisement in the Nauvoo Neighbor: "Just received from New York, the long looked for Maps of the City of Nauvoo. They can be had at my house, on the corner of Kimball and Granger Streets. Price, mounted and varnished, $1.25-not mounted, 30 cents. . . ." Included on the map in the lower left hand corner is a profile of "Lieut. Gen. Joseph Smith."
Brigham Young records: "The Twelve used
1844Prophets
Brigham Young records: "The Twelve used their influence to prevent the brethren and sisters from attending the ball given by William Marks. The same was to come off on Wednesday evening in the dining room of the Mansion, which was still stained with the blood which flowed from Joseph and Hyrum as their bodies lay in said room preparatory to burial."
Brigham Young uses two administrative techniques
1844Prophets
Brigham Young uses two administrative techniques to circumvent the Nauvoo high council's "equal in authority" rights. First, 400 men are ordained today as seventies, which immediately transfers them from the jurisdiction of the high council to the Twelve's domain. Second, he appoints eighty-five of Nauvoo's high priests to be branch presidents outside Nauvoo, but does not require them to move. For the first time in Mormon history this puts a stake's high priests under the jurisdiction of the Twelve.
Brigham Young vacates the First Quorum
1844Prophets
Brigham Young vacates the First Quorum of the Seventy by ordaining it's 63 members as presidents of local quorums. This removes a quorum specified in the 1835 revelation as "equal in authority" with the Twelve."
Brigham Young, in Salem, Massachusetts, writes
1844Prophets
Brigham Young, in Salem, Massachusetts, writes to Willard Richards, "Give my best love to Brothers Joseph and Hyrum. I cannot be there to see them, but I pray for them continually."
Drank a glass of beer at Moissers, reads an entry in Joseph Smith's manuscript diary in reference to Frederick G. Moesser's "grog shop," which Joseph had condemned in a sermon on Aug 12, 1843. When the manuscript history is published as HISTORY OF THE CHURCH this sentence is omitted without indication.
Emma Smith says that "secret things
1844LDS History
Emma Smith says that "secret things . . . cost Joseph and Hyrum their lives" and that the same would befall the Twelve. The Quorum of Twelve issues an epistle requiring members to pay "a tenth of all their property and money . . . and then let them continue to pay in a tenth of their income from that time forth." Brigham Young performs the second anointing ceremony for George Miller and his wife Catherine Fry Miller. This is the first such ordinance since the death of Joseph Smith. Bishop Miller is the last of the original men endowed by Joseph Smith in 1842 to receive the second anointing at Nauvoo.
First counselor Sidney Rigdon tells general conference: "There are men standing in your midst that you can't do anything with them but cut their throat & bury them."
Forty-two-year-old Brigham Young takes sixteen-year-old Clarissa
1844LDS History
Forty-two-year-old Brigham Young takes sixteen-year-old Clarissa Caroline Decker as his fourth wife. Young had already taken Clarissa's sister Lucy as his second wife two years previously.
Hancock County Citizens Adopted Resolutions against Latter-day Saints
1844LDS History
Hancock County Citizens Adopted Resolutions against Latter-day Saints
Heber C. Kimball records in his journal, "I Heber C
1844LDS History
Heber C. Kimball records in his journal, "I Heber C. Kimball recieved the washing of my feet, and was annointed by my wife Vilate fore my burial, that is my feet, head, Stomach. Even as Mary did Jesus, that she mite have a claim on Him in the Reserrection."
Heber C. Kimball writes in his journal
1844LDS History
Heber C. Kimball writes in his journal: "Apriel the first day 1844 I Heber C Kimball received the washing of my feet, and was annointed by my wife Vilate fore my burial. that is my feet head Stomach. Even as Mary did Jesus, that She mite have a claim on him in the Reserrection" original spellings retained
Illinois Circuit Judge Recommended JS Appear before Justice of Peace
1844LDS History
Illinois Circuit Judge Recommended JS Appear before Justice of Peace
Illinois Governor Thomas Ford arrives in Carthage. He discovers that Hancock County is at the point of civil war, with approximately 1,700 men of the combined militia threatening to attack Nauvoo, which is defended by the Nauvoo Legion, 2,000 strong. His first act is to place the men of the militia under their regular officers and to get pledges of support from those officers. Ford sends a letter to Joseph Smith, Mayor of Nauvoo asking for statements from "well-informed and discreet persons, who will be capable of laying before me your version of the matter, . . ."
