The Martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith Lesson

The Martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith ~ Lesson 22 Student Readings: • Doctrine and Covenants 135: 1– 7; 136: 36– 39. • Thomas S. Monson, “The Prophet Joseph Smith: Teacher by Example, ” Ensign, Nov. 2005. 1

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Influences that brought about the death of the Prophet: 3

Influences that brought about the death of the Prophet: • The Saints lived in relative peace in the state of Illinois for about three years, but by 1842 they were again experiencing opposition. 4

Influences that brought about the death of the Prophet: • The Saints lived in relative peace in the state of Illinois for about three years, but by 1842 they were again experiencing opposition. • Opponents of the Church included citizens of Illinois who feared the political influence of the Saints. 5

Influences that brought about the death of the Prophet: • The Saints lived in relative peace in the state of Illinois for about three years, but by 1842 they were again experiencing opposition. • Opponents of the Church included citizens of Illinois who feared the political influence of the Saints. • Others grew envious of the economic growth of Nauvoo & were critical of the power of Nauvoo’s city government & militia. 6

Influences that brought about the death of the Prophet: • The Saints lived in relative peace in the state of Illinois for about three years, but by 1842 they were again experiencing opposition. • Opponents of the Church included citizens of Illinois who feared the political influence of the Saints. • Others grew envious of the economic growth of Nauvoo & were critical of the power of Nauvoo’s city government & militia. • Some misunderstood certain Church doctrines & practices. 7

Influences that brought about the death of the Prophet: • The Saints lived in relative peace in the state of Illinois for about three years, but by 1842 they were again experiencing opposition. • Opponents of the Church included citizens of Illinois who feared the political influence of the Saints. • Others grew envious of the economic growth of Nauvoo & were critical of the power of Nauvoo’s city government & militia. • Some misunderstood certain Church doctrines & practices. • Dissenters within the Church & opponents outside the Church combined their efforts to fight against the Prophet and the Church. 8

Helen Mar Kimball Whitney “It was a strange doctrine, and very dangerous too, to be introduced at such a time, when in the midst of the greatest trouble Joseph had ever encountered. The Missourians and Illinoisans were ready and determined to destroy him. They could but take his life, and that he considered a small thing when compared with the eternal punishment which he was doomed to suffer if he did not teach and obey this principle. No earthly inducement could be held forth to the women who entered this order. It was to be a life sacrifice for the sake of an everlasting glory and exaltation“. 9

Thomas C. Sharp Warsaw Signal War and extermination is inevitable! Citizens ARISE, ONE and ALL!!!—Can you stand by, and suffer such INFERNAL DEVILS! to ROB men of their property and RIGHTS, without avenging them. We have no time for comment, every man will make his own. LET IT BE MADE WITH POWDER AND BALL!!! June 13, 1844 "Resolved, that the time, in our opinion, has arrived, when the adherents of Smith, as a Body, should be driven from the surrounding settlements, into Nauvoo. That the Prophet and his miscreant adherents, should then be demanded at their hands, and if not surrendered, a war of extermination should be waged to the entire destruction, if necessary for our protection, of his adherents. " 10

Dissenters from the Church William Law Wilson Law Charles Ivins Francis M. Higbee Chauncey L. Higbee Robert D. Foster Charles A. Foster 11

Date Event Friday, June 7 The first and only edition of the Nauvoo Expositor is issued. Monday, June 10 Nauvoo city council, with Joseph Smith as mayor, orders the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor press. Sunday, June 16 Joseph Smith’s last address to the Saints; on the plurality of gods; the Saints are ‘kings and priests, queens and priestesses’. Saturday, June 22 Joseph and Hyrum Smith leave Nauvoo and cross the Mississippi River with plans to escape to the Rocky Mountains. Sunday, June 23 Joseph and Hyrum in Montrose, IA. Joseph is persuaded to return to Nauvoo and submit to arrest. “If my life is of no value to my friends, it is of none to myself. ” They return to Nauvoo. Monday, June 24 Joseph, Hyrum and other Church leaders leave Nauvoo for Carthage. Tuesday, June 25 Joseph and Hyrum are paraded before the Carthage Greys, the most ‘anti-’ group of militia. Joseph and Hyrum are found not guilty of ‘riot’, but are then arrested for ‘treason’; they are taken to Carthage Jail with several others. Wednesday, June 26 Joseph has an lengthy conversation with Governor Ford but is not released. Thursday, June 27 Governor Ford leaves Carthage with the Carthage Greys in charge of the prisoners, and travels to Nauvoo to address the Saints. Joseph and Hyrum are murdered in the jail; John Taylor is wounded and Willard Richards unharmed. Friday, June 28 The bodies of Joseph and Hyrum are returned to Nauvoo. Saturday, June 29 the bodies of Joseph and Hyrum are viewed by the public at the Nauvoo Mansion, then buried in the unfinished basement of the Nauvoo House. 12

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Martyrdom at Carthage Jail

Martyrdom at Carthage Jail

Martyrdom at Carthage Jail

Martyrdom at Carthage Jail

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D&C 135: 6 -7 D&C 136: 36 -39

Elder Dallin H. Oaks “Men who knew Joseph best and stood closest to him in Church leadership loved and sustained him as a prophet. His brother Hyrum chose to die at his side. John Taylor, also with him when he was murdered, said: ‘I testify before God, angels, and men, that he was a good, honorable, virtuous man…- that his private and public character was unimpeachable and that he lived and died as a man of God. ’”

Brigham Young “I do not think that a man lives on the earth that knew [Joseph Smith] any better than I did; and I am bold to say that, Jesus Christ excepted, no better man ever lived or does live upon this earth”.

“What does the martyrdom [of Joseph and Hyrum Smith] teach us? The great lesson that ‘where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator’ (Heb. 9: 16) to make it of force. Moreover, that the blood of martyrs is indeed the seed of the Church. The Lord permitted the sacrifice that the testimony of those virtuous and righteous men should stand as a witness against a perverse and unrighteous world. Joseph F. Smith

“Then, again, they were examples of the wonderful love of which the Redeemer speaks: ‘Greater love hath no man this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. ’ (John 15: 13. ) This wonderful love they manifested to the Saints and to the world; for both realized and expressed their conviction, before starting on the journey to Carthage, that they were going to their death. Joseph F. Smith

“Their courage, their faith, their love for the people were without bounds, and they gave all that they had for their people. Such devotion and love left no doubt in the minds of those who enjoyed the companionship of the Holy Spirit that these good men and true, were indeed the authorized servants of the Lord. Joseph F. Smith

“This martyrdom has always been an inspiration to the people of the Lord. It has helped them in their individual trials; has given them courage to pursue a course in righteousness and to know and to live the truth, and must ever be held in sacred memory by the Latter-day Saints who have learned the great truths that God revealed through His servant, Joseph Smith. ” Joseph F. Smith

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The Prophet Joseph Smith What is your testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith and how did you obtain it?

Next week: Succession in the Presidency ~ Lesson 23 Student Readings: • Doctrine and Covenants 107: 33; 112: 30– 32; 124: 127– 28. • Boyd K. Packer, “The Twelve, ” Ensign, May 2008. 29

Elder Dallin H. Oaks “The amendment to the United States Constitution that extended the guarantee of freedom of the press to protect against the actions of city and state governments was not adopted until 1868, and it was not enforced as a matter of federal law until 1931. … We should judge the actions of our predecessors on the basis of the laws and commandments and circumstances of their day, not ours”. 30