Growing Conflict in Illinois The Nauvoo Presidential Candidacy

Growing Conflict in Illinois The Nauvoo Presidential Candidacy and Events leading up to the Martyrdom: One of the problems Joseph faced was that Missouri was constantly trying to extradite him and bring him back. 1. Governor Boggs was offended because Joseph Smith went to Washington D. C. Governor Boggs name was mentioned many times and was often in print which embarrassed him. 2. They tried to get Joseph on the charge of breaking out of jail. This was impossible to prove because the deputies in charge of the jail let him go.

Governor Boggs

On June 4 th, 1841 Joseph had a long interview with Governor Carlin of Illinois. It was a pleasant visit, but within two hours Carlin sent a posse to arrest Joseph Smith for extradition back to Missouri. Governor Carlin proved to be a hypocrite. Joseph was arrested and held prisoner in a hotel twenty-eight miles from Nauvoo. He remained there for four days waiting to stand trial. The trial was held and the judge who happened to be traveling through the area at the time was Stephen A. Douglas. Joseph was acquitted and the judge declared the warrant an illegal act.

Governor Carlin of Illinois Stephen A. Douglas

On May 6 th, 1842 there was an assassination attempt on Governor Boggs. At the time of the assassination attempt, the editor of the WASP, William B. Smith said, “The assassin, whomever he was, deserves the congratulations of all mankind for his noble act. ”

On the night of the attempt, Boggs was sitting in a chair in his home reading the newspaper. It was raining and the perpetrator went up to the window and saw Boggs sitting with his back facing away from the window. A German Mauser pistol packed with 17 little bullets was the weapon used. The person fired through the window and four of the bullets hit Boggs in the head. One bullet penetrated his neck which he ended up swallowing. Another entered his brain lobe and two more exited through his skull without damaging his brain. Boggs's brother-in-law, a doctor, treated him and informed the family that he would soon die. Bogg’s six year old daughter escaped injury that night though she was rocking another child to sleep in the same room.

The assassin loaded the pistol with such a heavy charge that the kick of the gun firing knocked the pistol out of his hand. The assassin evidently could not find the pistol in the dark and ran away. The pistol was found the next day. The police traced the gun to the store where it was purchased. They arrested the man who purchased it and charged him with attempted murder. However, the man had an alibi and they could not hold him on the charge. John C. Bennett, an avowed enemy to the Saints, accused Orrin Porter Rockwell of having done the deed under the direction of Joseph Smith.

John C. Bennett Orrin Porter Rockwell

A German Mauser Pistol packed with 17 little bullets

Sheriff Reynolds from Missouri arrested Joseph Smith and Orrin Porter Rockwell on July 20 th, 1842 in Illinois. They were tried and later released. Orrin Porter Rockwell was again arrested in St. Louis on the same charge and taken to Independence. Orrin Porter Rockwell’s comment in court has become a classic. After the lawyer asked him in court if he had shot Governor Boggs, Orrin said, “Anyone that knows me, knows that if it had been me who shot him, knows that the Governor would be dead. ”

Everyone in the court laughed hysterically. He was kept in jail for a long time after that trial. Alexander Doniphan was responsible for eventually getting Rockwell out of jail. Both Joseph and Brigham thought highly of Orrin Porter Rockwell. Brigham Young said Orrin’s word were as good as gold and that he had never been around a better man in his life. Though he did not like or agree with Orrin’s drinking.

In December of 1843 Porter Rockwell finally got out of prison and travelled back to Nauvoo arriving on Christmas Eve. Porter walked into the Mansion House where Joseph and Emma were throwing a party. Porter acted like a drunk ruffian. He knocked over a punch bowl and started to make a scene (no one recognized him). Joseph came over to him with the motive to throw him out of the house. He took Orin Porter Rockwell by the shoulders and Orin went limp in Joseph’s arms. Orin would not scuffle with the Prophet.

Joseph looked into his eyes and then threw his arms around him. He then prophesied that if Orin Porter Rockwell would not cut his hair, he would never fall to the assassins bullet. That prophecy was fulfilled. He died of natural causes in Utah on June 9 th, 1878 (65 years old). He did cut his hair once and gave it to a woman who needed a wig because of her illness.

Walter Bagby was a tax collector in Nauvoo who had an argument with Joseph. Walter got so mad that he started throwing rocks at Joseph got mad and struck Walter twice with his hand. Bagby went to the judge and swore out an assault charge against the Prophet and Joseph was fined. Joseph paid the fine and said that it was worth every dime. Bagby became a bitter enemy of the Church.

A lot of people were out of harmony with the Prophet: n John C. Bennett n Sidney Rigdon n Walter Bagby n The Laws n The Fosters n The Higbees n Joseph Jackson n Sylvester Eamons n Leonard Sowby and others….

A union was formed in order to kill the Prophet. Remember, the apostates still only amounted to a minority of the Saints. Most of the Saints loved Joseph Smith and were loyal to him.