Illinois governor Thomas Ford arrives to disband the state militia
1844LDS History
Illinois governor Thomas Ford arrives to disband the state militia, then travels with some of his troops to Nauvoo. Although he spares the city the bloody assault planned by the Illinois militia, he leaves Joseph Smith under protection of hostile Carthage Greys, knowingly enabling the assassination.
Illinois governor Thomas Ford calls for the state militia in eleven counties to "proceed
1844LDS History
Illinois governor Thomas Ford calls for the state militia in eleven counties to "proceed by voluntary enlistment to enrol as many men as can be armed in their respective regiments. They will make arrangements for a campaign of twelve days, and will provide themselves with arms, ammunition, and provisions accordingly, and hold themselves in readiness immediately to march upon the receipt of further orders." Ford is worried that Mormons will attack Carthage in retaliation for Joseph Smith's assassination.
Illinois Governor Thomas Ford orders "Colonel
1844LDS History
Illinois Governor Thomas Ford orders "Colonel Fellows and Captain Jonas" to go to Nauvoo "and ascertain what is the feeling, the disposition, and determination of the people there, . . . ascertain whether any of them propose in any manner to revenge themselves, whether any threats have been used, and what is proposed generally, to be done by them." He orders them then to go to nearby Warsaw to ascertain "whether any attack is intended on Nauvoo. . . . And in my name forbid any such interference, without my request, on pain of being demanded for punishment."
Illinois Governor Thomas Ford writes to the people of Hancock county
1844LDS History
Illinois Governor Thomas Ford writes to the people of Hancock county: "Try your 'Mormon' neighbors again, and if you cannot dwell together in amity, you may at least refrain from injuring each other. . . . Besides, if you are the aggressors, I am determined that all the power of the state shall be used to prevent your success. I can never agree that a set of infatuated and infuriated men shall barbarously attack a peaceful people who have submitted to all the demands of the law, and when they had full power to do so, refrained from inflicting vengeance upon their enemies. You may count on my most determined opposition--upon the opposition of the law, and upon that of every peaceful, law-abiding citizen of the country. . . . I have been informed that the 'Mormons' about Lima and Macedonia have been warned to leave the settlements. They have a right to remain and enjoy their property. As long as they are good citizens they shall not be molested, and the sooner those misguided persons withdraw their warning and retrace their steps, the better it will be for them." Since it is an election year, feeling is that Ford is only trying to win Mormon votes for the Democratic party.
Illinois governor Thomas Ford writes to Willard Richards and W.W
1844LDS History
Illinois governor Thomas Ford writes to Willard Richards and W.W. Phelps: "The naked truth then is, that most well informed persons condemn in the most unqualified manner the mode in which the Smiths were put to death, but nine out of every ten of such accompany the expression of their disapprobation by a manifestation of their pleasure that they are dead. The disapproval is most unusually cold and without feeling . . . called for by decency, by a respect for the laws and a horror of mobs, but does not flow warm from the heart. The unfortunate victims . . . were generally and thoroughly hated throughout the country, and it is not reasonable to suppose that their deaths has produced any reaction in the public mind resulting in active sympathy; if you think so, you are mistaken."
In 1844 there were 586 missionaries
1844Mission
In 1844 there were 586 missionaries called to serve.
In Carthage the WARSAW SIGNAL editorializes:
1844LDS History
In Carthage the WARSAW SIGNAL editorializes: "We have only to state that this is sufficient! . . .War and extermination is evitable! CITIZENS ARISE, ONE AND ALL!!! Can you stand by, and suffer such INFERNAL DEVILS! to ROB men of their property rights, without avenging them. We have no time for comment! everyman will make his own. LET IT BE WITH POWDER AND BALL!"
