Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Welcome to the weekly Deep Dive Podcast on the Add On Education Network. The podcast where we take a look at the weekly Come Follow Me discussion and try to add a little insight and unique perspective.
[00:00:12] I am your host Jason Lloyd, here in my basement studio without the presence of Nate the Great Piper as he is out traveling about in California and will join us in next week's discussion.
[00:00:24] And I guess first off, I have to ask, how is it that every time we hit like a heavy topic, Nate's gone and I am handling this solo. I don't know, maybe we could use a little bit of that brevity or music to introduce this thing. We are talking about the persecution in the Missouri time period and there are a lot of dark things that happened and some heavy stuff to discuss.
[00:00:52] So I guess without further ado or banter, I will dive into it.
[00:00:58] I wanted to introduce this topic first by reading from doctrine and covenants 1:23 and I don't normally read straight tons of scriptures in a row. I try to do a lot of discussion, but I feel like this section, there is a lot here that I need to read to properly introduce this and give you context to what we are talking about this week.
[00:01:20] So here it is the revelation from Joseph Smith while a prisoner in Liberty jail, and this is the revelation he received and the counsel that he provides to the saints. Verse 1.
[00:01:31] And again, we would suggest for your consideration the propriety of all the saints, gathering up a knowledge of all the facts and sufferings and abuses put upon them by the people of this state, and also of all the property, the amount of damages which they have sustained, both of character and personal injuries, as well as real property, and also the names of all persons that have had a hand in their oppression, as far as they can get a hold of them and find them out. And perhaps a committee can be appointed to find out these things, and to take statements and affidavits, and also to gather up the libelous publications that are afloat, and all that are in the magazines and in the encyclopedias, and all the libelous histories that are published, published, and the writings, and by whom, and present the whole concatenation of diabolic rascality and nefarious and murderous impositions that have been practiced upon this people, that we may not only publish to all the world, but present them to the heads of government in all their dark and hellish hue, as the last effort which is enjoined on us by our Heavenly Father, before we can fully and completely claim that promise which shall call him forth from his hiding place.
[00:02:57] And also that the whole nation may be left without excuse before he can send forth the power of his mighty arm.
[00:03:07] It is an imperative duty that we owe to God, to angels, with whom we shall be brought to stand, and also to ourselves, to our wives and children, who have been made to bow down with grief, sorrow, and care under the most damning hand of murder, tyranny, and oppression, Supported and urged on and upheld by the influence of that spirit which hath so strongly riveted the creeds of the fathers who have inherited lies upon the lies of the children.
[00:03:42] And filled the world with confusion. And has been growing stronger and stronger. And is now the very mainspring of all corruption. And the whole earth groans under the weight of its iniquity.
[00:03:54] It is an iron yoke. It is a strong band. They are the very handcuffs and chains and shackles and fetters of hell.
[00:04:05] Therefore it is an imperative duty that we owe not only to our own wives and children, but to the widows and fatherless whose husbands and fathers have been murdered under its iron hand, which dark and blackening deeds are enough to make hell itself shudder and to stand aghast and pale, and the hands of the very devil to tremble and palsy.
[00:04:34] And also it is an imperative duty that we owe to all the rising generation and to all the pure in heart.
[00:04:43] For there are many yet on the earth among all sex, parties and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, wherefore they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it.
[00:04:57] Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all of the hidden things of darkness wherein we know them, and they are truly manifest from heaven, these should then be attended with great earnestness.
[00:05:16] Let no man count them as small things.
[00:05:20] For there is much with lieth in futurity pertaining to the saints which depends on these things.
[00:05:26] You know, brethren, that a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept workways with the wind and the waves.
[00:05:40] Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power. And then may we stand still with the utmost assurance to see the salvation of God and for his arm to be revealed.
[00:05:57] That's pretty heavy. Joseph Smith is telling the people that they have an imperative duty. What is he calling a small thing here? Let no man count this as a small thing to document, to record, to write down all of the things that they Suffered the details, the amounts of property loss, the things as Joseph Smith described, which dark and blackening deeds are enough to make hell itself shudder and to stand aghast and pale. And the hand of the very devil to tremble and palsy. Wow.
[00:06:30] What happened?
[00:06:33] What were those deeds? And in here. And Joseph Smith is saying it's an imperative duty that we owe to God, to angels, to ourselves, to. To those who have suffered and to coming generations.
[00:06:49] He says in verse 11. And also it is an imperative duty that we owe to all the rising generation and to all the pure in heart that they know the details of what happened here.
[00:07:03] And he says it is an imperative duty.
[00:07:06] And the last thing that God wants them to do is to take these, bring them to the government as a last resort. And if the government still does nothing, then it will stand as a testimony against them. So that when God rises up, he is justified in pouring his wrath out upon the people of Missouri, upon the nation, that they are visited upon destruction in answer to his prayers. And see. And it says in verse six that.
[00:07:40] That we may not only publish to all the world, but present them to the heads of government in all their dark and hellish hue, as the last effort was enjoined upon us by our Heavenly Father before we can fully and completely claim that promise which shall call him forth from his hiding place. And also that the whole nation can be left without excuse before he can send forth the power of his mighty arm.
[00:08:06] That is why we have so many details of what happened back there in Missouri. But when we talk about this time period, as we talk about this section, this doctrine covenants 121 through 124, and I think most of you are familiar with doctrine covenants section 121. It starts off, Joseph Smith is in Liberty Jail. And he pleads, says, oh, God, where art thou?
[00:08:30] And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?