The Presidential Campaign of 1844 The following are some of the men who ran for President of the United States in 1844: Martin Van Buren n Henry Clay n John C. Calhoun n Lewis Cass n Richard Johnson n Joseph Smith n James K. Polk (A late comer and the one who eventually won) n

The Prophet wrote to the men running for President of the United States and asked them what their intentions were toward the Latter-day Saints. He received replies from Clay, Calhoun and Cass. Polk entered the race later so he did not have a chance to respond. Clay and Calhoun’s responses were offensive. Joseph said that they were wish-washy politicians and that their doctrine was that which fed mobs.

In Wilford Woodruff’s journal he stated that as early as December 1843, Joseph Smith was determined to run for President. It was not announced to the members until January of 1844. An attempt was made to get James A. Bennett from New York to be Joseph’s running mate for Vice President, but he declined. Sidney Rigdon was eventually recruited. Paul went to Rome to appeal before Caesar to legitimize Christianity. Perhaps Joseph Smith was running for President of the United States to legitimize Mormonism.

Joseph’s Political Platform February 1844 Joseph’s political platform was completed with the help of William W. Phelps and John Bernheisel (a family physician who had political inclinations). Both were gifted men. Joseph had the platform in mind, but William W. Phelps was most likely the one who wrote it. 1. Congressional Reform: Reduce the Congress by twothirds. 2. Lower salaries for those in Congress: They should be public servants and therefore only the best would seek the position.

3. Prison Reform: Prisoners should work to pay their debt to society. Prisons should be turned into seminaries to teach inmates a better way of life. Joseph believed that only murderers and rapists should receive the harshest treatment. He proposed that those guilty of murder should be put to death.

4. Military: It should be based on honor and moral responsibility. Joseph did not believe in a court marshal. However, if a man were to betray the trust of his country he believed that man should not be allowed to hold a public office. 5. Slavery: Legislatures should be petitioned to abolish slavery by the year 1850. It would be taken care of by the sale of public lands to pay the owners of the slaves a just compensation for allowing the slaves to go free. Many were upset and disagreed because it would cost millions of dollars to do so. The Civil War alone ended up costing much more and they still lost their slaves. Joseph was opposed to slavery.

6. State Rights: He opposed State rights for obvious reasons. He said that it was the doctrine that fed mobs. He was in favor of a strong central government that administered fairly the laws and that the state was not supreme (Remember, Missouri did whatever they wanted to). 7. He advocated a Strong National Security: More economy and less taxation. Joseph advocated a federal banking system and a judicious tariff to protect U. S. interests abroad.

8. Joseph was an Expansionist: He wanted Oregon, California, Mexico and Canada to be invited to join the United States. A lot of missionaries were called to advocate the policy on government espoused by Joseph Smith as well as to preach the gospel. The Twelve were sent out for the same reasons. Bruce R. Mc. Conkie told his son Joseph Mc. Conkie that he felt the reason the Twelve were sent out at that particular time was because Joseph knew he was going to be martyred and did not want any harm to come to them.

Richard L. Bushman called Joseph a “Pro-test Candidate” Why? Because Joseph was not impressed with those who were running and what they would do for the Saints.

In February 1844 some anti-Mormons held a convention. They were afraid of Joseph and the members of the Church. They drew up a resolution and called for a day of fasting and prayer so that Joseph Smith would be thrown down. William Law and the Nauvoo Conspiracy. William Law was a thief.

One day Willard Richards and George A. Smith were discussing which of the two of them were the heaviest. Since it was discussed in front of a crowd of people they decided to go to William Law’s store and settle the issue once and for all (William had a set of scales). What did they discover? William Law had two scales, one scale for incoming and one for outgoing. Each of the men got on the scales and then switched to the other to make sure the scales were accurate. They found the scales to be off. It was apparent that William Law had been cheating the people. William Law was dealt with by the church.

William Law was guilty of seducing a sixteen year old girl in Nauvoo. He was filled with the spirit of apostasy. One night he approached the Prophet with a pistol in an attempt to kill him. He pointed the pistol at Joseph’s chest and pulled the trigger. The pistol did not fire. He then pointed the same pistol at a nearby tree and it fired several times in a row. William Law was not allowed by God to kill the Prophet or it would have been so.

One day the prophet was walking by the Law home, Jane, William’s wife invited Joseph to come into the house to talk. She asked Joseph to seal her to William. Joseph told her that would not be possible. She said, “then seal me to you, ” after which she threw her arms around Joseph’s neck. Joseph literally had to pull her off. As Joseph was leaving the house, William entered. Jane then said that Joseph had tried to seduce her. Joseph left quickly (sound familiar? Genesis 39, Joseph and Potiphar’s wife). Several of the families including the Laws took an oath that they would not eat, drink or sleep until they had shed the blood of the Prophet.

William Law