In Nauvoo thousands pass by the bodies of Joseph and Hyrum
1844LDS History
In Nauvoo thousands pass by the bodies of Joseph and Hyrum. W. W. Phelps gives the eulogy and later pens "Praise to the man." The Nauvoo Legion "was paraded and stationed in different parts of the City apprehending an attack by the enemy."
In Springfield, Illinois, 100 miles from Nauvoo, the SANGAMO JOURNAL reports only rumors
1844LDS History
In Springfield, Illinois, 100 miles from Nauvoo, the SANGAMO JOURNAL reports only rumors of troubles in Hancock County. The telegraph is still a few years away.
In the morning Orrin Porter Rockwell
1844LDS History
In the morning Orrin Porter Rockwell rides through Nauvoo crying, "Joseph is killed! Goddamn them! They have killed him!" The bodies of Joseph and Hyrum Smith arrive in Nauvoo at 3:00 PM. William Clayton goes to see them and remarks: "Joseph looks very natural except being pale through loss of blood. Hyrum does not look so natural. Their aged mother is distracted with grief and it will be almost more than she can bear." Allen Stout, former Danite, writes in his journal after viewing the bodies: "I stood there and then resolved in my mind that I would never let an opportunity slip unimproved of avenging their blood.... I knew not how to contain myself, and when I see one of the men who persuaded them to give up to be tried, I feel like cutting their throats yet"
In the NAUVOO NEIGHBOR for this date Joseph Smith blames "all the sorrow
1844LDS History
In the NAUVOO NEIGHBOR for this date Joseph Smith blames "all the sorrow he ever had in his family" upon "the influence of Wm Law." In the same issue Hyrum Smith accuses William Law adulterous behavior.
In Washington D
1844LDS History
In Washington D. C. Heber C. Kimball clothes himself in endowment robes, prays in the "true order," while holding a divining "rod," and asks yes-no questions. Movement of the rod means "yes" and no movement "no." This is the first verified use of the divining rod since an 1829 revelation commending Oliver Cowdery's use of his "rod of nature . . . behold it has told you things."
Investigation by Thomas Ford on Growing Tension between Saints and Enemies
1844LDS History
Investigation by Thomas Ford on Growing Tension between Saints and Enemies
James J. Strang announces to his Michigan branch that he is Joseph Smith's successor
1844LDS History
James J. Strang announces to his Michigan branch that he is Joseph Smith's successor through a letter of appointment. The branch president denounces the letter as a forgery and excommunicates Strang.
Joseph and Hyrum Smith were killed by a mob that rushed the Carthage Jail in Carthage, Ill. John Taylor was injured in the attack; Willard Richards escaped injury.
Joseph Fielding, of the Quorum of Anointed, records Apostle Wight's public statement: "If a Woman complained of being insulted by any Man she ought to be sit set down as a Strumpet on the ground that no Man would do it unless she gave him some liberty." Fielding's wife rejects that view.
Joseph Smith and fifteen others are
1844Prophets
Joseph Smith and fifteen others are "arrested by Constable Joel S. Miles on writ of Daniel H. Wells, Justice of the Peace issued on complaint of Mr. G. Ware for riot on 10th instant in destroying Nauvoo Expositor. Were tried at Justice Wells 2 P.M. and discharged." Daniel H. Wells is later a member of the LDS First Presidency. On this same day a committee of citizens at nearby Carthage requested Governor Ford to mobilize a sufficient force of state militia to execute legal process in Nauvoo. Joseph Smith orders the Nauvoo Legion to parade at 10:00 AM the next day. Hyrum Smith writes to the Twelve (who are campaigning for Joseph Smith's U.S. Presidential candidacy) "requesting them to come home without delay."
Joseph Smith and the city council were charged with riot in the destruction
1844LDS History
Joseph Smith and the city council were charged with riot in the destruction of the Expositor press. A Nauvoo court absolved them of the charge, but the complainant asked for the issue to be examined by the Carthage court.
Joseph Smith declares publicly: "I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such work as I did."
Joseph Smith delivered a funeral sermon for King Follett, expounding new doctrines
1844Doctrine & Covenants
Joseph Smith delivered a funeral sermon for King Follett, expounding new doctrines.