[00:08:35] Why you sent us to Missouri for this.
[00:08:41] And understand this, Joseph Smith, what happened in Ohio that caused him to go to Missouri is that the Kirtland Safety Society, the bank had failed.
[00:08:56] And now you had a lot of people that were questioning whether Joseph Smith was a prophet. You had a lot of leaders leaving the church, the three witnesses all over Catholic. You had prominent members, apostles leaving the church.
[00:09:11] And then the Lord tells them, go to Missouri. What's waiting for him in Missouri? This is waiting for him in Missouri. And if he is a prophet, how come he didn't see this about to happen?
[00:09:24] And yet he goes, he goes willingly, like a lamb before the Slaughter and things are bad.
[00:09:30] And when they get to Missouri and all of these things happen, Joseph Smith tells them, document it, record it, that we can present it to the government and show them what's happening so that they can either stand up and save us or do nothing and be damned.
[00:09:49] And when we have done this and been assaulted time and time and time again, and nobody will come to our aid, then can we stand still with the utmost assurance to see the salvation of God. And he will reveal his arm and he will redeem us and do what no one else would do for us.
[00:10:09] And we've talked a lot about that before. But this is what I wanted to start this discussion with, to frame the conversation.
[00:10:17] Because so many times I feel like we do these people a disservice and say, yeah, they were persecuted, but we don't talk about how they were persecuted or what they suffered. And it doesn't seem like it's as a big of a deal. It almost cheapens the experience of what they went through.
[00:10:35] And so you will forgive me, I hope. As we dive into this episode, I want to dive into some of those details. I've got Hyrum Smith's affidavit, Lyman White's affidavit. I have a few documents from that time period detailing what happened that I want to read with you today and bring you into the Missouri experience and what they went through, that you can understand the context of these revelations and what they were going through and better understand what is happening. Not just that there was suffering, not just that they were chased out of their homes, but. But kind of the gritty details that Joseph Smith said were imperative for our generation to see.
[00:11:25] And I feel we do a disservice by ignoring the details when we talk about this time period. Let's follow through with that revelation and see what's happening.
[00:11:38] So to paint the context, Hyrum Smith put together a statement, an affidavit, and in the which he describes the property damage. He describes what happened.
[00:11:53] And here I'm just going to read portions from it. Let me start with this, just to kind of set the stage. He says quote, or he writes quote. And I do know, so does this court.
[00:12:04] And every rational man who is acquainted with the circumstances and every man who shall hereafter become acquainted with the particulars thereof, will know that Governor Boggs and Generals Clark, Lucas, Williams, excuse me, Wilson and Gilliam, also Austin A. King, have committed treason upon the citizens of Missouri and did violate the Constitution of the United States and also the Constitution and laws of the State of Missouri, and did exile and expel at the point of the bayonet some 12 or 14,000 inhabitants from the state, and did murder a large number of men, women and children in cold blood and in the most horrid and cruel manner possible.
[00:12:51] And the whole of it was caused by religious bigotry and persecution, because the Mormons dared to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences and agreeable to his divine will as revealed in the Scriptures of eternal truth, and had turned away from following the vain traditions of their fathers, and would not worship according to the dogmas and commandments, those men who preach for hire and divine for money and teach for doctrine the precepts of men.
[00:13:19] The Saints expecting that the Constitution of the United States would have protected them therein.
[00:13:27] But notwithstanding, the Mormon people had purchased upwards of $200,000 worth of land, most of which was entered and paid for at the Land Office of the United States in the State of Missouri. And although the President of the United States has been made acquainted with these facts and the particulars of our persecution and oppression by petition to him and to Congress, yet they have not even attempted to restore the Mormons to their rights or given any assurances that we may hereafter expect redress from them.
[00:14:03] $200,000 worth of land that had been taken from them and never restored.
[00:14:17] And these details were brought to the government. And we're going to go to the details and we're going to talk about what happened.
[00:14:25] And so as we do this, just fair warning, if some of these things are hard for you, to listen to you maybe, maybe that's a good thing, and maybe it's good to be aware of some of the sufferings that happened, to have some sympathy and empathy for the Saints and what they went through in these revelations.
[00:14:47] But at the same time, fair warning, we are going to go into some of these details, and like I said, they are gritty and they are heavy. And if you're offended by this, maybe now is a good time to. To turn it off. You know better than I do.
[00:15:01] With that being said, this begins with the failure of the Kirtland Safety Society, with leaving of church members and apostatizing and the tide turning against them. In Ohio, Joseph Smith asks God what to do. He directs them to Far West.
[00:15:24] Now, in Missouri, we had had a lot of problems with Missouri before, as we know, with the destruction of the printing press, the destruction of the store, with people being chased out of their properties. There was a lot of persecution. And this happens about four times where the Saints get driven out over and over and over again.
[00:15:44] So why are they going to the Missouri? Again, there is a state of calm.
[00:15:50] Things have been resolved in large part because of an attorney named Alexander Doniphan.
[00:15:57] Alexander Doniphan gets a new law resolution passed through the state congress that allows for the formation of Caldwell county as a Mormon county.
[00:16:10] And if the Mormons settle in Caldwell county, then they're not interfering with the elections of other counties. They're not influencing people outside of this county.
[00:16:22] And so the people there are a little bit more at peace. A lot of the tension, mind you, a lot of the tension comes because a lot of the people in the surrounding counties are in that area of Missouri are pro slavery, where a lot of the Saints that are moving into this area are abolitionists. And when it comes to elections and voting, this is a hot topic in the country and particularly in Missouri as a new state. Is it a free state? Is it a slave state? Where are they going to go? And if you have a lot of abolitionists moving into the region, it's going to be influencing your way of life and your. Your elections, and you're worried that you're going to lose your vote. That caused a problem.