Joseph Smith delivers the funeral sermon for a member named King Follett, saying that God "was once a man like us." He begins the discussion by interpreting the Hebrew for "In the beginning created God," in a manner only extant in the opening paragraphs of the ZOHAR, the classic text of the Jewish Kabbalah. Joseph Smith undoubtedly has learned this from the Jewish Convert Alexander Neibauer who published a Kabbalist treatise in the LDS periodical a year before, and with whom Joseph Smith's diary notes he is studying in 1844. Later in public-media interviews President Gordon B. Hinckley is evasive and dissembles on whether or not Mormons believe that God was once a man.
Joseph Smith gives "the charge" to the apostles and other members of the Council
1844Prophets
Joseph Smith gives "the charge" to the apostles and other members of the Council of Fifty.
Joseph Smith has himself appointed legal
1844Prophets
Joseph Smith has himself appointed legal guardian for orphan girls Maria and Sarah Lawrence. Joseph has been secretly married to both of them for over a year. On this day he also decides to prosecute "Laws and Fosters for perjury, slander, &c.in behalf of Maria Lawrence" William Law, former Second Counselor to Joseph, had accused Joseph of living with Maria Lawrence "in an open state of adultery"
Joseph Smith History
1844Prophets
Concluding that they are operating within the prerogatives granted by the Nauvoo charter granted to the city by the state of Illinois, the city council passes an ordinance and directs the Prophet as mayor to “abate” the Nauvoo Expositor as a “nuisance”; the press is destroyed. 10
Joseph Smith holds a preliminary meeting
1844Prophets
Joseph Smith holds a preliminary meeting for the Council of Fifty. Participants are sworn to "perfect secrecy."
Joseph Smith is anointed and ordained
1844Prophets
Joseph Smith is anointed and ordained by the Council of Fifty as King, Priest, and Ruler over Israel on Earth.
Joseph Smith is arrested and charged
1844Prophets
Joseph Smith is arrested and charged with inciting a riot "wherein they, with force and violence broke into the office of the Nauvoo Expositor, and unlawfully and with force burned and destroyed the printing press, type and fixtures of the same, . . ." Joseph notices the clause in the writ, entered by the issuing judge, Thomas Morrison, which says, "bring them before me or some other justice of the peace, to answer the premises, and further to be dealt with according to Law." Joseph chooses to be brought before a panel of six Mormon judges in Nauvoo who dismiss the charges.
Joseph Smith left Nauvoo for Carthage, Illinois, and was imprisoned
1844Doctrine & Covenants
Joseph Smith left Nauvoo for Carthage, Illinois, and was imprisoned.
Joseph Smith petitions Congress to commission him to a U.S. army officer and authorize him to enlist 100,000 armed volunteers to move at his direction through the western territories. (The LDS population at this time is 26,000 worldwide.)
Joseph Smith preaches, "I calculate to be one of the instruments in setting up
1844Prophets
Joseph Smith preaches, "I calculate to be one of the instruments in setting up the kingdom of Daniel by the word of the Lord, and I intend to lay a foundation that will revolutionize the whole world. . . .It will not be by sword or by gun that this kingdom will roll on. The power of truth is such that all nations will be under the necessity of obeying the Gospel."
Joseph Smith preaches: "From hence forth
1844Prophets
Joseph Smith preaches: "From hence forth the elders shall build churches where ever the people receive the gospel. If there are sufficient numbers then build stakes to this place," which is the first authorization for organizing stakes anywhere in the world. Joseph also preaches: "You know there has been great discussion in relation to Zion--where it is, and where the gathering of the dispensation is, and which I am now going to tell you. The prophets have spoken and written upon it; but I will make a proclamation that will cover a broader ground. The whole of America is Zion itself from north to south, and is described by the Prophets, who declare that it is the Zion where the mountain of the Lord should be, and that it should be in the center of the lull." This is a change from the teaching that Zion was located in Jackson county, Missouri.
Joseph Smith presided over a Council of Fifty meeting
1844Doctrine & Covenants
Joseph Smith presided over a Council of Fifty meeting.