[00:17:00] But peace has been established. There is a giant calm in Missouri also corresponding with the temple and the dedication. There was a peace among the Saints as long as they stayed in Caldwell County.
[00:17:13] However, Joseph Smith receives a revelation that we talked about Last week about 4 far west Missouri Adam on Diamond and the need to go there.
[00:17:23] The only problem, these are outside of Caldwell County. The Saints are going to spill over the borders into different counties of Missouri and the election is going to become an issue again.
[00:17:37] Even Doniphan, who is not a member of the church, but he sympathizes with the Saints and what they have gone through, looks at it almost as a breach of contract from the Saint's point of view.
[00:17:48] You were told you can only settle in this land where the Saints are looking at it and saying, these are new counties. We weren't told we couldn't settle here.
[00:17:56] And in hindsight, looking at this, how fair is it to tell people you can only live in this city or you can only be in this region, Right? There's some giant problems, but this is a compromise that they've made to try to keep the peace.
[00:18:10] And spilling outside of this boundary is what's going to be destroying the peace.
[00:18:16] So it starts with a group of men who worried about the Saints participating in the election they form about, what is it, 150, 200, 250 somewhere in there, guys, to bar the Saints from being able to vote.
[00:18:37] So when the Latter Day Saints show up to vote, they are turned away.
[00:18:43] And looking at this, the people there that are turning them away are saying, look, you have no right to vote.
[00:18:52] And actually refers to them as being on the same footing as slaves at the time. You don't have a vote, just like slaves don't have a vote.
[00:19:03] That is how they are viewing the Saints. And the Saints look at this and say, no, we absolutely have a right to vote.
[00:19:10] But the Missourians are saying if these guys vote and they don't vote similar to the way we vote because there is more of them and they are flooding into this country in large numbers. They are proselytizing across the sea in Europe, you have all this influx of people. We will be outnumbered and we won't be able to vote. And so they are saying, we don't want to lose the vote.
[00:19:31] It is better for us to take the vote away from them. So this confrontation happens, you have these armed men that are there to keep the Saints from voting. It turns into a brawl and then rumors start spreading that from this brawl people died. From the Saints perspective, rumors start spreading that two Latter Day Saints would been murdered and were lying in the streets and that the mob would not let them bury them.
[00:19:56] So Joseph and Hyrum go to inspect and find out what the truth is. And they find out that that is not the truth, that nobody had died, there is nobody lying in the streets.
[00:20:07] These act of violence has happened, but they're worried because now you're going to have mob violence starting to kick off. This is the, the, the, the kindling of the fire that's going to rage. And on the other side they're, they're saying that people of the mob had been killed by some of the Saints. And so it starts, this tensions start to rise and Joseph Smith starts writing to judges and sheriffs and law enforcement to try to get their support and say, we do not support mobs, we will not support mobs, we will protect law and order. Then even that is looked at as an aggressive act. And things do start to escalate from here.
[00:20:46] And this kicks off, I guess what you would call the Mormon War.
[00:20:51] And I don't think that everybody acted perfectly like, like decent people in a Mormon War, in a war, but we do have some details what happened to kind of paint a picture and give us a little bit more context of what happened here.
[00:21:09] So after these events, things started to stoke up and become more serious. And. And I'm going to read from. From Hyrum's affidavit again.
[00:21:21] He says they, referring to mobs, frequently took men, women and children prisoners, whipping them and lacerating their bodies with hickory wives and tying them to trees and depriving them of food until they were compelled to gnaw the bark from the trees to which they were bound in order to sustain life.
[00:21:48] Women and children treating them in the most cruel manner they could invent or think of and doing everything they could to excite the indignation of the Mormon people to rescue them in order that they might make that a pretext for an accusation for the breach of the law, and that they might the better excite the prejudice of the populace and thereby get aid and assistance to carry out their hellish purposes of extermination.
[00:22:21] The Mormon people throughout the county were in a great state of alarm and also in great distress. They saw themselves completely surrounded by armed forces on the north and on the northwest and on the south.
[00:22:34] Bogart, who was a Methodist preacher and a captain over a militia company of 50 soldiers who had added to his number out of the surrounding counties, about 100 more, which made his force about 150 strong, was stationed at Crooked Creek, sending out his scouting parties, taking men and women and children prisoners, driving off cattle, hogs and horses, entering into every house on Log and Longs Creek. Log and Longs, excuse me, Log and Long Creeks, rifling their houses of their most precious articles, such as money, bedding and clothing, taking all their old muskets and their rifles or military implements, threatening the people with instant death if they deliver up all their precious things and enter into a covenant to leave the state or go into the city of Far west by the next morning, saying that they calculated to drive the people into Far west and then drive them to hell.
[00:23:29] Gilliam also was doing the same on the northwest side of Far west and Shashiel Woods. A Presbyterian minister was the leader of the mob in Davies county, and a very noted man of the same society was the leader of the mob in Carroll County. And they were also sending out their scouting parties, robbing and pillaging houses, driving away hogs, horses and cattle, taking men, women and children and carrying them off, threatening their lives and subjecting them to all manner of abuses that they could invent or think of.
[00:24:06] This was the state of affairs that they were in.