Joseph Smith publicly exclaims, "I calculate to be one of the instruments of setting up the kingdom of Daniel by the word of the Lord, and I intend lay a foundation that will revolutionize the whole world." A few hours later "about three hundred" people attend a meeting of William Law's Reformed Church in Nauvoo and listen to sermons against "the Spiritual wife doctrine" and "Smith's plan of uniting Church and State."
Joseph Smith signs his petition to the U.S
1844Prophets
Joseph Smith signs his petition to the U.S. Government to allow Joseph "the privilege of raising 100,000 military volunteers to protect the Texas, Oregon, &c."
Joseph Smith speaks from the pulpit
1844Prophets
Joseph Smith speaks from the pulpit in the Nauvoo Temple. He accuses five men, including former First Counselor to the Presidency William Law of engaging in "a conspiracy . . . for the purpose of taking the life of President Joseph Smith, his family and all the Smith family & heads of the Church."
Joseph Smith states in a public
1844Prophets
Joseph Smith states in a public address, "What a thing it is for a man to be accused of committing adultery, and having seven wives, when I can find only one." Three days previously his former first counselor William Law had filed a suit against Joseph charging him with living with Maria Lawrence "in an open state of adultery."
Joseph Smith surrenders to civil authorities
1844Prophets
Joseph Smith surrenders to civil authorities to stand trial for riot and treason, acknowledging that this will mean his death.
Joseph Smith was arrested for destroying the Expositor press
1844Doctrine & Covenants
Joseph Smith was arrested for destroying the Expositor press.
Joseph Smith writes a letter to Illinois governor Thomas Ford explaining the EXPOSITOR incident
1844Prophets
Joseph Smith writes a letter to Illinois governor Thomas Ford explaining the EXPOSITOR incident: "The proprietors were a set of unprincipled, lawless debauchers, counterfeiters, bogus-makers, gamblers, peace-disturbers, . . . the City Council decided that it was necessary for the 'peace, benefit, good order and regulations' of said city, 'and for the protection of prosperity,' and for 'the happiness and prosperity of the citizens of Nauvoo,' that said Expositor should be removed, and declaring said Expositor a nuisance ordered the Mayor Joseph Smith to cause them to be removed without delay; which order was committed to the Marshal by due process, and by him executed the same day, by removing the paper, press and fixtures into the streets and burning the same; all which was done without riot, noise, tumult or confusion, . . ."
Joseph Smith writes the apostles to return to Nauvoo immediately
1844Prophets
Joseph Smith writes the apostles to return to Nauvoo immediately and, probably on this occasion, instructs them to destroy their endowment undergarments. He also writes a hurried letter pleading with the president of the United States to "save the innocent and oppressed from such horrid persecution."
Joseph Smith writes to Illinois Governor
1844Prophets
Joseph Smith writes to Illinois Governor Thomas Ford that he dare not come to Carthage until the mob has been dispersed, and that he was considering appealing to the federal government in Washington. Joseph and his brother, Hyrum, cross the river into Iowa and hide themselves near a community of Saints at Montrose. Before leaving Joseph instructs William Clayton to "burn" or "bury" the records of the Council of Fifty. Clayton chooses to bury them and then later recovers them.
Joseph Smith, in Carthage Jail, sends
1844Prophets
Joseph Smith, in Carthage Jail, sends a note to Governor Thomas Ford. Ford comes to the jail to meet with Joseph. Joseph tells him " the origin of the difficulty, the facts relating to the Expositor press, the course pursued by the City Council; the legality, as they thought, of their legislation; the pledges that he had made by letter and sent by expresses to his Excellency, that he was willing to satisfy all legal claims in case it should be shown that the City Council had transcended their legal bounds, etc., and that the Legion had been called out for the protection of the city, while it was threatened with immediate hostilities by an infuriated mob, until his Excellency could afford relief, and not for the purpose of invasion."
Joseph Smith, on the day after the NAUVOO EXPOSITOR is destroyed, "Instructed Bro W
1844Prophets
Joseph Smith, on the day after the NAUVOO EXPOSITOR is destroyed, "Instructed Bro W. W. Phelps to write a proclamation to the citezens sic of Nauvoo to keep quiet &c."