[00:24:10] You had the election where they were not allowed to vote in it, and then women and Children were being captured, whipped, beaten, tied to trees, left for starving to try to get the Saints to come out and fight so that they could then use it as the pretext to take it to the governor and say, see, these are not peaceful people. We need to get rid of them.
[00:24:35] They stole their money, their bedding, their precious things, their cattle, their food, anything they could do to try to start a fight.
[00:24:47] And what would you do at this point if this is you?
[00:24:51] You know, if you engage, opinion is against you and the state is going to come down on you and you're done, you don't have a chance.
[00:25:00] Your only chance is to turn to the state.
[00:25:05] Going on. From Hyrum's affidavit, under this state of alarm, excitement and distress, the messengers returned from the governor and from the other authorities bringing the startling news that the Mormons could have no assistance.
[00:25:22] They stated that the governor said the Mormons had gotten into a difficulty with the citizens and they might fight it out for all he cared.
[00:25:30] He could not render them any assistance.
[00:25:37] We still believed that we should get assistance from the governor and again petitioned him, praying for assistance, setting forth our distressed situation.
[00:25:47] And in the meantime, the presiding judge of the county court issued orders, upon affidavits made to him by the citizens, to the sheriff of the county to order out the militia of the county to stand in constant readiness night and day to prevent the citizens from being massacred, which fearful situation they were in every moment.
[00:26:07] Everything was very pretentious and alarming.
[00:26:12] Notwithstanding all this, there was a ray of hope yet existing in the minds of the people.
[00:26:19] We're waiting anxiously, excuse me, in the minds of the people, that the governor would render us assistance. And whilst the people were waiting anxiously for deliverance, men, women and children frightened, praying and weeping, they exercised some restraint and said, no, we have to do this the right way. We have to petition the governor. We need support.
[00:26:49] Remember Zion's camp.
[00:26:52] They first went to the governor and said, will you raise a militia and meet us there and help deliver our people? And they said, yes.
[00:27:02] And then when the Zion reached their destination and raised their army and showed up, the militia wasn't there, they reneged on their deal and didn't deliver.
[00:27:15] And so here they are again, putting their faith in Governor Boggs and the government to help them.
[00:27:22] And nothing, not only nothing, but whilst they were waiting, going back to the affidavit from Hyrum, whilst they were waiting, men, women and children frightened, praying and weeping, we beheld at a distance crossing the prairies and approaching the Town, a large army in military array, brandishing their glittering swords in the sunshine. And we could not but feel joyful for a moment, thinking that probably the governor had sent an armed force to our relief, notwithstanding the awful forebodings that pervaded our breasts.
[00:27:57] But to our great surprise, when the army arrived, they came up and formed in a line in double file within one half mile on the south of the city of Far west, and dispatched three messengers with a white flag to the city. They were met by Captain Morey with a few other individuals whose names I do not now recollect.
[00:28:17] I was myself standing close by and could very distinctly hear every word they said.
[00:28:23] Being filled with anxiety, I rushed forward to the spot, expecting to hear good news, but alas, and heart thrilling to every soul that heard them. They demanded three persons to be brought out of the city before they should massacre the rest, and at that time they had taken prisoners. And speaking of the militia and how they handled the prisoners, Hyrum goes on. We learned that several prisoners have been killed by some of the soldiers who were under the command of General Lucas. One, Mr. Carey, had his brains knocked out by the breach of a gun, and he lay bleeding several hours, but his family were not permitted to approach him, nor anyone else allowed to administer relief to him whilst he lay upon the ground in the agonies of death.
[00:29:10] Mr. Carey had just arrived in the country from the state of Ohio only a few hours previous to the arrival of the army.
[00:29:20] He had a family consisting of a wife and several small children.
[00:29:25] He was buried by Lucius N. Scoville, who is now, in 1843, the senior warden of the Nauvoo Masonic Lodge.
[00:29:35] Another man of the name of John Tanner, was knocked on the head at the same time and his skull laid bare to the width of a man's hand. And he lay, to all appearances, in the agonies of death for several hours, but by the permission of General Doniphan, his friends brought him out of the camp, and with good nursing he slowly recovered and is now living.
[00:29:57] There was another man, whose name is Powell, who was beat on the head with the breech of a gun until his skull was fractured and his brains ran out in two or three places.
[00:30:06] He is now alive and resides in this Hancock county, but has lost the use of his senses. Several persons of his family were also left for dead, but have since recovered.
[00:30:18] These acts of barbarity were also committed by the soldiers under the command of General Lucas, previous to having received the governor's order of extermination.
[00:30:34] The saints did not want to stand and not do anything. They had a militia in Caldwell county head by Colonel Hinkle.
[00:30:42] I believe the Saints retaliated. You had the Danites at the same time and can you fault the formation of the Danites given the circumstances of what was happening around them?
[00:30:55] I don't think this war was entirely one sided. But a lot of the depravities and the details that are documented and recorded show what they were up against.
[00:31:06] And we have the incident at Hahn's mill.
[00:31:11] The people in Hans Mill sent Jacob Hahn to request direction from the prophet.
[00:31:17] Joseph told Jacob Hahn to abandon the mill and to move to far west.
[00:31:23] And as I understand it, Jacob did not want to abandon his mill and subsequently did not warn the people but rather conveyed a different message saying that they would be cowards if they didn't flee and that they were to stand and hold the mill.
[00:31:38] This weighed heavy on Joseph Smith.
[00:31:41] He was recorded of saying up to this day God had given me wisdom to save the people who took counsel. None had ever been killed who abode by my counsel.
[00:31:50] Innocent lives could have been saved had they listened to what he said.
[00:31:55] When the mob showed up they brought an army of about 250 men firing about 1600 shots in the space of roughly an hour.
[00:32:08] Thomas McBride went to try to make peace. When they first showed up. This is a small group of people.
[00:32:17] He came and surrendered his rifle to Jacob Rogers. Jacob Rogers took McBride's rifle and shot McBride with his own rifle. Not only did he do that but when Rogers raised his hand out to stop him, Rogers cut it off with a corn knife and further mangled his body. While McBride was still alive after the initial attack, several of those who had been wounded or had surrendered were shot dead.
[00:32:46] Members of the militia entered the shop, the blacksmith shop and found 10 year old, 10 year old Sardius Smith, 7 year old Alma Smith and 9 year old Charles Merrick hiding under the blacksmith's bellows.
[00:33:05] Alma and Charles were shot and a militia man known as Glaze of Carroll county killed Sardius when he put his musket Against Sardius skull, 10 year old Sardius Smith and blew off the top of his head.
[00:33:24] Later a William Reynolds would justify the killing by saying Nitz will make lice and if he had lived he would have become a Mormon.
[00:33:38] Under this weight Joseph Smith, desperate to find out what they needed to do has to face an even further challenge in Hinkle's betrayal. George Hinkle, the colonel of their Caldwell county militia told Joseph Smith that he had reached terms with the state militia to sit down and work out a peace deal to be able to instill order and maintain peace in the area and try to restore peace.
[00:34:19] Joseph Smith and a group of leaders rode out with George Hinkle under the pretext of making peace. But when they saw General Lucas there with his men, they were flanked. And Hinkel said to Lukas, here are your prisoners.
[00:34:36] It was a double cross.
[00:34:39] And the crazy thing is Hinkel had secretly worked out to betray the prophet.
[00:34:47] And we get details three years later from when Joseph Smith successfully sued George Hinkle, that George Hinkle had done so under the agreement that General Lucas was going to kill Joseph Smith.
[00:35:08] So they were betrayed. They were turned into General Lucas, who held a court martial that night. And for the details of this first night, I'm going to turn to Lyman White's affidavit.
[00:35:19] He writes, the prisoners spent this day as comfortably as could be expected under the existing circumstances.
[00:35:27] Night came on, and under the dark shadows of the night, General Wilson, subaltern of General Lucas, took me on one side and said, we do not wish to hurt you nor kill you, neither shall you be, by God.
[00:35:42] But we have one thing against you, and that is you are too friendly to Joe Smith and we believe him to be a God damn rascal. And White, you know all about his character.
[00:35:55] I said, I do, sir.
[00:35:59] Will you swear all you know concerning him?
[00:36:02] Said Wilson.
[00:36:04] I will, sir, was the answer I gave.
[00:36:09] Give us the outlines, said Wilson. I then told Wilson I believed, said Joseph Smith, to be the most philanthropic man he ever saw and possessed of the most pure and republican principles, a friend to mankind, a maker of peace.
[00:36:27] And, sir, had it not been that I had given heed to his counsel, I would have given you hell before this time with all your mob forces.
[00:36:37] He then observed, quote, white, I fear your life is in danger, for there is no end to the prejudice against Joe Smith.
[00:36:48] Kill and be damned, sir, was my answer.
[00:36:51] He answered and said, there is to be a court martial held this night and you will attend, sir.
[00:36:58] I will not unless compelled by force, was my reply.
[00:37:03] He returned about 11 o' clock that night and took me aside and said, I regret to tell you, your die is cast, your doom is fixed. You are sentenced to be shot tomorrow morning on the public square and far west at 8 o', clock, unquote. I answered, quote, shoot and be damned, Unquote, quote, we were in hopes, unquote. He said, quote, you would come out against Joe Smith, but as you have not you will have to share the same fate with him. Unquote. I answered, quote, you may think, Joe Smith, that you were not in hell this night, for had it not been for him, I would have put you there, unquote.
[00:37:42] Somewhere about this time General Doniphan came up and said to me, quote Colonel, the decision is a damn hard one and I have washed my hands against such cool and deliberate murder, unquote. He further told me that General Graham and several others names not recollected were with him in the decision and opposed it with all their power and he should move his soldiers away by daylight in the morning they that they should not witness a heartless myrtle murder saying, colonel, I wish you well.
[00:38:15] So they held that court martial that night and they decided to kill the prophet.
[00:38:21] And Lucas orders Doniphan to carry out the execution. Doniphan says, I will not do it. And not only does he say I will not do it, but he says, I will hold you accountable to an earthly tribunal if you do. This is cold blooded murder and it and it causes Lucas to stop and think and worry. So General Lucas holds off executing and saves the Donovan, saves the prophet's knife. Prophets like that prophet's life that night.
[00:38:58] Later they're carried to a court to find out what they're guilty of, to see if they should be held on what charges.
[00:39:07] And in this case I'm going back to Hyrum Smith's affidavit. He says that witnesses were called up and sworn at the point of the bayonet. And if they would not swear to the things they were told to do, they were threatened with instant death. And I do know positively that the evidence given by in by those men whilst under duress was false.
[00:39:27] The state of things continued 12 or 14 days and after that time we were ordered by the judge to introduce some rebutting evidence saying that if we did not do it we should be thrust into prison.
[00:39:38] I could hardly understand what the judge meant, for I considered we were in prison already and could not think of anything but the persecution of the days of Nero. Knowing that it was a religious persecution and the court and inquisition.