Joseph Smith, wearing his Lieutenant-General uniform,
1844Prophets
Joseph Smith, wearing his Lieutenant-General uniform, declares martial law and, in speaking to the Nauvoo legion, gives his last public address. He urges the Legion "not to act in the least on the offensive but invariably in the defensive and if we die, die like men of God and secure a glorious resurrection." Smith advises "all to arm themselves those who had no rifles, get swords, scythe and make weapons of some kind."
Josiah Quincy interviews Joseph Smith in Nauvoo
1844LDS History
Josiah Quincy interviews Joseph Smith in Nauvoo. As a "Boston Brahmin" and soon-to-be mayor of Boston, Quincy is the first prominent American leader to request a meeting with and LDS president. In his 1883 FIGURES OF THE PAST Quincy writes: "What historical American of the nineteenth century has exerted the most powerful influence upon the destinies of his countrymen? and it is by no means improbable that the answer to that interrogatory may be thus written: 'Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet.'" Joseph Smith shows Quincy the Egyptian Papyrus and says, "That is the handwriting of Abraham, the father of the Faithful. This is the autograph of Moses, and these lines were written by his brother Aaron. Here we have the earliest account of the creation from which Moses composed the First Book of Genesis" When questioned about an illustration on the papyrus of a snake having legs Joseph replies, "Before the Fall snakes always went about on legs, just like chickens. They were deprived of them, in punishment for their agency in the ruin of man." After showing the mummies and papyri Joseph tells Quincy and his traveling companion, "Gentlemen, those who see these curiosities generally pay my mother a quarter of a dollar"
JS and Hyrum Smith Appeared before Justice of Peace
1844LDS History
JS and Hyrum Smith Appeared before Justice of Peace
Mormon leaders barely restrain Orrin Porter Rockewll from murdering apostate Robert D. Foster. William Clayton records: "I reasoned with Rockwell and tried to show him the folly of his conduct inasmuch as the Governor had said that if one of those men were assassinated the whole city would be held responsible, . . ."
Nauvoo City Council Drafted Ordinance against Libels
1844LDS History
Nauvoo City Council Drafted Ordinance against Libels
Nauvoo Mayor and Judge Joseph Smith fines a man "five dollars and cost" for whipping "a certain black man . . . his back lacerated from his shoulders to his hips with 20 or more lashes."
Nauvoo Police Chief Hosea Stout reports
1844LDS History
Nauvoo Police Chief Hosea Stout reports that Nauvoo's "Whistling and Whittling Brigade" harassed "old" Austin Cowles and drove the former high councilman out of the city.
Nauvoo's political convention nominates Joseph Smith
1844LDS History
Nauvoo's political convention nominates Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon as presidential and vice-presidential candidates and appoints 344 delegates to campaign for their election in every state. All of the 26 states of the United States and ten Illinois counties are represented by delegates at the convention. Two non-Mormon delegates, Dr. G. W. Goforth and John S. Reid, have prominent speaking positions. Resolutions passed at the convention include: "4. Resolved, that to redress all wrongs, the government of the United States, with the President at its head, is as powerful in its sphere as Jehovah is in His." and "7. Resolved, that we will hold a National Convention at Baltimore on Saturday, the 13th day of July." The Baltimore convention was held but, due to the death of Joseph Smith adjourned sine die.
On Tubuai, an island in the South Pacific, missionary Addison Pratt administers the sacrament: "for wine I substituted cocoa nut milk, that was a pure beverage, which never had come to the open air, till we broke the nut for that purpose."
Probable date that Joseph Smith III is ordained as his father's theocratic successor. Warned the same day of a conspiracy to murder them, William Law and associates flee Nauvoo with their families.
Samuel Williams, commanding officer of the Carthage Greys
1844LDS History
Samuel Williams, commanding officer of the Carthage Greys, writes a letter describing the happenings at Carthage jail. Williams says that when Joseph first arrived in Carthage and met with such an ugly reception, he "actually fainted." THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH denies a rumor that he had "fainted three times." but this may be consistent with him fainting once.