[00:39:52] However, we gave him the names of 40 persons who were acquainted with all the persecutions and sufferings of the people. The judge made out a subpoena and inserted the names of those men and caused it to be placed in the hands of Bogart, the notorious Methodist minister.
[00:40:06] And he took 50 armed soldiers and started for Far West. I saw the subpoenas given to him and his company when they Started in the course of a few days. They returned with Almost all those 40 men whose names were inserted in the subpoenas and thrust them into jail.
[00:40:21] And we were not permitted to bring one of them before the court.
[00:40:25] But the judge turned upon us with an air of indignation and said, gentlemen, you must get your witnesses or you shall be committed to jail immediately, for we are not going to hold the court open on expense much longer for you anyhow.
[00:40:41] We felt very much distressed and oppressed at the time. Colonel White said, what shall we do? Our witnesses are all thrust into prison and probably will be, and we have no power to do anything. Of course, we must submit to this tyranny and oppression. We cannot help ourselves.
[00:40:59] Several others made similar expressions in the agony of their souls. But my brother Joseph did not say anything, he being sick at the time with the toothache and pain in his face.
[00:41:09] Poor guy. It's not bad enough he got betrayed by Hinkel, thrown into prison.
[00:41:14] Now he's got a toothache, you know, to boot.
[00:41:19] In consequence, a severe cold brought on by being exposed to the severity of the weather. However, it was considered best by General Doniphan and lawyer Reese that we should try to get some witnesses before the pretended court. Accordingly, I gave them the names of about 20 other persons. The judge inserted them into a subpoena and caused it to be placed into the hands of Bogart, the Methodist priest. And he again started off with his 50 soldiers to take those men prisoners, as he had done with the 40 others. The judge sat and laughed at the good opportunity of getting the names that they might the more easily capture them and so bring them down to be thrust into prison in order to prevent us from getting the truth before the pretended court, of which he was the chief inquisitor or conspirator. Bogart returned from his second expedition with one witness only, whom he also thrust into prison.
[00:42:09] The people at Far west had learned the intrigue and had left the state, having been made acquainted with the treatment of the former witnesses. But we, on learning that we could not obtain witness whilst privately consulting with each other what we should do, discovered a Mr. Allen standing by the window on the outside of the house. We beckoned him to come as though we would have him come in. He immediately came in.
[00:42:30] At that time, Judge King retorted upon us again, saying, gentlemen, are you not going to introduce some witnesses?
[00:42:36] Also saying it was the last day he should hold court open for us, and that if we did not rebut the testimony that had been given against us, he should have to commit us to jail.
[00:42:48] I then got Mr. Allen into the house and before the court, so called. I told the judge we had one witness if he would be so good as to put him under oath. He seemed unwilling to do so, but after a few moments consultation, the state's attorney arose and said he should subject to the witness being sworn, and that he should object to that witness giving in his evidence at all, stating that his was not a court to try the case, but only a court of investigation on the part of the state.
[00:43:16] Upon this, General Doniphan arose and said he would be damned if the witness should not be sworn, and that it was a damned shame that these defendants should be treated in this manner. That they should. That they could not be permitted to get one witness before the court whilst all their witnesses, even 40 at a time, have been taken by force of arms and thrust into the damned bullpen in order to prevent them from giving their testimony.
[00:43:41] After Donovan sat down, the judge permitted the witness to be sworn and enter his name. But as soon as he began to speak, a man by the name of Cook, who was a brother in law to Priest Bogart, the Methodist, who was a lieutenant in the state militia and whose duty at the time was to superintend the guard, stepped in before the pretended court and took him by the nape of his neck and jammed his down under the pole or log of wood that was around the place where the Inquisition was sitting to keep the bystanders from intruding upon the majesty of the inquisitors, and jammed him along the door and kicked him out of the doors. He instantly turned to some soldiers who were standing by him and said to them, go and shoot him, damn him. Shoot him, damn him.
[00:44:22] The soldiers ran after the man to shoot him. He fled for his life and with great difficulty made his escape.
[00:44:28] The pretended court immediately arose and we were ordered to be carried to Liberty, Clay county, and there to be thrust into jail. We endeavored to find out for what cause, but all we could learn was that it was because we were Mormons.
[00:44:46] It's not just that their people were suffering, being tied to trees, being abused, having their property stolen, being taunted.
[00:44:56] It is not just that the bank had failed and that people were wondering if he was a prophet. It is not just that Joseph Smith had a toothache, but the justice system that was supposed to be protecting them, that they were leaning on for help, was working against them.
[00:45:16] All things were working against them and the way the guards treated them.
[00:45:32] You've heard this before when Joseph Smith stands up in all majesty and shackles and silences the guards for their foul speech. But the way they were treated.
[00:45:47] Hyrum Smith goes on, the same men sat as a jury in the daytime and were placed over us as guard in the nighttime.
[00:45:57] They tantalized us and boasted of their great achievements at Hans Mill and at other places, telling us how many houses they had burned and how many sheep, cattle, and hogs they had driven off belonging to the Mormons, and how many rapes they had committed and what squealing and kicking there was among the damned bastards. Saying that they lashed one woman upon one of the damned Mormon meeting benches, tying her hands and her feet fast, and 16 of them abused her as much as they had a mind to, and then left her bound and exposed in that distressed condition.
[00:46:37] These finds of the lower regions, these fiends of the lower regions boasted of these acts of barbarity and tantalized our feelings with them for 10 days.
[00:46:48] We had heard of these acts of cruelty previous to this time, but we were slow to believe that such acts had been perpetrated.
[00:46:56] The lady who was subject of this brutality did not recover her health to be able to help herself for more than three months afterwards.
[00:47:08] We were also subjected to the necessity of eating human flesh for the space of five days, or go without food except a little coffee or a little cornbread.
[00:47:20] The latter I chose in preference to the former.
[00:47:23] We none of us partook of the flesh except Lyman White.
[00:47:27] We also heard the guard which was placed over us making sport of us, saying they had fed us on Mormon beef.
[00:47:35] I have described the appearance of this flesh to several experienced physicians, and they have decided that it was human flesh.
[00:47:42] We learned afterwards by one of the guards that it was supposed that the act of savage cannibalism in feeding us with human flesh would be considered a popular deed of notoriety.
[00:47:55] But the people, on learning that it would not take, tried to keep it secret, but the fact was noised abroad before they took that precaution.
[00:48:10] These are the circumstances that Joseph Smith found himself in as he pens these words.
[00:48:17] O God, where art thou?
[00:48:22] And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?
[00:48:28] How long shall thy hand be stayed? And thy eye, yea, thy pure eye, Behold from the eternal heavens the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants and thine ears be penetrated with their cries. Yea, O Lord, how long shall they suffer these wrongs and unlawful oppressions before thine heart shall be softened towards them and thy bowels be moved with compassion towards them.
[00:48:53] O Lord God Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth and seas, of all things that are in them are. And who controllest and subjectest the devil. And the dark and benighted dominion of Sheol. Stretch forth thine hand. Let thy eye pierce. Let the pavilion be taken up. Let thy hiding place no longer be covered.
[00:49:14] Let thine ear be inclined. Let thy heart be softened. And thy bowels moved with compassion towards us. Let thine anger be kindled against our enemies. And in the fury of thine heart, with thy sword avenge us of our wrongs.
[00:49:31] Remember thy suffering saints, O our God, and thy servants will rejoice in thy name forever.
[00:49:41] That is what was happening in Missouri.
[00:49:46] That's what they were going through.
[00:49:49] And here the Lord, Joseph Smith is trying to call on the Lord and say, lord, be merciful. Where is your compassion? Save this people.
[00:50:00] And the Lord's response is, no, you need to be more compassionate.
[00:50:10] You need to be more merciful.
[00:50:14] As he says, let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men. And to the household of faith. And let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly.
[00:50:24] Then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God.
[00:50:33] Joseph thought he was going to be lecturing God on charity, on compassion, on delivering these people.
[00:50:41] And God teaches him what compassion really means.
[00:50:48] These sections, 121, 122, 123.
[00:50:55] Very powerful, very powerful. As Joseph is experiencing this.
[00:51:01] And I wish I could spend hours talking about this with you and go through Sheol and what that means and the verbiage and the text.
[00:51:14] And the Lord's response. My son, peace be unto your soul. Thine adversity and thine affliction shall be but a small moment.
[00:51:21] And then if thou endurest it well, God shall exalt thee on high. Thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.
[00:51:32] Yeah. Peace unto thy soul. The peace I give unto you.
[00:51:36] And he reveals some amazing things. And he tells them. He tries to give them hope in this desperate situation.
[00:51:43] In this beautiful section right here. He says, for there is a time. Let's see. Verse 24. Behold mine eyes. See and know all their works. And I have in reserve a swift judgment in the season thereof for them all.
[00:51:59] For there is a time appointed for every man according to his works as his work shall be.
[00:52:04] God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit. This is an interesting promise.
[00:52:09] Yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost. That has not been revealed since the world was. Until now.
[00:52:16] God is going to give you knowledge that has never been revealed. Before which our forefathers have awaited with anxious expectation to be revealed in the last times which their minds were pointed to by the angels as held in reserve for the fullness of their glory. A time to come in which nothing shall be withheld, whether there be one God or many gods, they shall be manifest.
[00:52:42] All thrones and powers, excuse me, all thrones and dominions, principalities and powers shall be revealed and set forth upon all those who have endured valiantly for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
[00:52:56] And also, if there be bounds set to the heavens, or to the seas, or to the dry land, or to the sun, moon or stars, all the times of their revolutions, all the appointed days, months and years, and all the days of their days, months and years, and all their glorious laws and set times shall be revealed in the days of the dispensation of the fulness of times, according to that which was ordained in the midst of the counsel of the eternal God of all other gods before this world was that should be reserved unto the finishing and the end thereof when every man shall enter into his eternal presence and into his immortal rest.
[00:53:42] And then this magnificent verse. How long can rolling waters remain impure?
[00:53:48] What power shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river and its decreed course, or to turn it upstream as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter Day Saints.
[00:54:06] Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen.
[00:54:12] Wonderful Counsel.
[00:54:14] And then 1:22 is very personal as it details some of the experiences that Joseph had even deeper and more than what we even went to through in this podcast. And being torn from his children and his wife and God saying all of these things are making you who you are and shall bless you and be for your good, and what the saints suffer shall be for their good. Thine afflictions will be but a moment extremely hard to hear.
[00:54:47] It's amazing.
[00:54:50] It's amazing. And some of my favorite verses come at the end of Doctrine and Covenant, Section 123, which we began with.
[00:54:58] You know, brethren, that a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm by keeping it work ways with the wind and the waves. And while he was referring to the small things of detailing the things that happened to them and the damages and the extent of what they went through, yet this wisdom applies to so much more as we think of the small things that we do. Is it a small thing that we pray every every day? Is it a small thing that we turn to our Scriptures. Yet those small things of prayer and scripture study prepare our minds and our spirits and our persons to be able to deal with the storms of life.
[00:55:40] Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power.
[00:55:46] And then may we stand still with the utmost assurance to see the salvation of God and for his arms to be revealed.
[00:55:53] How can you tell someone going through this cheerfully do all things that lie in your power?
[00:56:01] And perhaps even more amazing, he did.
[00:56:06] Witnesses talk about Joseph Smith and how he handled this and how he composed himself and how he maintained his composure.
[00:56:18] It's miraculous.
[00:56:22] And he cheerfully did all things that were in his power and trusted in God.
[00:56:28] And it's a powerful lesson to me. It's like Peter and I keep going back to this walking on the storm tossed sea.
[00:56:38] He's asked to do the impossible. Like Joseph Smith, cheerfully doing things or ignoring what's happening to him and how many times in our life do the things that we're suffering or going through.
[00:56:53] Maybe we're asked to do something as kids. Our parents are saying, I need you to do this. And it's a hard thing for us to listen to. Or maybe we're being treated unfairly at work or in a bad situation, or maybe something is happening, I don't know. Your family's falling apart. Whatever the case may be, whatever instance you can think of, this seems like a hard thing. A storm that's around you and he asks you to do the impossible as you are standing on the water.
[00:57:24] But as Peter's focus is on the waves and on the wind and on the problems around him, he despairs and he sinks.
[00:57:35] And the solution was focus on Christ. Turn to the Savior and God saying, I am here.
[00:57:44] Focus on me cheerfully. Do what I tell you. Let me focus on me and I will deliver you.
[00:57:54] Not just from the mobs, not just from the persecution, but perhaps even more importantly, from themselves.
[00:58:03] Yes, from sin, yes from death, but also, yes, from the distractions that are other people's bad choices.
[00:58:15] They might not be making good choices, but don't let that hinder you. Don't focus on the waves and the wind and the disaster around you that it impedes your progress.
[00:58:30] The Lord can deliver you from all, all of that.
[00:58:33] The oppression, the injustice, the inequality, the unfairness, the anxiety.
[00:58:42] Focus on him and he'll deliver you from the rest.
[00:58:48] It's a powerful section and it's been pretty heavy.
[00:58:54] It's a very serious topic.
[00:58:56] Maybe I can just leave you with a few details. To lighten it a little bit, some facts about their time in Liberty Jail, if you will.
[00:59:06] You might not know this, maybe you do. Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith actually tried to escape from jail on three separate occasions.
[00:59:14] Porter Rockwell, an interesting guy. I hope to be talking about him a little bit more in next week's podcast or some podcasts to come. He visited Joseph Smith. He often visited him. He would carry messages for him and take his letters back and forth. Very loyal to Joseph Smith. But he brought augers for Joseph Smith to dig through the walls. The walls, by the way, four feet thick.
[00:59:39] And Joseph Smith and Hyrum had dug all the way to the last few inches of the wall that almost tunneled out of prison.
[00:59:48] It almost made it just a few inches to go and the auger broke.
[00:59:52] Another time, Joseph and Hyrum were upstairs and Hyrum rushed the. The door and tried to get out through that, but the guards caught him and brought him back in. In the end, they. They do give the guards, as they're being transported somewhere else to Boone county, he give them a gift of a bottle of whiskey, and the guards say, you know what? Thank you. I am going to drink this whiskey and I am going to go to sleep. Whatever you do is up to you. In other words, get out of here. Thank you. I am not going to hold it against you. One of the guards actually refrained from drinking and help them saddle the horses and aid them in their escape so that they were able to get out of this, this terrible situation, which is an interesting story as you look at times in the Book of Mormon, where they were delivered through the debauchery and drinking of the guards. I don't know. I think it's kind of an interesting story. Things weren't all bad in Liberty Jail.
[01:00:49] A lot of times we have this impression, I think we've been told, that the ceiling was only 4ft high and they had to stoop.
[01:00:56] That's not the case. The, rather, the ceiling was six and a half feet high. So Joseph being around, what was he, six, one, six, two, did not have to duck.
[01:01:07] I believe they were jailed with somebody who was 6, 9 who did have to stoop, but that wasn't necessarily the case for them. And he probably had to stoop everywhere he went. Let's be honest, in that time they did have visitors. Emma actually spent the night twice with Joseph Smith while he was in Liberty Jail and visit him fairly regularly.
[01:01:28] Anyhow, there's a lot, I'm sure, I'm sure. I'm missing a bunch.
[01:01:33] And I don't have Nate here to try to keep me on time. So I don't even know how far we are. I probably. I probably went over.
[01:01:41] I'm gonna wrap it up. Thank you for listening. Thanks for. For joining me in the this episode. I hope it wasn't too much for you. I know there's a lot of sensitivities there, and hearing these things, it's a hard thing to listen to.
[01:01:57] And had it not been so important for them to record the details, I hope you can forgive me. I feel it's a shame that we don't talk about those details more that we don't honor the sacrifice and the memory of what they went through. I feel like we do them a disservice so many times when we just say, yeah, they were chased out of their homes.
[01:02:18] And it's not really.
[01:02:20] It's not really telling the story of what happened.
[01:02:23] And there's a lot of details I left out. If you'd like to read it, they do have the affidavits available online. Maybe I can kick a link to you. Anyways, sorry. Next week we will be discussing Doctrine Covenants, Section 124.
[01:02:38] Thanks again for listening. And until next week, see ya.
